Implementing software should be easy right? I mean, that’s why you bought it in the first place instead of building it yourself. Software implementation can be easy, but there are 5 things that, when overlooked, can make things pretty difficult and turn your implementation from a wild success to just meh.
Nailing Down Your Requirements
What it is
“Requirements” is a term used to define exactly what it is that you want. There’s a whole career built off of being able to tease out exactly what it is that a client wants. Generally, the people who do this are called business analysts. A good business analyst has perfected the art of questioning so that before implementation begins, it’s absolutely clear what the client wants.
Why it’s important
Proper requirements gathering saves a lot of back-and-forth and potential rework of precious development time.
Internal Landscape Analysis
What it is
An internal landscape analysis is an analysis on what you already have. A lot of time clients want to implement something new and shiny when they’ve already got something that will solve their problem!
Why it’s important
This is something small you can do at the start that can potentially save you a lot of time and money!
An Adoption Plan
What it is
If you build it, they will not come. If you build it and have a solid adoption plan, then they will come. An adoption plan is a plan to increase the usage of your solution. This could be a schedule of e-mails to remind users how great this new solution is, a policy to not allow doing things “the old way,” or a published leaderboard of top users to drive competition.
Why it’s important
Being intentional about getting your users to adopt this new solution guarantees a return on your investment.
A Training Plan
What it is
A training plan is exactly what it sounds like. A plan to train your users. If no one knows how to use it, they won’t. A training plan usually consists of how you will be training the different types of users of your solution.
Why it’s important
Being intentional about getting your users to adopt this new solution guarantees a return on your investment.
A Maintenance Plan
What it is
If you build it, they will not come. If you build it and have a solid adoption plan, then they will come. An adoption plan is a plan to increase the usage of your solution. This could be a schedule of e-mails to remind users how great this new solution is, a policy to not allow doing things “the old way,” or a published leaderboard of top users to drive competition.
Why it’s important
Being intentional about getting your users to adopt this new solution guarantees a return on your investment.