Common Issues to Avoid in the Pre-Development Phase

The previous chapters covered a lot of activities in the pre-development phase: creating a vision for your Salesforce project, defining the business and technical scope, determining how to deliver it, building and presenting a business case to secure funding, and engaging with Salesforce and implementation partners.

Figure 5.1 – Activities in the pre-development phase

In this chapter, we will discuss common issues often faced in the pre-development phase of a Salesforce project. We will also cover strategies to prevent or mitigate the issues from arising altogether.

You will be introduced to root cause analysis to dissect the common issues and be able to effectively solve them. The end of the chapter has a set of checklists to evaluate the state of your Salesforce project as you finish the pre-development phase.

This chapter will cover the following main topics:

• Introducing issues...

Introducing issues and root cause analysis

Before jumping into what the common issues are in the pre-development phase of a Salesforce project, let’s get some definitions straight.

In project management terms, issues are the manifestation of unaddressed risks. Moreover, unaddressed issues prevent a project from maximizing its potential for success.

Issues have underlying causes. Root cause analysis is a simple and effective method of stating the hypotheses for possible underlying causes of an issue. An issue may be the symptom of a larger issue that needs to be addressed, rather than simply alleviating the symptom.

In the next section, we will explore some of the most common issues that prevent a Salesforce project in the pre-development phase from moving forward. For each issue, we will cover possible root causes of the issue and provide strategies for mitigation and prevention.

Common issues in the pre-development phase and their root causes

Let’s get started. With the definitions set straight, we’ll now look at some of the most common issues faced in the pre-development phase, illustrated with a fishbone diagram:

Figure 5.2 – Fishbone diagram of common issues in the pre-development phase

Next, we’ll discuss the possible root causes and strategies for mitigation and prevention for each of the common issues in the fishbone diagram.

Difficulties in securing funding for your Salesforce project

In the following table, you’ll find possible root causes for why you might be facing difficulties securing funding – along with strategies for mitigation if you are already facing that issue. If you have yet to try to secure funding for your Salesforce project, you can read along to know what to be mindful of – and then recap Chapter 4, Securing Funding and Engaging with Salesforce and...

Evaluating the state of your Salesforce project

We have covered many topics, domains, and activities in this pre-development phase of a Salesforce project. The purpose is to enable you to deliver successful Salesforce projects.

If your project seems to be stuck, or you are not pleased with the progress, the following section will help evaluate the state of your Salesforce project. For each item you cannot check, go back to the corresponding chapters and complete the activities to proceed with your Salesforce project.

Checklist for your Salesforce project in the pre-development phase

Embarking on the pre-development phase, you have made the following foundational steps:

• Enlisted an executive sponsor for your Salesforce project
• Created a Salesforce taskforce to drive the activities in the pre-development phase

Next, you have completed these activities to understand your company’s strategic situation:

• Understood how your company is organized
...

Summary

In this chapter, you have assessed the state of your Salesforce project in the pre-development phase by going through checklists. You have also become familiar with the common issues often faced in the pre-development phase and learned how to mitigate or prevent them from arising.

With your Salesforce project in great shape, you are ready to move on to the next step in your journey, the development phase, starting with Chapter 6, Detailing the Scope and Design of Your Initial Release, where we will co-create your business processes, write user stories, and create the solution design for your initial Salesforce release.