T-Minus: adoption and change
Coaching in the flow instead of the classroom, the adoption journey per user, role readiness, the see-it / do-it / own-it change model, change impact, stakeholders, communications, and meeting resistance.
Coach in the flow, not the classroom
| Big-bang training | T-Minus |
|---|---|
| Weeks of classroom sessions before go-live | Key users learn by discovering and configuring their own tenant |
| Generic scenarios, forgotten by T+1 | Everyone learns by rehearsing their own real day |
| Manuals that age on day one | The queue shows each user what needs attention; ASK answers "how do I…" by doing it with them, under their permissions |
| Training measured in hours attended | Adoption measured by work done |
Replace the training plan with an adoption plan. The measure is not hours trained but users who completed their rehearsal tasks and their first real week unaided.
The adoption journey per user
| When | Who | What |
|---|---|---|
| T-27 → T-18 | Key users | Play their roles in discovery; shape the Fit Ledger |
| T-17 → T-11 | Key users | Co-drive configuration; own their role design |
| T-9 → T-5 | All users | Log in, see their own queue, try their own tasks on test data |
| T-2 → T-1 | All users | Run their real day in the rehearsal |
| T+1 → T+30 | All users | Real work with the queue and ASK; hypercare on exceptions |
Every user meets the system in their own role at least twice before go-live. Readiness measure: the share of T+1 users who completed their rehearsal tasks in their own role — target 95% or more. Key users are the multipliers: each should coach three to eight colleagues through the rehearsal; name them in the adoption register at T-27.
Role readiness (proposed default)
One line per user in the Toolkit’s Role & Adoption Readiness sheet, with four checks — queue configured, ASK enabled, logged in by T-5, rehearsed by T-1 — and a named buddy where needed. The sheet calculates Ready and rolls readiness up per role and department.
Anyone not ready at T-1 gets a named buddy — a key user — for their first week, rather than a go-live delay.
Change on the countdown: see it, do it, own it
| Stage | When | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| See it | T-27 → T-11 | Why we are changing and the go-live date, from the executive sponsor; each team sees its future screens in the tenant; change impact captured per role |
| Do it | T-10 → T-1 | Users log in and try their own tasks; everyone runs their real day in the rehearsal; concerns logged and answered in the standup |
| Own it | T-0 → T+30 | Queue and ASK in daily work; legacy read-only, so old habits are retired; wins shared; same-week configuration changes prove responsiveness |
A change model sized for 27 days instead of 12 months: direct experience of the new system replaces most awareness-building, so keep messages short and screen-based.
Change impact assessment (examples)
| Process | Today | With TRANXACT | Roles | Impact | Change action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Order to cash | Re-keyed from CRM to ERP; credit checked after shipping | One flow; credit hold before shipping | Sales, billing, credit | High | Rehearse credit-hold scenarios; a queue rule |
| Month-end close | Spreadsheets stitch four systems | Close from one ledger with a checklist | Finance | High | Controller-led walkthrough in the tenant |
| Purchase approval | E-mail approvals | Approval flow in the queue | Budget holders | Medium | One-page guide; an ASK prompt |
| Stock counts | Overnight copy, never current | Live stock | Warehouse | Medium | Show live stock in the rehearsal |
| Payslips | Paper / PDF by e-mail | Self-service | All employees | Low | Comms at T-5 and T+1 |
Rate impact on the people, not the process: a small change for a large team can outweigh a big change for one specialist.
Stakeholders and champions (proposed default)
| Quadrant | Who |
|---|---|
| Manage closely — high influence, high impact | CFO, COO, Countdown Owner, finance controller |
| Keep satisfied — high influence, lower impact | CEO, board sponsor, IT director, auditors |
| Keep engaged — lower influence, high impact | Clerks, warehouse, sales, payroll teams |
| Keep informed — lower influence, lower impact | Wider staff, partners, customers, suppliers |
Every high-influence, high-impact stakeholder attends at least one standup and the rehearsal. Champions come from the key-user list, one per team.
Communications on the countdown (proposed default)
| T-day | Audience | Message | Channel | From |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| T-27 | All staff | We go live on [date]: why, what, and the countdown | Town hall / e-mail | Executive sponsor |
| T-18 | Affected teams | What is in wave 1 and what comes in T-Plus | Team meetings | Countdown Owner |
| T-10 | All users | Your login, your screens, your rehearsal slot | E-mail + tenant | Adoption Navigator |
| T-3 | Customers & suppliers | New invoice layouts; bank details unchanged | Letter / e-mail | Finance |
| T-1 | All users | Rehearsal result, the GO decision, freeze time | E-mail / chat | Countdown Owner |
| T-0 | All staff | We are live: first invoice posted; where to get help | Chat / intranet | Executive sponsor |
| T+5 / T+30 | All users | Wins, fixes delivered, what is next in T-Plus | Newsletter | Flight Lead |
Every message answers "what changes for me, and when". Send from the executive sponsor or the Countdown Owner, never from the project mailbox alone.
Resistance, and how to meet it
| What people say | What is behind it | The T-Minus answer |
|---|---|---|
| "27 days can’t be enough" | Experience of long ERP projects | Show the four removed phases and the countdown board; invite them to a standup |
| "We’ll lose our reports" | Fear of losing control | A Fit Ledger line per report; most become dashboards or "not needed" |
| "Nobody trained us" | Training = classroom | Their rehearsal slot and ASK; a buddy for the first week |
| "The old system did X" | Habit | Rule 2: show the screen; configure, T-Plus or no |
| "What about history?" | Audit worry | The legacy archive stays queryable; period balances where needed |
| "Too busy for the project" | Day-job pressure | The Countdown Owner releases key users; the rehearsal is their real work |
Log recurring objections in the RAID log as risks. If one role keeps raising the same point, it is usually a missing Fit Ledger line, not resistance.
Values marked proposed default are the methodology’s recommended starting points. Confirm each one per engagement; the contract, order form and SLA prevail.