Trust and Confidence

Aside from building the solution itself, these two things are arguably the most important things you have to build when you’re implementing any kind of new software solution.

Think about the last implementation you did – be it an internal or an external project. Your stakeholders have been through negotiations on scope, on price and on quality. If it’s an external project, they’ve also probably seen a few vendors and settled on your company, because someone has spent time convincing them that you’re the right people for the job.

Hours of workshops yield a LOT of data to sift through and use for designing a solution and the client gets a little bit worried that you might not have captured everything, but also that they can’t see how all the different parts of the new solution will fit together. Add that to concern about change – the trust and confidence is on a low ebb.

One strategy I have used when this happens is to sit with the client and draw out the vision, take feedback and add to the vision in a working meeting. No slides, no presentations – you don’t need them – it’s just you and them working together to extract and validate all the stuff that’s in your head that they can’t see. It’s been effective for me in the past because they can start to see how the solution will take shape and your collaborative approach builds trust.

So this video is here to show you an example of this. It’s 35 mins long (ish) and I’ve not got a scrap of makeup on (fail) – but stick with it – you may hopefully find it useful. It’s only a simple solution; others out there will have much better diagrams and strategies – and I fluff it up by saying stick with androgynous shapes, then I go and add in a couple of obviously female symbols (that’s coz I was trying to save time). If I could say it again I’d say be inclusive and try to add icons that represent multiple genders and backgrounds. But I hope you can still see what I’m trying to put across despite these mistakes!! Enjoy.

Feedback, of course, is ALWAYS a gift – come and find me on Twitter @gemziebeth if you have any to give!