Ways A Digital Adoption Platform Can Help Your Organization
When it comes to software, there’s always a learning curve. Actions which are intuitive to the developer won’t necessarily be to the user, with layouts being confusing at first and basically nothing getting done while you’re learning the ropes. Luckily, there’s something that can help with that, digital adoption platforms.
What Is A Digital Adoption Platform?
A digital adoption platform (DAP) is a software platform that’s designed to work with you when you’re learning how to use a new piece of software. It layers on top of the existing interface to both give hints on how to use said interface, and also collect data on behalf of the developers for further analysis. Using the data, the developers can see what works and what doesn’t and adjust accordingly.
On the user end, a digital adoption platform is designed to make the software simpler to navigate and easier to learn. Some platforms even provide in-app training that’s personalized, using AI to give real-time updates on their guidance. It’s akin to a teacher re-explaining a process when their learner doesn’t quite get it, except it’s done automatically and in much less time.
Reasons You Should Use A Digital Adoption Platform
When it comes down to it, a digital adoption platform is another expense on top of paying for the new software. You might think that it’s not really worth it to add in another expense when you’ve just had to fork out for a software package, but when you stop and think about it there are several reasons you will probably want to consider it.
-
Saving Time
Learning to use software takes time, and that’s something you can’t stop. What you can do is reduce the amount of time that each user spends learning how to use the software, and a digital adoption platform can help greatly. While you’re using the platform you get instant feedback and guidance, as well as access to a myriad of tips and tricks that you might not have thought of.
When you multiply the saved time across every user learning how to use your new software, you’ll find that you’ve saved dozens of hours in lost productivity. DAPs can also facilitate on-the-task training, whereby a user will continue to perform their usual tasks within the new software by using the guidance it provides – a definite win when it comes to keeping the momentum going.
-
Automating Training
If you’re adding a new piece of software to your organization, the chances are that the number of your team that will know how to use it is very small. Using them, if there are any at all, to teach the others to use the software might seem like a great idea but it means pulling them away from their usual tasks and grinding them to a halt.
If you have no existing team members that know how to use the new software, you might consider hiring someone from outside to do the job. This not only adds to the costs of implementing the software but suffers from the problem that they will only be able to teach a limited number at once. Teaching gets less and less personal and therefore less and less effective the larger the class size, reducing efficiency and increasing the time spent learning and not working.
In both cases, a digital adoption platform will significantly reduce the cost of training, whether literal or in lost productivity.
-
Reducing Resistance To Change
Resistance to change is a big issue in any organization, especially when it comes to technology changes and upgrades. You’ve probably heard the old adage “we’ve always done it this way”, and it’s one that holds true for anyone.
Humans are creatures of habit, and in order to change that habit, you need to make a conscious effort to change – an effort that many workers who are disillusioned or simply don’t care that much about your organization will probably be unwilling to put in!
If the task is difficult then even the most dedicated of employees will be put off. By making the change smoother and easy to follow, you’ll lower the resistance. Think of it as similar to digging out a car from the snow – if there’s only a small amount you’d be more willing to make the effort than if the snowbank is several feet high.
-
Reducing Errors
When you’re learning to use new software, making mistakes is inevitable. It might come from misunderstanding what a tool does, from misclicking or using the wrong shortcut. It might even come from assuming that the new software works the same way as a previous one and getting bitten because of it.
DAPs use automated guidance that gives you hints on how tasks might proceed and can even be sophisticated enough to guess what you’re trying to do with AI guidance and point you in the right direction.
I’m sure you’ve come across the sentient, googly-eyed paperclip in old versions of Office. Clippy would state, for example, that “it looks like you’re trying to write a letter”, and ask if you wanted guidance. DAPs do much the same, albeit being much less annoying.
-
Improving The Software
Something you’ll probably be thinking of when you’re using any software is how it can be improved. This is especially true of new pieces of software that you’re just coming across, with thoughts of interface issues, missing shortcuts and confusing tool interactions being just some of the problems you’ll face. While you might just have to get used to them, by using a DAP you can contribute to getting those issues removed.
Software developers use the information DAPs provide in order to make their products better, with the most common complaints and errors getting flagged as the most important to fix. Perhaps an annoying and persistent problem that irritates you will stay, but if it’s reported and reported often the likelihood is it’s going to get fixed in the next update.
