Great expectations and the reality of university computing resources

摘要

'My boss wants this budget set up on the computer by Friday and I don't know anything about budgets, or Lotus, or computers!' A little over a year ago, these hysterics coming from a user were a common scene at the Information Resource Center (IRC), the end-user service branch of Computer and Information Resources and Technology (CIRT) at the University of New Mexico. Users would come in with unrealistic deadlines assigned by their bosses, who, in turn, had unrealistic expectations of both their employees' skills and computer technology in general. Often, we had the added problem of dealing with a user who was using unsupported hardware and/or software.