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Need to Change Behavior? Just Follow the Wizard

Need to Change Behavior? Just Follow the Wizard

by on August 8, 2011 in ERP Training, Organizational Change Management, user adoption

Sometimes it’s hard to take something seriously that promises to solve an age-old, complex human problem.  If a product or service promises to “Burn Off Pounds Fast!” or “Eliminate Stress Now!” most of us are, justifiably, skeptical.

The challenge of changing human behavior for positive business outcomes is a similarly elusive pursuit.  That’s why I was skeptical when I first encoutered BJ Fogg’s Behavior Wizard.  The wizard uses a series of simple questions to help the user identify what kind of behavior change he or she is looking for.  For example:

Based on the responses, the wizard assigns your behavior change into one of 15 types, divided along two axes:

1)      Duration of change (one-time, temporary, permanent)

2)      Amplitude of change (increase/decrease, start/stop)

This is a fascinating tool for those in the Learning and Performance Improvement industries, because it attempts to identify the objective and discreet attributes that …

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Ensuring that Change “Sticks”

Ensuring that Change “Sticks”

by on July 22, 2011 in Organizational Change Management

My first foray into the world of training happened about 12 years ago. The World Health Organization (WHO) wanted to capitalize on the informal learning environment that had developed around their in-house systems. As in so many organizations, application “gurus” had sprung up in various departments, and were called on to help other users solve practical problems on the fly. WHO, with the help of a learning consultant, launched the IT Coaching Network to leverage this knowledge across all of Headquarters.

On the face of it, this program should have been a success. WHO had invested in a well-defined, well-prepared project plan. They had a top-notch consultant who developed and drove the project. They had recruited a group of optimistic, talented people who were invested in making the program a success. And they had buy-in from management, who had permitted their staff to use 10% of their hours to participate …

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Persuasive Technology Could Be Key to Gaining User Adoption

Persuasive Technology Could Be Key to Gaining User Adoption

by on June 15, 2011 in eLearning, Innovation, Organizational Change Management, performance support, system implementation training, user adoption

We know that user adoption is critical for major software implementations to be successful.  There are dozens of case studies and reports that illustrate how it’s not enough to get the technology working.  If users aren’t trained properly, or don’t accept the value of the system – the project will likely fail.

Change management and learning professionals have known for a long time that the behavior barriers to user adoption can be grouped into two major categories:

1)      Can’t do behaviors

2)      Won’t do behaviors

In the past, the traditional approach was to have the trainers handle #1 and the change management types to handle #2.  Now, a new discipline – Persuasive Technology – has come along to help both the training people and the change people.

Loren Baxter has written an excellent post about persuasive technology, in which he outlines the evolution of web and software design.  The …

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Embracing Innovation in Learning

Embracing Innovation in Learning

by on April 22, 2011 in blended learning, Classroom Learning, eLearning, Facilitation, Informal Learning, Innovation, Instructional Design, Leadership, Organizational Change Management, social learning

In her recent blog post Wonders or Woes of Change, Dr. Ellen Weber discusses the paradigm shift from traditional leadership to brain-powered, or innovative, leadership. This shift in leadership style can be characterized as moving from the “Do as I say” leader to the “Let’s work together to find the best solution” leader.  Leaders are beginning to move away from controlling the discussion to facilitating the discussion.

Early indications of this same paradigm shift can be seen in the learning and education arenas. We are moving, albeit in fits and starts, from traditional learning environments, where curriculum are essentially assigned to learners, to more collaborative and innovative environments where learners can self-direct their learning and participate in communities of passion.

The problem in executing this shift is not in setting up these new learning environments and communities, but rather in embracing the change. In her post, Dr. Weber asks this question:

Why is change

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Organizational Change Management Cited – Again – as Key Contributor to ERP Failure

Organizational Change Management Cited – Again – as Key Contributor to ERP Failure

by on April 5, 2011 in ERP Training, Organizational Change Management, Project Management/Project Delivery, system implementation training

In his IT Project Failures blog, Michael Krigsman frequently discusses the importance of change management, communication, and training in successful ERP implementations.  In a recent post, he cites a recent poll by Panorama Consulting, in which IT executives are asked about the “deadliest sin” of ERP implementations.  Organizational change management, as usual, is right near the top of the list:

A major contributor to the importance of change management stems from the impact on workers’ job roles, and the degree to which those changes can affect their careers.  In another post, Krigsman writes:

Communications in [the context of ERP implementation] means explaining the business impact of technology decisions to a non-technical audience. That impact likely includes process changes that may affect employees in a variety of ways. For example, a new CRM or ERP system can change workers’ jobs, roles, and even dictate future employment status. Obviously, these changes have

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