On one hand, I work with various other IT groups to construct usage policies for company computer equipment and data. On the other, I support the folks affected by these policies. That sort of makes me a fence-sitter, or maybe more specifically, a fence post sitter -- as in the coffee can in someone's cross-hairs when one (or both) sides don't like the outcome.
It also puts me in a position to see the needs of both sides, where one person's logic and prudence collide with another's righteous indignation. It's that perspective, and some exercises I'm going through at my day job in comparing some policies across several companies, that made me think there might be an opportunity to pick apart and reconcile some of those differences to help us all get along.
In the next several posts, I'll start asking and answering some of the most common questions I get from employees where I work. Once I've exhausted those, I'll come from the other direction and lay out some of the most common frustrations IT folks have and why sometimes "It's corporate policy" may not always be a good answer.
If anyone happens to stumble across these posts and thinks of a question you've always wanted to ask your IT department, or behavior you see in your user community that vexes you, feel free to comment or email me to let me know, and maybe I can work it into an article.
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