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
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 […]
Don’t ask questions for which you already know the answer
Don’t ask questions for which you already know the answer I was recently completing an […]
All decisions involve risk
All decisions involve risk Whether it’s choosing a new AMS or introducing a new product […]
Try flowcharting your processes
Try flowcharting your processes Working with a client recently on their membership join process reminded me […]
“I just want a system I don’t have to fight with.”
“I just want a system I don’t have to fight with.” I asked my client: […]
Inertia Contributes to Bad Data
Inertia Contributes to Bad Data Without knowing anything about your organization or its data, I’d […]
What are you doing with new contacts?
What Are You Doing with New Contacts/ I was very interested to read in a […]
Be Aware of Selection Bias
Be Aware of Selection Bias I wrote recently about the mistaken perception of older members […]