Users

Don't overlook the importance of user readiness to deliver an effective, enterprise-wide deployment of Windows 11. Windows 11 has a familiar design, but your users will see several enhancements to the overall user interface. They'll also need to adapt to changes in menus and settings pages. Therefore, consider the following tasks to prepare users and IT support staff for Windows 11:

Select test users

Select a few users from each business unit to test your pilot deployment of Windows 11 in the next phase. Consider the following factors in your selection:

• Location: Do you have users in different physical locations? Can the users be supported and can they provide feedback from the region they're located in?
• Application knowledge: Do the users have the right knowledge of how the business-critical or very important applications work?
• Technical ability: Do the users have the right level of technical competence to be able to test scenarios and provide useful feedback?
• Suitability: Do the users accept that there could be issues during the testing that could affect their productivity? Can they be relied on to provide useful feedback?

Users for Pilot deployment could be volunteers who like to try out new features, frontline support members, and others. At the same time, avoid using core users like department heads, project managers, and others. Consult with operations, application owners, or developers to help you identify the most appropriate pilot users based on specific features or functionalities that need to be validated.

Whether during user selection or right after, increase chances of success of this pilot by communicating tips and expectations. Specifically, prepare your test users with guidance to report issues that they’ll likely face.

Create a communications schedule to prepare different groups for changes

Create a communications schedule to ensure that you provide the right message at the right time to the right groups of users, based on when they'll see the changes.

Draft emails to promote usage and offer support

Draft concise emails that inform users of what changes they can expect to see. Offer tips on how to use or customize their experience. Include information about support and help desk options.

Here are some helpful educational resources you can adopt:

• Meet Windows 11 video series
• Windows help & learning
• Upgrade to Windows 11: FAQ

Update help desk manuals

Update help desk manuals with screenshots of the new user interface, the out-of-box experience for new devices, and the upgrade experience for existing devices.

Sign off and update procedural documentation

As you make decisions throughout this stage, document them in an easily shareable format for tracking, reporting, and continuity purposes. Get approvals of these deliverables from all the people identified in your RACI matrix connected to user readiness. Seek help and address any gaps before moving to the deployment phase.