One of the key success factors with implementing Salesforce is good preparation, and specifically having the right people formally assigned to the project from the start. Having the right team in place helps with creating momentum behind the project, avoiding delays and being able to work through problems quickly.
The team that you put together will depend on the size and complexity of the project. In general, there are standard project roles that should be assigned, and these roles work well with Tenacre's agile project management methodology.
Executive Project Sponsor
Reports to the board / senior management team
The project sponsor is the executive of the business that has the authority to start and execute the Salesforce project. As the owner of the business case, this person will have undertaken an evaluation of the value in implementing Salesforce and be responsible for the success of the project.
Working with the project manager, the project sponsor is often the person that
Project Manager
Reports to the executive project sponsor and works with the Tenacre project manager
Your project manager ('PM') is the person that is responsible for working with Tenacre to ensure that the project is planned and delivered on time, on budget and to the quality standards that the business requires. The PM will be busy on a daily basis making sure that the business has the people and resources available as and when required for Tenacre to deliver the project.
The PM will work directly with the Tenacre project manager, and will in effect work as part of a combined team that works daily to deliver a successful Salesforce project. The Tenacre PM will own and publish the project plan, this will be shared online. All work packages, deadlines, and risks will be shared on this online workspace.
Super Users
Reports to the project manager
The Tenacre PM will be working hard to deliver a working prototype of your new Salesforce CRM to you as quickly as possible. We do this so that your team of experienced salespeople, service agents or marketers can start to use and test the system.
The feedback from these 'super users' to the PM is critical in helping Tenacre to build your CRM to your exact specifications. We recommend that there should be no more than three super users involved in most projects, and that there should be a range of technical skills and attitudes among this group to ensure that the feedback is as representative as possible of the entire business.
I.T support
Reports to the project manager
Outside of some specific tasks such as systems integration, the role of 'IT' in a Salesforce implementation is quiet small. However, there are critical project tasks that can only be completed by the I.T staff and it's a good idea to have them briefed in from the beginning of the project.
The technical staff within your organisation will work with the project managers to plan and carry out integrations with all users email clients applications such as Outlook or Gmail. They may also be involved in the process of gathering and cleaning old data that needs to be imported into your new Salesforce system.
System Administrators or external consultants
Reports to the project manager
Many Salesforce projects involve integration with third party applications such as ERP or accounting systems. This is often a distinct project by itself, and requires that your PM is able to introduce the administrators of those systems (internal or external) to Tenacre.
The system administrators will be required to provide the technical information, such as database tables, to Tenacre so that our developers can plan and build the integrations between both platforms.