Gartner Gartner technology maturity cycle - when introducing a new system in the enterprise

In 1995, research company Gartner proposed a hype cycle, a technology maturity curve, graphically representing the stages through which technological innovation passes through its development.

This phenomenon is observed with the appearance of any new technology, be it the appearance of tablets on the market or the introduction of a new CRM system in the enterprise.

About how this curve works in the electronics part, many articles have been written.
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But how does it work during the implementation of the new system in the organization?

Let's get a look…

As you can see, the curve consists of five phases:

1. “ Technology Launch ” - the first phase of the cycle: a technological breakthrough, the launch of an implementation project that promises desired goals and the solution of many problems (well, if not all)
2. “The peak of high expectations ” - public excitement leads to excessive enthusiasm and unrealistic expectations. Successful application of technology is possible, but usually there are more failures than successes.
3. "The bottom point of disappointment " - the technology is not able to meet expectations and quickly extinguishes enthusiasm. Different “valid” reasons begin to appear that impede the progress of the project.
4. “The slope of enlightenment ” - here begin meetings, revisions of some ideas or tasks, adjustments to the project, sometimes many tasks that seemed important and necessary at the beginning are dismissed, but related tasks appear that are found during the project and give more advantages for the organization.
5. " Performance plateau " - the benefits of technology are becoming obvious and recognized by all. The technology is stable and evolves into the second and third generation. The final plateau height 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 expectations, then after step 2, the fall may be of such strength that it becomes incompatible with life for this project.

Also in the area of ​​p. 4 there is another ambush, which is called “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 did it all,” but This is the most dangerous situation if we look only with our eyes and listen with our ears. It is important to connect the statistics. Take some key indicator for the new technology and monitor it. At the beginning there will be a complete arrhythmia and it will jump like a cardiogram of a sick heart, then it will either fall and this will be a signal of the project’s decline, or it will stabilize and improve.

If we are introducing a CRM system, then this may be the number of open deals with a cut through marketing channels or a sales funnel. If we implement production or service management systems, then this may be the volume of operations performed and / or the proportion of operations performed on time. If we create knowledge bases, then this can be the knowledge base attendance (readability) and / or the amount of new materials (occupancy). It is important not to leave a new technology without monitoring, since very likely to stop the heart and seemingly successfully closed project, in reality does not produce results in the organization.