This guide draws on lessons from two people who live this work every day: Trevor Baggett, Construction Technology Manager at Spring Valley Construction and author of The Implementation Gap, and Mike Wong, Head of Customer Success at Outbuild, a construction scheduling and planning software.
At Spring Valley Construction, Trevor led the rollout of Outbuild. The shift was about adopting new technology that helps teams connect project schedules, look-aheads, and roadblocks in one place, while increasing accountability.
Below is a field-ready playbook you can use starting today. You can also watch a recorded webinar of this topic here.
First truth: Software doesn’t transform your business. People do.
Buying a tool is easy. Getting real behavior change is not. Most rollouts fail when leaders expect the software to “do the work.” It won’t. People do.
What this means in practice:
- Have a real “why.” If crews don’t know what problem the tool solves, they stick with the old way.
- Prepare for a learning dip. Productivity will dip at first. Say that out loud. Then shorten that dip with heavy support.
- Own the change. Assign clear owners. Set dates. Close the old process on schedule.
As Mike puts it, “Hope is not a strategy.” You need a plan, check-ins, and a way to measure if the change is working.
Why rollouts stall (and how to avoid it)
Here are the common failure points Trevor and Mike see over and over:
- Vague goals. “We want to modernize” is not a plan.
- Too many changes at once. Teams burn out when the target keeps moving.
- Parallel processes. If the spreadsheet stays as a “just in case” method, adoption never happens.
- No local champion. If no one on the job owns adoption, it drifts.
- Training that doesn’t match the work. Slides don’t change habits. On-site coaching does.
- Leaders go quiet. After kickoff, the message must repeat, or the rollout fades.
Fixes are simple: pick one workflow, back a champion, and close the fallback path.
Spot early signs of change fatigue
You can feel it on site. Eye rolls when you show up. Slow or shallow entries. People asking, “Why are we changing this again?”
Treat those as signals, not defiance. Re-state the “why.” Remove friction. Give quick wins. Change fatigue is often a sign of unclear goals or too much at once.
Choose the right people and involve the field early
The field will use the tool most. So, bring them in early, especially during trials and test projects.
Trevor’s rule: include field leaders once you narrow options and start hands-on testing.
Also, don’t assume early adopters are the youngest crew members. Mike has seen some of the oldest, most skeptical Superintendents become the strongest champions once they see the value. Respect earns buy-in.
What to look for in a champion:
- Credible with the field
- Calm under pressure
- Willing to try first and show others
- Comfortable holding the line when people slip back
Give your champion time and support. Pair them with your vendor’s success manager to remove roadblocks fast.
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Map the old steps to the new steps
People don’t need a lecture on digital transformation. They need to know what changes on Monday.
Make a one-page map. For example:
- Old: Foreman texts next week’s needs on Friday.
- New: Foreman adds tasks and constraints in the look-ahead by Thursday at 2 pm.
- Old: PM updates a spreadsheet and emails it around.
- New: Superintendent locks the weekly plan in the tool at 3 pm so everyone sees the same plan.
- Old: Roadblocks show up Monday morning.
- New: Roadblocks get logged the day they appear with an owner and due date.
Circulate the one-pager over and over and reference it in every standup for a month.
Train the way you build: short, hands-on, real work
Skip long slide decks. Use short sessions tied to real tasks:
- 15 minutes in the morning to add actual work to the look-ahead
- 20 minutes after lunch to capture real roadblocks
- One focused workshop where Project Managers and field walk the full workflow end-to-end
Mike’s approach is simple: meet people where they are. If crews prefer tablets, great. If they need a kiosk in the trailer, set one up. Confidence comes from doing the job, not watching a demo.
Set two dates: go-live and cutoff
Nothing kills adoption like an open back door. After a brief overlap, end the old path.
- Go-live: “We start using the new workflow on March 1.”
- Cutoff: “On March 15, the spreadsheet goes away.”
- After cutoff: “If it’s not in the tool, it didn’t happen.”
Yes, it’s bold. But it works. As Trevor says, the biggest blocker isn’t resistance, it’s fallback.
Mike’s team often helps leaders remove legacy licenses within six months so people can’t drift back.
Keep a steady cadence
Rollouts fail in the quiet between meetings. Keep a boring but firm rhythm:
- Daily: Champion spot-checks entries for two minutes.
- Weekly: Short huddle on what worked, what blocked, and what changes next week.
- Bi-weekly with leadership: Review adoption and clear escalations.
Use the tool’s dashboards. Don’t create extra reporting. Everyone should look at the same source of truth.
Measure behavior you can feel on site
Track a few signals that change the way work flows:
- Plan Percent Complete (PPC) for weekly work
- Roadblocks logged and average days in advance
- Time to close a roadblock
- % of look-ahead entries submitted on time
Gamify where it helps. For example: lunch for the crew that logs roadblocks early or a shout-out for the first job to hit PPC goals three weeks in a row.
Positive pressure beats nagging.
Make sure you are showing the team the success that is happening along the way.
Move fast without chaos: minimum viable rollout
Many teams implement under pressure. Work doesn’t stop for tech. The answer is a minimum viable rollout.
Trevor’s example: when Spring Valley adopted a new HR suite, they didn’t turn on every module at once. They started with the one thing that had a hard deadline: performance reviews.
Do the same on construction technology:
- Pick one workflow that matters now.
- Stand it up fully.
- Stabilize for two full cycles.
- Document the simple “how we do it.”
- Add the next workflow with the same cadence.
Speed comes from focus, not from doing everything at once.
Make it easier than the old way
Part of the fear is the blank screen. Remember that legacy software is complex and overbuilt. People often use only a sliver of it. Newer tools are built to be simpler and more intuitive.
Mike’s team often “split-screens” the old spreadsheet next to the new plan and shows how to rebuild it in minutes. When people see their own work flowing faster, they buy in.
Handle resistance without drama
You will hear the classics:
- “The old way works.” Show real misses caused by the old way and how the new process prevents them.
- “I don’t have time.” Stand next to them the first week. Enter it together.
- “I’ll do it later.” Point to the cutoff and help them log it now.
- “We tried tools before.” Explain what’s different this time: a clear “why,” a champion, dates, and support.
Lead with respect. Hold the line with clarity.
Build a team that thrives on change
Construction is constant change; weather, design, procurement, labor. You get stronger when your team is comfortable adapting. Use your software rollout to practice that muscle:
- Distill signals fast
- Decide fast
- Adjust without drama
- Share what you learned
This habit makes you better not only at tech, but at project execution. Morale also improves when people feel the plan is clear and the system has their back.
A 30-day con tech adoption plan you can copy
Week 1
- Write the “why” in one sentence tied to schedule, risk, or cost
- Pick one project and one workflow
- Name a champion and set go-live and cutoff dates
- Map old vs. new on one page
- Do two micro-trainings using live work
Week 2
- Daily two-minute spot checks by the champion
- First weekly huddle to remove friction
- Share one early win with leadership (keep it short and concrete)
Week 3
- Enforce the cutoff; old path closed
- Track PPC, roadblock metrics, and on-time look-ahead entries
- Capture one before/after story and share it with crews
Week 4
- Stabilize the workflow; reduce check-ins as it becomes routine
- Document “how we do it here” on one page
- Choose the next workflow to add with the same cadence
Hold folks accountable and stick to it. And, you need a few lines you’ll repeat until they become culture:
- “We’re doing this to keep work from slipping through the cracks.”
- “If it’s not in the plan, we can’t plan around it.”
- “We’ll stand with you the first few times.”
- “On Friday, the old path closes.”
- “This is how we build now.”
Short. Clear. Consistent.
Rolling out new tech doesn’t have to be chaotic; it just takes clarity, patience, and follow-through. When teams stay focused on people, not just the platform, change becomes less about disruption and more about building a better way to work.
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