What makes a successful software implementation

Nothing is worse than a rushed implementation! You may find that you have to modify or change your existing processes to fit your new software. Try to keep an open mind and see where you might be able to improve existing processes to match your new software. Not all change is good, but often thing become ingrained through force of habit, and it's useful to take a step back and see where you can improve your existing workflows. Lots of cloud based software services receive periodic updates that add new features or fix existing issues.

Many times these new features are free! Other times, you may want to upgrade your existing plan to take advantage of new features. Implementations can be stressful and a lot of work, but they can also be fun and a time for learning new things and making your life easier.

If you'd like to know how Administrate has helped hundreds of training companies around the world, make sure you get in touch with us today! Bringing new software into your business can be a big decision, so we've made a Business Case for Software Change Template to hopefully make the job a little easier.

This top level template will highlight all the things you need to think about when looking to switch software to help make you make the best decision possible. Login Support.

Organize Your Training Resources. Analyze Training Program Effectiveness. Deliver Exceptional Training. Scale Your Learning Operations. Automate Training Management. Grow Your Training Business. In large organizations, missing these five keys can be devastating which can ultimately cause impacts to schedules, budget overruns, and project failure.

Someone had to obtain the budget to fund a project, so every project has a project sponsor, right? Yes, but not all projects have an engaged project sponsor. Being an engaged project sponsor means more than just providing funds and having a stake in the end result, it means being involved throughout the implementation. This person should make the time to attend project status meetings and understand the project status, risks, and issues. Equally important, the project sponsor has the ability and authority to escalate as needed on behalf of the project.

This way, when the project needs help, the project sponsor has the knowledge, understanding, and authority to act. A product owner may not be as easy to identify as a project sponsor—especially if the project is introducing a new platform and processes—but they are instrumental to the success of a project. Know your plan as you begin implementation. Product managers seek your opinion, executives join you on calls, and perhaps even the CEO or owner will pay you a visit.

However, when you sign the contract, the honeymoon is over. So start thinking of your value to the vendor beyond the licensing fee you pay. Look for opportunities to become visible in your industry. Speak at conferences, write articles, volunteer in professional associations.

As you do, peers can tap you for advice, and your vendor will see the value you bring as a potential reference. Look for opportunities to assist the vendor in designing new product features. Vendors that use best practices will have established product design opportunities for their customers. Participate and bring your best ideas. Let the vendor know what is going on, not just in your company but also in your industry. One of the most difficult questions that comes up early in an implementation is whether you should convert old data from the existing system into the new software.

This can get expensive, so before you let the past dictate the future, articulate the primary business reasons for accessing old data, then decide whether to take on the cost of converting it. There are usually three reasons to retain old data.

The first reason is so you can access historical data for trending analytics. If this is the case, consider placing it into a warehouse or other database where it can be easily accessed for reporting. Because this database will not have to meet all the demands of the new system, you can design it any way you like, with only one set of reporting or analytical requirements in mind.

Second, you may need to access old data for audit purposes. If this is the case, consider how and how often auditors will access it. If the need is infrequent, export the data into a simple stand-alone database where analysts can access it if requested. If the need is more frequent, build some self-service reports over this simple database and allow auditors to run the reports themselves.

Third, you may need to make historical data visible to end users. Again, you can place the data in a simple database and build reports over it. Consider that the data will be accessed less and less over time.

Is the inconvenience of pulling up a report in a separate system less than that of trying to drag a mountain of historical data into a different system and then maintaining it for years as the new system evolves? You may need to access some historical data within the new system. Carefully examine the cases where customers will be accessing that information. Could the need be solved by bringing only a small amount of it into the new system and sending the bulk to another database?

Invariably, you will find that the new system does not do things the same way your old one did. Your customers will often want to build a customization in the new system to make it like the old one. This madness really does happen. However, in the long term, customizations become increasingly expensive and will often prevent you from upgrading. What to do? Challenge business practices. This will help break down barriers to change. You may realize that other methods work better after having used the software for a few months.

The ultimate aim of solution design is to identify which features of your new software can be used just as they are and which aspects will need to be customized to fit the needs of your business and teams. Configuration and Customization. It is now time to install the software and proceed to configure those features that can be used immediately. As a matter of fact, this step should always come first, before defining any processes or rushing to customize any module.

Companies customize the software so that it meets their specific business environment, processes, and needs. So you decide to customize it! Keep in mind that you should only customize processes that make sense for your business. Integration is a critical step within software implementation and it involves migrating data from one system to another. With proper integrations, you can save your team from having to copy data between systems manually. They will thank you for having thought about them!

When developing integrations remember about data synchronization! Do you want to run the integrations in real-time or behind the scenes —which means outside of normal business hours? If accessing updated data is a critical thing for your team, you may want to consider running integrations continuously.