/ERP implementations, including those of buy phone number list industry-leading platforms, have a high failure rate. 1
While the reasons for this failure are many, three of the most common elements are poorly defined requirements and insufficient involvement of key stakeholders during implementation.
Clearly defined requirements
Of the many reasons for failure, the most difficult to fix is the lack of clearly defined requirements. In The Hardest Thing in Engineering Are Requirements, 2 author Jay explains why requirements are so hard to write.
First and foremost, it’s a communication problem between technical and business teams. Designers and engineers need clear requirements so they can roll up their sleeves to implement desired flows and build a solution optimized to achieve the best results for the stated use cases.
But business users either can’t or don’t have the time to write down use cases. They can’t because new use cases or gaps in requirements are only discovered when they see a working solution.
Michael Lewis captured this beautifully in episode “Six Levels Down.” 3 of his podcast (the Against the Rules podcast). He shares how turning to an expert who knew the requirements (or business rules) helped Athena Health become a billion-dollar software company. The experts are usually the actual users (6 levels down in the hierarchy), not the people in the boardroom. If you only have 5 minutes, I'd recommend listening to the episode from the 30-35 minute mark.
Here are the key takeaways:
Put your demands in writing.
Talk to real users. Document their requirements. What do they want from the software? What actions do they want to perform? What information do they need?
In our own experience, we have found that good brainstorming sessions can reveal many scenarios that can be reflected in requirements.
Require key stakeholders to sign off on requirements. While this may add delay, it also forces users to think things through. It’s quicker to course-correct early than after the solution has been implemented and developed.
Analyze requirements, identify gaps, and update.
Implementers and developers should be aware that there may be gaps in the requirements. They should be able to identify gaps and get clarifications before they start implementing.
Design in some flexibility.
Designers and developers should be allowed to customize templates, rules, alerts, reports, and flows.
Get early feedback by showing prototypes.
Prototype reviews are an early feedback system that alerts you to gaps and errors.
Feedback will save time because it will take less effort to ask for help compared to getting feedback after the solution has been fully implemented.
Defining key roles and responsibilities
To ensure that implementation and deployment are carried out well, you also need to ensure that people with key roles are involved in the project. Defining roles and responsibilities helps:
Improving operational efficiency.
Creating transparency.
Reduce confusion and conflict.
So, what are the key roles required to implement CRM?
Primary user representatives: sales staff/support staff/marketing
Share key actions and issues to help formulate requirements
Requirements Analysis
Leave feedback on prototypes
Check out the user guides and tutorials
C-Suite: Sales Leaders, Management
Share your main concerns and desired reports
Inspire users
Business Analyst + Technical Architect: Process and solution expert with knowledge of best practices
Meet with key users and senior management to gather the business processes needed by key users.
Identify the problems
Identify automation opportunities
Define alerts
Develop and publish a requirements document
CRM Application Expert: The product has a lot of features and it is important to know someone who knows about all the features.
Help design the solution in the best possible way
Set up CRM
Data Model
Set up automation rules
Post-live support for users
Project Manager
Prepare a project schedule
Daily or weekly updates and escalations
Ensure stakeholders are aligned on approach and flows. Be alert if there are gaps and address them before they become problems.
Make sure dependencies are removed. This is more important when the CRM needs to be integrated with other solutions.
Developer / Programmer
Review requirements, share best design approaches, and finalize in consultation with BI and CRM experts. Discuss pros/cons of different approaches
Whenever possible, design in a flexible manner so that business users can make changes to the implemented flows.
Trainers
Implementing CRM requires changing user habits. Without proper preparation, users will revert to old ways
Follow-up testing and retraining
Conduct training programs frequently (at least 3-4 times in the first three months)
Provide cheat sheets for the most common actions
You may also notice that in some cases, a person may perform more than one of the above roles. This person should have the time to fulfill the responsibilities of each role.
Identifying these key roles and their associated responsibilities will help with delegating tasks, collaborating, setting goals, and completing tasks. Make sure you have given enough thought to defining the roles to ensure an effective CRM deployment.