Yes, Jen, you've said it well!

Cheers,
Jim N

>>Vinod (but Vlad may read too),
>>
>>I especially agree with Vlad's #6!!!
>>And especially so *IF* you have never done the job, or been near the actual job for any period of time.
>>
>>It's not that I have *ANY* disagreement with Vlad's other points, but rather that THIS point has been a saviour to me more than once. I have consistently been surprised by what I learned by seriously interviewing/studying/befriending those actually doing a job which I have been asked to "change".
>>
>I can't emphasize how important this is with any system design. It's also great fun -- I've been to farms, slaughterhouses, feed mills, aluminium smelting plants, construction sites, foundries, warehouses, packing plants, assembly lines. I've always found out important info that the "suits" who want to computerize didn't know about which would otherwise have brought the project crashing down. I've also been able to work round the anti-computerization feelings that many of the workers in the trenches have had.
>
>It's always been easy for me to be interested in the work going on and I've found that positive comments and expressions of interest in people's work is a great way to connect with them and find out what I needed to know. Most people are proud of their work and don't often get the chance to show off what they do!!
>
>Jen