Wrapped up a week with an enterprise client as part of user acceptance testing. B2B enterpise launches remind me of launching huge SAP implementations.
At Peakflo, we're mixing together SAP waterfall implementation best practices with our product-based org processes.
Our usual implementation process:
Discovery (AS-IS state)
Design (TO BE state)
Implementation
UAT
Deployment
Launch & Hypercare
We either go through these steps once during the whole launch if the project is using out-of-the-box functionalities or is small in complexity. However when the project is large and complex we split it into phases, with each phase consisting of all steps from discovery to hypercare.
What are the nuances of B2B cloud SaaS implementation compared to usual waterfall projects?
1️⃣ Instead of a clean slate each time, product teams need to understand client processes, map them to existing products, and identify gaps. Next, correlate those gaps with other clients' needs and scope solutions that can have massive impact outside this specific client and are minimal in effort.
2️⃣ Customers assume your product already supports their business nuances and only raise issues if explicitly asked. (In startups, it's unlikely your product does support it 😅)
3️⃣ Bring a strong product manager or senior onboarding lead to the discovery step to scope customer processes well. Gaps will surface during UAT otherwise, potentially ruining the launch.
4️⃣ Bring a senior engineer to the design step too - it'll save time!
5️⃣ Secret sauce: Engineers join startups for ownership and to see their work's impact on customers. Give them ownership! Assign an engineer to lead a launch end-to-end and report engineering progress. Junior or lead, it doesn't matter 🚀