Even when employees are used to working wirelessly, a major upgrade of familiar tools requires salesmanship. At UPS, drivers expect regular upgrades of the DIAD - the handheld device that customers sign when they receive a package. But the latest iteration, the DIAD IV, introduced last year, delivered more than incremental change.

UPS made the DIAD smaller and added a plethora of communications technologies, including Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, an infrared port and two wireless transmission standards that enable the device to work with any network. "You throw something at me, and I can talk to it," says Jack Levis, the portfolio manager in UPS's industrial engineering group and the de facto user representative on IT projects that impact small package operations. In addition, GPS technology will eventually give drivers better directions to pickup and delivery points: It will even be able to tell them, through an embedded speaker, when they're headed the wrong way. Once a driver scans a package and gets a signature, this information is wirelessly transmitted into UPS's tracking systems.

All of this new wizardry meant drivers had to learn how to use the device all over again. The smaller size meant fewer keys, resulting in new sets of keystrokes for some commands and making the new device more difficult to use at first. UPS laid the groundwork for change by testing the device with different groups of drivers.

First, developers worked with a small group to test many different keypad configurations, and then sent a prototype to some 750 drivers out in the field to use for a year. The development team incorporated many of their suggested tweaks into the device, such as keys that light up in the dark and a docking station that is easier to handle for drivers with smaller hands.

Next came a 5000-driver deployment in mid-2005 (one of a series of ongoing deployments). To keep tabs on how the DIAD IV fared after each rollout, Levis and UPS management observed the drivers, charting their problems and helping them learn how to use the device. Acceptance took a couple of months, as drivers got used to the new configuration. Eventually, they were won over by the lighter weight and improved ergonomics of the DIAD IV.

"On any project, good management involves managing risks before they turn into roadblocks or deal-breakers," says Levis. The level of back-and-forth between driver, engineering and IT made the change successful. "We listened to as many people as often as we could," he says.