Remote Project Kickoff and Planning Meeting
Every implementation of Tour de Force CRM begins with a Project Kickoff and Planning Meeting. A well planned and organized Project Kickoff and Planning Meeting sets the tone for a successful project.
The Project Kickoff and Planning Meeting is the official start to the implementation project, and is the first opportunity for the Tour de Force CRM Project Team and the Client Project Team to develop the plan for leading the implementation project to a successful completion. During the Project Planning Meeting, Tour de Force CRM and the client begin to anticipate and plan for the resources that are going to be required in order to achieve a successful implementation.
The Project Planning Phase serves as a blueprint to address the mission critical factors in the design and deployment of Tour de Force CRM and provides a framework for the implementation process that outlines the key milestones associated with the Tour de Force CRM implementation.
The Project Plan guides an organization through each step of the software implementation, providing a detailed outline of the scheduled project milestones organized in a timeline, allowing each team member to be proactive throughout the project. The Project Plan serves as a tentative schedule of milestones to be completed during each phase of the project.
Goals of the Project Kickoff and Planning Meeting
- Introduction of CRM Project Team and Client Project Team Members.
- Review and completion of the “Objectives and Strategy” section of the Implementation Questionnaire.
- Review and clarification of the remaining sections of the Implementation Questionnaire.
- Review of Project Phases and Milestones.
- Review of the Project Schedule during the Go Live Phase.
- Confirmation of dates for weekly or bi-weekly Project Status Meetings.
Communication between the Client Project Team and the CRM Project Team is essential to the success of any implementation. The goal at the conclusion of the Project Kickoff and Planning Meeting is to have all members of the Project Team on the same page, with the same goals and a clear understanding of what is expected from each person.
Throughout the implementation, Project Status Meetings will need to be coordinated between the CRM Project Manager and the Client Project Manager to ensure that tasks are being completed on schedule by the CRM Project Team and by the Client Project Team. The participation of all Project Team Members is very important during Project Status Meetings. If Project Team Members do not complete their assigned tasks associated with the Project Milestones, delays in the implementation process may occur.
Implementation Questionnaire
The Implementation Questionnaire document is designed to provide Tour de Force CRM clients with the overall scope of work that needs to be completed during the implementation of Tour de Force CRM, as well as to define the key individuals that will be involved with the project from both Tour de Force CRM and the client.
As a part of a successful implementation, it’s important that these key individuals participate and work together in making key decisions regarding the implementation. Having the implementation team, as a group, complete the Implementation Questionnaire is extremely critical to a successful and cost efficient implementation of Tour de Force CRM.
The Implementation Questionnaire is designed to help customers compile information about the current processes and systems within their organization, as well as to identify specific goals that the team has during the implementation of Tour de Force. The Implementation Questionnaire is used by the CRM Business, Environment, and Application Consultants that are assigned to the project to better understand the priorities and expectations during the implementation process. The Implementation Questionnaire is usually completed prior to the Project Kickoff and Planning Meeting.
During the Project Kickoff and Planning Meeting, the CRM Project Team reviews and discusses the outline of the Implementation Questionnaire, as well as answers any questions in regards to the Questionnaire.
Environment Workshop
Following the Project Kickoff and Planning Meeting, the CRM Environment Consultant coordinates a time to meet with the Client IT Administrator to thoroughly review the existing IT and server architecture at the client site. The stability of the Tour de Force CRM application is greatly dependent on the stability and robustness of the existing IT and server architecture at the client site.
During this milestone, the CRM Environment Consultant identities any potential bottlenecks that exist related to the servers, LAN connectivity, remote connectivity, WAN bandwidth, wireless networks, or other factors that may impact the stability of Tour de Force CRM in the client’s environment.
Scope Review of Customizations
Before the Tour de Force CRM Development Team begins work on any customizations, it is the responsibility of the CRM Project Manager to thoroughly review the proposed customizations with the Client Project Team to ensure that everyone’s expectations of the customization(s) are aligned.
Data Conversion Workshop
The goal of the Data Conversion Workshop is to determine the types and sources of data that need to be converted into Tour de Force CRM.
Base Configuration Workshop
The goal of the Base Configuration Workshop is to discuss the requirements for establishing the foundation for Tour de Force CRM, as well as to identify and document that factors that can influence how the BSI (Business System Integration) Connector is set up. The Base Configuration Workshop consists of the Foundation Session and the BSI Configuration Session.
The key concepts associated with the Foundation Session include discussing the folder structure associated with Tour de Force CRM, determining the Account Roots and Account Packages that are needed based on the reporting and security requirements of the client, identifying the users that need to be set up, identifying the groups that need to be set up, and determining the permission requirements for those users and groups.
The key concepts associated with the BSI Configuration Session include discussing the standard and alternate summary types in Tour de Force CRM, identifying the differences between Bill To and Ship To Addresses associated with the ERP system, defining the differences between Standard and BSI Only Accounts, reviewing the BSI Account Sync process and the Account record field mappings needed, reviewing the BSI Contact Sync process and the Contact record field mappings needed, and determining how the Account, Contact, and Customer records associated with an ERP system are linked to the corresponding records in Tour de Force CRM.