Establish Your Teams

Setting up the implementation team is the most critical part of the implementation process.
It involves three key elements, which must all be covered to ensure timely implementation.

Assignment. Assign the right people to the tasks and ensure they understand their responsibilities
Time. Allow them sufficient, dedicated time to perform their implementation responsibilities
Authority. Grant them the authority to make necessary decisions

ASSIGN THE RIGHT PEOPLE

Vendor team

Your Print MIS vendor should provide implementation support, training, consulting, and assessment of staff competence and proficiency. Their team should be highly skilled with their system and knowledgeable about successful implementation strategies. However, they will not understand the intricacies of your business.

Your team

Your team members will be the experts on your operation and your business objectives. They will be responsible for configuring and building the system, validating all parts of your workflow, importing your data, and ensuring everyone on your staff understands their roles in using your new system.

The most successful vendor implementation teams contain the roles outlined below. Note that some functions, such as Project Manager, System Administrator, Power Users, might be covered by one person in smaller shops with fewer than ten employees, for example. It is, however, recommended that the Project Sponsor be separate from those detail-level assignments.

TEAM ROLES

Project Sponsor

The Project Sponsor is the top decision authority for the Print MIS project. She or he is often the senior-level person who made the purchase decision. The Project Sponsor is the executive champion for this project who ensures that it is moving in the desired direction, that necessary resources and choices are in place, and that the organisation accepts cultural changes. This role involves active, daily engagement but it is usually best if this person is not managing details.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Identify roles and responsibilities for team members
Oversee the team’s engagement
Ensure team accountability
Provide a single point of escalation for all team members
Manage change and resolve resistance to changeSkill set
Broad business and operational understanding
Executive authority

Project Manager

The Project Manager does what the title implies. He or she is the person responsible for developing the plan, scheduling meetings, assigning tasks, and ensuring vendor and team members meet their deliverables. The Project Manager is the internal implementation manager who will dedicate a significant amount of time to this project throughout the process.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Manage the overall Print MIS system implementation
Coordinate installation, integrations, resources, schedules, and approvals
Manage issues and risks

System Administrator

The System Administrator is not an IT position, despite its technical-sounding title. She or he is the critical person who makes the implementation happen. This person typically dedicates 75 percent or more of their time implementing the system and has the business, estimating, and operational workflow knowledge needed to make it happen.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Internal Print MIS subject matter and application expert
Devotes considerable (75%+) time to the implementation
Continue in role past implementation to
- Go-Live
- Roll-out of additional modules
- Focus on continuous process improvement

SKILL SET

Superior understanding of estimating
Business rules and workflow knowledge from estimating to production to invoicing
Experience in print production

Finance/Accounting Representative

The Finance/Accounting Representative is typically your CFO or Controller.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Lead team to validate and test all aspects of accounting and integration
Verify that all registers, accounts, and transactions are working
Create and revise Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)

SKILL SET

Deep understanding and authority regarding all financial methods and systems

Power User(s)

Your core team will need advice and assistance from one or more power users from areas such as customer support, finance, prepress, production, shipping, and so forth.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Provide expert information and recommendations to the System Administrator
Create and revise Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)
Supplement, support, and reinforce end-user training
Participate in on-site training

SKILL SET

Expertise in their operational areas
Respected by their peers
Enthusiasm for change

ALLOW ENOUGH TIME TO DO THE JOB RIGHT

The staff you assign to implement your new Print MIS system will need to dedicate weeks or months to this project. You can elect to purchase enhanced professional services from your Print MIS vendor or an outside consultant to assist with some of this. However, much of this time is specific to how your operation does business, which means that your staff members are the only ones with the answers.

Staffing demands will vary based on your specific implementation and business complexity, but here are some guidelines to consider:

Overall implementation: 40 to 50 weeks

Project Sponsor: 1 to 2 hours per week
Project Manager: 5 to 10 hours per week
System Administrator: 30 to 40 hours per week
Finance/Accounting Representative: 1 to 8 hours per week
Power Users: 4 to 10 hours per week

Few commercial printers or in-plant printing and mailing operations have idle staff waiting to implement software systems. It is essential to have answers to the next two questions to ensure that your implementation plan is achievable:

How will you handle the work these people currently do while they are working on this MIS project?
How will you keep these people from being distracted by everyday operational crises?

Your answers to these questions will impact your overall implementation timeline. For example, a shop that can commit 100% of the System Administrator’s time might be able to implement its system in nine months, while one that can only allocate 50% of the System Administrator’s time might require 15 months. The answer depends on the availability of your resources.

The charts below are examples of timelines for staff training and roll-out of a Print MIS system. The timeline you adopt for your business must take your unique circumstances into account.

ESTABLISH CLEAR
AUTHORITY FOR THE PROJECT

Implementing Print MIS systems involves a significant amount of internal decision making, which is one reason why outsourcing the entire implementation process is not feasible.

Your team needs to have sufficient operational knowledge, business acumen, and authority to make decisions as they come up. Organisations that can make timely decisions will experience a much smoother and quicker implementation process than those that cannot. We recommend specifying three levels of decision authorisation:

Authorisations

Identify the types of decisions specific team members can make. Granting team member this level of authority speeds the implementation process and minimises the time required from senior management.

Approvals

Identify the types of decisions which must be approved by a senior executive. Ensure that senior executives agree to deal with these decisions within a few hours to a day.

Reviews

Identify the types of decisions which must be reviewed or made by senior management. Ensure that there are a schedule and process for dealing with these decisions within a few days to a week. You might want to have a standing agenda item for them on daily or weekly senior staff meetings. Background information, alternatives, and recommendations should be presented in advance. Every effort should be made to ensure that these decisions are handled quickly and not tabled for future meetings.