When to Celebrate: Why Your Technology Project Success Party Might Be Premature

Understanding the J-Curve of Change and why timing your celebrations of project success matters more than you might think

Your technology project team has just spent months—perhaps even years—battling through requirements gathering, development hurdles, testing cycles, and countless late-night troubleshooting sessions. The system finally goes live, users can log in, and the core functionality is working. Time to break out the champagne, right?

Well, not quite so fast.

I’ve been managing technology implementations for wealth management firms for over two decades, and I’ve seen this scenario play out repeatedly. The team is exhausted, stakeholders are relieved, and everyone wants to celebrate what feels like crossing the finish line. The temptation is enormous—and understandable—to mark the occasion with a proper celebration.

But here’s the thing: going live isn’t success. It’s barely even the beginning.

The Project Success Dilemma

Recently, I was discussing this very situation with a director whose team had just launched a new client relationship management system. “Should we book that restaurant now?” he asked. “The team deserves recognition, and frankly, we all need something to look forward to after this marathon.”

His instinct was spot on—the team absolutely deserved recognition. But the timing? That’s where it gets tricky.

When we celebrate a technology implementation too early, we risk sending entirely the wrong message. We’re essentially declaring victory when the real battle—getting genuine value from the investment—has only just begun. Worse still, we might inadvertently signal that the project team’s work is done, just when ongoing support becomes most critical.

Understanding the Valley of Death

To understand why timing matters, we need to grasp what actually happens when a new system goes live. This is where David Viney’s brilliant concept of the J-Curve of Change becomes invaluable for anyone managing technology implementations.

The J-Curve illustrates a counterintuitive truth: when you introduce new technology, performance typically gets worse before it gets better. Much worse, in fact.

Think about it from your users’ perspective. Yesterday, they could navigate their familiar system with their eyes closed. They knew exactly where to click, which shortcuts to use, and how to work around those annoying quirks that every system has. Today, everything has changed. The login process is different, the screens look unfamiliar, and that report they used to generate in thirty seconds now takes ten minutes—assuming they can find it at all.

This performance dip isn’t a sign of failure; it’s completely predictable. Viney originally developed this model whilst exploring change management methodologies, recognising that people often handle technological change much like grief—with denial, anger, bargaining, and depression before eventual acceptance.

The Real Cost of the Valley

In wealth management firms, this performance dip can be particularly brutal. When your revenue depends on client satisfaction, portfolio performance, and maintaining regulatory compliance, even a temporary drop in efficiency feels catastrophic. I’ve witnessed scenarios where:

• Relationship managers spend twice as long accessing client information during the first few weeks
• Portfolio updates and client reports take significantly longer whilst staff navigate new interfaces
• Client queries about account status or performance take longer to resolve
• Compliance reporting becomes inconsistent as teams adapt to different data entry requirements
• Investment research and analysis workflows are disrupted during the transition period

The depth and duration of this valley depend largely on how well you’ve managed the change process. Without proper training, communication, and ongoing support, that dip can become a chasm. With excellent change management, you can make it more of a gentle slope.

But here’s the crucial point: even with perfect preparation, the valley still exists.

When Project Teams Disappear

This is precisely when many organisations make their biggest mistake. The technology is live, the project appears complete, and suddenly the project team vanishes back to their day jobs. The very people who understand the system’s intricacies, who can troubleshoot issues quickly, and who can provide guidance to struggling users, are nowhere to be found.

I’ve seen this happen repeatedly in wealth management firms. Senior partners and directors, eager to reclaim their experienced staff for client-facing activities, immediately pull project team members back into their previous roles. The result? Relationship managers are left struggling with new portfolio management tools, compliance teams can’t generate required reports efficiently, and client service suffers during the transition period.

The statistics on this are sobering. Research suggests that up to 70% of change initiatives fail, and one of the primary reasons is inadequate support during the transition period. The technology might work perfectly, but if people can’t use it effectively, the entire investment becomes worthless.

The Right Way to Celebrate Project Success

So, how should you handle celebrations around technology implementations? I recommend a two-tier approach that recognises both the achievement and the reality of what lies ahead.

Immediate Recognition (Go-Live Milestone)

Absolutely acknowledge what the team has accomplished. Going live is genuinely significant—it represents months of hard work, problem-solving, and dedication. But frame this as a milestone celebration, not a project completion party.

Consider something modest but meaningful:

• A team lunch to acknowledge the achievement
• A small gift or token of appreciation for each team member
• Public recognition in company communications
• A brief gathering with light refreshments

The key is to make it clear this is recognition for reaching an important waypoint, not the destination.

Success Celebration (Benefits Realisation)

Reserve your proper celebration—the champagne dinner, the night out, the significant recognition—for when you can genuinely demonstrate that the project has delivered value. This might be:

• When relationship managers are accessing client information faster than ever before
• When portfolio reporting is more accurate and timely than previous systems
• When compliance processes are demonstrably more efficient
• When client satisfaction scores show measurable improvement
• When the system is enabling better investment decisions and client outcomes

This timing serves multiple purposes. It keeps the project team engaged during the critical support period, it aligns celebrations with actual business outcomes, and it sends the right message about what constitutes real success.

Managing Stakeholder Expectations

One of the biggest challenges during this period is managing expectations—both for users and senior stakeholders. Partners and directors who’ve invested significant time and money in new portfolio management systems or client relationship platforms want to see immediate results. When they don’t, anxiety levels can rise quickly.

This is where communication becomes crucial. Before going live, prepare stakeholders for the reality of the J-Curve. Explain that the initial performance dip is normal, predictable, and temporary. Share timelines for when you expect to see recovery and eventual improvement.

Set clear metrics for what success looks like and when you’ll measure it. This might include:

• User adoption rates over the first three months
• Client onboarding efficiency at 30, 60, and 90-day intervals
• Portfolio reporting accuracy and timeliness improvements
• Client satisfaction scores before and after implementation
• Compliance reporting efficiency and error reduction rates
• Specific business benefits such as assets under management growth or client retention improvements

Supporting the Climb

The period immediately following go-live is when your change management efforts matter most. This is when you need:

Intensive User Support

• Dedicated help desk resources
• Quick response times for issues and queries
• Regular check-ins with key user groups
• Additional training sessions for struggling areas

Proactive Communication

• Regular updates on progress and improvements
• Quick wins and success stories as they emerge
• Transparent acknowledgment of challenges and how they’re being addressed
• Clear timelines for when things should stabilise

Leadership Presence

• Visible support from partners and senior management
• Quick escalation paths for significant issues
• Regular reinforcement of the benefits the system will deliver
• Patience with the adjustment period

Learning from the Curve

What’s fascinating about the J-Curve is how it applies beyond just technology implementations. You’ll see the same pattern with:

• New regulatory compliance requirements and reporting standards
• Office relocations and new working arrangements
• Organisational restructures and new client service models
• Investment process changes and new research methodologies
• Merger integrations and system consolidations

Understanding this pattern helps you prepare for it, communicate about it, and most importantly, support people through it.

I’ve noticed that wealth management firms who acknowledge the J-Curve upfront tend to have much better implementation outcomes. Their stakeholders are prepared for the temporary disruption, their support resources are planned accordingly, and their celebrations are timed to coincide with genuine success.

The Long View

Perhaps the most important lesson from the J-Curve is about taking a longer view of success. In our immediate-results culture, it’s tempting to judge technology implementations within weeks of going live. But real transformation takes time.

The most successful implementations I’ve managed have been those where stakeholders understood this from the outset. They planned for the valley, supported users through it, and measured success over quarters rather than weeks.

These projects didn’t just recover their previous performance levels—they significantly exceeded them. The new technology delivered genuine competitive advantages, improved client service, and enhanced job satisfaction for users who’d initially been sceptical.

Final Thoughts

So, should you celebrate when your technology project goes live? Absolutely—but do it thoughtfully.

Acknowledge the achievement, recognise the effort, and show appreciation for your team’s dedication. But save the real party for when you can genuinely claim success. When your users are working more efficiently than ever before, when clients are seeing better service, and when the business benefits are tangible and measurable.

That’s when you can truly say the project was successful. And that’s a celebration worth waiting for.

Your exhausted project team might disagree in the moment—they want closure and recognition now. But trust me, the satisfaction of a genuine success celebration, backed by real results and tangible benefits, is far more rewarding than premature champagne.

Besides, when you time it right, you might find that the very relationship managers who were initially resistant to the new portfolio management system are now your biggest advocates. And that’s worth celebrating indeed.

If you’d like help in positioning your project for maximum success then reach out to me now using the contact form.

Paul Every
Assurify Consulting, Jersey

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The J-Curve of Change, by David Viney, licensed under CC BY 4.0