Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solutions support a wide range of business processes for an organization. These processes include core financials and accounting, product engineering, sales force automation, sales order management, supply chain planning, order fulfillment and logistics, as well as after-sales service and support. Many of these are mission critical for the companies, and hence the rigor that these organizations go through to ensure that they find the right solution for their needs.
Microsoft recognized the needs of the customer, and set about developing a methodology called Microsoft Dynamics Sure Step to help the customers accomplish their objectives. First and foremost among those goals was to provide processes to enable consistent and repeatable solution deployments. Inherent within that, however, was the need to ensure that the customer and sales team engaged in a meaningful manner to select the right solution, and ensured that the project was scoped such that the customer's objectives would be met.
Chapter 1, Background and Concepts, introduces the importance of a methodology in the selection and implementation of ERP and CRM solutions. A faulty selection process can derail any solution deployment, and it is important for the readers to understand what they can do to prevent this. Many implementations also go awry because of poor scope and risk and change management, and we begin to talk about this key aspect. We also set the context with a brief history of the Microsoft Dynamics solutions, from acquisition through their evolution into the current world-leading portfolio.
Chapter 2, Solution Selling and Driving Due Diligence, focuses on the theories and approaches to selling business solutions. We also discuss the buyer's progression in their cycle of solution acquisition. From the solution provider's perspective, solution selling requires them to build a relationship with their customer and establish trust. We also talk about establishing key performance indicators and the value measurement for the solution while helping to drive customer vision and scope, and close the sale. From the customer's perspective, we talk about becoming a solution-centric organization, do proper due diligence in selecting the right solution to meet their needs, and ensure that the scope for the delivery engagement is set up to accomplish the organization's objectives.
Chapter 3, Solution Envisioning with Sure Step, builds on the theories and concepts of selling in the previous one and goes into specifics on the ways in which Sure Step helps with selling Microsoft Dynamics solutions. We discuss the activities and cover off in detail the Decision Accelerator Offerings that help to accelerate the sales cycles and bring them to a close while also helping the customer with their due diligence process. We also talk about the ways in which the Diagnostic phase sets the stage for quality implementation by outlining the risks involved. We discuss the selection of the right approach for the deployment as well as the parts that will be played by both the partner and the customer teams.
Chapter 4, Managing Projects, focuses on introducing the value proposition for project management and talks about managing projects from a result-driven and real-life perspective. This chapter sheds light on the resistance to project management and the ways to overcome that by unleashing the real value of project management. While introducing the reader to the four pillars of project success and explaining about project management essentials, we guide them to the benefits of smart projects. We also discuss project management adoption from an organizational perspective.
Chapter 5, Implementing with Sure Step, focuses on solution deployment and the implementation life cycle. We talk about the waterfall and agile approaches afforded by Sure Step. In the waterfall approach, we discuss the different implementation phases and cross phases to implement a Microsoft Dynamics solution, including the Post Go-Live stage. In doing so, we illustrate the real-life challenges that implementers and customers face when implementing ERP and CRM software solutions and ways to address these challenges. With the agile approach, we discuss how this flexible and iterative approach is organized and how it supports the solution delivery.
Chapter 6, Quality Management and Optimization, discusses some options for the partners and customers to ensure quality implementation. We also introduce the Sure Step Optimization Offerings and discuss the Proactive and Post Go Live Review services that make up these offerings.
Chapter 7, Upgrading with Sure Step, focuses on helping existing Microsoft Dynamics customers upgrade their solution to the latest product release. We discuss the Upgrade Assessment service in the Decision Accelerator Offering to ascertain the right approach and then explain the Sure Step Upgrade project type for technical upgrades. We also suggest approaches for adding new functionalities during the upgrade process.
Chapter 8, Project and Organizational Change Management, focuses on the project management and change management disciplines in Sure Step. We discuss the key subdisciplines of Project Management, such as risk, scope, and issue and communication management. We also explain why organizational change management is a key area for customers and partners to consider when it comes to ERP and CRM engagements. In this chapter, we also cover the SharePoint feature built into Sure Step, to assist the solution delivery teams to effectively collaborate with each other.
Chapter 9, A Practical Guide to Adopting Sure Step, focuses on the adoption of Sure Step in Microsoft Dynamics partner organizations. We talk about how organizations can make their implementation methodology one of their core competencies. We also cover the Independent Software Vendor (ISV) perspective and discuss how the ISV solution provider can leverage Sure Step.
Chapter 10, Summary and Takeaways, intends to provide a summary view of the book. We also provide key action items that the readers can execute in the near term.
The only software prerequisite for this book is having access to the Sure Step methodology. You can access Sure Step Online or download the Sure Step Client—via either PartnerSource if you are a partner or CustomerSource if you are a customer.
If you are an experienced practitioner but new to the Microsoft Dynamics space, or just getting into ERP/CRM solutions, the Customer Success with Microsoft Dynamics Sure Step book will arm you with resources to deliver business solutions that meet or exceed the expectations of your customers. If you are involved in one or more of the roles stated below, then this book is for you:
If you are a project manager, engagement manager, solution architect, or consultant involved in delivering Microsoft Dynamics solutions, learn how you can improve the quality of your implementation with a consistent, repeatable process.
If you are a customer project manager, subject matter expert, key user, or end user involved in selecting the right business solution for your organization and delivering the Microsoft Dynamics solution, determine how the method facilitates the delivery of a solution that is aligned to your vision.
If you are a sales executive, services sales executive, technical sales specialist, pre-sales consultant, or engagement manager involved in sales of Microsoft Dynamics solutions, understand how you can accelerate your sales cycle, and bring it to a close.
If you are the customer decision maker, CxO, buyer, or project manager, who participates in the selection process for your business solution needs, determine how this process can help your due diligence exercise, and set the stage for quality implementation of the solution.
If you are a change management expert, learn how you can help the customer manage his/her organizational change during the business solution delivery process, and/or help solution providers adopt a process for selling and delivering solutions.
In this book, you will find a number of styles of text that distinguish between different kinds of information. Here are some examples of these styles, and an explanation of their meaning.
New terms and important words are shown in bold. Words that you see on the screen, in menus or dialog boxes for example, appear in the text like this: "clicking the Next button moves you to the next screen".
Code words in text, database table names, folder names, filenames, file extensions, pathnames, dummy URLs, user input, and Twitter handles are shown as follows: "Once added, SureStepProjectWizard.xap should be added as a Silverlight web part a new page within the library."
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