Adobe Workfront can transform how your team manages projects, streamline your workflows, and enhance team collaboration. To unlock the platform’s full potential, it is important to approach the implementation strategically. Whether your team is new to work management or migrating from another system, following a plan will ensure a smooth transition and ultimate success. These best practices will help you drive greater productivity with Workfront in no time.
Define Success
Defining success when implementing new processes and tools requires clear, measurable goals that align with the organization’s goals. Success involves ensuring that the new procedures are effectively adopted, understood, and followed. This can be measured through key indicators such as:
- Improved efficiency
- Compliance rates
- Employee engagement
- Feedback
Success involves minimizing disruptions and resistance during the rollout process while ensuring the long-term sustainability of the changes. By defining success through both quantitative and qualitative metrics, organizations can gauge the impact and adjust as needed for continuous improvement.
Craft a Roadmap
A roadmap provides direction for organizations navigating complex initiatives, ensuring long-term success. By planning effectively, organizations can improve the ROI of their technology investments as systems evolve. Here are several items to consider when creating your roadmap:
Integrations
An integration roadmap helps by evaluating current technologies and pinpointing integrations to help boost efficiency. Focus on scalability, security, and flexibility to support growth. Regularly update the roadmap to adapt to new technologies and improve performance.
Governance
Effective application governance is necessary for managing and monitoring applications throughout their lifecycle. Governance should define clear policies and procedures for supporting the ongoing use of Workfront. It ensures consistent oversight of the application and access control.
Process Changes and Ongoing Maintenance
A support plan ensures systems continue to deliver value post-implementation. The plan should include regular reviews of system performance, end-user satisfaction, and alignment with strategic business goals.
Choose a core project team with the power of decision-making.
Choosing a core project team with decision-making authority is crucial when rolling out a new process, as it ensures streamlined, efficient, and effective implementation.
- Clear Ownership and Accountability: The team takes responsibility for the rollout, making prompt decisions and addressing issues quickly, avoiding delays and focusing on desired outcomes.
- Consistency and Alignment: The team ensures the process aligns with the company’s strategic goals and long-term vision and guides smooth execution.
- Stakeholder Confidence: An empowered core team builds stakeholder trust through regular updates, transparency, and progress, managing expectations and ensuring successful adoption across the organization.
Communication
Communication is crucial for process changes as it keeps stakeholders informed, engaged, and aligned with the new direction:
- Clear communication helps employees understand the reasons behind the change and its benefits.
- Effective communication fosters ownership and commitment, motivating individuals to support change.
- Well-structured communication provides essential information and training, equipping employees with the necessary skills.
- Ongoing communication offers support and guidance, addressing challenges and encouraging progress.
- Consistent communication celebrates successes and reinforces new behaviors to sustain changes.
By facilitating open and transparent communication organizations can reduce resistance, improve understanding, and create a smoother transition to new processes.
Apply Change Management
Utilizing a change management principle provides organizations with a structured approach to navigating the complexities of process or system changes.
Communicate the Need for Change:
Communicate the business case behind the new application, including how it addresses current challenges or improves operations.
Benefits of the Change:
Address potential concerns, show the benefits for the organization and individual roles, and highlight how the new application or process will improve productivity, ease workflows, or drive innovation.
Show Employees How to Change:
Employees need to know exactly how to use the new tools and processes. Provide the necessary training, resources, and documentation to ensure everyone understands how the new system or process works.
Implement New Skills and Behaviors:
Organizations should provide ongoing support including:
- Opportunities for practice
- Troubleshooting
- Real-time help
- Feedback loops
This might involve having dedicated change champions, creating user support teams, or offering one-on-one coaching to help employees navigate challenges.
Maintain the Change:
Recognition and rewards for those successfully adopting the new way of working can boost morale and drive long-term commitment. To keep momentum and ensure sustainability:
- Communicate progress.
- Celebrating wins
- Regularly revisit the benefits of the changes
Avoid training issues and limited process understanding.
To avoid training issues and limited process understanding, take a proactive, structured approach to learning and development:
- Ensure that training materials are clear, comprehensive, and tailored to the specific needs of different user groups. This may involve creating role-based training content that speaks to the unique requirements of each team.
- Provide ongoing training, not just a one-time event.
- Establish a dedicated support system for post-training, including access to help desks, peer support networks, and other resources to address gaps in understanding after the initial rollout.
- Offer a mix of learning methods, such as hands-on workshops, video tutorials, and written documentation, to accommodate diverse learning preferences.
Trust an experienced expert.
Adobe Workfront partners can bring specialized expertise to enhance your organization’s implementation. Seasoned professionals guide you through:
- complex implementations
- customizations and integrations
- improving workflows
- enhanced reporting and dashboards
At EMMsphere, we make sure great platforms & best practices come together — and stay 100% aligned — with your needs & goals. By using our expertise, you can accelerate your implementation and realize Workfront’s full value.
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