Technology has evolved and continues to change the way we do business. More and more, choosing the right technology is key to ensuring that your business stays competitive for years to come. Software that can be adjusted to accommodate new business needs as you grow and new products that can be implemented with minimal fuss save both time and money.
Create a project team and outline key problems
In every software implementation, success should be clearly defined by the implementation team. A major part of this definition should be determining which elements are “in scope” vs. “out of scope” for the project. The groundwork you do before moving forward with purchasing and implementing new technology can make or break your end results.
Include representatives from each business unit and ask for feedback from end-users. By building a diverse group of stakeholders, you can gain valuable insights and increase employee buy-in and user adoption
Identify and follow your North Star
Identify your primary focus, your “North Star,” and keep it in sight throughout the project implementation. When you keep your eyes on the prize, you can better evaluate scope, timelines, and dependencies without letting other distractions get in the way.
The point is to keep the reason you’re doing this front and center of your (and your team’s) mind. If your primary focus is to automate your commission system then that’s what you should be working towards. Even if the new system has many other exciting tools that can be beneficial to your company, don’t be distracted by them! Focus on the goal you set out to achieve and find the right tools for the job.
Empower your team
Empowering your team to make decisions without going through layers of red tape saves time and builds team cohesion quickly. Members of the team will learn to trust and depend on each other, which will pay off long after the project is complete. An empowered team also feels a sense of ownership, which means they’ll go above and beyond to ensure the project is successful.
Have the right mindset
After speaking with people who manage large enterprise implementations, I noticed a common thread in each conversation. Although many organizations embrace the idea of automating their processes, they still cling to the old way of doing things. Trying to retrofit your old processes into a new system is one of the quickest roads to disaster. Instead, make sure everyone involved comes to the table with a forward-thinking mindset and looks at how to do things in the way that will benefit the end-user even if it means tossing out some of the “way we’ve always done it” nostalgia.
Adopt agile methodology
Using a “minimum viable product” or MVP approach to your implementation means that you start with the core features your users need and save the frills for later. You can then build out more functionality in increments, user-testing them one at a time so you’re not overwhelmed by large numbers of issues. Instead, this process allows you to identify issues early on and in the most important parts of your system, fix them, and then move on to do the same with additional features and functions.
User acceptance testing
Encourage your vendor to foster a team atmosphere that encourages transparency, trust, and visibility. Involve some of your end-users in the implementation process as much as possible and solicit their feedback throughout. The benefits of this approach include:
- It encourages user buy-in when the project goes live
- It gives you product evangelists who can share positive information about the benefits of the solution
- It uncovers bugs that can be fixed before the software is live
During the user acceptance testing (UAT) phase, your users should have a checklist of must-have items they need to be fully functional for day-to-day operations before go-live. This will minimize issues left to fix once the software is live. If your vendor offers automation testing take advantage of it as well.
Conclusion
While we can’t guarantee your implementation will be free of any snags, you can help ensure it runs as smoothly as possible by keeping your goals in sight, empowering your team to make decisions, embracing a change mindset, and allowing your users to have a hand in the process.