Avoiding the 47 Percent Tragedy
Mon Oct 05 2009 Filed in: Donor Software | Software Conversion
By Sally Funk
I just heard an interesting statistic: only 47% of organizations changing their donor software believe their data conversions were successful. Unfortunately, I’m afraid that number may be artificially high. I suspect that a good number of those “successful” conversions are really, ”We don’t have a clue, but guess it worked out ok” conversions.
When you think of the cost and time required to change donor-tracking software, wouldn’t you prefer to be better off after all that work? Having only an even chance of being worse off is just plain bad news. Small wonder so many organizations will do almost anything to avoid changing software.
If no one wants a conversion to go bad, why do more than half of them go sour? And how can you make sure you are in the lucky 47%?
Don’t Just Sit There, Do Something!
OK, your current software is driving you nuts. But if you change over to a different software package just because it’s different, you can trade one set of problems for another. To avoid this dilemma, look at what you are using now and write down what the problems are. What does your current system do that needs to be fixed? What does it do right? What does it not do at all? Figuring out the problem is the first step to figuring out the solution.
If You Don’t Know Where You’re Going, Any Road Will Do
The frightening thought is how many organizations just don’t know if their conversion to new software worked simply because they didn’t know what to expect. So while you’re thinking about what problems you’re trying to solve, imagine what you want the solution to look like: “the new system should do this, and this, and this, and it would be great if it could also do that.”
This gives you two major advantages: you’ll have a much better idea of what you are looking for in a software package, and you’ll know when the job is complete.
Myopia in the Midst
You’ve crossed all the t’s, dotted all the i’s, brought in the experts, yet there you are in the middle of the conversion process with someone saying, ”So what do we with this weird bunch of data?” The temptation is to do something that will make the conversion continue on in a smooth way — which is nearly always a mistake. It’s odd, but this type of situation almost always happens during a conversion – even when you expect it.
At this point, any decision that starts with, ”Let’s just…” is usually the wrong thing to do. Stop. Breathe deeply. Instead of thinking about the conversion process, think about how you will use that data in the long run. It can be surprisingly hard to do this, but it prevents a lot of frustration.
One Size Fits None
Donor software is designed to be customized by the organizations using it. Code tables, user defined fields, and so forth are intended to be configured by you to meet your organization’s needs. The donor software companies do this to be able to sell more software. The default codes included are best used as hints for where to put your codes. They expect you to know what you want for those codes.
So what codes do you use? Start with your reports. What is most important for your organization? What results do you need to know? How will you want to sort and group your information? What lists will you need to pull on a regular basis? Create your coding strategy based on the answers to these questions and write it down so you won’t have to reinvent it later.
Garbage Out – Garbage In
If your data was a mess in the old system, it’s going to be a mess in the new system — unless you do something about it. You may need to clean up your data before you move it (sometimes in order to make it possible to move). You can also take advantage of the conversion process to fix your data as you move it. Plus, you can take advantage of your new system to clean up and enhance your data after you move it.
Once you’ve got your data clean, keep it that way. Write down how data should be entered, and give a copy to everyone who enters data. Use these standards to train your people, along with the training available from the software company. Training is not free. It’s not even cheap. But having data that is accessible and usable is well worth it.
Yes, it adds to the amount of work involved in converting your data. But wouldn’t it be nice to have your new software work as well as you hoped?
I just heard an interesting statistic: only 47% of organizations changing their donor software believe their data conversions were successful. Unfortunately, I’m afraid that number may be artificially high. I suspect that a good number of those “successful” conversions are really, ”We don’t have a clue, but guess it worked out ok” conversions.
When you think of the cost and time required to change donor-tracking software, wouldn’t you prefer to be better off after all that work? Having only an even chance of being worse off is just plain bad news. Small wonder so many organizations will do almost anything to avoid changing software.
If no one wants a conversion to go bad, why do more than half of them go sour? And how can you make sure you are in the lucky 47%?
Don’t Just Sit There, Do Something!
OK, your current software is driving you nuts. But if you change over to a different software package just because it’s different, you can trade one set of problems for another. To avoid this dilemma, look at what you are using now and write down what the problems are. What does your current system do that needs to be fixed? What does it do right? What does it not do at all? Figuring out the problem is the first step to figuring out the solution.
If You Don’t Know Where You’re Going, Any Road Will Do
The frightening thought is how many organizations just don’t know if their conversion to new software worked simply because they didn’t know what to expect. So while you’re thinking about what problems you’re trying to solve, imagine what you want the solution to look like: “the new system should do this, and this, and this, and it would be great if it could also do that.”
This gives you two major advantages: you’ll have a much better idea of what you are looking for in a software package, and you’ll know when the job is complete.
Myopia in the Midst
You’ve crossed all the t’s, dotted all the i’s, brought in the experts, yet there you are in the middle of the conversion process with someone saying, ”So what do we with this weird bunch of data?” The temptation is to do something that will make the conversion continue on in a smooth way — which is nearly always a mistake. It’s odd, but this type of situation almost always happens during a conversion – even when you expect it.
At this point, any decision that starts with, ”Let’s just…” is usually the wrong thing to do. Stop. Breathe deeply. Instead of thinking about the conversion process, think about how you will use that data in the long run. It can be surprisingly hard to do this, but it prevents a lot of frustration.
One Size Fits None
Donor software is designed to be customized by the organizations using it. Code tables, user defined fields, and so forth are intended to be configured by you to meet your organization’s needs. The donor software companies do this to be able to sell more software. The default codes included are best used as hints for where to put your codes. They expect you to know what you want for those codes.
So what codes do you use? Start with your reports. What is most important for your organization? What results do you need to know? How will you want to sort and group your information? What lists will you need to pull on a regular basis? Create your coding strategy based on the answers to these questions and write it down so you won’t have to reinvent it later.
Garbage Out – Garbage In
If your data was a mess in the old system, it’s going to be a mess in the new system — unless you do something about it. You may need to clean up your data before you move it (sometimes in order to make it possible to move). You can also take advantage of the conversion process to fix your data as you move it. Plus, you can take advantage of your new system to clean up and enhance your data after you move it.
Once you’ve got your data clean, keep it that way. Write down how data should be entered, and give a copy to everyone who enters data. Use these standards to train your people, along with the training available from the software company. Training is not free. It’s not even cheap. But having data that is accessible and usable is well worth it.
Yes, it adds to the amount of work involved in converting your data. But wouldn’t it be nice to have your new software work as well as you hoped?