How to Implement Any Software with a Zero Failure Rate

Around 95% of major software implementations start in the worst possible way. What usually happens? Management sits down and begins to imagine their dream process – not how things actually work, but how they wish they worked in some perfect world where unicorns run around and poop rainbows.

Perhaps you’ve been in this situation: you tried to implement a program in your company, whether it’s a CRM system for tracking deals and clients or a task management tool. You encountered problems, pushed through, and finally found an amazing solution that addresses a major issue in your company. Yet somehow, nobody seems to care.

Or maybe you went all out: hired professional consultants, developed complex software, and started implementing it only to meet significant resistance from your employees. Now nobody wants to use it because they say it’s complicated, confusing, and just an unnecessary bother.

In this article, I want to share a solution to this problem – an approach that addresses this issue when implemented correctly. It’s a remarkably simple methodology that wasn’t invented by me. It’s been around for a long time and is used by companies with the effort, brainpower, desire, and mental flexibility to apply it. Interestingly, this approach is also used by good teachers when educating young children.

Ready to discover the solution to this common problem? Let’s jump right in!

Why Implementations Fail

The issue with software is that it’s not a physical device with tangible buttons and levers that produce visible results. Most software operates on “soft processes” – non-physical processes – unless we’re talking about manufacturing automation. And this is its biggest challenge.

For software to work effectively and be embraced by users, it must align perfectly with the process it’s designed to support.

Consider this example: You run an e-commerce store shipping products by mail. You have software that allows you to accept orders, print shipping labels, and send packages. People will use such software because without it, they can’t access the recipient’s address, view the order, or print the label. The software fits its purpose perfectly – it compels people to use it because it’s more convenient than the alternative.

Now, let’s look at a different scenario. Imagine you work in sales, and a client calls saying, “I want to buy your product. I learned about it and would like you to send me an invoice.” You open your digital CRM system, click “create new client,” and the system prompts you with “Next step: Schedule a meeting.” But the client is already ready to buy! You’re thinking, “What am I supposed to do in this situation?”

Your software doesn’t align with the actual process happening in your business life. The methodology I want to share today is specifically designed to solve this disconnect between reality and what the software does.

The Traditional Approach to Implementation

What’s our classic approach to implementing software, especially larger programs? I’m not talking about small tools that can’t be customized. I mean significant implementations like warehouse management systems or CRM systems for creating commercial proposals with various configurations.

Usually, we sit down with a consultant and start describing our process as we envision it. By “we,” I mean management. A company leader sits down and says, “Look, our process works like this,” and begins explaining step by step: “First, a client comes to us. The client asks something. We’d like the process to look like this – we schedule a meeting, then visit them,” and so on.

In essence, they’re fantasizing – inventing some idealized process they’ve created in their own mind. This imagined process almost never matches reality. Yet, strangely enough, 95% of implementations begin exactly this way. Management comes in and starts fantasizing.

These delusions snowball as they explain their so-called sales process – not the reality, but the fantasy they desperately cling to, where everything magically falls into place. They explain all this, and a massive list is formed. This list is called “requirements.”

Then the consultant compiles this requirements list, sits down with their team – developers, architects, solution engineers – and they decide how to address all these tasks. And they come up with a solution.

I witnessed an interesting story last year while working on a project where a company hired a consultant who then hired other consultants. So there we were, consultants meeting with another consultant, deciding how to launch software for the client. The client wasn’t even involved in the process! The CRM system was a complete failure, and I don’t even want to get into the details.

The Agile Approach 

Now, I’m getting to the core of the approach. Just like every aspect of life – whether it’s business, software development, or even child growth – progress happens gradually. It’s an iterative, step-by-step process. In life, we call it evolution; in software, we call it Agile.

Consider a child’s development. A newborn is helpless and can’t even hold their head up. After some time, they can support their head independently. Then they start turning over. Then they begin crawling, first on all fours, then on their knees. Then they start walking, then walking faster, then running.

I know exactly when this transition happens. My son is eight now, but I remember it clearly. When you put him down in one place, he stays there. Everything’s fine. Then he starts walking, and you put him down in one place, turn around for a moment, and he’s already trying to lick an electrical outlet!

This learning process is inevitable. Children learn sequentially, taking small steps. And notice how children develop in bursts. If you have children, you know that a child develops, does nothing new for a while, then suddenly starts walking. Then they walk slowly for a time, and then suddenly start running. These developments happen in leaps.

Agile in Practice

This exact pattern of development – the natural progression from simple to complex with occasional breakthrough moments – is precisely what makes agile methodology so powerful in software implementation. Let’s break down what agile really means for business. I won’t get into terminology or explain the foundational principles of the methodology – you can Google “agile scrum” if you want the technical details.

The essence of agile is an iterative approach – developing something in iterations, just like in my example about a child’s development, progressing from simple to complex.

Since I’m a CRM specialist, let me give you an example of how this should work in CRM implementation:

Imagine you decide to implement a process for tracking your commercial proposals or quotes. Any normal person without experience would want to start by completely digitizing their quotes – all products, all logic, all pricing, all discounts. That’s healthy, normal thinking.

But here’s how you should actually do it:

Start with something super simple. Instead of implementing any quote functionality, add just three fields to your CRM system:

1. Quote status
2. Quote expiration date
3. Quote amount

Then create a report listing all quotes made within a specific time period, when they expire, and their statuses. Perhaps you notice that several quotes expire this week, and the sales manager knows to contact those clients.

Do you see where I’m going with this? Start with something super simple – something basic. You could do this in Excel, but the point is digitalization, right? The goal is to eventually implement a more sophisticated system. But you need to start with something even simpler than Excel – yet in your chosen digital system.

What are we doing here? We’re teaching our managers to operate with reports. We’re teaching our line staff – salespeople or whoever handles quotes – to use the system, to live in it. We’re teaching them that this is our new reality. And if my manager will ask me about the content of this system, I’ll be forced to fill it in.

At first, it’s a bit of a “stick” approach. You won’t immediately create a system that super-helps people or is super convenient and cool. No. But gradually, new requests will emerge.

When employees, especially managers, start using reports, they’ll realize, “Hey, this thing is useful! Let’s add the products we offered in the quote so we can understand which products are selling best right now – which products are trending and which ones we’re proposing most often.”

The next stage would be excellent. Beyond our three fields, we can add “line items” – rows within the quote. This requires a big step forward.

Just as a child makes a leap from crawling to walking – a huge developmental jump – you’ll need to make a leap in development. You’ll need to implement a product catalog and modify the quote module so you can add products. This means some development and customization of the system for your needs.

Let me give you another example:

Say you want to start tracking customer support. You intuitively understand that you need to improve customer service somehow, or at least start measuring it. So you decide to implement a ticket system.

If previously you responded to emails and calls in a chaotic, unstructured way, now each support request should be registered as a ticket (or a “case” in Salesforce terminology).

What’s the point of a case? A client says, “I have a problem with the product. What should I do?” This is a request. We record it – when they contacted us, who contacted us, and what they asked for. We solve the client’s problem and note how we resolved it. We save the history.

Don’t complicate things! Don’t try to create a super system with response time tracking or SLAs – things that companies with no digital system experience love to implement right away. No, disable all functionality and focus on something simple. Super simple.

When implementing tickets, just track:

• Subject
• Who contacted us
• When they contacted us
• Who’s responsible
• Status: New, In Progress, Successfully Closed

That’s it. Elementary. Something very, very simple.

Only after running such a system for a month, two, or three should you start complicating or enhancing it.

And suddenly, it becomes clear that you don’t need a big project with a consulting company or major customization – you need something super small and super simple.

Again, “simple” is a contentious word – everyone understands it differently. When I say simple, I mean something truly primitive. What seems simple to you might actually be very complex. That’s why you need primitive.

While you figure out how a digital system works, you need time. Not all companies can do this quickly. Not everyone can run fast right away.

This is agile. Instead of deciding to build a massive system that will take a year to develop, you make decisions based on what you know for certain right now. You commit to starting with just those essential elements – typically just 3-4 basic fields in your system. I’m not exaggerating here; this minimal approach is exactly what many companies need to begin with. You make this focused decision and stick to it, resisting the temptation to overcomplicate things from the start.

Think of it like learning a new language. You don’t begin by memorizing every grammatical rule and exception – you start with “hello,” “thank you,” and “where’s the bathroom?” Those basics give you a foundation to build upon.

After some time – a week, two, a month (not a prolonged period like a year, but a foreseeable future) – you gain additional information and can make a new decision. You might say, “No, that decision wasn’t successful. Let’s do it differently.” 

The cost of making a mistake is reduced. You can afford to make mistakes. You can find the process that will be effective for you through trial and error because the cost of error is small.

If you make a mistake at the design stage – and you will 100% make mistakes when designing complex systems – the cost of that error is colossal. And no one will ever admit to this mistake.

Go ask 8 out of 10 CRM managers in large companies, and they’ll tell you their CRM system is a huge success. Go ask their consultants, and 8 out of 10 will say it’s a complete failure – a mess, confusion, and complete chaos.

Companies think that if they invest a huge amount of money in a short period into their IT system, it will somehow develop properly. Not always. Not all products require large investments – they often require high involvement.

Conclusion 

In this article, we’ve explored why so many software implementations fail and how to guarantee success by shifting to an agile approach. The traditional method – where management fantasizes about an ideal process that doesn’t align with reality – is a recipe for disaster. It leads to massive, complex systems that are costly to build, difficult to use, and ultimately rejected by the very people they’re meant to help.

The solution is to adopt an iterative and incremental methodology. By starting with a “super simple” system – perhaps just three or four basic fields – you allow your team to gradually adapt to the new digital reality. This approach reduces the cost of errors and lets you discover what works best for your company through trial and error. Just like a child learning to walk before they can run, your business can make small, manageable leaps in its digital development.

Instead of aiming for a perfect system from day one, you build a functional foundation. This first iteration proves its value and creates a natural demand for more advanced features from your team. As your needs evolve, so does the system, ensuring that it always aligns with your real-world processes.Need help implementing a CRM, analyzing your processes, or simply want a pair of understanding ears to discuss your challenges? Don’t hesitate to reach out to us at Muncly. We’re here to guide you through every step of the journey toward successful software implementation!