Through the implementation of new software, a business, can automate processes, increase productivity, and cause an increase in sales. It is important to stay in control during the on-boarding phase and know the product, and how it is used. In order to have a successful software implementation, implementation failures can be prevented by having preparations prior to beginning. In this article, we will show the top 5 most common causes for software implementation failures.
Incorrect Data Transfer
During the process of transferring data on to the new software, in most cases, the software has already pre-written scripts. These scripts would just require the customer to fill in the data manually. In these cases, it is crucial to fill in the data in a format that will be reliable and correct. That way, the other users of the software will not have issues with data showing up in the incorrect location. The reason that data would make its way to the incorrect location is due to an incorrect data endpoint. There are cases where people do not want to spend time cleaning up the data before the transfer. This is because there could be many instances of the same information in different locations that will be transferred. This bad habit can lead to the data being messy and not being able to get the most out of the new software.
Low Usage of New Software
Now that on-boarding has been successful, the costumer might notice users not taking advantage of the added features. As well as, not getting the as much out of the software as they might have hoped to. This is because the new requirements requested by the users does not fill in exactly what they were looking for. This miscommunication is due to lack of requirements. To avoid this, it is important to doing careful research on how a feature will be beneficial to a business. In addition to, interviewing users on how the feature can help business and what they need that feature for. By having the exact requirements, it will most often be more cost effective.
Underestimating the Learning Curve
While on-boarding a new customer to use the software, the person in command to help on-board the new customer has to take into account how long it took them to learn how to use the software for themselves and if the customer has used similar products in the past to ease the transition. If the customer has used similar products, it will make it easier to make references on how to use each of the different features of the software. It is good to follow up with the customer and provide the benefits on how their business can improve with the use of each feature. There will be an increase of usage with the more support provided.
Unclear Requirements
It is important to state ALL of the requirements prior to helping implement a new software. By not stating all of the requirements, there will come a time during implementation that will catch the customer by surprise. With unexpected problems, it can often delay the process of implementing a software, especially if there is no immediate solution available to the problem. To fix this, prior to the implementation process, it is a good habit to detailed views of all of the requirements through each step and that the customer clearly knows these requirements. The requirements should not overwhelm the customer or else there are clear issues with the software. It is good to keep in mind that software on-boarding has multiple stages. Divide the information into easily understandable steps.
Not Looking At All Possibilities
A poor way to look at all the possibilities before deciding which software the customer will want to implement is to have the mentality of “Cheap is Best!”. With price, always look for the features that come at that price and the level of flexibility. The customer should always rely on the feedback from the users that will be using the software because most of the usage will come from them. This gives a bigger look on how to go on forward.