Lea Remigio

Change scares folks.

Technology scares folks.

A change in technology can cause this reaction:

(that’s a Leaf-Tailed Gecko…he might be friendlier than he appears)

Before constructing a solid project plan with specific incremental milestones, someone must conduct a detailed discovery process. Discovery is a catch-all term for general research and discussions with organizational leaders, management team members and front-line staff during which current workflow processes are documented. Some discovery processes could even include interviews with your board of directors, client representatives, or partner organizations. The discovery process is a critical first step in your software implementation project to determine who the staff members are that may be most reluctant to participate in a positive manner. A good project manager should meet with staff members in every department or operational unit of your organization. She/he should talk to the organizational leaders to determine which people may be the hardest to get on board, then arrange discovery interviews with those people in a non-threatening fashion.

Give people a voice. It may be a disagreeable voice that should only be heard behind closed doors instead of a public forum, but it should still be heard. Often times the foot-draggers  are the very people who raise issues that, once known, can later save time and effort during the project roll-out. Frightened, angry people can bury or become land mines. Make every effort at the beginning of your project to uncover them. For some, just having someone listen to their concerns might be enough to defuse them.

If your organization is particularly change resistant or attached to an old information system that must be replaced, it may be worthwhile to hire a project manager from outside of your organization, such as a consultant or software vendor representative. No software implementation is perfect and all are painful in some way or another. It may be best not to put one of your own staff members into the Agent of Change role.