1- Roles
Project Leader:
The Project Leaders are the main decision-makers of the project. However, Project Leaders wear many hats - at the same time, they play the role of project manager, business analyst and product expert.
As project managers, we lead the project by:
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defining the project plan and following it up
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focusing on the main objectives
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onboarding the SPoC (Single Point of Contact) on the project
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using the right resources and anticipating the risks
The Project Leader has to be considered as the key point of
contact by the customer during their implementation.
Product Expert/Business Analyst , we keep things simple by(HOW) :
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deciding how to implement specific needs
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challenging the customer’s demands and managing their expectations
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configuring the system
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migrating the required data
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writing the specifications.
App Expert:
For key apps (finance, inventory, marketing, manufacturing, website),
the most knowledgeable person of the app plays the role of an Automate
App Expert. They have developed deep functional knowledge in
industry-specific Automate features and have acquired solid business
experience. The App Experts are not part of the project. They do peer-reviews,
working across all projects of the company. They usually get involved in
GAP analyses to perform peer reviews. They especially do this for more
complex projects if the level of complexity requires it.
Project Director:
On larger projects or highly political environments, a Project Director is assigned in addition to the Project Leader. While the Project Leader focuses on the implementation, the Project Director helps present the project and manage executives' expectations, with a higher view of the project.
Their role is to keep decision-makers informed and committed to the project by:
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reporting project progress to the steering committee • tracking the efficiency of the project
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offering solutions to fix inefficiencies on how the project is handled (on both sides)
As opposed to the Project Leader, the Project Director does not work full time on a project, but overseas it from start to finish. On smaller projects, this role is usually done by the Project Leader directly.
Developer:
They’ll be involved if, and only if, the business requires development.
Customer: Single Point Of Contact
Within the context of your project, it is highly recommended to designate and maintain on both sides (customer side and ours)
one and only single person of contact
who will take charge and assume responsibilities regarding the project. He also has to have
the authority
in terms of decision making.
To make the implementation as fast, simple and affordable as possible, we also need to have a strong ally on the customer’s side. To do so, the Project Leader will need an equivalent profile in front of them.
As a project manager, the SPoC works closely with the Our Project Leader by:
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following up with the project
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being an ambassador who convinces the end-users (Change Management)
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making sure that the project plan aligns with the company’s agenda and constraints
Acting as "super key-user", the SPoC has a 360° understanding of the project requirements by:
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gathering and assessing the project requirements.
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training the end-users with the support of the Project Leader (there is no better trainer than a colleague who knows your internal processes): we provide functional training to the SPoC so that he can pass on this knowledge to his collaborators. In order for this approach to be successful, it is necessary that the SPoC is also involved in its own rise in skills through self-learning via the Automate documentation, The elearning platform and the testing of functionalities.
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becoming an internal system expert and ensuring the first level of support for their colleagues.
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Responsible for explaining the WHAT, the WHY and the WHO, and our consultant who will provide a response to the HOW.
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Responsible for the business knowledge transmission (coordinate key users intervention if necessary) and the consistency of the implementation from a business point of view (decision making, change management, etc.)
In sharing the responsibility of the project’s success with the Project Leader, we expect the SPoC to get involved in every step of the project. Therefore, we need the SPoC to:
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be available for the project
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have the authority to make decisions
Customer: Extra Roles
• Steering committee: a committee (composed of customer's decision-makers and Automate's Project Director) that decides on the project’s priorities, methodologies, and tracks the success of the project
• Key-users: in addition to the SPoC, the key-users act as experts in their specific domain and will help the SPoC to define the requirements. They also test and validate deliverables
• Sponsors: usually, the CEO or CFO, who pays for the project and who has high-level objectives. They’re usually part of the Steering Committee as well.
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2- Implementation Phases:
ROI Analysis:
