Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sure Step Methodology: The Missing Pieces

Despite improvements over previous methodologies to implement Microsoft Dynamics, Microsoft's Sure Step Methodology for Dynamics 365 deployments is not a silver bullet that addresses all the needs of your D365 transformation. This understanding is a prerequisite to a successful Microsoft Dynamics 365 implementation.

Some challenges that we see a lot of organizations run into includes: rushing into implementation with no clear vision or plan, delegating the entire transformation to your system integrator without addressing their deficiencies, and having unrealistic expectations. This article is designed to outline a few missing pieces that you can use to better your Sure Step experience so that you can run your business smoothly without any hiccups. This information is critical to understand before you upgrade to Microsoft Dynamics 365.

Beware of cliff diving into your Microsoft Dynamics 365 implementation

This first challenge of cliff diving refers to when your organization dives into a project without really knowing what they want. This is problematic because at this point the system integrator may take over and you’ll be stuck trying to make decisions while the meter is running. This is an important lesson from Microsoft Dynamics 365 failures.

Something important to note: Never let your technology run your company. Know what you want out of it and don’t just hop on board new software expecting it to solve all your problems. When you just jump off the cliff into your project you also will be spending too much time and money on it that could have been avoided if you had planned earlier. This may lead to some organization frustration down the road as your team members/employees may wonder why you’re even trying to implement something if you don’t have a plan for it. That’s why it’s important to outline what you want and what you expect before you start your digital transformation project.

Critical missing pieces of the Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sure Step methodology

When we’re looking at the Sure Step Methodology, we can outline a few missing components. These missing pieces are important to understand because sometimes they can make or break your project. Only by understanding what’s missing in the methodology can we understand what we need to do to further the project. Even the best Microsoft D365 systems integrators don’t or won’t handle these things well:

• Organizational design: There’s no workstream here that’s focused on making standardized or common business processes. The Sure Step Methodology doesn’t exactly pinpoint what your organization should do to alter its design to better handle Sure Step.

• Standardized/common business processes: While you may want to do a specific business process to be done a certain way, the methodology doesn’t exactly outline how exactly the business processes will be done on the other end.

• Change impact analysis: How do we want our jobs to change? How will this methodology change the way we do our jobs?

• Build skills and competencies (non-technical): How can we make sure that we understand what the methodology will bring to our organization? How can we leverage this methodology so that it helps us in the future?

• Communications Plan and Materials: Communication of the plan is absolutely important for the success of the project. If nobody understands what’s going on, then the plan won’t go anywhere and may delay the project.

These are just a few of the things that should be included in your Microsoft D365 implementation plan. They also help address some of the common risks of Microsoft Dynamics 365 systems integrators.

Conclusion: augment your Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sure Step methodology

At Third Stage we want to make sure that your project goes as smoothly as possible with no hiccups along the way. We are a technology agnostic group, so while this article is about Microsoft Dynamics 365, we also have advice to offer with other ERP systems as well.

As always, we are here to give you any advice you need, and you can also check out the video that we posted regarding this topic as well (see above). Understanding the missing pieces to the Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sure Step Methodology is important to your project’s success and we at Third Stage are here to help you every step of the way. Contact us to arrange a time to chat with one of our Microsoft Dynamics 365 consultants – we are always happy to help!