The answer is both subtle and obvious. Your staff qualify as "eager adopters," people who love technology. They know that new technology is usually filled with bugs and problems and they truly enjoy finding solutions to those problems. At the other end of the spectrum are what we call "resisters." These people really do not like technology at all. They may be "technophobes" or they may simply feel that technology is not for them. They get upset by technology's problems and most often feel that when technology fails, it is their fault. They never think that the VCR's clock might be difficult to set. They blame themselves for ineptitude every time they see that 12:00 12:00 12:00 flashing at them. The remainder of the population are hesitant "prove its." These folks are sitting on the sidelines, not actively resisting technology, but waiting to be shown which technology can make their lives easier. They want bug-free technology that does something specific. Then they'll consider it.

Take a moment and guess what percentage of the population fit into each of the categories. Now, take a peek at an earlier study we did, looking at a sample of over 1,200 adults in Los Angeles, paying particular attention to table 2: Attitudes and Behaviors Toward Technology. (http://www.csudh.edu/psych/study3.htm).

These results and those of others have shown us that between 10 percent - 15 percent of the population are "eager adopters," 50 percent - 60 percent are hesitant "prove its" and 30 percent -40 percent are resisters.

These are your end users. But, what about the business world? Aren't business people much more eager about technology? Asking the same question, we looked at a sample of 542 business people (clerical workers, managers and executives) in Spring, 1995 and replicated the study 18 months later in Fall 1997. Before you peek at the results, guess the percentages for clerical workers compared with managers and executives in 1995. Click here for those results. (http://www.csudh.edu/psych/study1x.htm). How did you do? In our 1995 study we found clerical workers evenly split between eager adopters (32 percent), hesitant "prove its" (39 percent) and resisters (29 percent) with managers/executives showing more eager adopters (42 percent), about the same hesitant "prove its" (37 percent) and fewer resisters (21 percent). Yes, business people were more likely to eagerly adopt technology, but overall, 68 percent of the clerical workers and 58 percent of the managers/executives were either hesitant or resistant to technology.

Now, what happened 18 months later? Guess first and then click here (http://www.csudh.edu/psych/study1x.htm) and you will find out that clerical workers became more resistant (fewer eager adopters and hesitants) while managers/executives became more hesitant. Now 72 percent of the clerical workers and 60 percent of the managers/executives are hesitant or resistant.

Your end users, the people who you hope will use your new Pizzouli, are, for the most part, nothing like your development staff. In fact, the majority of your market will be more hesitant and resistant to technology. What does this mean for the success of your Pizzouli? It means that the world is not going to be as eager as you might guess about buying the Pizzouli. What can you do? Read on.

Dr. Rosen authors professional journals, monographs, and a column for the National Psychologist. He has been awarded numerous federal and local grants, including over $280,000 from the U.S. Department of Education for the study and treatment of technophobia. For his research, teaching and university service, Dr. Rosen was recently honored as one of the 19 Outstanding Professors in the California State University system.