The realisation of benefits from new software can be contingent on user acceptance, compliance and engagement. Cloud systems often involve a significant change in the user interface and, while they may appear intuitive to technical colleagues, they may not work for everyone. In addition to managing technical implementation, organisations must focus on the importance of change management for all key stakeholders and users.
Questions audit committees could ask:
• Have key stakeholders been engaged through a comprehensive change management strategy? Does the organisation have adequate plans to provide training, ongoing support and coaching for users before, during and after implementation, according to the service chosen? Does the implementation programme have an effective governance structure to prioritise the backlog of requirements?
• Are contingency plans in place to manage implementation issues? If the organisation is relying on third parties, will there be sufficient control over them? Do the organisation's existing systems represent a 'burning platform' and would they be able to continue indefinitely until implementation issues are resolved?
• What plans are there for technical and user acceptance testing? Has the organisation identified all relevant business scenarios for inclusion in testing, and defined thresholds for acceptable deviations or other issues with acceptance? Has testing been completed and does it demonstrate that users are able to complete all required tasks without encountering system errors?
• Is there sufficient information for a Go / No Go decision? Has the organisation assessed the impact of any issues outstanding?