DENVER, Dec 19, 2011 – In a nationwide survey, three-in-five U.S. workers who are not IT professionals or C-level executives said they have caught themselves yelling at their computer screen because of frustration with the software they were using.
Additionally, despite the difficult job market, 18 percent of the survey respondents admitted they have actually wanted to quit their jobs because of frustration with software programs.
These and other results are from a new survey sponsored by TrackVia, makers of a highly flexible platform that allows non-technical business users to easily design and build their own applications.
“If you’ve ever asked yourself, ‘Why can’t this software or application just do what I need it to do?’ then you know the frustration that this survey seems to tap into,” said Pete Khanna, CEO of TrackVia. “This information also highlights the disconnect that often occurs between the people designing or buying software and the people using it. Clearly, this divide comes at a significant cost in terms of usability and productivity for the people who use company-provided software every day.”
Additional survey findings further suggest there is room to enhance the ease of use and customization of software used at work:
– Sixty-one percent of the workers surveyed agreed that — if they knew how to design software — they could design better, user-friendlier and more productive programs than what they are currently using.
– If they could build their own software to do their daily work, important motivations for building better software included saving time (74 percent), reducing frustration and stress (63 percent), and enhancing work quality (62 percent).
– When asked how much time in an average month is wasted because of software problems or flaws, or because the software they use doesn’t fit their unique needs, only nine percent selected “none / my current software helps me work as productively as possible.” On the other end of the spectrum, five percent indicated more than 10 hours per month were wasted. More than one-in-five (22 percent) believe four to 10 hours were wasted, and 29 percent felt that one to three hours were wasted.
