Make sure your system has broad support
An AMS vendor pointed out to me recently the danger of buying a new AMS (or any enterprise software, for that matter) based on the passion of one person. As he put it, "I have seen this more than a handful of times, but when that one person drives a system and they leave, it can fall apart quickly."
This raises a larger point that I always state to my clients: "When this project is done, I get to leave, but you're going to have to keep using this system." In other words, in order to be successful long-term, you're going to need buy-in from a majority, if not all, of your users.
So whether it's an AMS or any other software that has to be used by a number of staff, do everything you can to get as much consensus and buy-in as possible. The fewer number of staff that have buy-in, as staff turns over, the likelier you are to reach a point where no one likes the software (because they don't really know it).
Wes's Wednesday Wisdom Archives
Next-to-Nothing Goals
Next-to-Nothing Goals I saw a Ted Talk by Christine Carter recently discussing the concept of […]
Just because you can…
Just because you can… In response to a recent Wednesday Wisdom on averages hiding the […]
Always ask “Why?”
Always ask “Why?” Little kids ask “Why?” all the time, because they are sponges for […]
Averages hide the extremes
Averages hide the extremes I can’t remember where I first heard it, but “averages hide […]
Look up PARTIAL names!
Look up PARTIAL names! Train your staff to do look ups on partial names, not full […]
Not Just Technology
Not Just Technology There was recently a discussion on the ASAE online community about project management […]
Consider quitting
Consider quitting Patient: “Doctor, it hurts when I do this.” Doctor: “Then stop doing that.” […]
There is nothing so permanent as business rules
There is nothing so permanent as business rules Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman said, “There’s nothing […]
Budget for feature discovery and adoption
Budget for feature discovery and adoption When developing a budget for implementation of a new […]
Customize staff pages for better user adoption
Customize staff pages for better user adoption The single most important element to data management […]