Wednesday, December 14, 2011 8:57 AM
by
loufranco
PDF Goes on a Job Interview
This is an attempt to look at PDF in a Jobs-To-Be-Done perspective and have it actually apply for a job as an invoice document format.
INT. AN OFFICE IN THE BUILDING OF A SMALL WIDGET MANUFACTURER
The CONTROLLER of the company is seated behind her desk looking over some spreadsheets. An HR ADMINISTRATOR knocks on the open door. PDF is standing just outside the office.
HR
Are you ready for your 1:00 interview with PDF? He’s here for the job of Invoice Document Format.
CONTROLLER
Yes, of course. Come in. (walks over to PDF, who enters the office). Nice to meet you (they shake hands).
PDF
Thank you, you too.
(they take seats, the CONTROLLER picks up PDF’s resume from her desk. PDF has a tablet with an electronic document he’s taking notes in.)
CONTROLLER
We’ve been trying to replace paper invoices for years. If we mail them, it slows down payment, but if we can fax them, the quality loss causes errors. We want to switch to something electronic. I see here that you’ve been a document format for close to 20 years.
PDF
Yes, in fact, you could say that “Document” is my middle name. You can e-mail me instantly, and I was designed so that I always have everything I need to render perfectly.
CONTROLLER
We’ve also been considering Word Documents for this job. It’s how we make the paper ones already.
PDF
If you’re going to manually make them, then that’s a good choice. I have much better control over layout and pagination. Also, I’ve been approved as an ISO standard, and there are readers for me on nearly every device, including mobile ones. You might want to consider exporting PDF from Word if you want to use it as your editor.
CONTROLLER
What about just HTML? Everyone has a browser.
PDF
Well, you’d have the same problem with layout. And you’d lose archivability. Ever try opening up an old web page in a new browser? You’re never sure what you get. It’s also a lot easier to send me, since I’m one file.
And, if you need to print, nothing beats me. In fact, a lot of websites use me for printing rather than have the user print the page they generate. You’d probably end up doubling your work.
CONTROLLER
Well, you are certainly a strong candidate. We’ll call you soon. (PDF leaves)
(Controller picks up phone) Is this I. T.? This is the CONTROLLER. We’re going to hire PDF, so you need to go figure out how to to work together to make invoices.
I. T.
I know exactly what to do.
(End scene)