By Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology1 Common End User Problems

By Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology2 Common End User Problems Hardware problems Software problems User problems Documentation problems Vendor problems Facilities problems Note: your text concentrates on PC problems - your problems may have a greater range depending on your environment

By Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology3 Hardware Problems Installation and compatibility Configuration Malfunctions

By Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology4 Hardware Installation and Compatibility Problems Hardware problems are common upon first attempt to use a new hardware product or upgrade an old one Incompatibility: Inability of computer components to operate together in the same system May be due to incorrect installation

By Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology5 Hardware Configuration Problems Caused when hardware component settings are wrong for the computer environment Were more common before Plug and Play standards

By Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology6 Plug and Play Standards A computer industry agreement between hardware and operating system vendors Specify the communication methods an operating system uses to recognize and incorporate hardware components into an operational system Can help load appropriate drivers, but do not always automatically adjust software settings to take maximum advantage of new hardware’s capabilities

By Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology7 Hardware Malfunctions Small percentage of hardware problems Can be avoided by a burn-in period – A 48- to 72-hour period during which a new computer is operated nonstop –Can discover obvious problems and identify any marginal or temperature-sensitive components continued

By Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology8 Hardware Malfunctions Electromechanical devices that have moving parts are more likely to develop problems than electronic components Hardware diagnostic tools can help with system burn-in and common hardware malfunctions

By Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology9 To Solve Hardware Problems Look for possible interaction problems between hardware and software Examine any applicable README files for updated compatibility information Check vendor Web sites for updated drivers and software patches

By Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology10 Software Problems Installation and compatibility Configuration Bugs Performance

By Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology11 Software Installation and Compatibility Not all software installs automatically Shareware software downloaded from the Internet may produce conflicts with other software –Conflict: Two computer components use systems resources (CPU, memory, peripheral devices) in different and incompatible ways

By Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology12 Installation Software Automatically creates subdirectories with correct path names Examines hardware configuration to determine whether hardware and software are compatible Automatically sets configuration options in software to match hardware

By Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology13 Software Configuration Problems Result when software options are not set for the specific operating environment or hardware May occur when users: –Install or upgrade new hardware or software –Attempt to use a software feature for the first time

By Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology14 Software Bugs Major errors in a software program due to coding mistakes Occur more often in custom-written programs and programs written for a limited market segment Occur most often in infrequently used features of a program Are often eliminated during testing

By Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology15 How Software Vendors Fix Bugs and Provide New Features New version –Contains significant new features –Usually the result of a substantially rewritten program Upgrade –A new version of an existing program that is sold at a lower cost to owners of previous version of the program continued

By Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology16 How Software Vendors Fix Bugs and Provide New Features New release –An updated version of a software program that contains some new features the original did not have Update –A bug fix release that repairs known bugs in a previous version continued

By Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology17 How Software Vendors Fix Bugs and Provide New Features Patch –A replacement for one or a few small modules in a software package that fixes known bugs –Usually designated by adding a digit or letter to a version number continued

By Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology18 How Software Vendors Fix Bugs and Provide New Features Service release –A replacement for a small section of a program that repairs a specific bug Workaround –A procedure or feature that accomplishes the same result as another feature that does not work due to a bug

By Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology19 Example of Software Release Numbering 2.0: First release of a new version 2.1: An update with new features 2.11: Bug-fix release

By Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology20 Software Performance Problems System is operational but does not operate as efficiently as it can or should Often involve the interaction of hardware and software

By Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology21 Sample Software Performance Problem Problem –System seems sluggish Possible causes –Hard disk drive may be almost full –Hard disk may be fragmented –Hard drive may have wasted space because links to free space are lost –Insufficient RAM to run the software

By Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology22 User Problems Mistakes Misunderstandings Wrong products Poor training Forgotten information

By Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology23 Mistakes Account for significant percentage of common problems Example: Inadvertent key sequence errors Well-designed computer systems: –Anticipate potential user mistakes –Alert the user –Provide corrective action

By Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology24 Misunderstandings About product features or limitations Example: User may expect a product to be able to perform tasks for which it was not intended

By Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology25 Wrong Products Users may purchase the wrong product to accomplish a task Examples –Purchase of software package or hardware peripheral that is incompatible with existing system –Purchase of software without under-standing its capabilities and limitations or without knowledge of alternatives

By Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology26 Poor Training Quick start behaviour: A tendency among computer users to forego reading installation manual and get a new hardware or software component installed and operational as soon as possible Translates into waste and lost user productivity

By Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology27 Forgotten Information Cheat sheets are an effective aid

By Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology28 Documentation Problems Poor organization Incorrect or incomplete information

By Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology29 Components of Good User Documentation Quick start guide Tutorial guide Reference manual Troubleshooting guide Online help

By Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology30 Vendor Problems Tendency to oversell products (promise nonexistent features) Misrepresentation of product features Delivery of software with known bugs Late delivery of products Vapourware: Hardware or software products that are described in ads or press releases but that don’t really exist

By Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology31 Facilities Problems Viruses Backup media Security Ergonomic issues

By Anthony W. Hill & Course Technology32 Examples of End User Problems 1. Sounds like trouble 2. The problem with modems 3. Give credit where credit is due 4. Non responsive network