Replacing a core platform without losing the team
Requirements, vendor evaluation, training, and a phased rollout for a career platform used by every participant and alumnus.
- 01
Specialist interviews
- 02
Weighted vendor evaluation
- 03
Staff training
- 04
Participants
- 05
Alumni
“A platform migration is a change-management project with software attached.”
Challenge
The incumbent platform's contract was ending. A replacement had to be chosen, taught, and rolled out before the next program launch, with a team that had just learned the old one.
Who it was for
Career Specialists, program participants, and alumni.
What I built
- A requirements list built from specialist interviews, not vendor feature lists
- A weighted vendor evaluation, including how each vendor's AI features were assessed for accuracy, privacy, and fit
- A training plan sequenced for staff first, participants second, alumni third
- A rollout timeline with a January 2027 program launch followed by alumni access
Decisions and tradeoffs
- Staff before participants. If the specialists aren't fluent, the participants never will be.
- Evaluated AI features as a risk category, not a bonus. A vendor's AI that can't explain its outputs is a liability in a program that reports outcomes.
Outcome
In progress
Still in progress, which is the honest answer. This page will be updated when the rollout completes.
What I'd do next
Thirty-day adoption check with the specialists, then a participant survey.