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Thursday, August 03, 2006

Productivity and the AF computer security concept

I'm required to complete some AF training, online. I'm not alone, everyone in this organization of a few hundred people is required to take this training.

There are 4 courses to complete right now.

Each course requires a separate log-in ID and password, using differing criteria for passwords, after logging in through the AF Portal and having my computerized access card recognized. That's 4 more log-in identifications and passwords that I'm expected to use once each year without writing them down someplace.

There's a separate page and a half of instructions on how to log in to each course.

After completing the courses, there are certificates that must be printed then faxed to the one person monitoring these courses.

Does this seem like a good use of everyone's time, (and mine in particular) to you? No, its dumbass! The AF just loves to grasp new technologies- Computer Based Training, in this case. They spend huge amounts of cash on pretty presentations and animated graphics then make each manager of the individual training responsible for the user id and log-in procedures for their little department or class.

Why can't the person monitoring completion rates log-in and download the completion data daily or weekly instead of expecting these certificates to be printed and faxed or scanned and emailed for later, manual compilation? That's what computers do best isn't it, compile data and produce lists?

Why does it take a 4 page email to spell out the instructions for 4 different methods of log-in into 4 systems? Why isn't one set of instructions, or one log-in through the Portal, using my micro-chipped card sufficient access to all the training?

How many hours are going to be wasted by this organization, not by accomplishing the training, but by fighting through the various and sundry and confusing log-in processes? This kind of administrivia is just a huge productivity killer. I'm expecting to spend my entire afternoon today getting through this morass.

I hate it!

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