{"id":19874,"date":"2019-04-11T10:00:13","date_gmt":"2019-04-11T17:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jamasoftware.com\/?p=19874"},"modified":"2025-04-18T14:11:11","modified_gmt":"2025-04-18T21:11:11","slug":"why-your-rollout-strategy-must-put-people-first","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jamasoftware.com\/legacy\/blog\/2019\/04\/11\/why-your-rollout-strategy-must-put-people-first\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Your Rollout Strategy Must Put People First"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"deploying<\/p>\n

At a conference I attended\u00a0<\/span>recently<\/span>, I listened to teams<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>discuss the challenges they faced in deploying software in their organizations. The consensus was that<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>the software is easy<\/span>;<\/span> the people are hard.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>That is to say,\u00a0<\/span>getting\u00a0up to speed with\u00a0<\/span>a new<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>software<\/span>\u00a0solution\u00a0<\/span>itself\u00a0<\/span>is relatively easy compared to<\/span>\u00a0getting people to change their behavior<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>and<\/span>\u00a0successfully adopt new software<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

ROI<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/b>R<\/span><\/b>equires that\u00a0<\/span><\/b>Teams<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/b>Actually Us<\/span><\/b>e the\u00a0<\/span><\/b>S<\/span><\/b>olution\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

One of the speakers said something that really stuck with me.\u00a0<\/span>This person<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>said, \u201cThere is no return on investment without adoption, and there is no adoption without user acceptance.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>And while that may seem obvious,\u00a0<\/span>many times the\u00a0<\/span>end\u00a0<\/span>user of the software is forgotten<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0Other priorities \u2014\u00a0<\/span>like budget, schedule<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0and various agendas<\/span>\u00a0\u2014<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>put a lot of pressure on the deployment plan<\/span>. T<\/span>he human\u00a0<\/span>aspect<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>as important as it is, gets lost.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Gaining Acceptance Later<\/span><\/b>\u00a0in the Implementation\u00a0<\/span><\/b>Will Cost You<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

When implementing a new\u00a0<\/span>solution,<\/span>\u00a0it\u2019s imperative<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>that you get your team<\/span>\u00a0on board from the get-go<\/span>\u00a0\u2013\u202fand not just for the purpose of keeping\u00a0<\/span>them<\/span>\u00a0happy<\/span>. Just\u00a0<\/span>as it\u2019s<\/span>\u00a0more costly to identify inaccurate requirements late in the product delivery lifecycle, the same principle holds true for user acceptance.\u00a0<\/span>R<\/span>esistance\u00a0<\/span>from users\u00a0<\/span>identified late is always going to be more costly than\u00a0<\/span>adoption issues<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>identified and addressed early.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While implement<\/span>ing<\/span>\u00a0a new solution\u00a0<\/span>may be a top<\/span>–<\/span>down decision, it\u2019s important to remember that the users are the ones who will need to adapt to the change.\u00a0<\/span>The primary impacted stakeholders<\/span>\u00a0(i.e. the end<\/span>–<\/span>users)\u00a0<\/span>will be more receptive\u202fto a major change if\u202fthey are\u202fparticipating\u202fin the process, rather than\u202fbeing told that they\u202fmust adopt a new tool.\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Change is difficult, and without a full understanding of the benefits of<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>a new solution,\u202fteams\u202fmay feel frustrated or resistant. One way to preemptively combat resistance is by identifying long- and short-term goals for each\u202f<\/span>team\u00a0<\/span>member and<\/span>\u00a0encourag<\/span>ing<\/span>\u00a0users to be involved in the\u00a0<\/span>implementation process.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Key to User Adoption is People <\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Having worked\u00a0<\/span>in professional services<\/span>\u00a0for over a\u00a0<\/span>decade,<\/span>\u00a0I have come to see just how valuable it is to understand the people side of deployment<\/span>s<\/span>. In my years as a business\u00a0<\/span>analyst<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0I\u2019ve seen from the inside just how difficult it can be to get people on board with\u00a0<\/span>new\u00a0<\/span>solutions, particularly those that also come with process changes, and\u00a0<\/span>how\u00a0<\/span>to make those changes stick.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

My interest in this topic goes even deeper. A few years\u00a0<\/span>ago,<\/span>\u00a0I completed a\u00a0<\/span>m<\/span>aster\u2019s<\/span>\u00a0program<\/span>\u00a0in\u00a0<\/span>p<\/span>sychology<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>where<\/span>\u00a0I\u00a0<\/span>studied human<\/span>\u00a0behavior and why people do or do not change. I\u2019ve found\u00a0<\/span>that\u00a0<\/span>what I learned\u00a0<\/span>during my study of psychology\u00a0<\/span>has translated quite well to the consulting world.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In this post I won\u2019t\u00a0<\/span>be able to\u00a0<\/span>outline the perfect adoption plan for your organization; this would be futile as no two companies have the same needs or challenges. But I will discuss the approach we recommend when planning for a solution rollout that maximizes adoption.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If You\u2019re Taking a Trip, Bring the Whole Team Along<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

\u00a0<\/span>I\u2019m going to start with an analogy<\/span>:\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s say you\u2019ve pretty much determined that everyone on your team could benefit from a vacation<\/span>. Y<\/span>ou\u2019ve even heard people say so. You\u2019ve had some good conversations about what people want and need, and with that knowledge you pick out a destination that\u2019s going to recharge everyone.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Next, you\u00a0have to\u00a0figure out what kind of transportation you\u2019re going to use\u00a0<\/span>to get everyone to the identified location<\/span>. You\u2019ve gone\u00a0<\/span>online and<\/span>\u00a0talked to some other<\/span>s<\/span>\u00a0about what kind of vehicle works best for teams like yours.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0with the information you have<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0you go ahead and buy the perfect car for this trip. It has all the things you need<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In case you haven\u2019t figured out how the pieces of my analogy fit into the\u00a0<\/span>rollout of a new solution, here it is:\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n