Digital White Papers

I L T A W H I T E P A P E R | K N O W L E D G E M A N A G E M E N T & M A R K E T I N G T E C H N O L O G Y 36 Will a technology be likely to drive new business to the firm, shore up an important institutional client or improve realization rates for an important practice group? Beyond the three stakeholders mentioned above, you might also need to be proactive about looping in additional relevant parties from the firm's security, compliance or legal teams. These representatives are often important checks on new technology projects and can help to flag possible issues early in the process. They can also potentially throw a wrench in the process, so it's best to get them involved early rather than having them interrupt the momentum of a project in its final stages of implementation. Procure and design the solution If you're able to take the time to properly identify the problem and engage stakeholders, you've set the groundwork for a successful rollout. But, of course, you still need to find the right product or technology solution to fit your needs. In order to give yourself the greatest chance of success, you should look for a product that matches your user requirements simply and intuitively. For this reason, it helps to have primary users join for early demos to confirm that products have the right technology to support their existing workflows. But it's also important to recognize that users can become enamored with shiny new technology and slick interfaces. While your early adopters may love testing new technology, most of the rest of your users are likely focused on getting their work done and may be less inclined to use a product if they find it foreign, overly complex or hard to navigate. Once you have determined that a product precisely solves the problem your users face, you can dig into other questions to make sure the vendor can support the needs and constraints of your technical and economic stakeholders. Are there installations, integrations or whitelists that need to be in place to roll out the product to users? Does the pricing model ensure that the return on investment will be positive for the firm? Lastly, firms should expect vendors to act as a trusted partner, bringing not only technology but also know-how about the best way to evaluate and roll out a specific type of product. Firms should ask about the training and support that vendors provide for customers. With many professionals working remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic, many vendors are finding ways to be creative with support materials, webinars and individualized training for users. Evaluate your solution Once a solution has been identified that meets firm needs, there are still a few important points to consider if the firm wants to evaluate the product through a proof of concept. A POC is an opportunity to test whether a product meets specified user requirements on live matters. So first, you need to establish metrics against which to measure the product, and second, you need to set a framework for having users perform their tests. The metrics establish the definition of success for the POC. Again, these metrics should align with business and technical requirements, but the key is to have no more than a handful of key metrics – ideally three or less. The more upfront firms can be with their vendors on the main drivers for the POC, the more the parties will be aligned during the evaluation. POC metrics can take a few forms. In some cases these metrics will be quantitative, relating to issues spotted, potential mistakes avoided or time saved on legal work. In other cases the feedback might be primary qualitative. But it's especially important

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