Leading change through technology is an awesome trend nowadays we can’t live without. A lot of effort is put in planning, designing, budgeting and implementing great projects to transform organisations towards embracing technology towards extreme optimisation. Once implemented, these projects are learning for themselves and improve themselves.

All these sounds awesome, yet a lot of long-awaited technical projects don’t have the expected implementation adoption. Before blaming the idea and application, check-out if and how you fulfilled the following steps.

1.Timing of your go-live

The most important aspect for the success of any project, as you all know by now, is timing. You already know who will use your product. Combine your marketing, PR and human resources capabilities to create the perfect timing for your go-live. Usually breakthrough technologies take a lot of time to implement due to complexity and unforeseen aspects – plan attentively and don’t let timing kill your project.

2.Implement globally only after testing locally

Some of us might remember the mathematical induction theory – you don’t have to go that way for a successful project. Yet, your project will be in a better shape if you invest in some proof of concepts. You would get a good reality check in this way.

‍3.Check out your target users

To successfully lead change through technology you should identify those early adopters for your innovation and raise awareness about your plans among them. Make sure you don’t forget to get all your main stakeholders ready for the launch of your project – it is essential for their starting using it. Beware those highly aversive to change in leading positions – they should be aboard before the go-live of your product.

4.Implement a consistent, comprehensive and trendy learning program / Engage your target users

If it is a breakthrough in operations, you also need to address the changing behaviours aspect. The power of habit is very high, and it takes patience and time to fight it. According to Charles Duhigg we can accomplish this by keeping the cues that lead to the habit and the reward it leads to. You can always base your strategy on the “21 days repeat an action to form a new habit “ myth, but should you let your hundreds or millions invested in the hands of a myth?

Our advice is to invest wisely in a training program adjusted to the profiles of the users. Just sending a user guide is not enough to get your product used. People need to know how to use technology to their advantage and most importantly, the why behind any initiative. For example, they should really understand why they should let go their procedures which involve a lot of excels shared among process actors and exchange it with an app which optimises the process to one click.

Checklist for your training program:

• ‍Channel: set up a resource platform that is easy to access, filtrable, with a clear structure, where people can easily find the information relevant to them in their roles and daily responsibilities.

• Diversify the format: people are different, hence they learn in various ways. Don’t rely on a single type of learning resource. Blend written materials with tutorials, videos, webinars and face-to-face trainings. Take every opportunity to make an internal demo of your product and bring it to the real work reality. Bring your project to life! Avoid long online training sessions. Keep them brief and relevant! Important – If you want to implement the newest technology make sure you identify and implement the most trendy learning tool possible.
• Structure your learning materials accordingly. Some users will need only basic knowledge (what I must know in order to use the technology). Others will need to use it in an advanced manner. And other will need customised knowledge. Address them all!
• Quality: Make sure you offer state-of-the-art materials otherwise your product won’t be taken seriously
• Link with reality: Make sure your training materials are linked with real workflows and they are relevant to the work performed by the users being trained.

5.Celebrate success

Everybody agrees that any great implementation should be celebrated. Celebrate with all your users and followers all small successes of the implementation of your project after go-live. Keep a close track of the status of implementation and share all small victories. They will keep your users and followers engaged in your project.

6.Constant reality check

We all know that we don’t just implement a technology project and we forget about it. We need to constantly monitor implementation and relevance to the day-to-day jobs. You will also want to prioritise features and the day-to-day workflow impact should drive the priorities.

Continuously adapt your product to match reality. Also, don’t be reluctant to survey your users and face their reactions. Win with your users not against them!

7.Choose wisely your software partner

Either internal or external, make sure you speak the same language in terms of values, interests and project engagement with those who will implement your project – you need a versatile and engaged partner to support your project all the way.

All in all, driving change through technology is no easy task and in order for everybody to benefit from breakthroughs the organisation should work for, with and through the main stakeholders of the project! The future is now, open your mind and hart and embrace change!

What were your challenges in driving change through technology in your organisation? Let’s talk about your software challenges!

‍