Crystal Reports Administration: Answering the Purpose Question

Let's look at a few common problems solved by establishing and frequently referring to a specific purpose:

• If you've managed many projects, you are all too familiar with the problem of scope creep. What started out as a small, manageable project became a boondoggle as more requirements crept into the original scope.
   
• Your reporting system works fine. But now some "wannabe" (often a person in the C suite) came back from a seminar and insists your system must have features X, Y, and Z. This self-appointed expert keeps referring to "best practices," even though the practices in question don't work for your situation.
   
• A new manager came from a highly bureaucratic background. This person has a penchant for documentation bloat, and also touts "more communication" as the answer to every ill. The fact that people are already overloaded and need their incoming information tailored to their needs so they don't have to sift through reams of irrelevant data just doesn't occur to this manager.
   
• A committee has decreed that your reporting system needs several wiz-bang features. These all sound good, but they will be costly to implement and maintain.
   
• Your firm hired a database consultant. You've discovered that this person isn't a true consultant, but instead is a one-trick dog who believes every database must conform to his personal tastes and preferences. He's now recommending several changes that will subsequently require a complete overhaul of your reporting system. The technical reasons behind these changes sound dubious at best and none of them appear to solve any specific problem that actually exists.
   
• You have been receiving a steady flow of requests for such things as report changes and distribution list changes. Worse, you are yet again being asked to attend a meeting to "discuss" these changes. You know from experience those meetings will involve the same tired questions, the same old explanations, and the same old problems with outsized egos trying to intimidate you into doing things that will have a negative overall impact.

These, and other scenarios, play out daily for report systems administrators all over the world. Handling these can be a huge drain on your time. But there's a way to cut through the haze of foggy thinking that creates these scenarios.

Simply ask, "What purpose is being served by doing this?"

The reply will typically not answer that question, because the purpose has not been considered and/or it has not been vetted in regards to the purpose of your organization. So, you will have to break things down for people so they can answer this question. Here are a few questions you can ask to get them to the right answer:

• What is the purpose of our organization? Why are we here?
• What is the purpose of your department? What is it you try to accomplish each day?
• What problem are you trying to solve, and how will implementing this solve that problem? Do you know the root cause of that problem?
• What will this organization gain from solving this problem?
• Why is this proposal important to you, and why are you proposing it? What purpose does it serve for you?

Of course, just answering the purpose question doesn't resolve all issues with any given proposal. But the fact that few people answer this question before making a proposal means you stop problem proposals in their tracks by going directly to the purpose question first. Good proposals will seem even better, once this question is answered.

It is important to frame the purpose question, and any questions leading to a correct answer, in a manner that questions the proposal and not the person making it. If you put a person in the position of having to defend his/her personal judgment, integrity, or other personal attribute, then you have a 99.9999% chance that person will abandon all reason in favor of "winning" the perceived battle of personal image.

That is not to say you can't break things down to the personal level, as in that last bullet point. In fact, this step is important. It says, "I want to help you. But instead of focusing on how to achieve your results, I'm asking you to just tell me what result you want." What you're doing here is defining the terms of the debate. Don't argue about the implementation (yet). Find out why the person wants that implementation to begin with.

Getting an answer to the purpose question increases your efficiency and helps you build those important relationships with others.

This article is copyrighted by Crystalkeen, Mindconnection, and Chelsea Technologies Ltd. It may be freely copied and distributed as long as the original copyright is displayed and no modifications are made to this material. Extracts are permitted. The names Crystal Reports and Seagate Info are trademarks owned by Business Objects.