How to Implement Risk Management Software

Risk management software can help your company enhance its project delivery. With many companies still using Excel spreadsheets to monitor projects, deploying a new software system requires more than just a technological shift; it also requires a change in organizational behavior.

All too often, we see businesses invest in software only to struggle to reap the benefits, such as better project visibility, less delivery risk, increased communication, and accurate tracking. This is often due to inadequate implementation.

Following are five principles that will help you effectively implement your new risk management software.

Understand what's involved

You need to start by understanding what will be involved in the implementation of a new software system. What will be the impact on people, processes, and technology? You need to document all of these and develop a holistic understanding of how the new software will impact the organization. This will involve interviews with key stakeholders, as well as a thorough knowledge of the system you are seeking to implement. 

Communicate with the organization

You must next communicate the proposed implementation to your organization. Implementing a new risk management system requires a big cultural shift. It necessitates new expectations, processes, and behaviors from employees who may not see the immediate advantage, preferring instead to focus on the drawbacks. 

People must understand what you want them to do and why they need to do it, therefore the need for the new system must be obvious and relevant. You must, however, set the appropriate tone in order to elicit the desired emotional response. 

The key is to communicate both the proposal and its benefits. You need to explain why the new system is necessary and why the status quo cannot be maintained. Be ready to spend time communicating the benefits to skeptical staff, and look for ways to show how it can benefit their own jobs. Anticipate initial resistance and show patience. And show flexibility. Your initial plans probably have a lot of thought behind them, but users will appreciate it if you listen and make adjustments.

Focus on the user journey

A good user experience usually leads to good adoption rates, so ensure your new system is easy to use. A common trap is to introduce unnecessary complexity that makes the whole system less intuitive. Less is often better than more. For example, one carefully created dashboard is more helpful to casual users than ten dashboards.  

You also need to consider what sort of training you will provide users. User guides and videos are helpful, but in-person webinars from yourself are probably best of all. You should also be prepared to spend time coaching key users as well as developing a system for first-level support.

Monitor and adapt

Establish adoption metrics near the start of your project and then carefully monitor them after you go live. How many people are using the new system? How many projects have adopted it? Track these against your expected targets, and investigate any shortcomings. 

You also need to listen to feedback and willing to adapt. It's a rare system that does not require some tweaking after implementation. Find out what is working and what is not, and get ready to adjust your processes as required. A willingness to listen will help maintain user engagement. 

Hundreds of leading organizations use Risk Register by ProjectBalm - find out why!