Phases of A Successful Implementation: #1 Project Preparation
#1 Project Preparation
Description
Planning how to implement a change to the business – organizing all the components together into a plan that includes scope of the project, when they are going to do it, who will be involved and how they are going to carry out the plan
Key Activities
These are the activities individuals involved in the project should be expected to do during this phase.
- Define Scope
- Define Project Plan
- Identify project team
- Derive process/procedures for project team
Inputs and Outputs of the Phase
Inputs will be what information will be used in this phase and the Outputs are results expected during this phase.
Input: Business directive/problem that resulted in project
Input: Budget from management team
Input: Time line from management team
Input: Expectations from management team
Output: Structured approach to drive this change to the organization
Resources
These are the roles that should be expected to be involved during this phase. They should always be a part of the communication plan, but will be actively involved in this phase.
- Management team
- Affected area management
- Outside resources
Common Problems during this Phase
- Unrealistic expectations à Be careful in this phase to not being realistic. Many businesses sit in a room and visualize pie-in-the-sky solutions. These solutions are not attainable with the plan or the resources, but we still document them as the expected result. Caution for this. If you are reviewing plans or building them, make sure your plan and resources align or compliment with the expectations
- Poor planning à Putting some tasks in Microsoft Project with some names next to them is not a project plan. Doing this will not get you the result that you need. Your plan needs to be realistic with the expectations on what needs to be accomplished with the resources that you have available.
Keeping these two common problems in mind will help you deliver this phase of your project on the right foot. Starting the project off with a solid plan + resources, with management support will go a long way for the follow-on phases for your project. If you start weak, expect to stay there, it is hard to recover when you must start over in the middle of a project.
All the Best for your Project,
Stephanie
ABOUT
SL Smith & Associates became a firm in late 2014. It was a result of the owner, Stephanie Smith breaking out from working for SAP consulting firms and doing it on her own, convinced that the cookie cutter consulting the same way for every one was so frustrating and not getting the job done.
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