The ADD User Group meets every month for the Best Practices Call. These meetings allow users to discuss ADD Systems products, industry topics, and everything in between. This month, the topic was: Upgrades – Preparing, Testing, and Going Live. Between AUG members and ADD employees, there were many useful tips shared! Recordings of the Best Practices Calls are always available for clients to listen to in the forum, but we’d like to provide their top five tips for setting you and your team up for success when upgrading software.
Start with Careful Planning
Before you even think about training or testing, company decision-makers should start their software upgrade with careful planning. As a general guideline, users suggested that software upgrades be done every one to two years. This lets you take advantage of the latest enhancements with minimal disruption. One client described how their senior employees in charge of organizing the software upgrades get together to review the “What’s New” document, which is a release notes report detailing all the enhancements you can expect in the newest software version. Reading this over helps them determine what upgrade features will benefit their team.
Test the Software
ADD Systems’ Quality Assurance/Documentation team is dedicated to extensively testing our software before it reaches your company, so you can rest assured that your software has undergone rigorous testing. But every company is different and has specific use cases, so good upgrade preparation means developing and testing scenarios specific to your company.
Because there is so much to consider, it’s important that the testing period is given enough time. One ADD user mentioned that addressing everybody’s specific roles and procedures is essential. Billing will use software differently than a customer service representative would. Testing software processes with all types of use cases helps ensure everything is accounted for. Testing on taxable and non-taxable customers, residential and commercial customers and any other type of variation leaves no stone unturned when it’s time for the software to go live.
Notify Your Partners
While you’re in the process of reviewing your in-house steps, it’s also a good idea to inform any third-party software partners who interface with your primary systems. This avoids surprises and ensures that everybody is on the same page. One ADD user gave billing outsourcers as an example. It’s good to let them know in advance to ensure your next invoice and statement run goes smoothly.
Spread Positivity to Your Users
ADD users mentioned how any change in the workplace could sometimes cause anxiety. With upgrading software, there can be a lot to learn, but the upgrade wouldn’t take place if it weren’t going to improve operations for employees. Whether it’s a CSR, billing department rep, or a dispatcher who can see the benefits of a software upgrade, identify and make use of those excited employees to help propel the rest of your team forward.
Once an upgrade has been announced, it can sometimes be hard for employees to wait to receive their complete training. One ADD user mentioned that dripping highlights of improvements, like sending screenshots of new, helpful software features, can help turn anxiety into excitement. This can also help create a more relaxed environment for employees learning their new software because they feel familiar with it.
Some ADD users took an even more creative approach with scavenger hunts, a fun, simple way to engage employees with their new software. Users would be tasked with finding elements on the software screens. There were a few advantages to doing this. One, it can show employees there are fewer changes on the screens than anticipated, making them less anxious to dive into their new software version. Also, some friendly competitive spirit can help employees feel motivated to learn. When a software upgrade can be seen as something fun and engaging, users are more likely to understand the software to their full potential and feel less stress.
Set Up a Training Environment for Your Employees
When it comes time to implement new software, employees need to be introduced to an environment that helps them flourish. A training environment, separate from live software, allows employees to tinker with their software, learn its features and benefits, and be comfortable making mistakes. Getting the training environment to resemble your employees’ daily tasks closely is essential. ADD users mentioned that ensuring employees complete software tasks focused on customers like those in their regular working environment is vital. Setting up a few representative accounts can help make training focused and easier.
It’s also necessary for employees to understand the features they will be using. Interfaces, menus, and reports may look different than before, so helping your employees with the kinetic side and the visual side of an upgrade helps create a familiar environment. Some ADD users mentioned that they have also created documents with pictures and recorded videos to help their teams.
The training effort associated with an upgrade can vary, depending on the number of years since the last upgrade and the number of features being targeted. Depending on the size of your organization, you may choose to make use of ADD Systems’ Train-the-Trainers program, in which ADD can teach your employees to be training consultants for your own organization.
A Positive Change
When considering an upgrade, it’s important to remember this: In the end, enhancements are made to improve efficiency and user experience, so many changes are more intuitive and much less intimidating than users often anticipate. With careful planning, upgrades can be an exciting, rewarding experience with lasting benefits.
If you want to learn more about how best to prepare and test your new software before going live, visit the AUG forum for the Best Practices Call recording. The Best Practices Calls are held monthly! To learn more and find details on how to get involved in the ADD User Group, be sure to visit https://www.addsys.com/services/add-user-group/.
Leave a Reply