We live in a constantly evolving technology landscape. It can be challenging for organizations to determine which solutions will best fit their needs, let alone truly understand what their needs are in the first place. It’s not uncommon for management and employees to operate inefficiently, resulting in redundant efforts or time spent searching for information that should be readily accessible. While it may be tempting to adopt a solution based on others’ recommendations or online research, the truth is, according to the Standish Group’s Annual CHOAS 2020 report 66% of technology projects fail, and large projects are successful less than 10% of the time. To increase your chances of success in implementing new technology, it’s essential to begin with a needs assessment.
A Needs Assessment Can Help!
A needs assessment will help identify gaps: Identifying problems in your business can be challenging, even if they seem obvious. However, taking the time to have conversations with all stakeholders and understanding their perspectives, including the technology they use and daily challenges, can be an enlightening exercise. It’s important to acknowledge that each individual may have different ways of approaching their work, even if they share similar responsibilities. Additionally, certain activities may not align with your overall business objectives, and you’ll never know unless you take the time to look.
A needs assessment will help define business goals: Success in business goes beyond just having the latest technology. It’s crucial to have a deep understanding of your business goals and how technology can support them. With so many features and capabilities available, it’s easy to pay for services that don’t align with your goals or to end up in a situation where your technology purchase falls short of realizing your objectives. Therefore, it’s important to assess your business and its future carefully to find solutions that will help you achieve your desired outcomes. A needs assessment is your best course of action to ensure the alignment between goals and technology are realized.
A needs assessment will help define your requirements: When evaluating a new system, it’s crucial to have a clear understanding of what you’re looking for. It’s easy to get swayed by persuasive sales pitches or the latest technology features that your current system doesn’t offer during product demonstrations. Once you’ve identified the gaps in your current system and established your objectives, you can begin to define your requirements. It’s important to note that not all requirements can be addressed through a technology solution, and sometimes process reengineering may be necessary. Processes often evolve over time due to personnel changes or a reluctance to abandon outdated practices. Introducing new technology will not fix flawed processes, and it’s unreasonable to expect problematic practices to work well with new technology. Doing so is a recipe for failure.
A needs assessment will help uncover change management considerations: Technology is intended to serve the people who use it, but without proper planning, employees can often feel overwhelmed and unable to fulfill their responsibilities due to technology. As part of a needs assessment, it’s essential to consider training, knowledge transfer, adapting workflows, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement to ensure that your team is well-equipped to handle the new system. Selecting a new system is just the beginning; your organization and its employees need to work together to identify what works, what doesn’t, and share their knowledge. By establishing a framework and providing the necessary tools for improving outcomes, you’ll be on your way to achieving success.
Are you ready for a needs assessment?
Before implementing new technology in your business, it’s crucial to ensure that it’s done correctly. At Triware, we offer strategic advisory services to assist clients across various industries in identifying their technology requirements through engaging needs assessments. Unfortunately, we have also witnessed businesses struggling to recover from failed technology implementations, and we are often called upon to help them get back on track. If you’re considering purchasing new technology, reach out to us today to make sure you’re on the right track!