March/April 2024 - 11

S P O N S O RE D B Y
The Impacts of Successful
System Adoption and How it
Leads to a Better ROI
for first time adopters, but also plays
a key role as the transit organization
evolves in the future.
During the past several years, we've
seen staff retire, transition to new roles
or leave agencies altogether for different
opportunities. Change is going to
naturally occur; we want to ensure we
are setting the agency up for success by
implementing the SOPs that will help
mitigate the effort needed to onboard
unfamiliar staff in the future.
308887926 | Montree Lapakdee | Dreamstime
With the increasing importance of
data-driven decision-making, transit
agencies are investing in software to
manage, analyze and derive insights
from vast amounts of data. This helps in
strategic planning, identifying trends,
understanding rider behavior and optimizing
operations. Software not only
streamlines processes and boosts productivity,
but it cuts costs by minimizing
manual labor and errors.
The return on investment can only
be substantiated if transit agencies are
being good stewards of system adoption
and the technology providers they partner
with are actively engaged in helping
them reach their goals. Often, it is one
of these two areas that fall short and as
a result, the agency is left with an expensive
product that never fully lives up to
the vision of its original procurement.
What key considerations should
an agency keep in mind, whether
they're venturing into technology
adoption for the first time or
upgrading from legacy software?
The key to this process is ensuring that
all staff understand why the technology
was purchased and the value it brings to
the transit agency. Engaging key stakeholders
from different departments and
levels of the organization early in the
process will aid with buy-in and create
a sense of ownership amongst staff.
Creating ownership and accountability
in the early stages of the project implementation
process is vital for successful
system adoption.
Effectively managing change within
the agency is another crucial component
to overcoming internal resistance and
facilitating successful system adoption.
Identifying within the agency those staff
members who will help influence and
promote system adoption while also
proactively addressing concerns by
other team members is essential. Without
strong cross departmental system
champions, it will be more difficult to
overcome the challenges that come along
with implementing a system that is driving
more efficient ways of doing business.
What can ITS vendors do to assist with
system adoption for new projects?
Several considerations come to mind,
with none more crucial than integrating
role-based standard operating procedures
(SOPs). SOPs help all transit personnel
understand the things that need
to be done in the system, as it pertains
to their role, to be successful adopters of
the product. This is important not only
Does the approach differ for
transit agencies not currently
engaged in new projects or
under warranty and support?
The people helping to assist with the
effort may change but the process should
remain the same. The goal being that
post project, transit agencies continue to
build off the adoption foundations that
were administered during original project
implementation. Vendor staff will
continue to utilize the Key Performance
Indicators established during the project
as a baseline for the agency's adoption
level. This serves as a springboard toward
a continuous improvement process
cycle focused on maximizing a transit
agency's system adoption.
Monitoring system usage is another
great way to stay on top of user adoption.
Product engagement metrics serve
as a powerful tool that highlights areas
of product that are being heavily utilized.
Most importantly, it identifies
underutilized areas, which prompts
discussions to improve adoption.
System adoption is an ongoing improvement
process where we, as the
technology provider, collaborate with
the transit agency to meet their goals.
Working together from project implementation
to post-warranty support is
critical for maximizing the agency's
initial investment return.
About the author
Todd Beaumont is director of
customer experience at Avail
Technologies, Inc.
MARCH/APRIL 2024 | MassTransitmag.com 11
http://www.MassTransitmag.com
March/April 2024

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