An important part of any IT project is the users. As a software professional on the project, whether that is a business analyst, tester, or a developer, we have some kind of interaction with the users. It’s a good idea to help users as much as we can, for the reasons I’ll share below.
1. Make a Good Impression on Others
A good reason to help users of the software in your organisation, or those who work in the business, is to be able to make a good impression on them. They often are responsible for getting information or data from you for your area of speciality.
If you get them what they need, and help them out when they ask, it gives them a good impression of you. It will make you seem efficient at your job, and that you know what you’re doing.
These users, these business representatives will have thoughts like “Wow, John’s really good at what he does”, or “John really knows what he’s doing”, or even “John’s great, if you ever need help with anything on X then speak to him”.
While this does leave you open for misuse (people always coming to you for things they could do themselves), I think the benefits that it gives you in terms of a good impression can outweigh any chance of this.
2. Help Users For The Greater Good
One thing that is good to remember when looking to help users is that we’re all working towards the one goal – to improve the company.
You’ll most likely be working for the same company, and they are asking for information to do their part in helping the company even better. You can do your part by improving the company by giving them what they need and helping them where you can.
Even if the users work for a different company but are still involved, it can be helpful to think of the greater good in this situation. You are both working towards a similar goal, and giving this information will likely help users out one way or another.
3. They Can Help You In The Future
People will remember your name if you’ve helped them out with software assistance, information, data, or anything else that they ask for. They will be grateful and have a good impression of you, as mentioned above. This can work well for you in the future.
There may come a time where you need these users or these business representatives for something. Perhaps your role is changing and you need to work with them even more. Perhaps you’re on a new project and need to gather requirements. Perhaps you’re doing some research and need some information from them for something.
Anytime in the future you may need the input of other people you’ve helped. If you’ve helped them out in the past and done it well, then it can be easier to get things from them in the future.
It also applies to people they know. If you need something from someone in their team, the fact you’ve helped them in the past is valuable.
It can also help if you’re looking for a job at any stage in the future. If you find yourself looking for another role, these positive impressions can help for a long time.
So, there’s a list of a few reasons why we should help business users as much as we can. Do you have any other reasons to help people?