Learn how a process-first approach to change management can drive user adoption, minimize surprises, and ensure successful digital transformation from the start.
Every big system change sparks resistance. We often worry about the code, the budget, or the timeline, but the biggest project risk isn't the technology; it's getting people to successfully use the new system.
Many organizations treat Organizational Change Management (OCM) as an add-on, focusing only on training just before go-live. That approach is flawed. Instead, we show you how putting processes first transforms OCM from a checklist item into a powerful driver for user adoption. This strategy helps your team embrace change, rather than fight it.
The hard truth is simple: studies show the main reason major digital transformation projects fail is a lack of focus on OCM.
The traditional approach relies too much on a one-time training session and a stack of end-of-project documents. It's often too late. You only retain about 25% of what you learn in a class, making it impossible for staff to keep the business moving on their own.
You cannot afford to rely on a few "constrained experts" who hold all the knowledge in their heads. Instead, when planning a large-scale rollout, you need a centralized reference point for everyone - partners, project leads, and end-users - to manage change across the entire business. But managing change also means managing culture, and that starts with the words you use.
Major system changes disrupt decades of work culture and established terminology. Think about replacing a 50-year-old mainframe; that effort means changing how people speak about their jobs. It disrupts everything.
The way you labeled processes, products, roles, and functions in your old technology will be different in your new system. To secure stakeholder buy-in, you must first acknowledge and validate your team's current way of working and the terms they use. You have to speak their language before you can teach them a new one, which includes defining and explaining the new terminology to all users and stakeholders. This clarity is a major driver of user adoption and a way to mitigate project risk.
The goal of early change management isn't just documentation; it's to build trust, show staff exactly what is changing, and establish the single, centralized platform that makes this communication possible. This platform is often referred to as the Digital Twin.
Turn Your Digital Twin into a Change Engine
The Digital Twin - your comprehensive process repository - is the single source of truth for the project. It provides the clarity traditional OCM documentation lacks.
Instead of hunting through fragmented notes, the Digital Twin lets your OCM team use data to drive decisions:
Actionable Impact Analysis: Use the Digital Twin to capture change impact information across three key areas: business, process, and technology. This allows leaders to have specific conversations about the real effects of the change.
Driving Adoption: The Digital Twin gives end-users round-trip help. They can jump directly from the D365 form to the exact process step for instructions, and vice versa. This provides absolute, at-your-fingertips help, minimizing mistakes and building user confidence right away.
This method transforms OCM. It moves the focus from passively documenting change to actively driving it.
From Theory to Guaranteed Usage
OCM is not an afterthought; it must be built into the project lifecycle from day one, starting with capturing your current state. Process clarity is the foundation of effective change management. By making the process repository the center of OCM, you manage expectations, minimize surprises, and build a system that users are prepared and confident to use.
Want to see this proven strategy in action 💻?
John Robinson from JM Family (Southeast Toyota Distributors) didn't just write a handbook - he lived it. Join him on October 21st for this exclusive session where he shares the exact blueprint they followed to replace a 50-year-old mainframe system with Dynamics 365, showing you how the strategy led to tangible, real-world results: