Writing a Project Plan: CRM Success Strategy, Stage 1.6

This is vital.

The Project Plan should include all parts of the job. All business processes, all people, all resources, vendors and technology to be included. A Project Plan is a written definition of what is required, by when and what it will cost; the plan must be agreed to by everyone involved.

There are no short-cuts. "he who fails to plan, plans to fail" is a time proven maxim. If you neglect to spend the initial time getting understanding and agreement. It will cost you more later on: more money, more time, more politics and more strained resources.

A signed agreement to a written CRM Project specification by all parties represented on the CRM Team has several benefits:

• A rigorous analysis of the technical and business concerns of the project will prevent any party from taking short cuts or glossing over any ugly truths
• A clearly written Project Plan reveal the misunderstandings of the CRM Team
• Assumptions are stated up front and center
• Ambiguity is removed
• Having people sign off and agree on the Project Plan forces everyone concerned to actually read and think about the details of implementing CRM
• Vendors can be held accountable
• Internal stakeholders all know the part they play

In summary: Professional Project Planning is the structure of successful CRM.