I wrote a post last week titled “Six Reasons to Finish Your Office 2007 Upgrade” and received a comment that deserves repeating.

Depending on their game plan, IT leaders can come out champions, creating their own Cinderella stories by proving ROI.

The reader said she upgraded to 2007 but asked to switch back to 2003 because her company didn’t provide any training.

She began her comment with a question: “So, how do you propose to deal with user frustration?”

Here’s how I replied:

“I know how immensely frustrating Office 2007 can be without training and support. If it was installed on your work PC, and your company provided no training or assistance, then I suspect your CIO is either clueless or just cheap. Upgrading employees without any sort of assistance is shortsighted.

“For home PC users, that’s another story. The redesign is jarring, to say the least. As one commenter put it: It’s as if Office was an automobile, and the manufacturer put the steering wheel in the trunk and the gas and brake pedals on the ceiling.

“Here’s the thing: Microsoft’s intent was to make the user interface more intuitive. Whether they accomplished that goal is up for debate. However, a look at the Office 2010 beta version reveals that the Ribbon is here to stay, so sticking with 2003 will only lengthen the learning curve.”

In a recent ad campaign, my company framed it in basketball terms:

In the NCAA Men’s Division I basketball world, they have March Madness. Since its 1939 inception, the tournament has built a legacy that includes dynasty teams and dramatic Cinderella stories. History, though, has taught us that for all of the great underdog stories that exist, the top-seeded teams that have a firm strategic game plan and a strong foundation of raw talent and skill win more championships.

In the realm of IT, help desk and end-user services, we face a similar big event, a Windows 7 and Office 2007 migration. Depending on their game plan, IT leaders can come out a champion, creating their own Cinderella story by proving ROI, increasing productivity and demonstrating end-user confidence and early adoption, instead of assumed chaos.

Conversely, IT leaders can opt for no plan at all and fail miserably. With an inadequate team and insufficient game plan, the result is crippled productivity, frustrated end-users (like the commenter above) and damaged help desk service levels.

Click here to see the campaign and to design your own stellar game plan.

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Jenny Sweeney Finish What You Started, Office 2007 Migration Assurance Program basketball, CIO, Help Desk, March Madness, NCAA Men's Basketball, Office 2007, Windows 7