December 29th, 2014 by inflectra
The roll out of a new software tool should be treated like the launch of a new Hollywood movie; if you want to get people interested you have to promote and market what you’re selling. And have no doubt, you are selling a product! Your organization may have been through an exhaustive selection process before committing to this new tool, but there will be people who were not included in this process who may very well feel disenfranchised. Even those who were involved may not agree with the decision or are simply uncomfortable with change. Some will see change as another challenge that will take time and effort to make the new tool or process ‘suck less’ which, of course, adds risk and unknowns to their job and they just don’t want that.
All these conditions leave you with a sales challenge: to create enthusiasm and willingness to see the new tool succeed. Roll-out, especially in larger organizations, becomes an internal marketing exercise involving education and communication.
I have seen successful rollouts of new tools and processes which were helped by involving the marketing department. A marketing team is usually seen as an externally focused group that is intrinsically linked to the sales process, but they have the skills and experience to run a campaign to create awareness, excitement and an overall desire for what you’re promoting, regardless of the target audience. They can be used very successfully to work with project managers and educators to create a positive environment in which skepticism is replaced with a real demand for the new product.
Remember, when replacing an existing tool, not only must users learn new operations, they must unlearn established ones. So, with replacement tools there will always be the temptation to try to use the new software in the same way that the older product was used. This can kill a new product quickly with the common complaint that the new product, “can’t do what the old one could.” Help overcome this idea with conversion guides which show old process procedures translated into new process steps. Offer frequent updates on the status of the roll-out to give individuals a sense of being part of the process rather than subject to it,
For tools with a particularly steep learning curve, here are some other steps that can help:
So many new tools are, paid for and dropped off in the garage but never driven. To avoid this happening to you, don’t wait for problems and then react, be proactive in your preparation for the rollout.
You may also be interested in:
Software Tools Are Like Football (Soccer)
How to Choose a Test Management Tool
Ask an Inflectra expert:
And if you have any questions, please email or call us at +1 (202) 558-6885
SpiraTest combines test management, requirements traceability & bug-tracking
SpiraTeam brings your teams together, managing the entire application lifecycle
SpiraPlan lets you manage your programs and portfolio of projects like never before
Orchestrates your automated regression testing, functional, load and performance
The ultimate test automation platform for web, mobile, and desktop applications
The help desk system, designed specifically for software support teams
Cloud hosted, secure source code management - Git and Subversion
Exploratory testing capture tool that automatically records your testing activity
Let us deal with the IT pain so you don't have to. Or use on-premise if you prefer.
Our customers work in every industry imaginable. From financial services to healthcare and biotech to government and defense and more, we work with our customers to address their specific needs.
Our products do not enforce a methodology on you, instead they let you work your way. Whether you work in agile development, Scrum, XP, Kanban and Lean, Waterfall, hybrid, or Scaled Agile Inflectra can help.
If you want to learn more about application delivery, testing, and more take a look at our whitepapers, videos, background papers, blog, and presentations.
Our suite of Accelerators speed up your deployment and adoption of our products, increasing your return on investment and reducing the cost of ownership.
We collaborate with a wide range of organizations to bring our customers a range of services (including load testing, training, and consulting), complimentary technologies, and specialized tools for specific industries.
Learn how different organizations have benefited from using Inflectra products to manage their software testing and application develooment.
Outstanding support is the foundation of our company. We make support a priority over all other work. Take a look at our support policy.
Discover great tips, discussions, and technical solutions from fellow customers and Inflectra's technical experts.
If you can't find the answer you're looking for, please get in touch with us: over email, phone, or online.
We are constantly creating new videos to help customers learn about our products, including through in depth webinars, all freely available along with a wide selection of presentations.
We provide a number of resources to help customers learn how to get the most out of our products, with free online resources, virtual classrooms, and face to face.
Read about Inflectra, our manifesto, and values. Meet our incredible customers who are building awesome things, and our leadership team that are committed to building a great company.
The Inflectra Blog contains articles on all aspects of the software lifecycle.
In addition we have whitepapers,
background articles, videos and
presentations to help get you started.
Events are a big part of our awesome customer service. They are a chance to learn more about us, our products, and how to level up your skills with our tools.
We partner with educational institutions and individuals all over the world. We are also a great place to work and encourage you to explore joining our team.
Please contact us with your questions, feedback, comments, or suggestions. We'll get back to you as soon as possible.
When you need additional assistance (be it training, consulting, or integration services) our global certified solution provider partner network is ready to help.
At Inflectra, we are fully committed to provide our customers with the very best products and customer service. Check out some of our recent awards.
We want to help developers extend and customize our tools to fit in with their needs. We provide robust APIs, sample code, and open source projects.