The CIO’s Guide to Ensuring Successful Software Adoption
As a CIO, you are responsible for more than ever before. You must be IT-literate, strategic, and enterprise and people-focused. Deloitte’s Tech Trends 2017 report calls for CIOs to run IT “faster and more agile, be more responsive to the business, and, critically, work not just to enable but to help shape the organisation’s broader strategy.”
The report says CIOs must also “help streamline their development processes by coming up with fresh approaches to testing, releasing and monitoring newly deployed solutions”.
Considering this, software adoption is much more complex than it might appear.
Challenges to Software Adoption
So, what hurdles will you face when you bring in new software? And how can you ensure successful software adoption among a workforce that expects everything to ‘just work’?
Let’s start with the hurdles. Analyst firm Gartner says the success rate of IT projects is still low. This is because projects are too complex, with not enough accountability for their success. With each failure more governance is added, making them more complex.
End users fear change. They are concerned that new software will be hard to use, having found their way around the existing systems. Or they think it won’t work as well as the current IT. They may also fear that change could one day make their role redundant. Addressing and clearing these hurdles is vital.
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How to Drive Digital Adoption
While some fear change, we are going through a revolution in working patterns. The line between work and personal lives has blurred. Systems must be simple and mobile to enable that shift.
As CIO, you must stress that the new software will work seamlessly, and offer at least the same usability staff are used to. It’s also vital to explain why new software is being adopted, and its importance to the business.
Training people to use the new system is important, but a one-size-fits-all approach won’t work. This is why Digital Adoption Platforms (DAPs) are now replacing face-to-face presentations.
These platforms are ‘always on’, and their contextual setup drives users to both the right action and guidance when needed. With pop-up advice bubbles available on request and instructional, step-by-step guidance, DAPs are the best way to ensure people adapt to your software change.
Software Adoption Made Easy
Consider easy and intuitive tools that help team members learn as they work. Find out how WalkMe’s DAP can be a valuable resource to help make your IT implementation a success.