Installing software means creating chaos

Many business owners decide to buy software in order to improve their business. They often assume that this is all that can happen. However, no matter how small the software product is, they are making a major change to their business that has implications on their business operations.

A software program is an automated process. The developers have defined a business process and chosen to automate it in a specific way. This means that when you implement the software, you are making the following changes to your business:

• You are changing the way you run your business. It is unlikely that the way the software developers have chosen to automate the process is exactly the way you currently run your business. Do you understand how things will change?
• You are changing people's roles and responsibilities. Since the business process is changing, the job people do will change. Roles and responsibilities will change. Do you understand how people's jobs will change?
• You are changing the tools (the software) that people will use to do the job. They will be uncomfortable with the new software and won't know how to use it properly. The training that is provided will not help a lot. Most training for business software is like drinking through a fire hose. What impact will this have on productivity? How long will it take to recover?

These three changes will create chaos in your business. Your choice is whether you create CHAOS 101 (the basic version) or CHAOS 701 (the PHD version). Through proper planning, design of the process impact and appropriate training, you can ensure that you minimize the impact.

refer to chaos 101 vs 701