When Technology
Hurts Innovation
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18 CAPTURE. COSTTREE 2016 Q4 ISSUE
INDIRECT
ADMIN
INDIRECT
DIRECT
by Ryan Baird, Director of Client Solutions, eCivis Inc. and
Dr. Nalo Johnson, Grants Development Specialist, Fort Collins, CO
The rapid pace of technology development brings an increasing array of new solutions for every process and activity government employees engage in. While each new solution touts significant ROI from increased revenues, decreased costs, and improved efficiency, those goals rarely result in quantifiable outcomes.
Somewhere in the grey area, between launching a new technology and successfully integrating it into your organization, lies a graveyard of failed technology implementations. This begs the question, does there come a point where more technology, no matter how slick, can hurt your organization? The push to implement and upgrade antiquated processes with modern solutions will not stop, but the rate at which these new systems are failing to achieve their desired outcomes demands a better examination of how to move forward.
In a survey by IAG Consulting, 68% of respondents found that their technology implementations failed to meet the business need for which they were acquired— meaning that even successfully implemented solutions often do not adequately address the problem they were meant to solve. To help stay out of the implementation graveyard, here are some common pitfalls to avoid and best practices to follow for a successful technology implementation.
Challenges
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Too Much Too Fast
The most common mistake is when an implementation outpaces the development of internal business practices and policies. Most likely, any new system implementation will demand adapting or completely revamping current policies and procedures. Often, it is expected that new technology will immediately create a more efficient version of pre-existing systems. However, that attitude can cripple the potential value of implementing something new, if it does not acknowledge the need for building internal capacity for use of the technology.
The Inspired (and Lonely) Champion
New and exciting ideas always have a champion who can come from any level of an organization. Whether a city manager or an analyst, someone sees the potential a new system can have to transform a process, and they begin to advocate for it. Unfortunately, this can often lead to jumping the gun on a technology for which there is no organizational buy-in.