Have you ever struggled with why a team, a direct report, or a business group didn't use a software tool that "was purchased for them"? If you ever have been responsible for deploying software, you've probably encountered this.

Not using software that get's purchased is actually a common phenomenon, even if you attempt to avoid that outcome by doing best practices, such as building engaging discussions of "Why?" and "What's in it for me?". According to a CIO survey, the cost of unused software on US businesses alone is a whopping $12.3 billion a year. And that's just estimating that there's $100/desktop of unused software. Seems like a very low estimate to me.

I've struggled with this process repeatedly over the years, in all kinds of organizations, from working with the United Nations to 3 person service firms to high tech giants. The question often sounds like, "What gives... why does getting people to use new software have to be so hard?"

This week it all jelled for me. Not quite an epiphany, but close enough.

Actually it started a few weeks back when we were visiting one of our kids. We walked into the living room and it was warm and pleasant and looked to be freshly cleaned. Then I walked to the kitchen down a hallway that passed one of the bedrooms, and the door was cracked and inside it looked like a small tornado had recently been in close proximity. And it got me thinking about why and what we pickup around the house. Hold that image and then let me explain what happened this week, because I promise, it does tie into using software, and why we don't.

This week I was doing some research on Information Management and what's described as maturity levels for how well organizations manage information. The Justice Ministry in New Zealand has a reasonable good description and IMM graphic on their site if you care to visit for reference.

Let me use the initials IMML to stand for Information Management Maturity Level. It sounds rather "dry" when you read it, but in 25 words or less, IMML reflects the awareness that there are different levels of effectiveness at managing information from documents to to-dos, from operations, to growth and transformation. The increasing levels of “maturity” represent increasing levels of attention and processes regularly applied to managing information and ultimately deriving value from information.

But here's the thing. Whether you recognize it or not, whether you introduce new software or not, IMML will directly affect how well things get done at work, if they get done, and your bottom line. Let me explain.

Think of IMM as reflecting various levels of rigor about collecting and sharing information at work. It’s based upon, among other things, the awareness that information management helps people perform:

• better,
• more accurately,
• more timely,
• more consistent with what works,
• with less labour per output,
• less do-overs,
• less misdirection, and
• less time priority mismatch based misallocation (spent 4 hours, when should have only spent 1, given the priority). That’s quite a list isn’t it?

Ok, so do you mind if I just use a simple model to help illustrate where I’m heading? It might look something like the chart below if applied to where you work. Think how things really happen at work, how information really gets managed in the department you work in. You, your office, your work group probably fall within one of the following five levels of information management.

Now it gets even more interesting (to me and hopefully you). If you start thinking of information management behaviors, you begin to notice they have an uncanny resemblance to age dated behaviors when it comes to picking up stuff as you move from childhood to adult. You see that visit to the kids was still percolating in my head. Take a look at this.

It looks like "picking up stuff" and managing information have some very interesting parallels. Sorting this table out this week, brought up all sorts of memories from the past and raising kids, and how much some of the exact same language and behavior appears when deploying software. Do you see that as well? Whether its information or clothes, we go from:

• I'll only do it if you do it with me, to
• I'll only do it if I have to, to
• I'll do it if someone is going to view it, to
• I'll do it because its part of the job and my role, to
• I'll do it because it helps me/us get ahead/be better.

This all lead to that epiphany of sorts. It suddenly made sense why we don't use software we purchase or someone else purchases for us. And frankly there's a number of possible reasons why, including the fact that sometimes software doesn't turn out to fit our needs, or we felt like we were making progress by buying the software, and that turned out to be good enough, etc.

But the epiphany boils down to this:

We tend to operate within our maturity level and resist or at least not adopt habits that aren't consistent with our level and comfort zone. E.g. If you acquire software that doesn't match up to (exceeds) the user's information management maturity level, there's a mismatch, and typically they don’t make a habit of using the app, and in fact may refuse or ignore it right from the initial deployment.

Here's another way to think of it. Buying information management tools doesn’t automatically up-level people's IMML. Simply buying better information management tools (ex. project management, document management, etc.), doesn’t change the level of maturity with which people are operating.

That's the big insight. Hopefully it was good for you. For me it created that sort of sign you have inside when you go, "Oh... that's why that is happening!"

Before I wrap up, let me respond to a question you may be asking right about now, and that is, "So how do you up-level the maturity of information management where you work?" Actually there are only two primary choices:

You actively lead the up-level process. You do it by prioritizing information management, sustained investment in the process and outcomes, modeling it yourself, and insisting others operate at a similar level. All the while engaging, monitoring, reinforcing, celebrating, and validating information management’s importance. And yes, eventually removing people who insist on not up-leveling.

You hire a “room cleaning service”. In project management circles I’ve heard them referred to as the “project management police.” Essentially you set aside resources to collect and update information, such that those who need to function at level 4 and 5, have the information they need - even if most of the rest of the organization is functioning at a lower level. If you don’t have the time and personality to drive this process, sometimes using the proverbial “room cleaning service” or “information management police” is the best and most expeditious option short term.

Bottom Line: The fact that people don't use software purchased for them, even if it would help them be more effective, is a well documented, and expensive fact. A primary reason we don't use "well intentioned" software, is that it doesn't match our information management maturity level. This has surprising parallels with patterns and attitudes expressed about picking up clothes as we move through the first five decades of life. In fact, buying new software does not cause people to "up-level". Two options are presented for consideration when faced with “up-leveling” the maturity of an organization. Those are either to lead the development process, or pay for data collection and management service (“room cleaning”).

Rodney Brim is CEO of Performance Solutions Technology http://www.managepro.com/blog/