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8 Tips for Improving SLM & IWMS Implementations SLM / IWMS Leading Practice: Tip 4 We wish this myth was true because it would make our job much easier, but there's no such thing as a cookie-cutter SLM / IWMS implementation – no matter how hard software vendors try to convince you otherwise. It's a cliché, but each implementation and client is different and what is needed for one might not be needed for the other – even if the scope is the same. That's why investing the time, and often brain damage, upfront in the planning process will pay multiple dividends downstream, thus ensuring your implementation is as close as possible to being on time and on budget. Too many clients make the mistake of starting projects without an understanding of their business requirements, organizational priorities and resulting project scope. To compound the issue, clients typically do not have an accurate or realistic expectation of the roles they need to fill and the associated level of effort needed to deliver the scope of work. Without knowing answers to these basic questions, it's next to impossible to deliver a project on time and within budget. Because of this reality, we insist on a robust planning and analysis phase at the beginning of any project. First we must translate RFP requirements, which often contain "kitchen sink", pie-in-the-sky perceived needs, into real world business requirements rooted in known business processes. Equally important is the assessment of requirements and processes viewed through the lens of the capabilities of the SLM/ IWMS software selected. Only then can scope be understood, roles and responsibilities defined and timeline and costs deter- mined. Only then can you realistically hope to avoid the seemingly inevitable downstream "surprises" such as scope creep, change orders, schedule overruns and re-planning efforts. One Size Fits All Failing to Plan is Planning to Fail • Don't let software vendors provide you with a cookie-cutter implementation plan. • Invest the time necessary to more deeply plan project scope in the context of the capabilities of the software you have selected. • Define a core subject-matter-expert (SME) team across business and IT who are engaged in the planning process and ultimate implementation project. • Clearly define roles for your team and the implementation partner's team, including how many hours per week throughout every phase of the project. Be realistic about how much of a 'day job' your resources can do while the project is inflight. • Don't be cheap and try to save a few dollars during the planning process, it will come back in spades when you blow your budget and timeline – quickly.

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