Gartner Technology Maturity Cycle - When Introducing a New System in an Enterprise
In 1995, the research company Gartner proposed a hype cycle, a technology maturity curve that graphically represents the stages through which a technological innovation passes through its development.
This phenomenon is observed with the advent of any new technology, whether it is the appearance of tablets on the market or the introduction of a new CRM system in an enterprise.
About how this curve works in electronics, many articles have been written.
But how does it work during the implementation of a new system in an organization?
Let's see ...
As you can see, the curve consists of five phases:
- “ Technology launch ” is the first phase of the cycle: technological breakthrough, launch of an implementation project that promises desired goals and the solution of many problems (well, if not all)
- “ Peak of high expectations ” - public excitement leads to excessive enthusiasm and unrealistic expectations. A successful application of technology is possible, but usually there are more failures than successes.
- “ Low point of disappointment ” - the technology is not able to meet expectations and quickly extinguishes enthusiasm. Various “good” reasons are beginning to appear that impede the progress of the project.
- “ Enlightenment slope ” - here begins meetings, revisions of some ideas or tasks, adjustments to the progress of the project, sometimes many tasks that seemed important and necessary at the beginning are neglected, but related tasks appear that are discovered during the project and the solution of which gives more advantages for organization.
- “ Productivity Plateau ” - the benefits of technology are becoming apparent and recognized by everyone. The technology is stable and is evolving into the second and third generation. The final height of the plateau depends on how widely the technology is applied.
This curve can also destroy the project. If at the very beginning of the project, people were given too high an expectation level, then after step 2, the fall can be so strong that it becomes incompatible with life for this project.
Also in the area of item 4, there is another ambush called the “Strength Test” (for a description of this stage, see the Monster of Changes book), its essence is that the situation may look like “all the problems are behind and we have succeeded,” but this is the most dangerous situation if we look only with our eyes and listen with our ears. It is important to connect statistics. Take some key indicator for new technology and monitor it. In the beginning there will be complete arrhythmia and it will gallop like a cardiogram of a diseased heart, then it will either fall and this will be a signal for the project to fall, or it will stabilize and will improve.
If we implement a CRM system, it can be the number of open deals with a cut across marketing channels or a sales funnel. If we introduce production or service management systems, this may be the volume of operations performed and / or the proportion of operations completed on time. If we create knowledge bases, then this can be attendance of the knowledge base (readability) and / or the amount of new materials (occupancy). It is important not to leave the new technology without monitoring, as there is a very high probability of heart failure and a seemingly successfully closed project, in reality it does not give results in the organization.