The adoption of new software can be a scary process. So much new data is being generated and shared that it’s easy to get overwhelmed. That’s why it’s important to adopt new software in small steps. We recommend starting with the most basic practices and working our way up. This involves adopting one piece of software at a time and testing it in small, simple scenarios before moving on to another piece of software. For example, if you want your customers to improve adoption rates for Dynamics 365. Then, you can first role out D365 training material and then move onto other steps.
If you adopt new software in large steps, you may find yourself rushed from one change to the next, which could cause stress and increase your risk of making mistakes. Small changes one at a time will keep you more focused on the goal—using the new software efficiently, not just buying it blindly.
Determine What’s Most Important to You
Before you sign on the dotted line, make sure you understand what’s most important to your company or organization. This will help you focus your energy on the most important aspects of adoption. You want to make sure that you are addressing the most critical needs of your team and your organization as a whole. What are the top three items on your organizational need-to-have list?
Set Up a Screener
After you’ve determined what’s most important to your team or organization, you can start the screener process to determine which software will be best for your team or organization. Find a screener that meets your organization’s needs. Ideally, it should be user-friendly, easy to integrate with existing systems, and have a good return on investment (ROI). You can use software such as Screener converts that allow you to scan platforms and determine which are right for your organization.
Create a Use Case
After you select a screener, the next step is to create a use case to help the screener understand your organization’s needs. A use case is a detailed description of how your organization wants to use the software. What types of processes do you want to add? What is the key aspect of your current process that you want to abstract away so your team can focus on the important parts of adoption? For example, you might want to create a use case for adding a new process to your company. What process should your team add—and why? What may that process produce? How will it impact the rest of the company?
Make Sure It’s Easy to Use
After you’ve identified what aspects of adoption are the most important to your team or organization, you can start the easy-to-use testing process. Not only will this test the technical aspects of the software, it will also let you ensure that your team understands how the software integrates with existing systems. Easy-to-use testing doesn’t mean lightweight. It means testing that is focused on the core functionality of the software and its ease of use. Depending on the application, you may want to create test cases that cover every possible scenario. These might be too time-consuming and overwhelming for the average team to complete.
Test It to Ensure You Understand the Problem
After you’ve microed the easy-to-use and easy-to-understand aspect of the software, you can turn your attention back to your existing processes to see if you understand the new functionality well enough to integrate it appropriately. You can use the test results to guide your decision on which new component of the software to add next.
Find the Right Software for the Job and the Company
Once you’ve integrated the new functionality, you can start looking for a partner or vendor to help you evaluate the new software. There are many different types of evaluation, including test, performance, and sales. Generally, you want to use a vendor or partner that you’ve worked with in the past and has proven to be reliable. Ideally, they will be working on the same platform as you are, meaning they’re already familiar with your company’s needs.
Bottom Line
Don’t make rash decisions based on excitement or pressure from your team or organization. Adopt small steps, testing each new concept in your own environment before moving on to the next. This way, you’ll be able to more thoroughly understand the new software and make confident decisions on which features to adopt.
