Sims Learning Connections

The Backdrop

My recently concluded consulting engagement provided me with renewed motivation to think about technology “2.0″ adoption – particularly for situations when the adoption decision is significantly a matter of personal choice, versus a corporate decision with a mandated “thou shalt.” My client was early-on in a significantly organic SharePoint adoption (reference my 1 February quick update). With this, the staff were individually, as well as in teams and departments, facing the decision of “if to switch to SharePoint” for their particular document management needs from their familiar file-server solution.

It had been many years since I had used a straight-up file-server for anything other than software application or media files, so I came in with a biased frame of reference — my internal voice: “of course we’d use SharePoint given the two available choices — it is a no-brainer.” Or was it? Putting myself mentally back into the shoes of the person that has only known a file-server document sharing solution, it really wasn’t so clearly a no-brainer at all. I could almost hear the other internal voices saying: “I need to learn this new application?” “I have to do this extra check-out/check-in step?” “I can’t easily browse across the content in the entire company?” “The URLs are insanely long.” “And, it is slower?” “Hmm, tell me again, why would I want to switch from what is working just fine for me now?”

Why does somebody make a personal decision to embrace a technology shift? To start using a collaboration workspace solution such as SharePoint? (in the above example) Or, to start using instant messaging? Internet telephony (VOIP)? Or, whatever flavor of “2.0″ — be that web 2.0, enterprise 2.0, learning 2.0, knowledge management 2.0, etc.

What follows is my initial to-ten list from my own experience, prior to starting my latest mini-research project to dig into this topic…

Top-Ten Motivations

1. The proposed solution clearly will solve a problem that I know I have, and I’m motivated to fix. For me, del.icio.us fell into this scenario in November 2006 when I had the ‘aha’ moment that the application was a “personal transportable alternative to using browser Bookmarks.” It solved two problems I knew I had: (a) I used two or three different computers almost daily and wanted to save my bookmarks in a single location, (b) I was using too much time maintaining a folder metaphor for my existing bookmarks…and frequently I was forgetting what I filled a bookmark under — I needed to move to tags. As soon as I “got it” that del.icio.us would solve these problems, I was an immediate convert; whereas, for months before then I didn’t “get” del.icio.us because I had it positioned only as a way to share bookmarks amongst people — which for me at the time (not since) was just a “nice to have,” versus a real problem looking for a solution.
2. The proposed solution is easier/cheaper to use than other solutions I am aware of, including the “do nothing” option. Many years ago, how did we (my team at the time) get groups to use the new standard intranet templates versus continuing to build their one-off site designs? We made the templated-approach a much quicker, less painful, path to a fully functioning professional looking site. Then, to bring along the stubborn, we also instituted a rule of “no enterprise search index (something we controlled) unless your site met the minimum corporate standards.” Everyone came along quickly, not because of a mandate that said you can’t have an intranet site unless you play by our rules, but rather because we offered something of value to them that made their lives easier.
3. I know about the proposed solution and its potential advantages. This one seems fairly obvious, but can get forgotten. I can’t very well adopt something that I don’t even know about — and it isn’t reasonable to expect adoption from our stakeholders without at least some basic marketing of the potential advantages.
4. The proposed solution is used and recommended by my trusted peers. “Joe uses this. I trust Joe; therefore, this must be a reasonable approach.” Or, taken to a more negative-framing: peer-pressure — “all the cool kids are using this, I want to be a cool kid too.”
5. The solution has visible executive support — something beyond just reading the ghost-written request for adoption as part of the announcements at the quarterly employee meeting. Rather, for example, if there is a push on to have employees blog, then the executives are out in front, blogging.
6. The proposed solution is compatible with my personal values and my vision for how things should work. Or taken to a more negative-framing: the solution fits within my own preconceived biases. Different users, both the completely non-technical and the total geek, can more or less predisposed towards most anything including the particular user interface, workflow, software architecture, licensing, and vendor, etc. — e.g. enterprise applications, software as a service (SaaS), user-installed client-side-only, open source, big-company, small-company, is the application collaborative or not, etc. If the solution fits with my existing world-view, it has an extra chance of adoption.
7. It is just cool. Cutting-edge. Technically elegant. The next big thing. I resist this motivation in the workplace; however, I find it very much present and real; especially amongst the engineers.
8. I see how (and can buy-into how) the proposed solution contributes to the broader good. 1-7 above are all speaking to what’s in it for me (WIIFM). Now we get to “what’s in it for us.”
9. (a slight variation on the previous) Adoption will help out somebody I care about. In general, I don’t believe altruistic motivation is a particularly strong motivation for technology adoption either at the workplace or outside; however, I’m certain that there are a few good exceptions.
10. (another variation in this genre) I received a personalized request for adoption from someone I wish to build stronger social capital with, including in the sense of an unstated “I’ll help you on this one because I have confidence that you’ll help me in the future.”

To the extent that this is a reasonable top-ten motivators list (is it?), I then begin as a next step to think about the possible strategies and tactics that speak to each of these motivations individually.

For Further Reading

1. In the spirit of moving next to tactics… A year-old blog-meme on five tips for enterprise 2.0 adoption:
   • Bill Ives: My Twelve Tips for Gaining Adoption
   • James Roberston: Tips for gaining adoption (1)
   • Jerry Bowles: 5 Tips for Enterprise 2.0 Adoption
   • Jim McGee: Tips for gaining adoption of Enterprise 2.0 technologies
   • Kathleen Gilroy: Adoption Issues
   • Larry Cannell: My Five Tips for Gaining Enterprise 2.0 Adoption
   • Mike Gotta: 5 Tips for Enterprise 2.0 Adoption
   • Stewart Mader: Gaining adoption of enterprise wikis
2. Regarding SharePoint versus File-Server solutions:
   • From EndUserSharePoint.com: What is the difference between a file server and SharePoint?
   • From Joel Oleson SharePoint Land: What Not to Store in SharePoint
3. Tony Karrer previewed some of these thoughts nearly two years ago with his Web 2.0 Adoption in the Enterprise – It’s Personal
4. A tangentially related post of mine from last spring: My Personal Software Selection Process