The introduction of the software product. Features of the business consultant. Part III. Final

It is not enough to get knowledge, you need to find an application for them. It is not enough to just desire, to do.

Goethe

To the readers of my series of articles on the work of a business consultant in small and medium businesses, I want to remind you that in past articles I told:

• How to start working with a new client, how to understand the features of his company, how to choose a new software product.
• How to present the product and convince the client of your choice
• How does a business consultant at the stage of implementation of the software product.

Let me remind you that the transition to new software most often underlies the work of a business consultant in small and medium business. There are many reasons. This is also the fact that for a new, more efficient scheme of work, new software is required, and insufficient business automation in most cases, and the absence of the necessary analytics in order to offer an effective solution to the customer's problem, etc.

In the process of introducing a new software product, the business consultant also creates an updated work scheme for the company's departments:
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• The level of control and accounting at all stages of work is increasing, since the new software has quite powerful analytics, and this is exactly what is required for this business.
• Documentation is being developed for the work of each department, in which there is not only an instruction for working with a new software product, but also general principles for the work of the department, a job description of a specialist, etc.
• The level of automation increases, as a result of which the speed and efficiency of the entire work process increases.
• If necessary, in the course of work, the business consultant makes suggestions for modernizing the work of the divisions, their interaction with each other, including, may suggest personnel changes.

It is very important to understand that the task of a business consultant is not just to introduce a new software product, but to solve a business problem. Therefore, if you see that some units or individual specialists are not working effectively enough, if you know how to optimize their work, be sure to make suggestions to the client on this issue and implement them in the course of the project. In most cases, the business manager endorses my proposals for optimizing work, since they invite a business consultant to solve business problems, and the need for change is obvious. And now I want to talk about the next stage, the test operation of the system and the end of the project.

Test operation

So, the software product is finalized and corresponds to the wishes of the client as much as possible; moreover, almost all the documentation has been created. It is time to thoroughly check the work of the program, i.e. test operation.
In principle, testing can begin immediately after the transfer of residues and be carried out regularly. But the more data will be added to the new program, the better the testing process will be. This stage can be called beta testing, i.e. software testing by developers and users.

Beta testing (beta testing) - intensive use of an almost finished product version (usually software or hardware) in order to identify the maximum number of errors in its work for their subsequent elimination before the final release (release) of the product to the market, to mass to the consumer. Unlike alpha testing, conducted by full-time developers or testers, beta testing involves attracting volunteers from among the usual future users of the product to whom the mentioned preliminary version of the product is available (the so-called beta version)
Wikipedia

Essentially, beta testing is a test of a software product that is already ready. At the same time, it is still early to use it in practice, before giving it to the user, it is necessary to carry out a qualitative search for errors.

Factors needed to start the test operation:

1. All balances have already been transferred.
2. Major improvements are made.
3. From the customer’s side there is a person who can be responsible for testing.

At the last point it is worthwhile to stop in more detail. You will need the help of a person from the customer who knows the old program quite well and familiarized himself with the new software product in detail. It is this person who at the end of the work will be able to confirm that the implementation was successful, the software works well, the project can be closed.

Naturally, the head of the company pays for your services, and most often someone else accepts your work. The head of the company appoints from among its employees a responsible person, whose duties include detailed verification of the operation of the software product. As a result, this employee will report to the management that the work is really done efficiently, and you can close the project and make the payment. Both for you and for him, it would be best if this person in charge would participate in testing from the very beginning.

Test operation can be carried out in several iterations.

In principle, everyone who has tested a software product knows that testing always consists of a certain number of iterations, since The scheme of work here is simple:

1. Checked the work program
2. Revealed errors
3. Corrected these shortcomings
4. Checked the work again

This cycle is repeated as many times as necessary until the quality of the work of the software product fully satisfies the customer.

Test operation can be performed simultaneously with training.

This decision, on the one hand, is quite risky. Often, company employees are already accepting changes, and if they see that a new program is not working properly, it is not good enough, then this resistance may grow even stronger.

On the other hand, such an approach will not only save time, but will help to identify a large number of shortcomings in the early stages of work. During training, people ask questions, ask how to perform an action, how to get some kind of report or document, and you understand that there is no such solution in the new program. This is very convenient for you, as some important points in the work that you have previously missed are revealed.

And in order for users to not have a negative while combining training and testing, it is important to fulfill two conditions:

1. Access to the software product is obtained only when the main functionality necessary for the work of a particular department is ready. You can not show a completely "raw" version, users should see an option close to the final one.
2. Always explain to users that work is still underway, accept their questions and comments with gratitude, show that following the results of the joint work with the program, the necessary tools appear. This will help you avoid misunderstanding and resistance of users.

When testing software, as well as when training, it is best to work mainly with 1 - 2 employees. Those people whom you began to identify during training, who know the software better than others, should also participate in testing. This will help them learn more about the program, become more confident in the result, and you can get more qualified helpers for the testing process.

Documentation needs to be prepared during test operation.

You have to create a fairly large amount of documentation for different departments and employees. So the sooner you start to deal with this issue, the better. In principle, if the test operation showed that a module or plug-in is ready, meets all the requirements of the customer, then it is already possible to write instructions for it.

Integration Testing

Often there is a need not just to introduce a new product, but to integrate it with other solutions. For example, for effective automation of work with clients often requires the integration of some of the 1C products with the site.

And then it is very important when testing to apply both software products. Moreover, the site should work the specialist who in the future will work with the site. And from the side of 1C to participate in testing will be the person who will process this information when entering it in 1C.

The optimal solution is to gather all people in the same room and conduct joint comprehensive testing.

For example, to check the full cycle of work with an order to order, you need to bring together a specialist from the purchasing department and a specialist from the sales department. The sales department creates several customer orders and a purchasing department specialist — an order to a supplier based on customer orders. Next comes the goods and is implemented. All stages are clearly visible, and in each case, the work is performed by the specialist who knows all the nuances of his workflow.

One more example. Integrated 1C and Zoho CRM. In this case, a contact is created in Zoho, in 1C - a contact person. One of the sales managers creates a client card in Zoho, the other works in the 1C environment. Based on the data obtained from Zoho, the manager in 1C creates a contact person and partner.

If the scheme of the company is such that both managers will work in Zoho and 1C, then during testing it makes sense to change their places.

Very often, creating contacts and leads is divided between different employees. But even if this is usually done by one person, it is still better to take two for testing and share this work. So you can more accurately check the system, and, as you know, "one head is good, and two is better."

And remember that for any testing you need to invite a responsible person who will accept your project. Of course, if a person is busy at this time, it is not worth insisting on his participation, but if there is an opportunity, let him participate, it will be easier for him to understand later how the program works.

I want to remind once again that by the time of testing the software product should be ready. There may be some errors, shortcomings. But all the functionality necessary for the work of the unit must be present. Also try to keep testing as close as possible to the workflow.

Programmer participation at the testing stage

I will say right away and clearly: the programmer does not participate in the testing process. Totally. Never. He corrects mistakes, deals with modifications. But testing is not his job. As my friend says - Never trust the final testing of an IT person.

Once I made this mistake myself: I trusted a programmer and from his words I accepted the work. Then I realized that this is not true. It is you, the consultant, who are responsible for the quality of work to the client. In addition, testing is not related to the work of the programmer. Yes, some errors he will reveal on his own. But still, this is not his job.

The first stage of testing, I spend personally. Yes, this is quite a boring and not the fastest process. But on the other hand, I thus become more familiar with the work of the software product and with the modifications for a particular business, and also personally see for myself the quality of the work done.

If I detect errors, pass information about them to the programmer, the programmer corrects them, and I retest. And only when I am personally satisfied with the results, I bring a new release for testing with the person in charge and with all the participants in the process.

As a result, all interested parties are familiar with the operation of the software, everyone can see that it works well and are ready to confirm that I have completed the task qualitatively.

"Pitfalls" testing

At the testing stage, the most difficult thing is to organize a workflow. Employees who must participate in testing are busy with basic work, and it can be quite difficult to assemble them together at one time. On the other hand, you may face opposition from the employees themselves. This is not surprising, because participation in testing is an additional burden for an employee, and besides, people generally tend to resist change.

Therefore, the first thing to do in each department is to appoint a person responsible for testing.

Most often, I try to go without the participation of company management when choosing a person in charge. Ideal: agree with the head in principle, the appointment of responsible persons, and you choose the candidates. Of course, they will have to be coordinated, but if you bring a list of candidates to responsible persons and inform them that people do not object to participation in this work, then the manager will probably approve your candidates without any problems.

How does this happen in practice? If I see that a person is good at making contact, and to convince him really well, then that’s what I’m doing. If the employee you need provides obvious resistance, you will have to resolve the issue with his appointment as a responsible person through the management.

It is important to remember yourself and explain to employees: you, of course, are not their boss, you do not have administrative levers of pressure, but you are ready to bring the project to the final, no matter what.

At the same time, I believe that a business consultant should be able to convince people. The leadership should be treated only as a last resort. Administrative decisions "from above" will not help to establish contact with people, and in some cases, even the opposite. Learn to convince people that this work will be done, and it will be done by the employee whom you consider the most suitable.

If you are faced with active resistance, you can, as an exception, attract a manager. Then the following usually happens: the manager personally confirms the appointment of a particular person as a responsible person; But such things should be a rare exception. Most often, even in the case of very active resistance of employees, after 1-2 such conversations, refusals to cooperate cease on their own.

Boycott: active and passive

One of the most common employee resistance options you may encounter is a boycott. Here I speak not only about the responsible persons who do not want to do extra work, but about the resistance of employees in principle. Sometimes whole divisions “strike” this way.

Do not worry, such a reaction is normal. Put yourself in the shoes of these people. They worked calmly and habitually, they knew their remit, they did their usual actions. And here comes a business consultant who brings change. Employees have to undergo training, to master a new software product. Moreover, their terms of reference often change somewhat, and administrative control almost always rises, as the new level of automation is aimed, among other things, at this. And in some cases, after the appearance of a business consultant, there are even reorganizations of departments and dismissal.

In this case, it is the business consultant who turns out to be guilty in the eyes of the employees for all these changes and troubles. I am often considered a gray cardinal on projects and, of course, they don’t like me. This is normal. In human nature, resist change. Remember, even the Chinese have such a curse: "So that you live in an era of change."

So if you are faced with a boycott, you don’t need to worry. This is the most common moment in your work. It is important to recognize the signs of a boycott in a timely manner and be able to effectively solve this problem.

So, the boycott is of two types:

1. active
2. passive

The active variant of resistance is simple, explicit and understandable. The man in your eyes declares that he is against you. Sometimes it even reaches threats. And here also remember that this person has nothing against you personally. He is against the changes that you embody. Sometimes these people can be persuaded, but most often the issue is resolved through the leader.

Passive boycott difficult to identify. On the one hand, no one objects, everyone is ready to cooperate. On the other hand, gathering the people you need together is almost impossible. They are busy with urgent work, constantly absent, at the last moment forced to do other things, etc.

Here you can also act by conviction or through the management of the company. You do not need to quarrel with people, it is generally unacceptable! You also can not demonstrate that you are - the main. You are not the principal. You have no direct power. But at the same time you are a continuation of the will of the head. Explain to the staff that you were hired to perform a specific task, and therefore the manager will also ask you. And if you cannot solve the task set before you because of the resistance of the staff, then you will not hide this fact.

Usually this is enough for people to think and start to cooperate. But if such explanations do not work, it remains only to go to the head. And then everything depends on the person. Either he will carry out orders of the leadership, or, most likely, will be dismissed. Yes, I have often come across such an option, when resistance to change came to the point where I had to part with an employee.

Learn to like people, communicate with them. I often communicate with employees informally, I go with them to a cafe for lunch, I drink tea and coffee, I even go out for a smoke break, although I am not a smoker. Thus, I make contacts, I try to see in me not the car, not the personification of the unpleasant process, but simply the person who does his work.

But, no matter what, you must also show your intransigence. Employees must understand that this project will be implemented, will be implemented successfully and in a timely manner. Regardless of anything.

Never show your weakness or insecurity, but admit your mistakes!

Remember that you are positioning yourself as an expert, it is you who know how best to build a business and are ready to participate in the restructuring of the workflow. People see it, they also understand that management has already made a decision, and agree that change is inevitable.

But you are also a living person, and you may be mistaken. And, of course, company employees will definitely notice your mistake and start asking questions. What to do? Never lie and make excuses. Calmly and honestly say: "I was wrong." Remember, at the training stage I also told you, do not hesitate to say "I do not know." Here the situation is similar.

Yes, you are an expert, yes, you know and are able to do a lot, yes, you have managed to understand the features of a particular business so that you have revealed shortcomings and help to correct them. But at the same time you are a living person. And it is human nature to make mistakes. And because the ideal solution in case of questions, it is honest and calm to admit a mistake, and then fix it in a short time. So you decide to eliminate the problem in the bud.

Also, never be tempted to blame the programmer. Even if it is obvious to everyone that the programmer made a mistake. Remember that you and only you are responsible for the project. If the programmer made a mistake, and you accepted his work, then the blame for the error lies with you. I believe that it is unacceptable to shift the blame on someone else, I believe that it is unacceptable to discuss with the client "which stupid these programmers are." And I always say directly that the fault for the mistake is mine. And only mine.

Remember that you are responsible for the project. You get money for this job. And all the negative must also be on you. At first it is difficult, of course, to take all the negative on yourself. You get a negative from the client, when he is faced with some mistakes and shortcomings, gets a negative from employees who are unhappy with the changes. But in fact, you gradually get used to it.

I personally do not see anything terrible in this negative. This is just my job. And I remember well that all emotions are directed not at me, as a person, but at the process that I brought and personify. Therefore, I also perceive emotions as well. They will then understand, appreciate, but for now it’s also difficult for them.

And another important point regarding the correctness of your relationship with the client. Never say: "He does not cope with his duties, he needs to be dismissed." This does not concern you. You may not know some important things. A person can smoke and drink, it can be just an unpleasant person. This is not your concern. That is why you speak only about specifics, about your work and about what is connected with it. If you are not satisfied with the work of some employee, just say that in such a situation he did not cope. Talk about a specific process and its complexities. You do not care about the identity of an employee, as well as his professional qualities. It is important for you to train him. On this, and focus attention guide.

Completion of testing

Once again we repeat the steps of the testing process:

1. Testing by the programmer. Before you take the job, the programmer corrects the errors that he was able to identify.
2. Testing your strength. You personally test the work of the program in as much detail as possible before installing the next release on the client.
3. Joint testing with the person responsible for the project. Together with this person, you also check in detail the work done, or check the quality of the improvements, make sure that everything works.
4. Testing with direct participants in the process takes place in a mode as close as possible to real work. People perform their duties in a new software environment. Check how convenient and correct the system is.

And finally, when everything is ready, when most of the errors are revealed, you need to give access to the system to the maximum number of employees. Let people work in two systems in parallel. They do not have to duplicate everything. But as far as possible it is necessary to work in both systems. Thus, the software product undergoes full beta testing, i.e. testing of the multi-user environment in an operating mode with a fairly large load.

At this stage in any case: do not give contacts to ordinary participants of the process!

All questions from employees must go through the person in charge. At this point, this employee should know the software almost as well as you. He should be able to answer a variety of questions, suggest how to perform a particular job in a new program. In general, the level of training of the responsible person should be such that, at the level of a question on current work, he can notice you at the end of the project.

Launch of the project

So, the testing was successful and everyone agrees. What happens next:

• The system already has current balances, reference books are filled, all necessary documents and reports are available.
• All the necessary integrations are present and work well.
• There is all necessary documentation for work. Moreover, if the client has not requested any of the important documents from your point of view, inform him about it yourself. If he refuses this or that document, be sure to record this information in text form, for example, using email correspondence.
• The server is configured to work, you also transferred all the plugins to the client.

If all these items are met, you can start the system.

It is important to understand that the launch is not a closed project. Explain this also to the client. After launch, you will still be there for 1 - 2 weeks depending on the complexity of the project.

Employees need some time to work in the new program, get used to it, to understand all the features. And only when you are sure that they will not return to the old program after you leave, can the project be considered completed.

At this stage, you should work to the maximum and stay on the project almost all the time. You must control the quality of work, help, suggest, make the latest edits. And now, on the contrary, you can leave your phone even to ordinary employees, you should be constantly in touch.

For example, when I launched a software product at a bakery, I slept 3-4 hours a day for 3 ex days. I was practically at the enterprise all the time. Programmers who also led this project could rest more. They just had to be in touch for prompt correction of possible shortcomings. And I spent almost round the clock on the project simply because the bakery works around the clock, and it was necessary to control a variety of processes at different times.

Also, your client should know exactly and understand that during this period of time, the last week of your work on the project, all the improvements and help from your side are free, more precisely, as part of payment for the project. Further, any work will be paid separately.

Why is it important? If the client understands that in a few days your help will end, then you will have to pay for any action, he will really qualitatively test all the nuances of work, the staff will figure out all the questions during this time, make sure that everything works as it should. Otherwise, you risk receiving requests for revision or some questions for a very long time. You will already have a new project in operation, you can even forget the details and features of that project and that software product. And you will still be asked for modifications. Because if you don’t set a clear deadline, then people don’t do the checks seriously, but they start calling you when a problem has been discovered by chance.

How to explain this to the client? You are not able to keep the programmer in this project for a long time after finishing the work. Just because you still have to pay for specialist time, and your profit from the project does not allow such expenses. You are not able to constantly engage in past projects, otherwise you will not have the opportunity to plunge into a new one as effectively as you have worked now. In addition, you are confident in the result, people who tested the program and accepted the project are also confident. And you understand that most likely, the modifications will not be needed in principle or will be needed already when some changes occur in the work of the company.

Do not hesitate to explain quite frankly your approach to work. Small and medium businesses are, most often, people who are as good at you as they value money and time. And therefore your arguments will be close and clear to them.

Industrial exploitation. Escort

If you worked on the project well, then the support is practically reduced to zero. Moreover, I personally escort almost always remotely.

How does this happen:

• I teach one or two customer specialists how to describe the tasks. For this, I use the jing program. If necessary, a screenshot or a video with the text describing the problem is added to the task. Then this package of information is sent to me.
• All accompaniment goes through the writing, through the bugtracking system. I use the Redmine system for this. Of course, this is not necessary, just for me personally so convenient.

So, if there is a need to finalize something, the client’s specialists put a task in writing to me, I implement it. And at the end of the month (or 2 times a month) I send a report on the work done and issue an invoice.

Let me remind you once more. If you have done a good job on the project, then there will be no such improvements at all, or they will be isolated. And because maintenance does not bring much profit.

On the other hand, and this is very important, maintenance and should not be a particularly profitable process. If you are guided by constant support, then you simply did not do your job well.

As one of my clients said about such work: “If I bought a car, then I understand the need to periodically put it on THAT, but all the rest of the time I should just drive, and drive without problems and without the constant presence of a mechanic in my car in the back seat".

And support: if the work is done well, then some kind of maintenance, some improvements may be needed occasionally. And do not worry about the fact that you will receive less profit. You will get even more thanks to these factors:

• A grateful client will contact you again and again, not for modifications, but with new projects.
• A grateful client will recommend you to friends. And such advertising is worth a lot.
• Due to the fact that you do not have to constantly be distracted by minor improvements, you can actively engage in the current project, which is also a big plus.

There is one more important point at the end of cooperation, which I would like to warn.

Never burn bridges!

Remember that by the final stage of the project everyone is tired. And you are tired, and the customer, and his staff. People are tired of increased loads, of changes, of learning, of the need to solve controversial issues, it is difficult to restructure their work principles, etc. etc. And therefore at the end of the project from time to time misunderstandings and quarrels with the client occur.

That you understand how much you actually did, that you are sure that everything will work "like a clock." For you, the project is completed, but for the client, everything is just beginning. Your client still doubts in many respects, I would like you to be on hand a little longer in case of any problems, do not really understand what are the advantages of a new work option, because there is still not enough data to analyze profit and work efficiency. And you already leave.

Of course, such tiffs do not always occur. Rather, these are exceptions to the rule, since the relationship with the majority of clients, for example, I have, is very good. But, nevertheless, this happens in life.
And therefore I warn you: even if you and the client had some misunderstandings, if the person spoke too emotionally, do not rush to respond to him with the same and in no case do not burn all the bridges behind you.

Yes, you have already paid. Yes, you are also tired and it is also unpleasant for you to hear unfounded accusations or even insults. But do not forget that this person paid you. And pay more, perhaps more than once. And therefore always leave the opportunity to reconciliation, do not refuse support, etc. In my practice, it happened more than once when, over time, such emotional people called me, apologized for the last incident, after which they gave me new orders, according to which we worked even more efficiently.

I hope that this series of articles helped you present the work of a business consultant in small and medium business, its features, pitfalls, nuances. Let me remind you that this niche in our country is still unfilled. There are not enough specialists, so I am ready to answer questions and give advice to anyone who wishes to become my colleague.