Implementing Structured Software Methodologies: A Case of Innovation in Process Technology

Managers in charge of introducing new production technologies need to approach implementation as an internal marketing campaign. Potential users of the innovation are subject to various influences. By building on positive influences and countering negative ones, implementation managers can speed the diffusion of the innovation within the organization. For instance, in the case presented here, programmers and analysts were more likely to use new structured software development methods if their supervisors, influential peers, and especially their clients supported use. Users were more likely than nonusers to have received training close to the time they were asked to use the new methods and to see very specific, rather than just general, potential benefits.