6. TRANSITIONING TO CIVICRM T his chapter outlines the parts that typically make up a CiviCRM project and should be read by people about to embark on a CiviCRM project. Some of this information may be obvious to experienced project managers. A comprehensive guide to project management is beyond the scope of one chapter but we have outlined things that are typically encountered in a CiviCRM project and provided pointers on some things to watch out for. First, some pop philosophy courtesy of Cynthia T arasco: "Life is a series of making decisions. Some decisions are easy because they do not require a substantial investment of time or money. Deciding which flavor ice cream to buy fits into this category: if you get vanilla today you can always get chocolate tomorrow. Other decisions are much more difficult because they require substantial investments of resources, and you will be living with your choice for the foreseeable future. Adopting a new CRM fits into this category, so planning and project management are vital". When you start out on a new CiviCRM project you should spend time thinking about: the people who will be involved in the project what the business goals of using CiviCRM are how you will approach the initial development what ongoing support you will need the costs associated with hosting and your IT infrastructure training and documentation change management
PEOPLE AND THE PROJECT TEAM Including a wide range of people that represent the different parts of your organisation will help with delivery of your project. A mixture of management and day-to-day staff helps the team to keep an eye on the big picture as well as ensure that the project is ultimately useful to frontline staff. You'll be exploring new territory with your CiviCRM installation and this can sometimes be stressful. It might be helpful to share project management of the project with others who can give you a different perspective and moral support when you need it! Managing a CiviCRM project will require a major time investment from people within your organisation, even if you employ an external consultant. Organisations often under-estimate the amount of time that will be required from their staff in implementing an IT project - such as training, modifying existing processes and providing new or updated information to relevant people. It's not something that can be tacked on to the end of an already busy schedule and this should be taken into consideration.
GOALS You should have a good idea of the goals for implementing CiviCRM. T his could be something like: reduce administrative work in managing events by 25% or manage 25% more donations with the same staff. T he goals should be SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, timely)! T hese business goals will help you in directing and managing your project. For example, if the project group for example want some customization that requires budget and effort, your business goals will help you decide one way or the other. T he business goals will help you to focus on why you are implementing CiviCRM and what you want to achieve in the long run.
DEVELOPMENT
19