When new tools and methodologies become available in the field of information systems, some professionals are immediately enthusiastic, and want to try them, while others resist and want to delay their introduction. It is useful for management to categorize the professionals into groups:
Management should identify the early adapters who learn how to succeed with the methodology.
Experimenters
Most IT communities include some experimenters, who like to try anything new but who do not necessarily stick with it.
Early Adopters
Early adopters see the value of a new methodology and lead the way in making it practical to use. They adjust the methodology to make it work well in their environment.
Pragmatists
Pragmatists are middle-of-the-road developers, not anxious to experiment, cautious of failure, and reluctant to learn new methods until they are sure it will be a good investment of their time. They accept a new methodology only after the early adopters have demonstrated repeated success with it, showing that it is significantly better than the one in use.
Late Adopters
Late adopters are old dogs who do not want to learn new tricks. Unlike the resisters, they do not actively or consciously oppose the new methodology, but they are steadfast in their reluctance to change.
Resisters
Resisters are present in most IT communities. They sometimes voice their opposition to new methods vigorously from the beginning and may hide their negative attitude beneath a cloak of intellectual arguments. The champion of a new methodology must know how to deal with resisters, who, like late adopters, are sometimes senior people in an organization and may be dignified, influential, and powerful.
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