Congratulations, you've made it to the final step in RSG's "Real Story Vendor Procurement" (RSVP) best practice series. To date we have covered important steps to help you choose the vendor and technology that is the right fit for you. In this final segment, we're going to talk about implementation.  (Review the entire series at the end of this post)

Extending Your Pilot

Now it's the time to extend your pilot more broadly across your enterprise, your customer base or whoever the target is, for the platform as a whole. Even with native cloud SaaS platforms, implementations can be hard, and they can take a long time. This is where your earlier investments in this process should really pay off. If you capture lessons from the demos, and the pilot, you will be in a better position to set realistic expectations going forward.

Keep the Same Team

A key recommendation is to move forward with the same team that you used to get here. In other words, convert your selection and piloting groups into an ongoing implementation leadership team because these are the people who know the history and the technology the best.

Build Out Your Program in Stages

Don't look at implementation as a one shot, big bang deal. Sure, there may be dependencies that could require you to release certain things together, but we're learning that even things like a website redesign or replatform can be done in a more iterative, agile way. Build out a program plan in waves to anticipate major and minor releases of functionality.

At some level the implementation phase never really ends... but you can create an environment for adaptable, continuous improvement that are really the hallmark of success in modern organizations.

Next Steps

As always, you can turn to your Real Story Group advisor from more counsel on these and any other questions. In particular, you might ask us about relevant maturity models for the systems you're implementing and how we can help you benchmark your success.

Other Posts in the RSVP Selection Series

Establish Business Foundations

• Articulate a Business Case
• Assessing Risk Maturity

Identify Needs and Opportunities:

• Testable Scenarios 

Conduct Market Analysis:

• Researching the Marketplace
• Creating a Target List

Communicate with Suppliers:

• Developing your RFP 
• Issuing an RFP Tender
• Bidder Questions 
• Evaluating Vendor Proposals 

Try Before You Buy:

• Conducting Demos
• Filter to Final List
• Run of Competitive Bake-off

Make the Right Choice

• Negotiating Pricing and Contract
• Pilot Solution

What's Next 

• Implementation (you are here)