When a company adopts a new software project, it relinquishes some control over the final outcome. This article lists six best practices for adopting a new program in your company. It’s not the end of the world if you have to adopt software, especially if the software is a critical piece of your business operations. For e.g, Dynamics 365 is a critical software for business processes and therefore, Dynamics 365 digital adoption is of immense importance.
But adopting a new program comes with its own set of challenges that should be addressed from the outset.
Define your Requirements First
First, define your requirements for the software you’re planning to adopt. This is the bedrock of the success of your adoption process.
If the requirements don’t exist, you won’t know what features or functionality you’ll need. You might end up creating a software that does nothing but execute reports for your executives, or something that does nothing but export data.
Define your requirements and make sure that they align with your business’s strategic goals. This is the foundation for a successful adoption.
Assign Business value to Early Adopters
As is the case with any new initiative, you will have early adopters. These are individuals who are willing to test the software out and provide feedback on it.
The more early adopters you have, the more valuable they are. You may want to offer a discount on your product to incentivize early adopters to provide you with their honest feedback. This is particularly important if the product is a new technology.
Most new technologies are only applicable to a small percentage of your customers at first. So, you’re likely to get a lot of feedback from very early users. Give these early users the ability to see you try out the software so they can give you honest feedback.
Be Transparent about your Decision- making Process
When deciding whether or not to adopt a new software, you’ll want to be as open and transparent as possible about your decision-making process. This will help to avoid any misunderstandings or miscommunications that might arise from a mysterious decision to adopt a new product. It will also allow you to gain the buy-in of key stakeholders who might be opposed to the change.
If you have a program that is adoption-proof, you could always add an option to defer the adoption of new features until a later date. This way, you won’t be locked into a schedule where you might not be able to add new features. But it’s not a good idea to add this deferral option later in the life of the software, after the software has been in production for a while.
The last thing you want is to defer the adoption of new functionality and then find out later that your business isn’t ready to adopt it yet.
Ditch the Waterfall Development model
Waterfall-based development models involve planning the development of your software throughout the entire life cycle of the software. When a business acquires new software, it is expected to follow the waterfall model. This means that the acquirer will plan the entire software life cycle, from requirements definition to implementation.
In this model, the acquirer plays the role of both engineer and business manager. If the acquirer experiences technical challenges in the implementation phase, the engineering team will be called in to assist. In the early stages of a new program, you might be able to adopt a different model that involves iterative development.
This is the model you’ll probably use once your team is more experienced and the features you’re targeting are relatively simple to add. The iterative model involves adding functionality one feature at a time, rather than implementing a full-blown software development life cycle.
Find your People First
You don’t have to find the perfect person to become an employee of your company. But you do have to find the right person to become a part of your team. You want to find people who are a perfect match for your team culture and your company values. If you need to find a new employee, it’s important to understand why they are a good fit.
To find the right person, look at the people whose jobs they are likely to fill. Do they match the values, mission, and goals of your company? If they don’t, the search ends there. You don’t need to cast a wide net to find the right person. In fact, you might be missing out on a lot of great talent if you’re not looking in the right places.
Plan for Failure and Change Management
Product failure is one of the most common reasons for adoption to fail. When people try out a new program, they may not understand how the technology works or what steps are necessary to complete a task. When they encounter a problem, they’re often quick to point it out to the entire organization, but they don’t know how to go about fixing it.
You need to plan for failure and change management. This is the practice of identifying and addressing potential issues before they cause problems. This is necessary not only for successful adoption, but for the long-term health of your company. If you plan for failure and change management, you’re less likely to experience problems that you can’t overcome.
Bottom Line
Adopting a new software doesn’t have to be a scary or time-consuming process. There are a lot of proven best practices for adoption that can help you get up to speed quickly and ensure that your adoption process runs as smoothly as possible.
