Inspired eSolutions

Implementation Management

It is not a secret that often a smoothly run project gets a black eye because of problems during implementation. Those problems often crop up because organizations do not anticipate and plan for the complexity of deploying the solution. For example, you might communicate and plan well for the deployment of a client-server solution, only to discover during implementation that many of your workstations aren't powerful enough to handle the load. This is the type of minor detail that can cause major headaches.

At Inspired eSolutions our Technology Professionals plan ahead for implementation in order to ensure successful implementation and to avoid surprises. Following are the major activities associated with project or product implementation planning that we perform for our customers. Note that many of these activities need to be completed ahead of time.

Prepare the infrastructure: Many solutions are implemented into a production environment that is separate and distinct from where the solution was developed and tested. It is important that the characteristics of the production environment be accounted for. This strategy includes a review . . . [More]

Coordinate with the organizations involved in implementation: This may be as simple as communicating to your user community. However, few solutions today can be implemented without involving a number of organizations. For IT solutions, there are usually one or more operations and . . . [More]

Implement training: Many solutions require users to attend training or more informal coaching sessions. This type of training could be completed in advance, but the further out the training is held, the less information will be retained when implementation rolls around. Therefore, we recoomend that training is made part of the actual implementation plan and that it takes place close to the time of implementation.

Install the production solution: This is the piece everyone remembers. The solution needs to be moved from development to test and from test to production. If the solution is brand new, this might be finished in a leisurely and thoughtful manner over a period of time. If your project involves a major . . . [More]

Convert the data: Data conversion, changing data from one format to another, usually takes place once the infrastructure and the solution are implemented.

Perform final verification in production: It is critical that our clients are prepared to test the production solution to ensure everything is working as expected. This may involve a combination of development and client personnel. The first check is just to make sure everything is up and appears . . . [More]

Implement new processes and procedures: In addition to IT related changes, our solutions may also require changes to be made to business processes. These changes should be implemented at the same time that the actual solution is deployed.

Monitor the solution: At Inspired eSolutions we always create a Post Implementation Support Plan for our client implementations, which outlines the escalation process for resolving post implementation issues. Usually our team spends some agreed-upon period of time monitoring the implemented solution. If there are problems that come up immediately after implementation, our team will address and fix them.

The above activities are typically performed in complex implementations. However, your implementation may not be as complex, and we may not need to look at all of these areas. Nevertheless, there is usually a lot more involved than just throwing the final solution into the production environment. We need to account for the environment the solution will run in, as well as processes and training needs of the user community. Regardless of project complexity, our experienced implementation professionals will help you think through implementation from a holistic approach, which will offer a much greater likelihood that your project will end as a win.