Why is it hard to change? - Why people like the old stuff.

I just had to go buy a new washer.  The old one broke.  Lots of smoke and smells and no clean cloths.

So my wife and I go to the store after doing some internet research and buy a new one.  It is delivered the next day.  Installed - nice and shiny and new.  I could not wait to get some laundry in this thing and try it out.

Then the impact of my change set in.  It was not the same as my old washer.  The agitator did not agitate like the old one.  It took longer to wash the clothes than before.  It took longer to fill the tub with water than before.  The cycles made different noises than the old one.  The knobs had different settings.  The buzzer sounds different when the cycle is done.

Don't get me wrong, the new one is more efficient, uses less water, operates quieter and looks a whole lot better.  But I liked the old one.  If it had not broken, I would have been happy.

In his book 'The Change Function", Pip Colburn points out different perspectives of suppliers and users and how it affects change...

Supplier-Orientation: More is better. Much more is much better.
User-Orientation: More is confusing. Much more is much more confusing.

Now - transpose my thinking on the washer to the CAD arena.  When new software is rolled out, the users have the same kind of reaction.  They like the old and they question the value of the new.  I have seen it time and time again.  The wonder why they have to move forward.  Everything was working just fine.

Colburn explains in his book that change that "works" is preceded by a "crisis".  Something to set the change in motion.  In my case - the washer broke.  In the case of CAD - where is the crisis?

He explains that change is evaluated by each individual based on what he calls "TPPA", Total Perceived Pain of Adoption.  Price is one piece of this pie (one that I had to overcome at the appliance store),  What are the other portions of TPPA? Reading the manuals, researching product information, feeling stupid when trying to learn or install a new gadget, experiencing the inability to find a salesperson who can explain the product in plain language and asking an eight year old kid for help who responds by saying, “Duh!”

He explains that only when the level of pain is surpassed by the level of the crisis will change actually take place.  In order to enhance the change process, you need to increase the awareness of the crisis or decrease the perception of the pain.

Applying this to a CAD migration here are some lines of reasoning that a CAD Manager might use...

• The existing software does not work as well as the new release in some critical areas of our use.
• The learning curve is not that bad, most of the tools we use still work the same way.
• The rest of the industry is moving to 3D/BIM and we are falling behind.
• We are on subscription so the cost of the upgrade is already worked out.
• The current version we use has a flaw and there is no workaround

Hopefully by thinking in terms of how to assist people in changing, you can make some progress.  But it may be done one person at a time.

And just so you know - I am getting use to the new washer. 

You can buy the book here.  It is really inexpensive.