Upgrading the version of an ERP, HRIS or any other business application is never just about changing a version number. This type of project alters far more than lines of code: it disrupts familiar points of reference, reshapes user journeys, transforms screens, and reorganises user profiles.
And yet, supporting this transition is often underestimated.
The result: misunderstanding, disengagement, and increased demand on support teams.
The Shortways Assistant, deployed before, during or alongside this evolution, plays a central role: reassuring, guiding, and making the transition seamless.
1. Application upgrade: a project with multiple dimensions
An application upgrade is a real project.
The project involves:
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Your Solution team: for configuring and testing the new versioN
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Your Change team: for developing the support and adoption plan for the changes introduced by the new version
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Your Shortways Admin team: for analysing the impact of the new version on the assistant’s display and guidance
Behind the generic term “upgrade” lies a much more nuanced reality. Some companies opt for a single, rapid, centralised upgrade. Others prefer a gradual approach, by scope or population. Timelines may differ, but the challenges remain the same: ensuring continuity of use despite profound changes to the application framework.
What is often forgotten is that the success of this project depends on the initial impact analysis. And this analysis is not limited to technical aspects. It covers screens, roles, expected user behaviours in the interface… all factors that condition the effectiveness of the Shortways Assistant.
This is why the first essential step is gaining access to the new version of the application. Depending on the level of access (full, restricted, or none), the adjustments required on the Shortways Assistant will vary in scope and timeline.
2. Assessing the technical and functional impacts on the assistant
The upgrade must be communicated as early as possible and evaluated in collaboration with the Shortways teams.
A digital assistant is only useful if it is perfectly aligned with the user’s context. During an upgrade, this context evolves, sometimes significantly. A thorough assessment is essential.
Technical impacts :
This is often where the first disruptions occur: changes to page naming, structural modifications to elements, undetected dynamic components, addition of hidden components during loading… All of these can interfere with the assistant’s target recognition.
And when security policies change (particularly with the activation of new Content Security Policies), the assistant’s operation may be blocked. The potential change in integration method (script, Web Component, etc.) must also be considered, as this may require technical recalibration.
Typical example: a restructured HR page that no longer loads its fields in the same way renders existing guides inoperative unless they are adapted beforehand.
Assessing technical impacts on the Shortways Assistant:
Does the upgrade have technical consequences?
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No: no developments required
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Yes: several cases to consider
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Context modification: recognition of pages, languages, user profiles
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Target selector adjustments
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Modification of application components (e.g., new elements on pages) or security (Content Security Policies)
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Change in integration method
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Functional impacts:
Here, it is no longer about “making the assistant work”, but about maintaining the relevance of the content provided.
Some modules disappear, others appear, user journeys are rewritten, roles change… What seemed obvious yesterday must now be re-explained. Some aids must be removed, others completely redesigned. Sometimes everything needs to be reworked; sometimes it is just about fine-tuning targetings. Above all, priorities must be set intelligently for what needs to be ready from day one.
Assessing content impacts:
Does the upgrade have consequences on content?
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No: no adjustments required
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Yes: several cases to consider
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Context changes
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Target changes
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Process changes within the application
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Evaluate the volume of content to be revised.
Plan and prioritise revisions: bulk updates or unit-level adjustments.
Two fundamental preliminary questions:
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Does the new version involve technical modifications for Shortways? Does the Shortways team have access to the application?
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Does the new version require partial or complete revision of existing content? Is the deployment phased over time?
Does Shortways have access to the new version?
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No: identification of changes via screen sharing
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Alternative: provision of temporary access to a client environment
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Yes: autonomy to assess and address evolutions
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Subject to access to all pages, modules or client-specific features
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Upgrade timeline:
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Single upgrade
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Phased upgrade
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Technical and/or content adjustments may be required progressively
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Mapping complexity rather than classifying impacts, Shortways proposes a complexity mapping:
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Simple case: context modification (recognition of pages, languages, user profiles)
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Intermediate case: target modifications or technical modifications (development/integration)
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Complex case: combined impacts across all dimensions (context, targets, technical adjustments)
This diagnosis is strategic. It enables accurate workload estimation, precise planning, and ensures a fully operational assistant at the critical transition moment.
Summary of the assessment:
3. Examples of Shortways helps to implement
The upgrade is linked to your change management plan for users.
Remember to use the Assistant for communication!
Here are some examples of how the many features offered by the Shortways Assistant can be used to support your upgrade:
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Notification bubbles: inform users about the transition date, or upon launch, highlight a new item on a screen
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Step-by-step guides: to help discover new features
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FAQs: include video links presenting the update, address anticipated questions via the knowledge base
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Contextual aids: to highlight key points of the upgrade
4. Application upgrade: an opportunity to deploy Shortways
What if this delicate moment became… an opportunity?
This is the choice made by many companies: using an upgrade to deploy Shortways for the first time.
The idea is simple: since the environment is changing, why not structure user support at the same time?
In this context, Shortways becomes a catalyst for adoption. It informs users via embedded notifications, reassures them through dynamic FAQs, guides them through new screens with contextual bubbles, and even offers a discovery journey for new features.
The project is framed by a progressive methodology:
- Technical and functional scoping at launch
- Training on content creation from week 2
- Guided production phase between weeks 2 and 6
- Final review around week 8
- Go-live around 2.5 months with on-demand ad-hoc support
All coordinated through weekly synchronisation with your dedicated Customer Success Manager.
This process ensures rapid adoption by functional administrators while maintaining consistent quality in deployed content.
Conclusion
An upgrade is a moment of transition. You can choose to manage it quietly, with risks, loss of efficiency, and increased pressure on support, or you can choose to support it, turn it into an adoption springboard, and make it a moment of progress.
This is exactly what Shortways Assistant enables: securing the upgrade, re-explaining new features, reassuring users, and smoothing the return to full autonomy.
👉 Planning an upgrade soon? Let’s discuss now to integrate the assistant into your roadmap: Contact us
