Methodology

Project Planning:

With the client team, LIDD will:

Build the project’s organizational chart identifying project resources of all organizations. Key members typically include:

• Project Sponsors
• Project Manager(s)
• Business Analysts
• Super User(s)/SMEs – key personnel that will oversee day-to-day use
• IT Analysts

The client must plan to have a resource spend 20 to 25 hours a week on project management related tasks.

LIDD will provide the necessary staffing and resources on its side to effectively communicate and perform its services hereunder.

• Confirm the cloud environment
• Review the project budget with the client and put in place a tool to monitor the project’s costs against the approved budget.
• Build the exhaustive list of project tasks and integrate it into a project plan showing:
  • The project’s critical path, key milestones, and go/no-go decision points.
  • Resources of all teams and responsibilities (LIDD, client, etc).
  • Head office and plant preparations, training, stakeholder communications and other related activities.
• Set Go-Live date and deployment strategy as agreed to by the client.
• Build the go-live launch plan and determine the order in which sites/companies will be launched.
• Build a communication plan to assist with change management related activities.
• Plan and organize project update meetings in conjunction with the client.

These activities will generate a formal written project plan. The client project manager will confirm if this plan is in line with the company’s expectations and be responsible for providing necessary approvals.

Requirements and  Solution Design

This step will confirm the solution supported features. This is done through workshops between LIDD, the client and other partners involved.

LIDD will lead, plan, and execute the following:

• Workshop sessions to confirm the features to cover all business requirements. LIDD will guide the client project team to develop a process flow describing:
  • All normal operations and exceptions.
  • Process changes required to implement the application.
  • Technology interaction.
• Specific configurations/modifications and data required to implement the solution(s)
• Documentation of features and use case scenarios (Solution Reference Manual – SRM)
  • Application development task list.
  • Requirements and technical specs for any custom development.
• Documentation of interface mappings, triggers (Interface Control Document – ICD).
• The commitment of all teams to the time required to deliver a development or interface.
• Configuration task list.
• If needed, support the client in the installation of other software in their I.T. infrastructure. This is not applicable to the solution, which is only deployed in the cloud.

The client will participate in the following:

• SMEs will participate in their dedicated workshops with LIDD project team.
• The project sponsor and manager will confirm and signoff on the SRM.
• The client should expect its SMEs to participate in multiple workshops of up to 3 hours each during this Step 2.
• The client should also plan 25 to 30 hours for process design review and approval per SME during this Step 2.
• The client will identify SMEs to make sure all business units and separate entities are represented through this process.

A SRM review meeting will be held after this step ensuring no scope changes create significant budget variances. The final SRM document will then be submitted for signature and will represent the formal scope of this project. The project plan could also be updated.

Any scope change after the approval of the SRM will be evaluated by LIDD, and any incurred additional costs will need to be approved by the client. If authorized, LIDD will make the necessary changes to the SRM, and the additional scope will be added to the project plan.

Configuration, Development and Site Prep

LIDD will deliver the features identified while gathering requirements in step 2.

• LIDD will track the delivery and cost of the following items:
• Fully configured applications
• Fully functional system Interfaces
• LIDD will be responsible for:

Generating electronic data relevant to the operations (products, locations, departments, customers, vendors, etc.).

Initial training strategy identifying SME’s ramp up for testing and first draft of training schedule.

• The client will be responsible for:

SMEs to create their process specific test cases during this phase. These will include user stories, use cases and their respective data sets.

Creation of a complete test plan with test scenarios and their data sets.

The client’s assigned SMEs should plan to spend 10 to 15 weekly hours on these tasks for the entire length of the third phase.

• LIDD will guide the client through the site preparations, including:

Acquisition and set up of environment required for the solution.

Coordination with internal and external partners.

• At the end of this step, the solution’s integrations will be ready for testing.

Test and Approvals

This step will confirm the solution’s supported features.

LIDD will lead, plan, and execute the following:

• Discovery sessions on site at the client’s facilities to confirm the features to cover business requirements. LIDD will guide the project team to identify the following:
  • Process changes required to implement the application.
  • Specific configurations/modifications and data required to implement.

The client’s resources will:

• Execute and re-execute the test cases.
• Validate and approve the features.
• The Solution will be considered in code freeze and end user training will be ready to start.
• At the end of this step, the client will approve test cases and sign off on the SRM’s configuration.

Training

This phase will be led jointly by LIDD and the client. LIDD will train super users who will in turn be responsible for training the client’s end-users.

LIDD will participate, plan, and track the delivery of the following items:

• Training Schedule
• Execution of training for Super Users

The client will:

• Confirm super users that will provide training.
• Provide list of attendees to training sessions.
• Communicate and organize training session attendance:
  • Training includes a global introduction to the solutions and process specific sessions.
  • It is common for users to attend the intro session and up to 2 process specific sessions. Most sessions last 3 hours.

At the end of this step, users understand the application and how it relates to their daily job. The project is considered ready to launch at this point.

Go-Live and Hypercare

Activities to be performed before Go-Live are referred here as Cut-Over. Throughout the project, LIDD will collect information to adapt a Cut-Over plan for the client’s Go-Live. Go-Lives are all hands-on deck type of events. Team members should expect to work upwards of 40 hours a week for the duration of this project phase.

LIDD will participate, plan, and track the delivery of the following items:

• Inventory initial load strategy (wall to wall count vs data import)
• Cut-Over Activities
• Go-Live Activities
• Go-Live support resources
• Delivery of the solution to the company
• Post-mortem meeting

Continuous Improvement

LIDD’s Continuous Improvement Desk is designed to provide ongoing application support after a software launch or major feature implementation. While our Hypercare service offers dedicated, short-term support immediately following a go-live to ensure a smooth transition, the Continuous Improvement Desk is the long-term solution.

Once the application is stable and your internal “Super Users” are active, the Continuous Improvement Desk acts as a safety net, offering a range of services to handle post-hypercare needs. These services include operational support for day-to-day issues, enhancements to adapt the system as your business evolves, issue resolution for technical bugs, and training for new or existing users. This ensures the application continues to grow with your business, maintaining efficiency and minimizing disruptions long after the initial launch.

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