How do I select the best case management
software?

Too much paper or too many data systems can lead to a variety of inefficiencies.

First, managing program and service delivery on paper limits your organization’s ability to manage data and generate reports from that data. Paper-based records can also be difficult to organize and are often less secure than electronic records.

Second, having too many systems (paper, Excel, multiple databases, other software) can make reports inaccurate, or there may be gaps in your data. Aggregating data from disparate systems and paper-based records is time consuming, cumbersome, and it drains organizational resources and staff energy.

Consolidating disparate data systems and paper-based records into a central database is one reason your organization might be ready for new case management software.

Funder reporting, data, and compliance requirements are one of the top reasons nonprofit organizations invest in new case management software.

• If you do not have the proper record-management and reporting systems in place prior to applying for funding, you may not comply with the requirements of a funding application.
• If you do receive funding and do not have the proper record-management and reporting systems in place, you may spend a significant amount of time on manual reporting and manual compliance tasks.

It is easier to comply with funder requirements pre-funding and post-funding with a singular software system that houses program, service, and outcome data.  Funder requirements and compliance reinforce the need for a capable record-management and reporting system..

Do management and your direct service staff ask important questions that cannot be answered with the current systems that you have in place? Are important questions about program and service performance met with answers like “that’s a great question,” but aren’t ever addressed or resolved?

Managers need data and information to effectively allocate resources, keep the organization on track toward its goals, and address challenges and roadblocks before they become major issues. Provide management the data and information they need if they begin using data to inform and validate their decisions. Data-driven management is a sign of good organizational health.

Direct service staff members’ curiosity about performance and data are also positive indicators of organizational health. A member of your team that is curious about data is a sign that they are buying into the organization’s goals and potentially even interested in continuous program improvement. It is important to fill their appetite for performance data and maintain their buy-in.

If your management team and direct service staff members are curious about program or service performance and how data can offer proof of positive or negative results, it may be time to consider a case management software system that can match their interests and answer their questions.

Gaps in reporting and missing data are normally caused by too many paper forms and paper-based processes as well as having too many data systems. Reporting gaps and missing data are also symptoms of poor data quality.

Poor data quality is a combination of inaccurate data entry, no data entry, lack of staff reporting proficiency, and the inability of your current data systems to report on collected data. Reporting gaps and missing data can negatively impact decision making if poor data quality becomes a systematic problem.

To solve this challenge, you need a data management and record-management system that can help you manage data quality. Most modern case management software systems can be customized with data quality reports, data entry workflows, rules and logic, and triggers to proactively keep important data clean.

Implementing a nonprofit case management software system prior to an evaluation will help you to set up the systems, processes, procedures, protocols, and methods needed to facilitate a program evaluation.

Having ownership and control of your data will make the transition into a program evaluation easier as well. Gaining experience with data management, reporting, and system administration will streamline the rigors of the data-driven processes in a program evaluation.

If your organization will be heading into a program evaluation soon or you’re planning to undergo a program evaluation in the future, now may be a good time to explore new case management software.

You are looking for social work case management software.

This may seem obvious, but identifying what you are looking for is actually more important than you might think. Answering this question frames your search so you know where to look for available software options.

• Identify the type of software you’re looking for using your own words.
• Write a narrative description of that type of software using your own words.

The description doesn’t need to be perfect and should be less than one page.

Example:

We are looking for social work case management software that will track client profiles, services provided to those clients, and assessments of their progress.  The software should be used by other organizations like us that provide a spectrum of child, youth, and family services.  The case management software should be workflow driven so that staff can follow the design of our program in the software itself and successfully interact with our clients based on our procedures. The software should be web-based and accessible on laptops and tablets.  We are looking for core features like scheduling, user notifications, email integration, easy-to-use, user access restrictions, ad hoc reporting, and dashboards.  We are also looking for software that is secure and a vendor that will sign a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) for HIPAA compliance.

Your description will identify keywords and phrases that can be used to find software options.  You will be better equipped to search for software options if your description is specific.

At this point, jump into a web browser and search for the type of software you described. Use specific keywords and phrases from your description in your search.

Start building a long list of software options by writing down software options that you find in your search.  Do not filter software options at this point.  Write down all options that you find (unless they obviously don’t match your description).

Other relevant keywords to consider in your initial software search.

• Social work software
• Domestic violence social work case management software
• Nonprofit case management software
• Human services software
• Case management software social services
• Social services case management software
• Nonprofit client management software
• Case management software for nonprofits
• Case management software for human services
• Software for human services organizations
• Social services software

The goal of this process is to provide a broad view of all available software options so that you can make an informed software purchasing decision.  A broad search will make sure that nothing is missed along the way, eliminating any regret or hesitation in your final software selection.

Continue to add to your long list of options.  While the keywords and phrases used to describe the type of software you’re looking for in Step 1 are solid, they may not be perfect terms for your search.

If you’re not able to search using the right keywords, you might miss a software option that could be a perfect fit for your nonprofit.

Do some research to define supplementary terms that might enhance your long list of options.  Here are four ways to bolster your search.

1. Peers – Ask peer organizations what software they use.  Also ask them if they know of any other software options that are available. Recommendations from other organizations that are actually using software are great validation for your long list of options.
2. Search – Complete an online search with a term from your description and then take a look at the bottom of the search page in a section called “Related Searches” (available with a Google search).  The related searches section offers additional terms that closely match your original search query.  Use these additional terms to broaden your search.
3. Industry resources and publications – Research sites like NTEN, Idealware, TechSoup, Capterra, SoftwareAdvice and others.  These sites list available software options by software type and offer additional resources for selecting new software.
4. Software reviews – Search for online reviews.  While sites like Capterra and SoftwareAdvice aggregate reviews in one place, social networks like Quora and even Twitter are great places to search as well.

Do not evaluate the options you find during this initial search. Simply write them down in your long list.  You’ll narrow your long list in subsequent steps.

Now that you have a long list of options, which may include five, ten, or even more viable social work software options, conduct high-level reviews of each system.

A high-level review is light on detail but should provide enough information to qualify a software option for your shortlist.

Evaluate high-level topics like:

• Key features and functions that interest you
• Online reviews and testimonials
• Clarity of the software vendor’s website and marketing materials
• Overall impression and opinion of the software vendor
• Ease of finding the software vendor online (was it easy to find or was it difficult)

Add notes next to each software option in your long list during this high-level review.  Add relevant excerpts from reviews you find online or details about key features that caught your attention.  You will reference these high-level notes when you make selections for your shortlist.

Using the high-level reviews you completed for each software option in your long list, narrow down your long list to three to five systems that you feel are best suited for your organization.

We recommend three to five options (at least more than two) so you can objectively compare multiple options side by side in the next phase of the software selection process.

You can use the following test to qualify software options for your shortlist.

Based on what I’ve seen so far, is this a software option I want to learn more about?  At a minimum, do I want to see a demo of this software option before deciding whether or not it is a good fit for my organization?

• If yes, add it to your shortlist.
• If no, omit it from your shortlist

Because you are completing high-level reviews of your long list, impressions of each software system may not be one-hundred percent objective.  The qualifications for your shortlist shouldn’t be overly restrictive.  The goal is to filter out any software options where it is obvious that they are not good fits.  It is fine to act on some subjective feelings and gut reactions during the shortlist process.

Ultimately you will complete an in-depth evaluation of each software option in your shortlist, but circle back through the shortlist process one more time.

Using the shortlist you just developed, start with Step 1 and complete Steps 1-4 again.

Why?

Now that you have some perspective on the available options and what to look for, going back through the process again will confirm that you didn’t miss anything the first time around.  In addition, you can validate any judgments you made about your initial shortlist.

You will want full access to own, manage, and organize your data in the software.  Full access to your data includes the ability to export, update or modify, delete or archive, and create data without limits.

Your organization’s data requirements may evolve over time.  Changing requirements will require updates to the structure and format of your software and the underlying database in the software.  Control over your data provides flexibility so you can scale the software up or down over time.

Four common database features give you ultimate control over your data.

1. Mass Create – the ability to create new records in batch or import data via formatted spreadsheets (Excel or CSV).
2. Mass Edit – the ability to edit existing records in batch where each record will be edited differently.
3. Mass Update> – the ability to edit existing records in batch where all records are updated the same.
4. Mass Delete – the ability to delete or archive existing records in batch.

Some software options don’t offer full access to all of these features.  Not having one of these features isn’t a make or break scenario.  If a software option is limited by one of these features, define the workarounds for that software option and make note of those workarounds before placing it on your shortlist.

Your organization has unique characteristics that set it apart from other organizations.  A template social work database will require customization to match your unique data management and workflow requirements.

Customizing the database structure of social work software will occur in two places.

• Objects or Records – Data objects or records are the primary data tracking mechanism in social work software.  A client, service, assessment, and referral are all records.  Each record is separate from other record types.  The ability to create custom data objects is helpful if you want to expand the database with heavy customization and various record types.
• Fields – Fields exist on a data object or record.  The object contains fields that characterize that object and classify it for reports. Fields come in many shapes and sizes.  There are text fields, selection fields, and numeric fields among others.  Creating custom objects isn’t a requirement for social work software, but creating custom fields is.  You will build the database to meet your data collection requirements using custom fields.

Look for database software with unlimited custom field development.  Then also look for a variety of custom field options.  The style of data in a field will dictate how you can report on that field, so make sure the field types match your reporting requirements.

Reporting adds significant value to social work software, so it is important to confirm that you can generate the reports you need from each software option.

Reporting and analytics platforms will vary widely from software system to software system, but differentiate between two types of reports.

• Standard reports are pre-built reports that come with the software out of the box.  This type of report isn’t required in order for a software to be on the shortlist.  Standard reports are nice to have, but custom reporting is most important.
• Ad hoc reports on the other hand are run on-demand using custom reporting and analytics tools. Changing report requirements and new questions that need to be answered with data make ad hoc reporting a necessity.  Even if the software comes with standard reports, make sure that you can run ad hoc reports using the system’s reporting and analytics tools.

Program and service data often requires custom reporting and analytics in order to generate meaningful insight.  Capable reporting and analytics tools are need-to-have features in any software option on your shortlist.

As a side note, you may also want to quickly assess how much a particular software option relies on Excel for reporting and data analytics.  How much data analysis can happen in the software itself and how much must be done outside the software in a tool like Excel?  Using Excel as a reporting and analytics tool isn’t a negative for a particular software option, but it is important to differentiate between the ability to “export data” from the software and the ability to “report and analyze data” in the software when reviewing your long list of software options.

Time is a valuable asset to nonprofits that provide social services. Because time is a scarce resource, it is important to use time effectively. Case management software should help your organization get the most from this precious resource by reducing data entry time, organizing information in a logical way, and making information easy to find and access.

Case managers, social workers, and direct service staff often drown in paperwork. Your case management software should reduce this burden, freeing up their time to focus on their primary job: serving clients.

Here are a few areas where any software option on your long list should streamline internal processes, paperwork, procedures, and compliance:

• Accepting incoming referrals from community partners or other agencies
• Approving new clients prior to enrollment in your program
• Checking in with clients during an active service workflow
• Exiting or unenrolling a client from your program
• Switching a case manager assignment or responsibility
• Identifying and notifying case managers when clients require more attention or services
• Submitting referrals from your program to community partners or other agencies
• Looking up the history of a client that was previously enrolled in your program
• Entering daily logs or notes about interactions with a client
• Accessing an active caseload list or list of upcoming tasks

All social work software stores information as electronic records, so “electronic data records” as a feature won’t help you qualify software options for your shortlist.  Instead, look at how electronic data records are entered into the system, how they are organized once they are entered, and how a user finds and accesses those records.

Based on the scenarios above:

• Does it seem like data is easy to enter?
• Does it seem like data is organized in a logical way?
• Does it seem like data is easy to find and access?>

If a software option on your long list doesn’t reduce paperwork, streamline internal processes, and save time, it shouldn’t make your shortlist.

The “right” nonprofit case management software system should be a program director and operations manager’s best friend because it standardizes operational procedures.

Standard procedures ensure high service quality and consistent service delivery.

For example the software should help your organization:

• Manage client queues and reduce the potential for clients to slip through the cracks
• Improve data entry and data quality of all program data collection
• Use data and analytics to improve program design and service delivery
• Keep staff organized, on track, and on schedule, while being efficient and effective>
• Set expected procedures for service delivery that can be benchmarked and measured
• Systematize routine procedures like referrals, intake, enrollment, and exit
• Audit actions and tasks where standard procedures aren’t fully developed
• Navigate users through service delivery workflows to manage service quality

Social work software standardizes service delivery with four common features. Although these features vary from system to system, expect some form of these features.

• Workflows – Enforce data entry steps and drive users through a pre-defined path for service delivery. Software should navigate users through common processes like intake, enrollment, specific services, and exit so there is no ambiguity in the steps of the process.
• Requirements – Set data entry requirements so users cannot continue in the software without completing specific tasks. Force users to complete specific fields (questions), forms, or workflows based on the conditions of their data entry task.
• Logic and Conditionality – Dynamically update the software to match the workflow of a particular user. Logic and conditionality can take users down different paths depending on their specific data entry or service task. Use branches, if/then logic, and rules to walk users through a pre-defined path.
• Data standards – Build data standards directly into a user workflow. Create objective data entry like dropdowns, checkboxes, or even dynamic fields that cross-reference other data in the database. As opposed to text-based data entry, social service case management software should store data that is largely discrete and highly uniform so you can measure and accurately report on outputs, outcomes, and impact.

Program directors, operations managers, and service group leaders’ roles are to maximize staff resources with the goal of getting the best possible service for clients. But those roles are blind to potential issues and challenges without information.

Social work software can provide managers the information they need to proactively address data quality, service delivery, and operational challenges before they become major issues.

Look for software options that give managers the ability to monitor performance across your programs and services, making sure that clients are on track, staff members have adequate workloads, and that service quality is high.

Here are four styles of reports or dashboards that you should be able to create in any social work software system on your shortlist.

• Operational Benchmarks – Set up operational reports for caseloads, client queues, and status dashboards. Identify important operational metrics that will help you track daily or weekly performance and build those reports in your case management software.
• Process Monitoring – Develop reports that monitor workflow processes from start to finish. Managers can jump into a client engagement when a challenge is identified rather than sitting on the sidelines.
• Data Quality Reviews – Build data quality reports and develop data quality reviews. Review data quality regularly and make changes when errors are found. This will keep your data clean and reports accurate.
• Resource Management – Implement reports that monitor active workloads and benchmark those workloads to standards for each staff member. Managers can then react to overloaded or underloaded staff by increasing or decreasing their workload.

Social work software should empower your organization to implement these solutions and in total help you maximize staff time and effort. If a software option doesn’t appear to do this, it shouldn’t make your shortlist.

The last item to look for isn’t a technological feature or tool.

Look for a roadmap for success.  A roadmap for success should answer the following questions.

• What do the best users of this software do to sustain the software?
• What is recommended within the first six months of using the software?
• What are the best practices for implementation, training, and ongoing administration?
• What challenges do users encounter with the software?

Knowing what others do to be successful may contribute to your organization’s success with the software.

Keep in mind that you don’t need a full picture during this phase of your software selection process, but knowing that there are resources to help you be successful with the software are critical to any option on your shortlist.

The length of term of a software license agreement identifies how long the conditions of the agreement are enforced. Keep in mind that some of the conditions of the agreement may last longer than the length of the term.

Identify survivable terms and make sure they are agreeable to your organization.

The lengths of software license terms vary widely. Some terms are month to month, others are one year, and some extend up to three years or even longer. The appropriate length of a license term depends on what is agreeable to your organization.

Determining the appropriate term length for your organization may depend on a number of factors.

• How long you plan to stay with the software.
• If you feel like better software products may be available to you in the near future.
• Your perspective on sunk costs and the cost to switch to different software.
• The strategic planning timelines you use at your organization (e.g. six months, one year, three years, etc.).
• Any discounts offered by the software vendor on the software price for extending the length of the term.

Software vendors can and often do raise their prices. Therefore, it is important to know when your software vendor can raise prices and by how much they can raise the price.

You need to know how much you are expected to pay and when. If the conditions of that expectation change suddenly and drastically without your knowledge, you could be in a difficult position.

The timing of price increases varies from software vendor to software vendor with some allowing for increases at the end of each term and others allowing annual increases regardless of the term.

The amount of increase also varies, but don’t be shocked to see potential increases of 15-20% in your software license agreement. Many are much lower, if they even include a provision for price increases (some don’t increase pricing and stay with a “grandfathered” pricing approach).

Confidentiality and privacy of your data are standard with all software vendors, but you should still check the fine print on any clause about data protection and security.

The most important aspect of a software license agreement is data ownership.

• Who owns the data when you put data into the database software?
• If you ever have to leave the software vendor for any reason, are you able to take your data with you?

You should own your data and you should be able to take your data with you if you ever need to leave the software.

If HIPAA compliance is something you are concerned about, ask the software vendor if they have a standard Business Associate Agreement (BAA) or if they will sign one of yours.

You should expect a level of quality with the software.

Here are some levels of quality you should watch out for in a software license agreement.

• Commitments for uptime of the software if it is a hosted platform>
• Levels of support and method of support (e.g. chat, phone, email)
• Response times for technical issues or bugs
• Expectations on the quality and rollout of updates, upgrades, or software enhancements

Payment terms determine when you must pay and how much you must pay for the software. This condition sets your budget for the software so you can plan for future payments.

Occasionally there will be options. Ask the software vendor if there are options to pay upfront, monthly, quarterly, or even semi-annually. How you pay and how much you pay for the software may also depend on the length of term of the license agreement.

Also ask about options for the method of payment. Most software vendors will require a credit card or ACH transfer for payment so the process is automatic, but the timing of those payments might be flexible. If you need to plan your payments as a part of your annual budget, be sure to ask the vendor about your options.

Why is your organization searching for new nonprofit case management software? Look at your internal needs assessment for inspiration and narrow down the reasons to a single catalyst.

Write down the catalyst as a one or two sentence statement or a short bullet list. This should be a brief introduction.

Create a statement that is powerful, immediate, and creates a strong sense of urgency for your decision makers.

List the steps you’ve taken in your process so far and the steps that you still need to complete.

Your goal is to demonstrate that you’ve completed or are in the process of completing an intentional and well-thought-out software selection process.

Build their trust in you and your process so their trust will carry over into your recommendation for new software.

List the strengths and limitations of your current data management system, and also identify the components of your vision for a future software system.

The highlights of your internal needs assessment should paint the picture for why your current system is inadequate, as proof for why you are evaluating new software options.

List the software options you’ve evaluated (i.e. your shortlist). We recommend listing the software options only.

Do not add details for each software option to your business case. Although you may choose to review the details of each software option with your decision makers, be careful.  Adding too much detail in this section of your business case can open the door for decision makers to make judgments that are contradictory to your final recommendation, even though your decision makers are making that judgment with limited information (compared to you).

The goal of this list is to demonstrate that you evaluated multiple options and that your recommendation is based on objective evaluation criteria across multiple options. This shortlist should prove that you approached the software selection process from an unbiased perspective.

It may feel too early to be providing a recommendation, but go ahead and drop your recommendation here. You will provide evidence to support this recommendation later in the business case.

Presenting a recommendation upfront shows confidence and removes any ambiguity that decision makers may be feeling up and until this point. Stating your recommendation early also focuses your decision makers on the recommended software option.

Decision makers want to know why you are making a specific recommendation. Most want to know how the recommendation impacts the organization’s bottom line, but before you get there, compare the outcomes of your needs assessment to the features, functionalities, and capabilities of your recommended software system.

Create a matrix for the three sections of your internal needs assessment: challenges, strengths, and vision. Identify a challenge, strength, or vision element and then define how the recommended software system will solve that challenge, promote an existing strength, or achieve your vision.

Create as many comparisons as are needed to validate your recommendation for new software (i.e. write out multiple challenges and strengths plus their associated solutions).

Decision makers want to know that the investment made in the new software will yield positive results for the organization.

Start with costs. All software systems generally have the same categories of costs. You can use the following list of costs as a template for your own business case.

Ask the software vendor, your references, or a trusted software consultant about each cost category. Fill in the blanks of your business case with their feedback.

• Cost of software – The cost of the software is the cash outlay for the software license. The total cost of the software may include multiple costs that occur at different times. For example, there may be activation costs, ongoing or recurring costs, and annual costs. Also keep in mind that the first year and second year cost of the software may be different.
• Cost to implement – The cost to implement the software may not come from the software vendor. It may come from an independent consultant or implementation specialist. The cost to implement the software is the one-time fee to get up and running with the software.
• Time to implement – The time it takes to set up and integrate new software with your organization is a cost. You will take time away from the everyday responsibilities of some staff members in order to implement new software. Translate the time to implement into a cost by multiplying the number of hours to implement the software times the hourly wages (or equivalent) of the staff members that will be involved with the implementation project.
• Cost to maintain – Maintenance is a cost that is often left out of budget planning for new case management software. Be sure to include both maintenance costs and maintenance time. The cost to maintain the software includes ongoing training, support, consulting, report development, and any other costs to keep your software in top form year in and year out.

• Time to maintain – The time to maintain the software includes database maintenance, data quality reviews, report development, user support, and potentially time corresponding with the software vendor or a consultant.  You can also translate maintenance time into a cost by multiplying the number of hours to maintain the software times the hourly wages (or equivalent) of the staff members responsible for system maintenance.

• Stress, focus, and energy – Implementing, managing, and sustaining social work software takes time and costs money, but it also impacts the emotional energy of the organization. Database software can put pressure on the culture of your organization and may divert attention and focus from existing tasks.

The benefits of nonprofit database software are also fairly common among all software systems. You can use the following list of benefits to complete your business case.

As with the costs of new software, ask the software vendor, your references, or a trusted software consultant about each cost category. Fill in the blanks of your business case with their feedback.

• Save time – Time is a cost. Completing a task that requires one hour of time costs your organization the hourly rate of the person completing the task (even if that person is salaried, there is still an effective hourly rate for that person). Time is a resource, and it is a scarce resource. Saving time saves money. There is a direct financial savings if new case management software saves five hours of work a week (twenty hours of work per month) compared to the status quo.
• Be more effective with time – Time is also an opportunity. The opportunity of time is less tangible than time as a cost, but the opportunity of time can compound the return of a software investment. If a software platform saves five hours of work a week, what can you do with those additional five hours of time? The benefits of the time savings are compounded because you can now spend the saved time on tasks that are more valuable to the organization.
• Increase revenue and decrease costs – Increasing revenues and decreasing costs are the two benefits that are the easiest to understand and quantify. They apply directly to the “bottom line” of your organization. The financial performance of the organization will improve if new software generates more revenue than the status quo. It will also improve if it decreases expenses. These two measures correlate to direct cash inflows and outflows.
• Make smarter decisions – An investment in case management software with strong reporting capabilities can help your organization make smarter decisions. Data shows trends and progress. Data shows what works and what doesn’t work. When used the right way, data can “light the way” toward performance improvement and growth.
• Improve the performance of your work – Social work software can also help your organization do its work better. This means it will help you achieve your business objectives, whatever they are. You might want to serve more program participants, streamline service delivery, increase funding for specific programs, or spend less time on routine, low-value tasks. Investments in new software should positively impact those measurements whether they are quantitative or qualitative. If the software system is a positive variable in your organization’s growth equation, then the software generates a return on investment.

The decision to purchase new software is easy when it is clear that the return generated from the software is greater than the cost to purchase and maintain it. Define the value of new software using return on investment (ROI) analysis.

Outputs/Inputs = Benefits/Costs = ROI

ROI compares the positive outcomes of an investment to the cost of the investment. The outputs and inputs of an ROI calculation can be monetary, time-based, or qualitative.

ROI will be positive when the benefits outweigh the costs and negative when the costs outweigh the benefits.

Software ROI calculations are rarely as simple as the definition listed above. ROI calculations will vary from organization to organization and ROI doesn’t need to be purely mathematical either. A simple pro and con list (an intangible method) can be just as powerful when comparing costs to benefits (pros must outweigh the cons for a positive return).

Your organization’s needs determine the complexity of an ROI analysis. If your Board wants a formal report, then a financial ROI model may be needed. If you need a quick assessment, then a back of the envelope pro and con list might suffice.

Summarize the evidence that supports your recommendation, as described throughout the business case. This restatement doesn’t need to be long. It should be like the period at the end of a sentence, closing your business case with a recommendation for a new software system.

Determine the project manager for implementation up front. The project manager can be either an internal staff member or an external consultant.

While an internal staff member may be the right choice as project manager, there are three reasons to consider an external consultant.

• Complexity – Most social work case management software systems are sophisticated and complex. Because these systems are complex, it is a tall order for an internal staff member to implement a software system they know nothing about. Hiring a consultant offers the immediate expertise you need to overcome the complexities of your new software system.
• Expertise – It is difficult to manage an implementation project and learn a new software system at the same time, but that is exactly what you are asking an internal staff member to do if they are project manager. An external consultant will already know the software and can combine that knowledge with their role as implementation project manager.
• Experience – An external consultant also brings something internal staff cannot offer. An external consultant brings experience. A consultant has the experience to effectively translate your needs into features, functions, and solutions in the software.  They can also draw on their past experiences with other implementation projects to deliver you the best possible outcome.

Weigh the pros, cons, benefits, and costs of both internal and external options.  Pick the best option for your implementation project, but review all options up front.

Data migrations are intensive projects. The intensity is a combination of mapping data between two different data systems and needing a high level of accuracy for the migration.

Develop a data migration plan that prioritizes your data before the start of implementation. Migrate data that is relevant, and consider archiving data that isn’t relevant to your new system.

Remember that your new social work software system will inherit the data quality challenges of your existing data management system if the data migration isn’t done properly.

Answer these questions before a data migration.

• What are our organization’s strategic goals?
• What data is relevant to our goals (i.e. what data do we need to track)?
• Do we have historical data that is relevant to our goals?
• If we have historical data, why is it needed in our new system?
• How will we get our historical data from our old system to our new system?
• What is the priority of our existing data in a proposed data migration (least to most important)?

We recommend a balanced approach to implementation that starts with the basics and focuses on processes (not necessarily features).

• Start with the basics – While your new social work software system may have all of the features in the world, that doesn’t mean you should implement every feature day one. Instead of taking your software from zero to sixty in a flash, implement the core features that will help you be most effective at your work.  In the short-term this may mean that you don’t get to use the full value of the software, but starting with the basics will sharpen your use of the software, simplify the learning process for users, keep the organization focused on what matters, and make the implementation process easier.
• Focus on processes – Process is the “how” of software implementation and design. Processes are how your organization will interact with the software, how the software will affect your users’ work, and how the software will be managed day-to-day.  Processes link your people to the software. Processes like data quality reviews, reporting schedules, training plans, and daily task workflows all contribute to the health of the software after implementation is complete.

If your organization focuses on the basics and develops processes for how your organization will engage with the software in its daily work, you have a great opportunity to continuously improve and evolve your software over time.

The number one investment you can make during implementation is in your people. Staff knowledge is critical to sustaining your new software.  An adequate training program that is well thought out and matches the learning styles of your staff will increase user adoption.

Training can be seen as an easy place to cut if you are looking to save time and money on the implementation project. This is the last place you should cut. Always plan for more training, not less.

Training is a key contributor to user adoption because it provides users the opportunity to learn, ask questions, and engage in the implementation project.

Implementation is complete. It feels like the roadmap to success is set because you were strategic and intentional with your implementation project. While a successful implementation process can lead to success long term, it isn’t the only contributing factor.

The time sixty and ninety days after the implementation is complete is also important because a very interesting thing happens, you start using the software.  Your users get their feet wet in the software and pain-points, challenges, and questions come up. You will also find that features and functionality you thought were important during implementation aren’t important, or features and functionality you thought were unimportant turn out to be critical.  The software may even need modifications or changes after gathering feedback from users during this time.

All of this means that even with the best vision and the best strategic intention during implementation, you can’t think of everything.

Here are some things you can do to support the software immediately after implementation.

1. If you hire a consultant or expert during implementation, make sure to keep them on board for some time after implementation is complete.
2. Be ultra-sensitive to user feedback during the first weeks and month after implementation.  Listen carefully and address each concern with your full attention.
3. Be ready to re-draw the map if needed. If the software needs to change, be open to those changes. Just because you built the software a certain way doesn’t mean it should stay that way.