The Great Debate: Big-Bang vs. Phased Rollouts
Everyone wants the new thing, but no one wants to change. The benefits of the change will outweigh the pain of changing, but that does not mean the experience will not be painful. I am working with two clients that, on the surface, are very similar in size, scale, and industry, but their cultures and approaches to transformations are very different.
The Great Debate: Big-Bang vs. Phased Rollouts
In most of my projects, given their unique situations, we must determine which approach is the best fit. Some clients may be unable to use a big-bang approach because of enterprise environmental factors (a PMP way of saying the setup of the company and the way they work). These can include related technologies that cannot respond or scale with the change effort, departments or teams that cannot weather the disruption because of contractual or reporting needs, and migration processes that would take out large portions of their business for too long a period.
Big-Bang Approach: Imagine stepping out of the office on Friday evening with the familiar hum of the old systems still in your ears. A brand-new digital landscape awaits you this Monday morning—a collective leap into the new bonds teams in a shared experience. Everyone dives into fresh environments together and can help each other.
Benefits:
Unity in Transition: The entire organization moves together, creating a shared understanding and unified approach to problem-solving. I just went through this with a global company, and it was great to see people all over the organization helping each other and sharing their experiences.
Immediate Benefits: Organizations can realize quick productivity boosts and feature utilization if successful. It will limit the disruption to a short timeframe, and everyone will be in the new system, resuming business as usual (whatever that is :-).
Challenges:
Intense Learning Curve: Employees might feel overwhelmed with every new feature introduced simultaneously. The pressure can be seen through escalated support tickets and entire departments opening help requests.
Risk: If something goes wrong, it affects the entire organization. If a "show stopper" issue arises, it can create a concern in confidence for the project.
Out-of-Band Communications: When a big bang is underway, the traditional processes are generally unavailable. Users will need a way to communicate. It is important to pre-plan your graphics and messages for several scenarios; that way,, youu can quickly keep people informe when the unexpected happensd. In my work, we often work with people's email and chat systems, so we must create communication communities to reach users. If your effort isn't impacting these systems, creating a site/team/channel is still recommended to preserve the status messages in all the migration noise.
Phased Approach: In this journey, each step is calculated, introducing changes in manageable doses. It's a more meticulous, planned transition, allowing feedback to shape subsequent phases.
Benefits:
Feedback Loops: Early adopters can provide invaluable feedback, refining the rollout for subsequent teams. This means you have set up systems and processes to address each rollout wave. I need to mention timing here. Too often, I have to push back on project teams that schedule wave 2 to come right after wave 1. This leaves no time for people to feel the change, provide feedback, and determine what actions or edits are needed before Wave 2 joins the effort. The amount of delay between waves is strongly correlated to the speed of the project team; if they ARE quick to turn changes around, you can use a one-week buffer, but if the project team has historically taken multiple weeks to adjust to a change, then a one week buffer will not be sufficient to incorporate any changes from the feedback.
Mitigated Risks: Any issues can be isolated and managed without widespread disruption. This can make the people in Wave 1 feel like they got a sub-standard experience when talking to their colleagues in Wave 5. This is when having a behavioral understanding of your users (where they are on the diffusion of innovation curve) can help.
Challenges:
Prolonged Adjustment: Teams might operate under mixed systems for extended periods, which can sometimes create confusion. It is vital to make sure you map and understand how teams interact in the ordinary course of business. You may find groups so tightly related that they should be in the same wave.
It can be more resource-intensive, requiring multiple training sessions or support mechanisms.
Both approaches face the Transfer Problem.
It does not matter which approach you choose. Users must know what changes and how to work in the new environments. Training is the unsung hero of any digital transformation. But a tricky challenge lurks in the shadows: the Transfer Problem. It's one thing to understand a concept in a simulated environment and another to apply it in day-to-day tasks. I come across this all the time. Because users have been using Outlook for years, they feel there is nothing they need to learn. Then, when we move their mailbox to the cloud, enforce sensitivity labels, enable data retention rules, or a host of other changes, the need for Outlook training is evident.
Real-world Application: Think of the new tools as musical instruments. A training session might teach someone to play a few notes, but they're composing symphonies in the workplace. Bridging this gap requires hands-on practice, mentorship, and time.
Role of Rollout Strategies: With its all-at-once style, the Big Bang approach could amplify the Transfer Problem. When something goes wrong in a big-bang rollout, everyone is affected. In contrast, a phased rollout offers 'practice grounds' for employees, addressing challenges step by step. In a phased rollout, the users from earlier waves can be extremely valuable in helping future phases. The amount of education and training is a key factor in your rollout strategy choice.
The Memory Game: The Peak-End Rule
Memories are peculiar. We don't remember experiences in their entirety but rather the emotional peaks and the concluding feelings. The Peak-End rule isn't just a psychological phenomenon; it's a compass pointing toward the moments that truly matter. The Peak-end rule is a psychological heuristic introduced by Daniel Kahneman and his colleagues. People judge experiences based mainly on how they felt at their peak (most intense point) and at the end rather than based on the total sum or average of every moment of the experience.
Phased Rollout:
Peak Moments: Challenges or hiccups in the initial phases could constitute the peak moments for early adopters or affected groups. If managed correctly, however, peak moments could be positive, stemming from the satisfaction of mastering the new technology in stages.
End: The final rollout might be smoother than the initial due to iterative improvements, leading to a more positive end perception. Employees may recall the entire process as successful if all phases go well.
Big-Bang Approach:
Peak Moments: The intensity of transitioning everything at once can lead to heightened positive and negative emotions. If significant issues arise, they'll likely be very pronounced, influencing the peak moment perception.
End: If the organization can quickly move past initial hitches and stabilize, the end memory could be of triumph over challenge. If lingering issues persist, the end might not be remembered as favorably.
Influence on Perceptions: If the climax of a Big Bang transition is riddled with challenges, it will become a lasting memory for many. The key is ensuring that these peaks, whether in a Big-Bang or phased rollout, are characterized by breakthroughs and accomplishments.
Crafting the Journey: Organizations can strategically design rollout experiences by understanding this rule. It's about preparing memorable moments and ensuring the journey, however challenging, ends on a high note.
Bringing it all together
Digital transformations are narratives, not just of technology but of people. They're stories of challenges faced, breakthroughs achieved, and milestones celebrated. And just like any other narrative, the characters (employees) and the plot twists (rollout strategies) play pivotal roles.
Embracing these transformations means more than adopting a tool or a platform. It's about understanding the psychology of change, the rhythm of learning, and the art of crafting memories.
For businesses looking to embark on this journey, it's crucial to remember that the best transformations are not just technologically sound but also emotionally resonant. As the curtain rises on the digital age, may our changes echo with tales of not just technological marvels but also of human spirit and collaboration.
One of the frameworks I love to help design user experience is the Pixar Pitch. The "Pixar Pitch" or "Pixar Story Spine" is a formula used to shape stories, originally devised at Pixar Animation Studios. It's a way to succinctly outline the narrative of a story, focusing on the transformation of the main character and the pivotal events that lead to that transformation.
The Pixar Pitch typically follows this structure:
Once upon a time, (set the scene, introduce the status quo)
Every day, (describe a repetitive routine or norm)
But one day, (introduce the inciting incident that changes everything)
Because of that, (detail the consequences of the inciting incident)
Because of that, (dive deeper into the cascading effects and complications)
Until finally, (arrive at the climax and resolution)
This method is a great way to draft a story's skeleton, ensuring a clear arc, development, and transformation.
