Rollout
Moving off paper rounds without losing the team
May 28, 2026 · 5 minute read
The failure mode for digitising rounds is trying to do all of them at once. It produces a training event, a fortnight of confusion, and a quiet return to clipboards.
Pick one round
Choose the round you would least like to be asked about in an audit. It is usually also the one with the most steps, which means it is the one that benefits most from being guided.
Start with the sceptics
Give it to the people most likely to complain, not the enthusiasts. They will find the things that are actually wrong within a week, and if it survives them it will survive everybody. If it is fixed in front of them, they become the reason it spreads.
Run both for a month
Paper and phone together for four weeks is not duplication, it is insurance. It also produces a direct comparison that ends most arguments about whether it is faster.
Measure the right thing
Not adoption. Time to complete the round, and the proportion of rounds that leave evidence. If those two are good, adoption follows without being managed.