No matter what platform you’re planning to use for integration or process automation, there are a few steps you can take before starting your project to maximize your chance at a successful implementation. Taking the time before the implementation to make sure that you have the right plan in place can keep the integration project running smoothly.
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Document Your Business Process: One of the most common pitfalls in an implementation project is not having your business process well defined and documented for your team to reference. Just like planning any journey, you need to have a clearly defined destination to plan a route.
a. Best Practice:Make sure that this information is recorded and stored somewhere that the whole implementation and business teams have access.
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Translate the Processes Into Requirements: Once you have your processes well documented, you’ll want to translate them into business requirements. We’ve put together a wonderful resource here to help walk through that process. If you aren’t sure where to start, you can use the templates available here:
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Prepare Your Team: Process automation is a group activity. Before kicking off a project or starting to build any connections, you’ll want to make sure that you have the right team in place with the right knowledge to execute the planned project. Your account team will also stay actively involved in the training and identification of these users. We have a variety of resources to get you up to speed on managing integrations, including our fantastic Celigo University.
A. Best Practice: Don’t forget to include any long-term integration owners in this step - even if our Professional Services team or one of our many Implementation Partners will handle the initial build, take the time to get the team enabled on the platform.
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Establishing a Plan: Once you’ve considered the above, you should be ready to set a plan and timeline for the project. The most successful projects will have key milestones identified in advance, such as creating connections, running User Acceptance Testing (UAT), and a final go-live date. The most important piece to consider is the UAT process - you can use our UAT Guide here for an idea of what to focus on. With this plan, you should discuss how to handle issues like scope changes or possible setbacks so that you can move forward with confidence.
You may have noticed that most of the above really comes down to thorough planning and documentation. In that way, process automation isn’t that different from most other types of projects you may already have completed in the past. Just remember that you aren’t alone in this journey - if you have any concerns or questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to your account team.