Depending on whether you were born before about 1980, you might remember one of the most annoying things in the computing world – the dreaded Microsoft Clippy. In 1997, Clippy became a feature on MS Windows screens with helpful advice (or not) when it detected you were trying to do something, failed, and started trying the process again. Then my clip appeared out of nowhere. Shaped like a paperclip with two eyes, he’ll announce something to you in a speech bubble. For example:
“Looks like you’re trying to save a file to a different folder…” Then it gives you an onscreen tutorial. The problem was that you couldn’t interact with Clippy, and Clippy never learned from your actions not to repeat his annoying suggestions. Most people turned Clippy to “OFF” about half an hour after it debuted, as it was impossible to reach the screen and merrily tie the knot into the little paperclip’s body!
Help at hand
So the concept of computer programs offering help and “tool tips” on mouseover is nothing new. However, with the advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI), a tool called DAP (Digital Adoption Platform) It really helps people to simplify their use of computer software. The most important use of DAP is to help employees keep track of changes in programs and prevent them from trying to avoid their use or being discouraged by the change.
DAPs offer products called Digital Accreditation Program (DAS) – It’s a relatively simple concept, DAS is like a secondary program that works in conjunction with any major software package it has been assigned to and helps the user by offering intelligent automation for certain tasks. Crucially, it learns from the user the strengths and weaknesses of the workflow efficiencies.
For example, an employee of a particular company may make the same mistakes over and over again when doing, for example, entering data in specific fields. The AI running the DAS software will already be aware of the prevalence of that individual employee making the same mistake over and over, so when a person gets to the point right before the point where they usually make mistakes, the DAS can step in and say something like “Please know that the next field Intended for entering numbers only, not free text. Once the user learns to handle that next step correctly, the AI in DAS will guide the person less frequently unless they start making the same mistake again. It’s like a smarter version of Clippy that knows when you don’t need it anymore!
Digital survival depends on digital literacy
There are obviously a lot more DAPs and DASs out there than that, but they will become more important than ever as the trend towards automation among the workforce is generally increasing its pace. Indeed, in this article, Nidhi Khanna, Vice President – Delivery, Ciber India, tells us how automation will not be limited to manual operations only, but also to routine computing functions; And that both workers and companies digital survival Depends on digital competence. In short, people at work who say “Oh, I don’t know, I’m not good with computers…” may soon find themselves out of work; Using DAS to keep workers digitally informed is more important than ever.
In some ways, this need for digital literacy by the workforce has generally been concentrated and accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic, as more and more workers around the world access their workplace systems from their own devices while sitting at kitchen tables in the home.
In fact, Rajiv Bhalla, Vice President and Managing Director of Barco India, tells us in this article about Technology in the workplace “While 2021 was the year of disruptive technology enabling all aspects of our lives, 2022 will be the year when all of these technologies will be mastered.”
Another big challenge for technology managers is the proliferation of remote workers to use their own devices and Collaborative digital work. Sure, it’s a lot cheaper than buying a laptop per employee, but aside from security concerns about remote logins, how can workplace training on new software updates go when no one is available at the same time. Zoom conferencing is fine, but the beauty of a DAP system is that it can run on the host server, while still learning from the remote worker who is logged in on their own machine. So the same highly customized helper can exist even when the worker is not accessing the network from their assigned terminal.
Ease of access
These platforms can also have valuable uses for those with access needs. All computers nowadays have “accessible preferences” for those who may have vision or hearing difficulties, dyslexia, epilepsy, and the like, but there’s no reason why DAPs shouldn’t offer similar accommodations. The National Library of Medicine in the United States of America identifies one such example Assistive Technology The package is already in use, called Morphic, where those with assistance needs can log in and find needed help on any computer they might encounter, whether at a friend’s house or in an Internet café.
In short, it is very easy to see how popular DAPs and DAS packages will become, perhaps as early as the end of 2020. You only have to look back 11 years ago when this seemingly naive BBC news item was now amazed at workers in stores Using iPads and tablets To receive payments and check stock levels, without having to leave the shop floor unattended. With the rate of digital transformation seeming to be accelerating dramatically, it certainly won’t be long before a version of Clippy is actually useful on your phone or laptop screen, at home or at work, before you know it.