Design the right metrics to improve user adoption

This article was originally published on Tri Tuns Blog.

OBSERVATION
Have you noticed that you spend a large amount of time documenting process flows but fail to measure their IT implementation? How do you know if the end-users are enacting the system as designed and contributing to the business goals?

We know that process documentation is necessary to ultimately guide system end-users once an implementation is complete. However, many fail to realize that metrics need to be prepared to adequately determine if the new process flows are followed by system end-users. User Adoption metrics is the link between the new process design and the organizational change effort.

CONSIDER THIS
When determining which particular metrics to focus on, it is critical to consider user behaviors that both follow the new process design as well as behaviors that deviate from your intended process.

Important user adoption metrics determine how much deviation there is between end-user behavior and the intended new process. Knowing these levels of deviation will help you determine how to influence and guide end-users toward the new process.

The right metrics don’t necessarily need to be complex or sophisticated to provide accurate insight into the impact of current business processes (e.g. how long it takes to perform a particular process).

THINGS TO THINK ABOUT
Brainstorm both intended and unintended behaviors and outcomes during implementation in order to create the proper user adoption metrics.
Here are some examples of insightful metrics:
• How many resources touch a process from beginning to end?
• List which resources touch that process.
• What is the scope of the process activities performed by each resource?
• Are there fewer or more resources (or handoffs) required due to automation?

Remember, when planning user adoption metrics, determine what is valuable to know about a particular process. Metrics must be designed to ensure that the behavior of the new processes deliver the intended results. With proper metrics and planning, you will have the insight needed to reinforce desired behavior.

RELATED RESOURCES
Check out these other resources for more information related to this topic:

• Take the Tri Tuns User Adoption Challenge – a free online assessment tool
• Explore the array of Assessments that Tri Tuns offers
• Read: “Accelerating User Adoption”
• Read: “Motivating User Adoption: Commitment, Compliance Or Wiifm?”