We’re ready to dive into the project! Of course we want to hear all about your data. We want to learn about your programs and the specific fields you are hoping to bring over into Salesforce. We love to see the reports that would make your funders happy.
But before all of that, we need a team in place that will ensure that we reach our collective vision of success.
The Project Team
Our core project team usually consists of one or more Bigger Boat consultants (depending on project size), a Bigger Boat project manager, a client project lead, and a client Salesforce administrator.
This team is in charge of making your organization’s Salesforce dreams a reality. Within budget, of course. This team is more important than any list of functional requirements or any thick technical specifications doc. We’ll supply the consultant and project manager. We need you to provide us with an awesome project lead and administrator.
Project Lead
This person is the one who knows what needs to be built. If the lead doesn’t know, they do know where to get the information. Your project lead has a good understanding of the organization and of the vision that is driving this project. Leads don’t need to be a “techie” but do need to believe that the power of technology is a good thing! Oh, and hopefully your lead has had their plate cleared (especially during the implementation phase). We will need 10-20 hours a week of the lead’s time. Granted, this time requirement depends on how large your project is and where we are in the project, but it’s good to know the commitment level at the start.
The project lead’s duties will include working with us on collecting functional requirements, looking for organizational efficiencies and proposing solutions, clarifying and prioritizing requirements, problem solving, and managing resources. (If you are familiar with Scrum, you will know the term Product Owner. There’s actually a lot of overlap with our project lead and a product owner.)
Did I mention testing? Oh, yes. Your project lead needs to have the time and patience to test the functionality we give them, ensure that it indeed will work for co-workers, and even get co-workers in on the testing when needed. Your lead needs to be able to make difficult decisions (you have finite resources, after all). And be able to help drive user adoption in the organization, even before anyone has seen the new system.
Oh, and did I also say that we love our project leads? Just a reminder because it may not feel like it when we are asking for testing to be complete in the next 2 days. If necessary, we will deliver chocolate.
Salesforce Administrator
In the real world, sometimes the administrator and the project lead are the same person. This is fine. But no matter what, the admin is the person who KNOWS THIS SYSTEM and is key to ensuring long-term success. Seriously. The admin really knows a lot. Maybe not at the start of the project, but certainly by the end. Admins are techies at heart and believe that data will help the organization. And your admin owns it. An admin knows why it works the way it does, helps maintain data integrity (constant vigilance!), and keeps your staff using the system most effectively.
Executive Sponsor
The executive sponsor is not exactly on the project team. The executive sponsor is not involved in the daily work of the integration but is still incredibly important. Executive sponsors set the vision for the implementation and will champion the project. They ensure that the project team has the organizational backing to successfully implement the solution. Yes, this means clearing the work plate of our project lead! Not just piling more work on. The executive sponsor will ensure that all costs are appropriate for the organization’s success. The executive sponsor will work with the project lead to champion the project and help ensure user adoption.
Those are the three key roles. We will of course pull in subject matter experts along the way. The larger your organization is, the more potential there is for a larger project team. But this is the core. This is the team that will actually roll up their sleeves and make it all happen.
Ready to build the project team for your database project? Contact us.