Insureflow's proven onboarding strategy for seamless client delivery. Discover the secrets behind our client onboarding strategy and the power behind our delivery approach.
Over the last 18 months, coinciding with the launch of the new core version of the Insureflow system, we've implemented new onboarding methods that ensure we deliver successful projects for our clients. We have focussed the process on a few key areas:
Nothing life-changing in that, you may think. Any project management textbook will have this and more. So what makes it worth writing about?
Implementing or replacing key business software isn't an exercise taken lightly; we are often introducing technical, software-based solutions to legacy manual processes, or replacing well-ingrained existing technical solutions with new software, which can be a significant leap for any business. As such, knowing what will be delivered is vital, and our analysis and design phase is where we establish this in detail.
This phase includes several key elements, all tailored to the solution, project, and client. Detailed requirements workshops ensure we understand your processes (and needs) - perhaps surprisingly, this can be a learning exercise for our clients too ("we've always just done things this way"). If your processes are going to change, this understanding helps inform user communication and training needs later in the project.
Once we have a detailed understanding, we can design and tailor the solution. And at this point, collaboration is essential for success. We provide hands-on access to early builds to familiarise users with the system and provide early feedback so we can refine the solution before it becomes a significant rework - All within the bounds of appropriate project governance, of course.
Top-loading our projects with this analysis and design phase means the full build and test/UAT phases are less prone to queries and/or rework, delivering a 'right first-time' solution.
We see no point following a bureaucratic, long-winded project processes just to tick a few governance boxes. If asked, "What project methodology do you follow", my answer is "One that works". With (and I'm not sure I'm totally comfortable with this number) over 20 years of software solution delivery, I'm confident that a textbook approach only works in a textbook.
There are some non-negotiables and key stage gates we maintain to ensure contractual obligations are met and standards remain at our expected levels, but not every project / project team / project goal (you get the drift) is the same: sometimes it's better to get in a room and get stuff done.
Where the project suits, that is exactly what we'll do. A couple of intense days with the experts from Insureflow and the client team can reduce a several month project to several weeks (or fewer) - we can configure, review and rework aspects of the Insureflow configuration within hours and answer queries dynamically as we go.
Where the project requires our team to build a complex solution that requires uninterrupted focus, and we deliver the completed product back to the client, that's what we do.
We determine the best approach in collaboration with client project teams - it only "works" if we're all bought in.
Debrief / retrospective, call it what you will, but how many times is this an exercise in writing a document that gets emailed around and never referred to? This is a crucial phase for us. Our changes in the standard process have been driven by the application of lessons learned and have allowed us to shorten delivery time scales, improve planning, and drive internal training and team structure.
Those lessons aren't just taken from things that didn't go well. Just because something worked well on a project doesn't mean it can't be improved, and that's our outlook. We measure more than we ever did to understand better how we're doing, and what can be made better. I'll talk more about that in a future article.
If you'd like to learn more about how Insureflow would approach the onboarding process for your business or if you would like to discuss how we can improve your processes, please do get in touch.
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