User frustrations – what’s not so great in Connections

In my company, Geno, we have used Connections since 2013. We think we ran the adaption process quite good, with a wide grade of involvement. The main goals were to have one platform for collaboration and information sharing, to move internal communication away from emails, and to have a solution with good integration between CRM and information system.
In presentations we usually focus on the good things (sometimes even with a lack of honesty…). Why not take a look on the other side of this – from the user’s perspective? So in this presentation, I will focus on the frustrations and the parts of Connections that haven’t lived up to expectations so far (of course with a wink in the eye 😉

Transcript

1. Cnx User Schmerz Tore Søgård, Geno @toresogard
2. PLATINUM SPONSOR PLATINUM SPONSORS GOLD SPONSORS SILVER SPONSORS BRONZE SPONSORS SPEEDSPONSORING BEER SPONSOR
3. Social Connections 15 Munich, September 16-18 2019 QO • About Geno (and myself) • Connections in Geno • Users feedback about pain points, weaknesses and tripwires • User requests for improving Connections
4. Social Connections 15 Munich, September 16-18 2019 Myself • Tore Søgård • IT Manager in Geno since ‘98 • Trying to keep things straight, and my head above water
5. Social Connections 15 Munich, September 16-18 2019 About Geno
6. Social Connections 15 Munich, September 16-18 2019 • Farmer coop and breeding organization for Norwegian Red • Established 1935 • Owned by 8 500 Norwegian dairy farmers • Geno Global est 2003 • App 250 employees • App NOK 376 mill (EUR 37 mill) revenue in 2018 Vision: Breeding for Better Lives
7. Social Connections 15 Munich, September 16-18 2019 Our products DNA Semen Embryo R&D Bio IT
8. Social Connections 15 Munich, September 16-18 2019 Output of product Just another day at office…
9. Social Connections 15 Munich, September 16-18 2019 And input Just another day at office…
10. Social Connections 15 Munich, September 16-18 2019 Result: best breed
11. Social Connections 15 Munich, September 16-18 2019 Result: legendary bulls Braut – the legend Father of 300 000 world around
12. Social Connections 15 Munich, September 16-18 2019 Data and Technology is everything • Some great idea here • And here • And also here
13. Social Connections 15 Munich, September 16-18 2019 Connections in Geno
14. Social Connections 15 Munich, September 16-18 2019 Adoption process • Started in 2012 • Followed recommended guidelines • Leader group – definers and super users • Extended with super users from all groups • Out of the box - no customization
15. Social Connections 15 Munich, September 16-18 2019 Adoption process • Many were happy with the new collaboration plattform • Many had problems adopting to the change of culture • Happy users vs unhappy users • Who did we pay most attention to? • User guides, -training, FAQ’s • What’s the point? • Users of today expect UI to be INTUITIVE
16. Social Connections 15 Munich, September 16-18 2019 User feedbacks
17. Social Connections 15 Munich, September 16-18 2019 User feedbacks • Many users still happy • Problems often solved by user help/training • Many business processes made better with Cnx • IBM Docs and Kudos Boards • Presentation will focus on what’s not so good • I thought it was more when I started to dig into this
18. Social Connections 15 Munich, September 16-18 2019 Less internal email? • No more
19. Social Connections 15 Munich, September 16-18 2019 Less internal email? • No!... More! • Why? • Users don’t trust • Email still has main focus • One update may create 3 emails • No chat room or 7 !!!
20. Social Connections 15 Munich, September 16-18 2019 User feedbacks • Too much information – difficult to find • “Like calling into the woods – hoping for an answer” • Tripwire: My files vs Community files (and folders) • Don’t trust finding files - Keeps saving locally too • Can’t share files in public folders (unless pinned) • Mac users: sync of My Drive doesn’t always work – and you never know when
21. Social Connections 15 Munich, September 16-18 2019 User feedbacks • Completed task (my To Do list) stay unsolved when part of several asignees • Developers and researchers: Cnx ok for storing data – not for dynamic collaboration (prefer Slack) • On mobile – clicking a link to Cnx data opens web version instead of mobile app • Cannot add tags if not editor access • External users struggle in Cnx
22. Social Connections 15 Munich, September 16-18 2019 Some screen shots
23. Social Connections 15 Munich, September 16-18 2019 Ex1: Files - editing and publishing When I open file from desktop plugin, I can publish direct
24. Social Connections 15 Munich, September 16-18 2019 Ex1: Files - editing and publishing When I open file inside application,…
25. Social Connections 15 Munich, September 16-18 2019 Ex2: Files – sharing and linking • I have editor access as member of “Ledergruppe Geno”
26. Social Connections 15 Munich, September 16-18 2019 Ex2: Files – sharing and linking • Activity in a community: Want to link the file in a task (to do or entry) Community Files Files Shared With Community could have been useful options Why can’t I link files shared with a community in an activity when I even have editor rights?
27. Social Connections 15 Munich, September 16-18 2019 Ex3: Files – searching
28. Social Connections 15 Munich, September 16-18 2019 User requests
29. Social Connections 15 Munich, September 16-18 2019 User requests • Better notifications when due date (activities) • Plugin for PDF-files • Better functionality copying/moving emails to Cnx • @-mentions to groups (too complicated)
30. Social Connections 15 Munich, September 16-18 2019 User requests • Chat room like Slack, MS Teams • Integration with Slack, MS Teams… • Taking a note anywhere and put anywhere • Integration with MS OneNote, Evernote or whatever • Better integration with CRM
31. That’s it! Thank you! Any Questions?
32. PLATINUM SPONSOR PLATINUM SPONSORS GOLD SPONSORS SILVER SPONSORS BRONZE SPONSORS SPEEDSPONSORING BEER SPONSOR