Alan Bellinger looks at a maturity model that can help you to better understand the challenges posed by technology adoption.
The issue
Just think about it for a few minutes – we spend massive amounts on new technology and then look to see how we can minimise the amount that we put into technology adoption. In the words of Benjamin Franklin, “all for the want of a horseshoe-nail!”
There are problems with the two basic approaches that are primarily used today. The first is the ‘do nothing brigade’; this is the group which takes the view that the technology is intuitive and people will simply pick it up – so there’s no need to facilitate its adoption. And the outcome? Well it all comes together in the end and therefore the ‘brigade’ has succeeded because it saved the operation’s budget. Perhaps someone should ask, by how much did we delay the benefits that the technology was supposed to create; or even, what was the cost caused by the disruption prior to full adoption?
The other approach is very different; it is where the adoption is planned in a more formal way; but here, there is a tendency to adopt a one-size fits all approach – and worse, that one size is geared to the most difficult audience; which means that it is significantly over-tooled for the other 95% of the individuals affected by the new technology.
A maturity model
There is a commonly accepted maturity model relating to technology adoption, and whilst the terms it uses may not be especially sensitive, the model itself is certainly illuminating.
The model highlights the fact that there are five distinct groups of people we need to target – and an interesting feature called ‘the chasm’ that gets in the way. So let’s look at each of these in turn:
- The Innovators – I frequently find that L&D Professionals tend to ignore these people on the assumption that they can simply leave them to get on with it – indeed, there is a high probability that the innovators will have it cracked before L&D has dotted all the I’s and crossed the T’s on its ‘system roll-out plan’! On the contrary, these people are your foremost allies – they are both a source of content, and the role models that will facilitate technology adoption by osmosis.
- Early Adopters – a similar group to the Innovators but slightly less technophile; this group tends to believe they are really confident with technology but a large percentage of the group tend to over simplify and then find that the complexities they had ignored are the straw that broke the camel’s back. It is this consideration that leads to…
- The Chasm – the point at which it is realised that the new technology has a number of ‘design features’ which make it more challenging than was first thought, and lead to a demand for new features in the next release! In other words, there is frequently a period of disillusionment and it is critical that, by the point at which the chasm hits, there is a strong support network in place (this is particularly where the Innovators are useful) in order to minimise the impact of the chasm.
- Early Majority – this is really the first group at which the core learning content should be targeted. This group needs help in picking up the new technology, but that help will typically be in the form of performance support rather than formal learning. It is critical to ensure that, if the chasm hasn’t happened by this time, then the probability of one coming up now is low!
- Late Majority – this group will typically need a slight nudge to get going with the new technology (NB carrots are much better here that sticks!). If you had simply provided this group with performance support, then they would be all over the place so this is the group that will benefit from formal learning interventions before they start to use the new technology. Expectations need to be managed.
- The Laggards – not my term (don’t shoot the messenger!). The solution here is floor-walking – whether it’s face-to-face or virtual. They’ll always be the most difficult group, but by the time you get to them, there should be a strong enough support network in place to ensure that problems are kept to the minimum.
And so …..
With any new technology (NB it doesn’t only apply to IT; it’s any situation in which there is a change in process, workflow, or even culture) the issue of adoption should be front stage.
The author
Alan Bellinger is Executive Consultant at the LPI and can be reached at abellinger@gmail.com
Global Knowledge
Personal pride, professional growth and increased compensation are the most popular reasons why professionals seek business and IT certifications. With our unique blend of certification tracks, delivery method options and valuable resources and support, you can count on us to help you reach your certification goals. For further information click here.
The post Technology adoption – vision and reality appeared first on Global Knowledge UK Blog.