IT-System Deployment Plan: A Project Manager’s guiding principles
Project Charter and Scope Definition
Objective: Define the project’s goals, scope, and deliverables. Ensure alignment with the company’s strategic objectives and customer service enhancement plans.
Stakeholders: Identify all internal and external stakeholders (including a project sponsor), understand their interests and influence, and plan for effective communication and engagement.
This sounds too simple and therefore forgotten. Next step please… Wait a second. Objective give the direction for the project. It is always bummer if project doesn’t meet the company vision. It also defines the goal of the project. Without it = waste of money.
What comes to stakeholders. Things goes more smoothly when project interest, communication, and engagement is set properly. Ensure that management of the company is aware of the project and fully supports it.
Resource Planning and Team Assembly
Team Composition: Assemble a cross-functional team with representatives from IT, sales, marketing, customer service, and other relevant departments.
Resource Allocation: Determine the resources required, including software, hardware, and human resources. Plan for the budget and procure necessary approvals
Assembling teams together is something which should be done. Really… Need to be done. I was in one project where one department didn’t participate CRM project from the beginning. Then the company’s decision maker told us (after 2 months from kick off), this forgotten department need to be involved to project. Their needs where so different as project team planned. You know the phrase when s… hits the fan. Well, that extended timeline few weeks. And money was spent.
Do I need to do something? asked team member when asked if he would like to participate the project. Project require people to do tasks. Project Manager is mighty worker, but PM can’t do everything. Resources are needed from different departments, preferably motivated for change. During the project, motivated workers also spread their enthusiasm. This might smoothes resistance to change
Risk Management and Mitigation
Risk Identification: Conduct a thorough risk assessment to identify potential challenges in system integration, data migration, user adoption, and other areas.
Mitigation Strategies: Develop contingency plans for identified risks. Include backup plans, risk avoidance, and reduction strategies.
These two bullets are your shields during the project. Need I say more?
Implementation Strategy and Execution
Phased Rollout: Plan for a phased implementation, starting with a pilot group before a full-scale rollout. This allows for testing and adjustment of the system.
Training and Support: Develop comprehensive training programs for users. Provide ongoing support to address technical issues and user concerns.
When starting implementation, it is good idea to test the system, support, and training program with smaller group. Feedback from the smaller group usually represent wider group if it has diversity.
Performance Monitoring and KPI Tracking
KPIs and Metrics: Establish clear KPIs to measure the success of the CRM implementation. Track metrics such as customer satisfaction, user adoption rates, and sales conversion rates.
Regular Reporting: Set up a reporting mechanism to regularly update stakeholders on the project’s progress and performance against KPIs.
Reporting and KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) could be boring (for the person who do it, not for the person who need it), but it is necessary to keep project on track . Tracking indicateshow users adopt new system and working habits. Without it, it is like sailing blindly through the implementation.
Change Management and Communication
Change Management: Develop a change management plan to manage the transition effectively. Address resistance and foster a positive attitude toward the new system.
Communication Plan: Maintain transparent and frequent communication with all stakeholders throughout the project lifecycle.
Change management is just as important, if not even more important, than the implementation of the new system. A change in work culture and processes is often needed on top of a new system deployment.
My experience about communication is: THIS IS MOST IMPORTANT! Sorry about shouting 😊. People / Roles needs to communicate each other. If you are not talking to your partners, it is very hard to plan future and create new things / experiences.
Documentation and Knowledge Transfer
Documentation: Ensure thorough documentation of the CRM system, including configuration details, customizations, processes and user guides.
Knowledge Transfer: Facilitate knowledge transfer sessions to ensure that the team is well-equipped to manage and maintain the CRM system.
Last but not least. Without documentation there is huge wall between user (Admin/ Developer/Service/ Sales) and the system. Therefore please, please, use time to create needed docs.
These steps are for CRM implementation, which I found during my MEng study. List is not perfect but gives quite solid start. Every implementation has different nuances, and list needs some adjustment for every project.
You can share this and comment if you disagree or agree or you think I miss something We are here to learn from each of others!