No system is going to be successful if the end users reject it, that’s self-evident. But how do you make sure that it’s as much their baby as yours?
Part of my analysis process is to test out the TRUTHs, POLICYs, LAWs and WISHes that I discover, by running them past as many interested parties as possible. Of course, not everyone gets to make decisions, but input is important. You will discover all sorts of things that maybe no-one had thought to mention and you may be told lots of things that will not longer be a TRUTH in the new system, or POLICYs that will no longer apply. Do not dismiss these. Your users will have been doing this job for a long time and have a great deal of experience that you do not. I add a caveat here – always always always ask the reason for the answers you receive. You cannot expect to be able to evaluate the input if you cannot see why you have been told something. After all, people often believe things that are not true.
Part of the importance of working with end users on this process is to discover what they hold dear and how you can map that onto the new world with minimum discomfort. Humans are wired to hold onto things they already have or know. This is a survival instinct. The fear of loss is greater than the expectation of gain, and the longer the thing has been owned, the harder it is to conceive of letting go. Once you know this, you can start to work around it.
The fact is, businesses need to change to remain viable. But what you have to do is be subtle about it. Investing the time to involve the end users softens the blow of the loss of the old way, by allowing them to feel ownership of the new way. If you can get them excited about all the shiny new stuff that will be available, and how much better things will be, and importantly – how you are taking their ideas on board and letting them shape things that will affect them – the easier the separation from the old system will be.
This has the added benefit that you will have a cohort of evangelists ready to spread the word about the great things that are coming, and to help their team members adjust. Training will also be easier, as your evangelists know the new way almost as well as you do.
Go on, talk to your users, what have you got to lose?
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