A common complaint when trying to successfully implement project management software is that people are too busy and do not have any time to learn a new system or a new process. Sometimes this is a smokescreen because people do not want to change (see Resistance to Change). But what if you truly are so busy that it is difficult to take even some of your people's time for this?



If that is the case, it is probably a symptom that you need better processes and tools to support both your current and future workloads. And it will never get easier to make that happen, it will only get harder.

So what are some strategies that you can employ?

First, don't bite off too much at one time. It is difficult for any organization to tackle a lot of change at one time. Ask an organization doing a multi-millionaire dollar enterprise system implementation about the cost, time, and impact to the organization. You usually do not need to do everything at once. Take it in phases. Where are you going to get the most value? Start there. Then incrementally add additional capabilities and processes.

Second, set clear, attainable, realistic goals. Make it crystal clear what people are expected to do. Don't make them spend time trying to figure it out. Document it. Communicate it. What are you trying to accomplish right now?

Third, train people on it. The trick here is not to overburden people with training that they don't need. Provide clear documentation on the process that you want them to complete in the system. Train them on this process. Don't train them on all the fancy features, but on what they need to do to complete their job. This will be different for different user profiles.

Fourth, build momentum. Achieve small victories in phases, and build on the momentum from that. Use the analysis from the initial data you collect. Bring a report to a management meeting demonstrating the value that can now be harnessed. Use the initial accomplishments, however small, to build momentum for the next phase.

Fifth, consider outsourcing. You may want to consider outsourcing the implementation to the vendor or a consultant. You have to be careful, because a vendor or consultant will naturally want to make it more complicated than it may need to be in the beginning. But if you can find a resource that understands your goals and objectives and wants to partner with you, that could take some of the burden off of you and the organization. They can design the training, produce the documentation, even conduct the training. In other words, they can do the dirty work - you can make the decisions. It's not right in every situation, but something to consider.

Of course, in spite of all of this, one of the key things is organizational support. If you don't have the right support, then quickly there will be a conflict between the project management software implementation and [insert competing priority here], and you will lose. So get that support at some level.

Have you implemented project management software? What has been your experience? Email blog@teaminteractions.com.

How do you overcome resistance to change when implementing project management software? That is a common implementation hurdle to overcome. No matter how evident the problems may be, people naturally want to keep things the way they always have been. At least until the pain of doing it the old way is so great that they want to change.



I will not go into a detailed exposition on dealing with change because there are many resources that have been dedicated to that. I will simply offer up a few tips on how to deal with this issue when implementing project management software.

Communicate Often
We hear about communication all the time, but it is very important to communicate often, especially if you have a culture that is resistant to change. People tend to believe the grapevine, make things out to be worse than they really are, and fail to see real benefits. Good communication will help to alleviate some of this. A common mistake I see is that communication only happens when you need something from someone. For example, people are informed that they need to attend training without any forewarning or background communication. I believe that communicating early and often is a good thing. Let people know what's coming and what they can expect. How will it make their jobs better? What exactly is expected of them. Hold a brown bag lunch session and give people a preview of what is coming. Send out a weekly or monthly "newsletter". I'm sure you can come up with some good ways of getting the word out.

Use Phases
Sometimes we have a tendency to do too many things at once. People quickly get overwhelmed when too much is changing at one time, or too many things are thrown at them. Take it in phases. As much as possible, introduce new processes in phases. Keep things simple, and don't try to do more than you really need to do.

Understand Different Adopters
You will most likely have different types of adopters. Some people will be eager to get into the new technology and processes. Others will come if they need to, and still others will come "kicking and screaming." Find those people that are eager to adopt the new system and use those people as allies, educators, and evangelists.

Incorporate Enough Training (but not too much)
Training is important. It will help people be more comfortable with the new system. We recommend training people on processes along with the tool so that they are not just learning features of some system, but how to use this new technology tool to perform specific business processes. This will also help to prevent too much training (training people on features that they really don't need to do their jobs).

Accountability
This is not a popular word, but sometimes you simply need the management support to hold people accountable for the new processes. There is a saying that goes "what gets measured gets done". If people are not getting measured on adopting these processes, there will be a big tendency not to change and adopt them.

What can you add to the list? Comment or email them to blog@teaminteractions.com

This is just a post to celebrate our 50th post on The Project Management Software Blog. We have touched on topics such as project management software categories in the market today, strategies for successful implementations, how to select software, and more. Eventually, we will add categories to make it easier to navigate past posts.

We would love to hear your ideas for topics that you would like to see discussed regarding project management software. Send them to blog@teaminteractions.com.

Next post coming soon...