So why do successful IT implementations fail to achieve desired results?

So why do successful IT implementations fail to achieve desired results?

Answer in almost all cases is lack of user adoption.  I know we have heard it before but humans in general are creatures of habit.  Once we are comfortable with a method – no matter how cumbersome it is – we like to stick with it. We build our comfort zone around it and resist any effort to change it.  Your IT team can implement the nirvana system that solves all problems, but it will never gain the desired results if end-users don’t buy into it.  The IT team needs to be both sales and marketing to get it. In reality, most IT projects focus heavily on the “technical” and completely miss the “human factor”.  Oh, and the sales and marketing process doesn’t start at your launch party. Your end users need to be sold on the change before the project is even started.  So put on your marketing and sales hat and get started.

Keep these 5 things in mind before you launch your next IT project:

1. Business Requirements: Business requirements come from business users, not IT. Sounds obvious but not always practiced. Usually the project team in all sincerity tries to address business problems without consulting the business users, involving them too late in the process, way after the technology/tool selection occurs. For a successful implementation, it is important that the users whose pain you are working to resolve are involved in defining the scope of the project.

2. The right tool for the job: A lot of time, the tool or technology is selected before the problem is completely defined.  This is a recipe for disaster. You should not base your business needs around a tool’s capabilities. It should be chosen in response to your business needs. Sometimes- this will lead to a combination of various tools and technologies to get to the right solution.

3. Focus Groups: Once you have good understanding of business requirements and have decided on the technology, don’t try to solve everything at once. A phased approach is best to get buy in. Start with a small  group of end users and walk them through the complete life cycle of the project. Get this group comfortable with the solution and you will now have end-user champions that will serve as an extended team to help promote within the organization.

4. Training and Rollout: Before you open the system for end users, make sure that you have proper training materials and a training schedule in place. Proper training is a must for successful end-user adoption. As I said earlier, people resist abrupt change. Make sure that your new implementation eases into their daily routine. End users will then realize the true value of the system and the problem it solves. Change will gradually occur.

5. BICC: Last but not least, is the implementation of proper processes and procedures. You should think about developing a BICC (Business Intelligence Competency Center). A BICC is comprised of members from both IT and business users. The days of IT producing data and end-users consuming it are gone.  Now with fourth generation reporting tools like Oracle’s OBIEE, your data consumers are self enabled to access the information themselves when needed. This behooves us to make sure that the information that is being accessed is accurate and readily available. The BICC ensures that the right personnel are involved in the development, distribution and consumption of information in your organization.

Of course, there are many more factors involved in making sure the implementation of an IT project is successful, but following the above mentioned best practices will ensure that your IT project will result in a successfully utilized business solution.  Stay tuned for more on this topic!