ACCELERATE PERFORMANCE, ENHANCE ADOPTION

Software Implementation Challenges and Solutions

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ACCELERATE PERFORMANCE, ENHANCE ADOPTION

Software Implementation Challenges and Solutions

Introduction
New technology is bought and new processes are developed. The benefits are realized only when people are willing and able to use them. Elliot Masie, president of the MASIE Center 1 Learning & Technology Think Tank , once said that it is relatively easy to change your technology or to create new business processes, but that the difficult part in any change initiative is the people. **Changing peoples attitudes and behaviours is the greatest challenge in implementing new software systems, and one that can be easily overlooked.** Not following through on the human component of software implementation can result in increased costs and reduced productivity through sub-optimal performance, more errors and longer implementation times. The greatest cost however can be the failure of the organization to implement the technology at all.

What is the Challenge?

According to industry research, the number of software licenses sold in the US that remain 2 unused is staggering. Gartner Research & Advisory Services reports that up to 42% of CRM (Customer Relationship Management) licenses purchased have yet to be installed. Shelfware, the term coined to describe these unused licenses, can often be a result of an organisations failure to overcome the challenge of managing the change required by the new technologys implementation. Shelfware rate for the top ten online analytical processing software packages averages 39 percentand runs as high as 62 percent. 2003 Gartner, Inc. Although new technology may offer a clear return on investment, employees can resist adapting to the changes the technology requires. If the software interface is not intuitive, or insufficient time was spent on communicating the new processes and software functions to employees, the implementation and adoption of the new technology is in jeopardy. To ensure that change is accepted, peoples attitudes and behaviours need to be influenced. One way to ensure the actual use of an application is to ensure everyone has the necessary skills. Having the needed skills directly influences the successful adoption of the application. Buyers want to show tighter links between their employee development investments and bottom line results. Michael Brennan, Program Manager for Corporate 3 Learning and Performance Research at IDC

1 2

http://www.masie.com http://www.gartner.com 3 http://www.idc.com

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First, a generalization can be made that the more complex the software, the longer it takes to implement. Any company having survived an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) implementation can attest to this. The change management required for an ERP implementation is a major effort and represents a significant portion of the project costs. The same is true to a lesser degree for smaller software systems. Implementation takes away from the real work to be done, like making sales. So what can be done to increase the success of an implementation as well as the adoption of the application?

Currently Installed Software Systems

For existing software, start with a systematic, diagnostic approach. Look at all the probable causes of inadequate performance regarding the software. Before making assumptions, the following factors need to be addressed: Is this lack of performance important? If not, focus on more important tasks. Do the workers have the right tools (manuals, job aids, hardware) to use the system? Having the right tools on the job can reduce training time and costs significantly. Are there any consequences for not using the system correctly? Without consequences for poor performance, the value of performing correctly is diminished. These factors should be addressed first, before investing in any new training, education, or development programs. Sometimes it is difficult to see the forest for the trees. Here is where an objective, third party view can be valuable.

New Software Systems

For new software systems, workers may lack the relevant skills and abilities, but these are yet undetermined. However, research into common implementation issues can be conducted and communication with users of the software can be initiated. From this research come the main performance objectives in using the software. This can be translated into learning objectives on the unique vocabulary, concepts and procedures required for this specific software program. This does not negate the need for manuals, job aids, tutors or other support mechanisms. It provides an idea of what kind of just-in-case training is necessary to mitigate the risk of poor performance during implementation.

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Overcoming Implementation Issues

It is highly unlikely, according to industry statistics, that the implementation will occur without obstacles. Remember that changing the way people work and behave can be challenging. There can be resistance for a variety of reasons. Conducting a Performance Analysis highlights the problem areas. Creating a training program that is available anywhere and anytime gives the flexibility required. If the training plan is composed of a single session prior to the software use, learners may forget how to do tasks before they have a chance to practise them. The anytime, anywhere capabilities of eLearning can make a training program more effective. Employees can take the modules that they need, and practise until mastery is achieved. It is up to management to remove barriers to performance. Performance Analysis shows what the barriers are: rewards, consequences, tools or workflow. With the barriers to performance removed, and the program to develop skills in place, performance can be accelerated. There is the potential for sub-optimal performance to be costly over the course of a year. The anywhere, anytime capability of eLearning will give you a powerful tool to address performance deficiencies as they are identified. This eliminates the potential loss of one to two hours per employee in re-learning essential software tasks.

When Training is the Answer

Training is a key component in accelerating performance. The aim is to develop software application skills in a shorter period and reduce errors when using the software. Once the critical areas requiring skill development are identified, training is used where it works best to develop skills and abilities through practise and feedback. With software systems, a few of the typical application-specific tasks are: Classify a group of concepts Solve problems using a process Complete a procedure Evaluate based on a principle

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Once the tasks required to master the software application are determined, the next step, which is absolutely necessary, is often overlooked in training and eLearning programs. To achieve competence in a skill, an individual must practise it and then receive feedback on the performance. This helps improve both skills and abilities. In the case of a software-related procedure, a list of the steps can be presented on the screen, with a printer friendly version for reference. Then the procedure can be demonstrated in an animated fashion, highlighting decision points and challenges. The critical step is next the individual must perform the procedure. This can be achieved using various simulation tools that allow for feedback based on user actions. These simulations provide the necessary feedback to learn how to perform the procedure. The concept is simple. However, it requires a well-defined process and quality control to develop these simulations. Without the practise-feedback loop, all of the information presentation in a training program will not produce a measurable skill. Information presentation does not equal skill acquisition.

Source: http://www.cofc.edu/bellsandwhistles/research/rentionmodel.html

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Implementing an Intelera Solution

Implementing a new software application requires new levels of individual performance. This performance is achieved through the development of skills and abilities. The only way to develop a new skill is through practise. This practise can be focused and accelerated through a welldesigned instructional program that includes the right mix of practise and feedback. This is how an Intelera training module results in decreased time to performance as well as increased skill competence. As previously mentioned, any software training program consists of mastering a certain mixture of vocabulary (new terms and what they mean), concepts (how things actually work) and procedures (how to do something). In the case of a software application, there are certain concepts and procedures that are more difficult than others. It is necessary to talk with instructors to know which ones are the most difficult to teach, to talk with learners to know which ones gave them the most pain and to talk with seasoned users of the software to know which concepts and procedures still give them problems. How can a program be developed that will overcome the software-related performance problems? First, determine by observation and discussion, the concepts and procedures that are the most difficult. These are likely to be less than 20% of a typical training program, but they can be the cause of up to 80% of the problems. The focus of the training effort is on this 20%. By creating interactive learning exercises that maximize the use of animation, visualisation and multiple representations, learning is accelerated. By focusing on the key problem areas, a training program on all of the subject matter is not necessary. The areas that provide the best return on investment are addressed, because not everyone can be trained for every eventuality without spending a lot of time and money. Besides, much will be forgotten before they need to use it. Once developed, these learning exercises have to be made available. A learning content management system ensures centralized content control and decentralized learner access. The learning programs are housed on a central server and employees can have access via the web 24 hours a day.

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The Intelera Process

A systematic approach is followed in the performance intervention design. 1. Determine the problem areas from the employees perspective, by talking with new users, seasoned veterans, instructors and sales representatives. They can articulate where the real difficulties are. Do not rely on information solely from managers or executives, as they are usually too far removed from the daily issues. 2. Conduct a Performance Analysis to correlate these problem areas with the business needs, because not all problems are worth the effort to solve. Also, identify barriers to implementation. 3. Select the high value concepts and procedures for training, as these are the most often used, and that most difficult to master. Optimize the medium to show concepts using graphical representations that clarify complex relationships. The value is in reducing the time to proficiency, or in increasing the level of performance (e.g., reducing errors). 4. Add a glossary explaining new vocabulary. This is an easy-to-develop adjunct to the training solution. The glossary can include user definitions, in the words of the users, not just the developer. 5. Develop multimedia training modules, based on sound instructional principles. This is the essential component of the eLearning program: provide opportunities to practise the procedures and provide feedback. 6. Measure either the delta in performance for current installed software systems or the decreased time to performance for newly installed software systems, based on the performance objectives of using the software. 7. Make these available as needed to anyone, anytime, anywhere. The Internet is a wonderful medium for delivering instructional programs from one location to many. Updates are easy to make, and additional modules can be developed as needed, and added to the program.

The Return on Investment

By comparing the total cost of implementation with the desired results, the value of a performance program focused on the employees real skills needs can be determined. How the return on investment is measured depends on what is deemed important to the company. It may be increased sales, increased productivity, decreased error rates or other tangible measures. On the other hand, the performance intervention can be used to gain something intangible like promoting change, creating a community of practice or building teams.

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Performance can move from this picture

Average Performance
Learn on the job. Make mistakes, learn from mistakes Try again until TARGET performance reached. Performance

PERFORMANCE GAP

TARGET
(Expert Competence)

PREPARE FOR WORK

CONDUCT WORK
Time (Day 1)

to this picture

Accelerated Performance
Better preparation before & on-job. Make mistakes in a safe context. Reflect; build new models; adapt. Share experiences through organisational learning. Performance COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

TARGET
(Expert Competence)

PREPARE FOR WORK

CONDUCT WORK
Time (Day 1)

OPPORTUNITY to Lift the Curve

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The Intelera Solution

To accelerate performance, you need to identify the barriers to performance and then remove them. This clears the deck for a focus on developing the skills and abilities needed for your software application. These skills are best developed in a structured program that provides opportunities for practise and constructive feedback. Making this program available anytime and anywhere gives you a powerful tool to accelerate speed to implementation, and allows you to concentrate on your business. Analysing the business and performance requirements requires due diligence, but will pay dividends in focusing performance improvement efforts where they really matter the bottom line. There needs to be a clear focus on the performance outcome, not the content or the training. Do not ask, "How can we put our content online?". Ask instead, "How can technology be used to create an experience that will help someone change so he or she can do a specific task better?" To accelerate performance, the barriers to performance need to be identified and removed. A performance-oriented approach focuses on developing the skills and abilities needed for the software application. Intelera training modules provide a structured program allowing for practise and constructive feedback. Given the right focus, on the right tasks, and using the right tools, people can perform better, which will have a direct result on the bottom line.

Intelera's management and design teams have extensive experience designing, developing and implementing our proven training modules for software application vendors who want to close the knowledge gap. Through strong relationships, commercial innovation and proven eLearning solutions, we drive real and long-term cost reductions, performance improvements and new ways of working tailored to each client. Intelera brings together a collection of dynamic people with complementary skills and experience. This multi-disciplinary team ensures that all parts and components of the learning technology mix are represented in our endeavours and works in harmony in a consistent direction. The Intelera team includes programmers, instructional designers, business development officers, educational consultants, technical support, customer training specialist and visual artists.

www.intelera.com 236 St. George Street Suite 110 Moncton, NB E1C 1W1 Canada T: 506-388-8000 Toll Free: 866-625-5000 F: 506-388-8007 info@intelera.com