No two conversions are created equal.
I cannot count the number of CRM implementations I've partnered with. But I can tell you that while there have been common project team titles, the roles and responsibilities have been different everywhere. Therefore, I am not certain that the following information will be useful.
First, I trust you already have a Steering Committee. Their role is quite different from the Project Management team. Usually, this group includes senior leadership and the consultant - if there is one. It is an advisory group that includes the Project Sponsor(s) and the VPs who have authorized the project. The Steering Committee often includes reps from the Project Management Team. But their role on the Steering Committee is more of an advisory one, often serving as arbiters. They also approve any scope changes or timeline changes.
The Project Management Team is where it's hard to find common examples and definitions. One thing I do urge is the creation of two job descriptions for each role. One for pre-go-live and another for post-go-live. Just because the conversion switch is flipped does not mean the conversion is over!
The Project Management Team often has four categories of members. Membership varies. But, the project I just completed looked like this:
- Project Leadership
- Project Manager (we had Co-Managers for this conversion - one from IS&T and one from Advancement)
- Project Advisor (me, in this case)
- Functional Owner (we had two for this conversion - one representing Fundraising & Prospect Management; one representing Advancement Systems & Operations)
- Technology
- Technology Lead
- System Administrator
- Developer
- Advancement
- Business Analyst - Bio/Demo
- Reporting Analyst
- Senior Systems Analyst
- Gifts & Pledges - Liason to Financial Services
- Gift & Pledge Recording
- Financial Services - Integration
- SMEs & Trainers (This was our largest group - 16 people in all)
- 9 SMEs
- 2 Trainers
- 2 Integration Specialists
- 1 Report Developer
- 1 Old CRM Data Expert
- 1 Financial Services Expert
None of the above includes testing - which was an all-hands-on-deck function including not just the above but nearly all of the Advancement division and many from IS&T and Financial Services.
HTH
John
John H. Taylor
Principal
John H. Taylor Consulting, LLC
2604 Sevier St.
Durham, NC 27705
919.816.5903 (cell/text)
Serving the Advancement Community Since 1987