Being back in the software industry for 6 months after a 5 year hiatus, I have, no doubt, noticed changes in software platforms and development environments. Even with the positive changes and advancements within the technology industry, there is one process that has unfortunately remained the same: software adoption. From my experiences in deploying software, there are some key best practices to follow with regards to software adoption, to ensure a smooth transition for stakeholders and business operations alike:
- Prepare for change: With any new software deployment comes a change in one’s organization. Proper assessment and planning of impacted stakeholders is a good start to software deployment, including training, documentation, changes to organizational structure, and changes to internal/external processes.
- Ensure exec buy-in: Change in any organization will not be accepted without an executive champion who has the vision to drive the desired change. Executives have enough influence to drive adoption, and consistency in having this executive support is crucial for long-term employee buy-in.
- Educate new and existing employees: Companies will spend a good portion of their implementation budget to train employees on new software initiatives, but employee turnover reduces the software knowledge pool. To maintain a consistent pool of software experts, companies must adequately budget for new hire training and invest in re-training existing employees. This investment promotes software best practices and encourages peer-to-peer training between employees.
- Document adequately: Properly documenting the business, technical, and procedural justifications around a software deployment brings wider visibility of upcoming changes, and outlines accountability and timelines. Proper documentation also assists in training initiatives and executive sponsorship.
Best practices for software adoption starts from the top-down; executives need to drive and communicate the business value of software within their organization, and recognize the importance of investing into training new and existing employees.
As change is inevitable with adoption, the channels of communication must be consistently open so as to prepare and encourage all stakeholders to embrace this impending change. Change, after all, is much more accepted when people see it coming. With executive reinforcement, the process of adoption occurs much more smoothly, and ensures that software projects refrain from being put on the shelf.
