3 Key Factors for
Successful Technology Implementation

Whether it is a law practice, bank or trust company, implementing new technology requires more than selecting the right software.

The technology needs to solve a real operational problem. The organization needs the capacity to implement change. And the new system needs to fit into the way work actually gets done.

Before implementation begins, there are three key factors to consider.

1.  Motivation

Start with a simple question:

What operational problem are you trying to solve?

Perhaps important information is difficult to find. Work is being performed inconsistently. Too much depends on individual knowledge. Handoffs are unreliable. Due dates are difficult to manage. Or management lacks the visibility it needs to understand what is happening across the operation.

Whatever the problem, it needs to be clearly understood.

That matters because implementing technology inevitably requires effort and change. When people understand the problem they are trying to solve — and why the current way of working is no longer adequate — there is a reason for making that change.

It also gives you something against which to judge the implementation later.

If you cannot clearly articulate what you are trying to improve, it will be difficult to know whether the technology has actually improved it.

2.  Capability

Knowing that something needs to change is not the same as having the organizational capacity to change it.

A successful implementation requires people, time and management attention.

Someone needs to make decisions about how the system should be configured. People who understand the work need to participate. Existing information may need to be reviewed or migrated. Teams need time to learn new ways of working. And management needs to support the implementation when established habits are challenged.

This does not necessarily require a large implementation team. But it does require clear ownership and sufficient resources to keep the project moving.

If everyone involved is already operating at full capacity and nobody has responsibility for making the implementation succeed, even good technology can struggle to gain traction.

3.  Integration

New technology does not operate in isolation.

It needs to fit into the organization's existing environment: its people, processes, responsibilities, information and other systems.

That means understanding how work is currently performed and deciding how it should be performed in the future.

Which processes should be standardized? Who should be responsible for particular activities? Where are the important handoffs? What information needs to be maintained? Which existing systems will continue to play a role?

Some of those questions may reveal opportunities to improve the operation rather than simply reproduce existing practices in a new system.

The objective should not be to make new technology conform blindly to the way things have always been done.

It should be to determine how the technology can best support the way the organization wants to work.

Turning Implementation into Operational Change

Motivation, capability and integration create the foundation. But implementation still has to translate those decisions into the way people actually work.

That requires attention after the technology has been configured and deployed.

Set Clear Expectations

People need to understand not only how to use the new system, but how they are expected to work within it.

That can include questions such as:
•   Which activities should be handled by attorneys, paralegals or other team members?
•   When should particular tasks be assigned or completed?
•   When should attorneys become involved?
•   How should handoffs between team members be managed?
•   What information needs to be maintained, and by whom?

The answers will vary between organizations.

What matters is that expectations are clear enough for the technology to support a consistent way of working rather than simply providing another set of tools for everyone to use differently.

Monitor Adoption

Training people to use a system is not the same as having them adopt it.

The real test is whether the technology becomes part of how work is actually managed.

Are people maintaining the information others depend on? Are tasks and due dates being managed within the system? Are agreed processes being followed? Or are important parts of the operation continuing to happen through email, personal calendars, spreadsheets and individual knowledge?

This is particularly important because the value of an operational system grows as it becomes a reliable representation of the work itself.

If adoption is inconsistent, visibility and consistency will be inconsistent too.

Gather Feedback

No implementation will get everything right on the first day.

As people use the system, they will identify things that could work better. Processes may need adjustment. Responsibilities may need clarification. Configuration may need refinement.

That feedback is valuable.

But it is also important to distinguish between genuine problems and the natural discomfort that comes with changing established ways of working.

The objective is not to eliminate every point of friction by reverting to old practices. It is to use experience from the people doing the work to improve the new way of working.

Measure Results

Finally, return to the problem that motivated the implementation in the first place.

What were you trying to improve?

If the objective was to reduce missed due dates, has that happened?

If it was to improve consistency, are teams following common processes more reliably?

If it was to reduce dependence on individual knowledge, can other people now understand and take over work more easily?

If management needed better visibility, can it now understand the operation without requiring teams to create separate reports and tracking information?

Those are much more meaningful measures of implementation success than whether the software was installed on time or everyone attended training.

Technology Is Only Part of the Change

Successful implementation is not simply about deploying technology.

It starts with being clear about the problem you are trying to solve, having the organizational capacity to make the change, and understanding how the technology will fit into the way work gets done.

From there, success depends on setting expectations, monitoring adoption, listening to feedback and measuring whether the change is actually delivering the intended results.

The technology matters. But how you implement it matters just as much.

Considering new technology for your Trust & Estate operation? See EstateWorks in action.

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