Implementation Strategies to
Help Improve Systems Rollout
Diana Cox, IT Services
University of California
Center of Excellence for Enterprise Risk
Management Technology
Objective
Provide you with ideas and tools to help
improve user adoption or the implementation
process
About IT Services
• Systemwide development for EH&S and ERM
• Full-Service Agile IT Shop
– Development Teams
• Scrum Master, QA, BA and Developers
– System Administrators
– Communications, Design, eLearning Team
– Service Desk
Experience with Software Implementations
• Deployed 12 systems in 18 month span
systemwide
• Many lessons learned from each system
rollout
• Focused on continuous development,
deployment and improvement
Implementation Basics
• Implementation starts when you begin
developing your application
• No two implementations will ever go the same
• The best built software can fail if proper
attention is not paid to the implementation
• Implementing software requires a close and
complex partnership between IT and the
business users
Top Ten Strategies and Tips for
Smoother Implementations
Counting down from 10…
Engage Users Early and Often
 Do not start a project unless you have a
dedicated Product Owner/Champion
 If a project is truly high priority then the resources
from the business side should reflect this
 Involve stakeholders in weekly reviews and
incorporate some of their feedback into the software
 If involvement declines, get people excited again
Work towards a Common User Experience
 The more similar each module is, the less
there is to relearn
 Efficiencies can be achieved faster
 If you are working on the first of many
modules, plan for the future and start with a
good foundation for the user experience
Provide Flexibility in the Application
 Avoid customizations
 The campuses don’t interpret regulations the
same or follow the same business practices
 i.e. Safety Inspection Tool:
 Can we have a flexible set of inspection questions?
 Can they be inspector based and also let a PI self-inspect?
 Can we inspect by building, floor, or PI?
Training, Training, Training
 Train the administrators first
 Train the Trainer
 Train users
 Make training easy to access and succinct
 Provide many different methods
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Videos
In-person training
Webinars (here they are your friend)
User guides/Cheat sheets
Provide Implementation Kits
 Kits are intended to help the Admins of the
system rollout the system to their customers
 Removes the stress of developing
communication materials
 Includes:
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System access information
Descriptive Infographic
User guides
Promotional fliers
Email Text
Website text
Training documents
Have a Single Point of Contact for Issues
 Customers/clients need to be able to talk to a
person immediately if there is an issue
 Resolving issues quickly is critical
 Have a process to deal with defects vs.
enhancement requests and communicate how
each will be handled with the customer
 Over time, the help desk gains knowledge on
how improve the system
When possible, Integrate
with Existing Systems
 The goal of software is to
increase user efficiency
 The less duplicative data
the customer has to enter,
the better the experience
 Being able to view, add or
remove data in only one
system adds value
 Better data integrity,
better reporting
Implement a System only if it brings
Value to the Customer
 Without value you have nothing
 Develop a 30 second elevator pitch for your
software
 Use non-technical language to explain the benefits to
functional users
 i.e. “It is a single page responsive app” vs “It can be used on
any mobile device”
 Ask yourself, are you passionate about what it
does/automates?
Incentives Help
– No/reduced cost to
the campus
– Free “stuff” if
software is used
– One-time import of
existing data
– High quality and
complete data
Admit Failure and Learn from it
 If the system isn’t well
received, ask your
customers why
 Ask for honest feedback
 Do not be defensive
 Use that information to shape
your future implementation
strategy
 Don’t be afraid to take
risks
 Try new unconventional ways
to engage users
 Your unhappy customers can
become your best beta
testers
If it is required for your user to
adopt the system, never make
them feel like that is the case!
Questions?