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As the President of a Case Management Software company I have witnessed very wonderful software implementation projects and many that struggle. 

There are various reasons but in this post I’m going to pinpoint what I think is the most common issue.

Scenario: Someone in your organization realizes there is a better way to gather data, track clients and report on your results other than how you are currently doing it.  They research and present the product to the Director or “check writer” of the agency and convince them to move forward.

Contracts are signed, payments are made and here we go……

Stop!  No one told the troops that are working hard every day that they now have another task to add to their daily routine.  No one verbalized how important this project is to the agency.  No one told them that because this new system will help make their lives easier that this is now part of their job description and they will be measured on their cooperation and overall acceptance of the change.

This is the most common reason that software implementations are either smooth or really rocky and much more costly than necessary.

It is imperative that each agency have an Executive Sponsor that has authority and the interest and attention to the progress of the implementation of the project.  They must announce, verbalize and stay engaged with the forward progress of the project in order for it to go more smoothly and be the most cost effective possible. 

Our experience has taught us that one third of your users will run toward new technology and understand that the investment of their time will pay off in the long run, another third will adopt it but not be nearly as excited to do so and the bottom third will push back and in some ways try to sabotage the success of the project.  It’s how you deal with the bottom third that will completely change the progress and cost of the implementation.

Be strong, be involved and make sure you are constantly apprised of what is happening with the project.

If you'd like more information about implementing your next project - we encourage you to grab a copy of our Special Report:  The 7 Deadly Sins of Software Implementations - to help you avoid the pitfalls!