Self-service fueling

United States Chinese buffet restaurant in the

Self-service is the practice of serving oneself, usually when making purchases.[1] Aside from Automatic Teller Machines, which are not limited to banks, and customer-operated supermarket check-out,[2], labor-saving of which has been described as self-sourcing, there is the latter's subset, selfsourcing and a related pair: End-user development and End-user computing.

Note has been made how paid labor has been replaced with unpaid labor,[3][2] and how reduced professionalism and distractions from primary duties has reduced value obtained from employees' time. [4]

Over a period of decades, laws have been passed both facilitating and preventing self-pumping of gas[5] and other self-service.

Overview [ edit ]

Self-service is the practice of serving oneself, usually when purchasing items. Common examples include many gas stations, where the customer pumps their own gas rather than have an attendant do it (full service is required by law in New Jersey, urban parts of Oregon, most of Mexico, and Richmond, British Columbia, but is the exception rather than the rule elsewhere[6]). Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs) in the banking world have also revolutionized how people withdraw and deposit funds; most stores in the Western world, where the customer uses a shopping cart in the store, placing the items they want to buy into the cart and then proceeding to the checkout counter/aisles; or at buffet-style restaurants, where the customer serves their own plate of food from a large, central selection.

Patentable business method [ edit ]

In 1917, the US Patent Office awarded Clarence Saunders a patent for a "self-serving store." Saunders invited his customers to collect the goods they wanted to buy from the store and present them to a cashier, rather than having the store employee consult a list presented by the customer, and collect the goods. Saunders licensed the business method to independent grocery stores; these operated under the name "Piggly Wiggly."[7]

Electronic commerce [ edit ]

Self-service is over the phone, web, and email to facilitate customer service interactions using automation. Self-service software and self-service apps (for example online banking apps, web portals with shops, self-service check-in at the airport) become increasingly common.[8]

Self-Service Business Intelligence [ edit ]

Business Intelligence (BI) is meant to facilitate smarter and faster decisions, giving a competitive edge and opening new business opportunities.

Self-Service BI supports creating queries, reports that access specific data subsets and facilitate user-directed analytics, resulting in more self-reliance and less dependence on the IT organization.

Data warehouse was an earlier term in this space.[citation needed]

Self-sourcing is a term describing informal and often unpaid labor that benefits the owner of the facility where it is done by replacing paid labor with unpaid labor.[3]

Selfsourcing (without a dash) is a subset thereof, and refers to developing computer software intended for use by the person doing the development.[9]

Both situations have aspects of Self-service, and where permitted involve benefits to the person doing the work, such as job & personal satisfaction, even though tradeoffs are frequently involved,[3] including long term losses to the company.[4]

Doing someone else's job [ edit ]

When a loan officer is asked to "self-source"[10] they're taking on a responsibility that's not one of the top seven "Loan Officer Job Duties" listed by a major job placement service.[11][12]

A situation where no payment is made is self-service, such as airport check-in kiosks and checkout machines.[3] International borders have also experimented with traveler-assisted fingerprint verification[13]

Another situation is where a company's Human resources department is partially bypassed by departments that "source talent themselves."[14]

History of self-sourcing [ edit ]

An early use of the term is a 2005 HRO Today article[15] titled "Insourcing, Outsourcing? How about Self-sourcing?" that mined Wikipedia's history of a pair of banks that merged decades ago as Standard Chartered and, after September 11, rebuilt its personnel department in an innovative way.

The concept is similar to Self-service, and one USA example is pumping gas: New Jersey banned customers from doing this in 1949;[5]now NJ is the only state "where drivers are not allowed to pump their own gasoline."[5]

In 1994 it was considered a radical change to propose permitting self-service at the gas pumps, in Japan, and the New York Times reported that "the push .. (came) from Japanese big business ... trying to cut costs."[1]

Automatic Teller Machines are another example, and their expansion beyond banks have led to signs saying Access To Money, which refers to a company with that name;[16][17] the technology began over half-a-century ago.[18]

Selfsourcing [ edit ]

Selfsourcing is the internal development and support of IT systems by knowledge workers with minimal contribution from IT specialists. Knowledge workers develop and utilize their own IT systems, as opposed to contracting out the work in a process known as outsourcing. Knowledge workers are workers who are dependent upon information or who develop and utilize knowledge in the workplace.

End user self service [ edit ]

Various terms have been used to describe situations when the end user is able to program, code, script, write macros, and in other ways use a computer in a user-directed data processing accomplishment, such as End user computing and End user development. In the 1990s, Windows versions of mainframe packages were already available.[19]

The selfsourcing process [ edit ]

For simple computing systems such as customizing reports or creating macros a system can be developed in a matter of hours. However, for more complicating systems, a more formal process must be followed very similar to that of the Systems Development Life Cycle. The primary difference is the inclusion of prototyping.

The first step in the process is planning. This is where goals are set and aligned with the organizational goals and objectives. A project plan is developed and the proposed system is analyzed to determine if any external support is needed. The project plan lays out the what, when and who of the system. It is the salient piece in ensuring successful completion. The second step is analysis which includes the gathering and analyzing of the basic business requirements. The third step is an extension of the second as the basic requirements are identified and prioritized. This puts the knowledge workers in a position to now develop the initial prototype for the fourth step. Prototyping is the process of constructing a model demonstrating the aspects and feasibility of a proposed product. There are two types of prototyping processes: insourcing prototyping and selfsourcing prototyping. Selfsourcing prototyping lets knowledgeable workers refine their prototype until they are satisfied with it and it becomes the final working system. The fifth step is knowledge worker reviewing. This is where knowledge workers evaluate the prototype and suggest changes or additions. Following through with these suggestions is the sixth step where the prototype is revised and enhanced. The final step is maintenance where one must monitor the system and ensure it is achieving its goals.

Issues [ edit ]

It is crucial for the system’s purposes and goals to be aligned with that of the organizational goals. Developing a system that contradicts organizational goals will most likely lead to a reduction in sales and customer retention. As well, due to the large amount of time it may take for development, it is important allocate your time efficiently as time is valuable.

Knowledge workers must also determine what kind of external support they will require. In-house IT specialists can be a valuable commodity and are often included in the planning process.

Once the system is complete it is important to document how it works. This is to ensure that the system can be used if the developing knowledge workers move on through for example a promotion. If one were to get promoted, other workers will come in and attempt to use the system and even attempt to make changes. By documenting the system others can learn how to use and amend changes to the system.nn

Advantages [ edit ]

Knowledge workers are often strongly aware of their immediate needs, and can avoid formalizations and time needed for "project cost/benefit analysis"[20] and delays due to chargebacks.[21]

Additional benefits are:

Improved requirement determination : Since they're telling themselves what they want, rather than someone else, this eliminates telling an IT specialist what they want. There is a greater chance for user short-term satisfaction.

: Since they're telling themselves what they want, rather than someone else, this eliminates telling an IT specialist what they want. There is a greater chance for user short-term satisfaction. Increased participation and sense of ownership : Pride and self-push will add desire for completion, sense of ownership and higher worker morale. Increased morale can be infectious and lead to great benefits in several other areas.

: Pride and self-push will add desire for completion, sense of ownership and higher worker morale. Increased morale can be infectious and lead to great benefits in several other areas. Facilitates speed of systems development: Since step-by-step details preclude formal documentation, time and resources are concentrated, whereas working with an IT specialists analyzing would be counterproductive. Selfsourcing is usually faster for smaller projects that do not require the full process of development.[ citation needed ]

Disadvantages [ edit ]

Inadequate expertise [ edit ]

Many knowledge workers involved in selfsourcing do not have experience or expertise with IT tools, resulting in:

Lost hours and potential : potentially good ideas are lost. These incomplete projects, after consuming many hours, often draw workers away from their primary duties.

: potentially good ideas are lost. These incomplete projects, after consuming many hours, often draw workers away from their primary duties. Lack of organizational focus : These often form a privatized IT system, with poor integration to corporate systems. Data silos may violate policy and even privacy/HIPPA laws. Uncontrolled and duplicate information can become stale, leading to more problems than benefits. [ citation needed ]

: These often form a privatized IT system, with poor integration to corporate systems. Data silos may violate policy and even privacy/HIPPA laws. Uncontrolled and duplicate information can become stale, leading to more problems than benefits. Lack of design alternative analysis : Hardware and software opportunities are not analyzed sufficiently, and efficient alternatives may not be noticed and utilized. This can lead to inefficient and costly systems.

: Hardware and software opportunities are not analyzed sufficiently, and efficient alternatives may not be noticed and utilized. This can lead to inefficient and costly systems. Lack of documentation: Knowledge workers may not have supervisors who are aware that, as time goes on, changes will be needed and these compartmentalized systems will require the help of IT specialists. Knowledge workers will usually lack experience with planning for these changes and the ability to adapt their work for the fuure.

Shadow IT [ edit ]

Although departmental computing has decades of history[19], one-person-show situations either suffer from inability to interact with a helpdesk[22] or fail to benefit from wheels already invented.[4]

See also [ edit ]

References [ edit ]