
“What will actually make it to the Peak of Inflated Expectations, survive the Trough of Disillusionment, and ascend to that redemption at the Plateau of Productivity brings an element of suspense to the research.” Gartner helped by adding snazzy titles to the various stages of the cycle, such as the Peak of Inflated Expectations instead of the “Honeymoon” phase, and the Trough of Disillusionment instead of a “dip.” “ Like a character arc, it dangles the promise of redemption in the end,” writes Director Jay Wilson. More importantly, the dip is there because those persistent enough to stick it through can ride the upward wave that is at the end of the tunnel.” The reason why this is important to visualize is because if you can predict that a dip is coming whenever you’re learning anything new, it’s easier to fight through it. “Once the Honeymoon phase fades away, we experience the ‘dip’ and our progress begins to plateau or diminish. “There’s a sense of euphoria we all experience when we begin something new,” writes Sean Kim in Rypeapp. As we’ve mentioned before, change is hard, and implementing a new technology is certainly change. “Models of transition endeavor to describe how individuals respond to change, either in their own lives or environment,” writes occupational psychologist Dai Williams. And that makes sense. The Hype Cycle actually bears a remarkable resemblance to the transition cycle, which can relate to many types of change ranging from learning new things to dealing with psychological trauma. August conjures up images of county fairs and carnival rides, but there’s one other roller coaster ride this time of year in the IT industry: the Gartner Hype Cycle.
