What's on the user's PC?

I started a new job and one of the toughest challanges has been determining what applications the users have on their PCs. The users don't seem to know. A printed form with check boxes for the main, standard applications and blanks for others comes back mostly empty. How can a person use their PC all day and not know what applications they use?

One issue seems to be understanding what an application is. They can't tell the difference between a web portal and an installed program. They can't tell when one program calls on another. Worst of all, they don't know the difference between a business application and something they or their predecessor installed for fun or to test.

Much of the blame for their ignorance lies in a complete lack of policies and policing of the system. No one has ever taught them what a business application is or what unwanted software, such as the Weather Bug or an IM client is. Some of these PCs are 7 years old and they've never been cleaned between users. More RAM was added, the OS upgraded and that was all.

Cleaning up a mess like this isn't something that can be done quickly. Software policy has to come from the top and one of the worst abusers is one of the company owners. Training that person is the priority. Cleaning up systems properly and educating users as they get new or recycled PCs is also a big part, but unless upper management toes the same line, abuses will happen again and be harder to stop without causing resentment.

The Magic Black Box

"The system is broken! It's been down for days!!! When are you going to fix it?!!!" asked a panicked user yesterday. I'd heard no complaints from anyone else, hadn't heard a thing from her & I've been here reading emails, walking the building & picking up the phone. I've even talked to her a couple of times, so her statement was obviously way off. This is pretty typical behavior from users that are computer illiterate, yet work on them all day.

I calmed her down, showed my concern & asked some pointed (simple!) questions. I found out that one application wasn't working & the problem was a simple drive mapping that she had disconnected. It took 10 minutes to figure it out & 10 seconds to fix.

I've never understood how someone can work with a piece of equipment all day for years & still not have the foggiest idea of how it works. Is it just because I'm a tech that I always try to understand at least the basic concepts of everything I use? I'm not a mechanic & new vehicles or my heat pump are beyond my capabilities to fix in a lot of cases, but I can generally tell what has gone wrong when something does & how to maintain it. I tend to question any technician that works on them & try to find out more. Even my wife, who makes me check her oil, is pretty good at describing issues with her car & has some basic troubleshooting skills.

But many of my users display no curiosity about how their PC works & refuse to maintain it. They often revel in their ignorance, proclaiming with pride how they know nothing about it. They're proud that - to them - it is a 'magic black box'.

All efforts at educating them fall on deaf ears or the knowledge seems to dribble out shortly after I leave. So far, the only way to teach them has been if their boss teams up with me to hold them accountable for their ignorance & that's a dicey proposition. I have to make sure EVERYTHING is documented, both sign off and it always causes hard feelings all the way around.

How else can I get this type of user to desire to know more?