Minimizing the Impact of Change on User Productivity

In order to stay abreast of technological advancements in the business world, companies must weigh the benefits of adopting new technology with the setbacks associated with new implementation and training. Understanding the interactions between the end users and new technology is crucial for a successful transition from the present day technology to future technology. Users are required to learn new technology quickly, retaining knowledge of old technology while transferring this knowledge base to the new technology. Understanding of good design and interpersonal user characteristics as well as use of mental models can have a significant impact on maintaining user expert level when the change is introduced. Ability to maintain high expertise among users and use knowledge transfer will ultimately result in diminishing the time it takes to reach an expert level and translate to minimizing costs related to learning.