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Prioritizing Computer Replacements?

Posted by Cliff on from the swapping-ordinality dept.

cuzality asks: "The public library I work for is (hopefully) going to get some money in the coming months to replace some of our computers. Since we can't replace all of them at the same time, we need to decide which machines to replace first. We have begun working on a survey instrument to help us accomplish this, but since this is the first time we are replacing computers (most were bought in 1999), this is also the first time we have tried to put together a survey for this purpose. What kind of criteria have you used to prioritize replacement of computers? Examples of surveys you have used would also be very helpful..."

1 of 46 comments (clear)

  1. How we've done this before... by brigc · · Score: 5, Insightful

    FWIW, I used to be automation consultant for a regional library system, and we generally recommended folks look at things in this order:

    PUBLIC machines first
    As much for PR reasons as any.

    SHARED STAFF MACHINES second
    Usually most cost-effective distribution.

    DEDICATED STAFF MACHINES third
    Meaning the director's desktop usually gets upgraded last! :)

    Within each category, we then looked at how old the BIOS was and how much RAM each machine had. Then we looked at budget issues.

    These are, of course, general guidelines... sometimes things are done differently because you either have a funding source wanting to push a particular program or service... sometimes you have a machine which fails or is unreliable. Common sense should always override a plan, if it hasn't already been incorporated within the plan. ...brig

    --
    -- When I grow up I'd like to be a systems defenestrator.