Whose Responsibility Is It Anyway?

During a ServiceNow implementation project, the synergy between the customer and the implementation partner and/or consultant(s) plays a pivotal role in achieving success. It is collaborative and crucial for both parties to understand their respective responsibilities, adhere to best practices, and ensure seamless communication throughout the project. This blog will delve into responsibilities around the key elements of a project, including change management, testing, requirements gathering, knowledge transfer, and sign-off.

Customer Responsibilities

Customers should bring their valuable insights, current and future state details, business requirements, business objectives and expectations that shape the implementation scope. Their responsibilities include:

• Clearly defining project goals, business objectives and use cases

• Providing timely feedback and approvals during project milestones

• Collaborating with consultants to communicate evolving needs and priorities

• Allocating necessary resources and support for project implementation

• Communicating and prioritizing the project with allocated resources to ensure continual involvement

• Ensuring alignment between project outcomes and business objectives

• Creating and executive test scripts

Consultant Responsibilities

Consultants should bring expertise, experience (i.e., lessons learned and recommendations), and leading practices. Their responsibilities include:

• Conducting thorough needs assessments and scoping the project accurately

• Developing comprehensive project plan and timelines

• Communicating effectively with customers to manage expectations and address concerns

• Translating business requirements into technical requirements

• Architecting solutions that are scalable

• Implementing solutions that meet or exceed customer requirements

• Upholding leading practices in project management, development, and implementation

• Documenting the solutions implemented

Best Practices for Projects

To ensure the success of your ServiceNow projects, adhering to best practices is essential. Some key milestone best practices include:

• Stakeholder Engagement: Engage all stakeholders throughout the project to gather feedback and ensure alignment.

• Change Management: Proactively manage change by communicating and mitigating potential risks and impacts.

• Quality Assurance: Implement rigorous testing procedures to validate the functionality, performance, and security of the solution.

• Knowledge Transfer: Facilitate knowledge transfer and training sessions to empower customer users with the skills and understanding to use the product, as well as maintain and support it if applicable.

• Sign-off and Approval: Obtain formal sign-off from customer at key project milestones to confirm deliverables and milestones.

Embracing Change and Testing

Change Management (OCM)

Organizational Change Management is a critical component of projects, ensuring smooth transitions, adoption and minimal disruptions. By proactively engaging change champions, addressing resistance, communicating effectively, and providing support, change management fosters acceptance and adoption of the solution.

Testing and Requirements Gathering

Thorough testing is crucial to the success of a project. It allows for the identification and resolution of issues before deployment. The customer and consultant should align on testing strategies and scenarios to ensure the delivery of a reliable solution.

Knowledge Transfer and Sign-off Procedures

Knowledge Transfer and Training

Training sessions empower the customer with the skills to understand the solution and be prepared for accurate and thorough testing.

Knowledge transfer sessions should also take place with the customer and/or consultant(s) that will be responsible for post-implementation support. This will give them the insights and knowledge necessary to maintain and optimize the system in the future.

Sign-off and Validation

Formal sign-off procedures provide a clear mechanism for customers to validate project deliverables and milestones, ensuring that expectations are met and setting the stage for successful project completion.

It's important for us all to remember, projects thrive on collaboration, communication, and a shared commitment to success. By understanding and fulfilling our respective responsibilities, we can navigate the complexities of an implementation project with confidence and achieve the desired outcomes.