Systems implementation process | Mark Berthelemy Consulting

You work for an organisation that has decided they need to add a new IT system, or replace an existing one.

Here’s a quick run-down on the steps that you will need to take, regardless of the size or complexity of the implementation.

Of course, the size of each these steps will vary hugely, but you’ll still need to go through each one - even if it’s just to say that you don’t need it.

Decide on the application or applications to use. This will be affected by multiple factors - eg. famililiarity, existing capabilities, customisations required & functionality.
Identify the supplier(s) who will be able to provide the appropriate levels of support for the server and the application. NB. Suppliers may be internal or external. These days, often it’s best to have the application hosted by the application specialist. It minimises the amount of buck-passing when something goes wrong!
Identify integration points with existing systems. What data will need to be transferred? When will it be transferred? How? And what will trigger it?
Define the acceptable service levels. How much data can you afford to lose if the application is hacked? How long can you wait before bringing the application back online after a breakdown? What speed is acceptable to your users? How long do you expect your service provider to take to deal with issues?
Define configuration management and release processes. How will your service provider manage code versions? How will you ensure that changes are fully tested for impact before being rolled out?
Define the server infrastructure required to meet those service levels. What levels of redundancy will you need? How will the infrastructure expand to meet demand? Will you need the normal development, staging and live systems? Or will you need additional layers?
Install, configure and customise the application
Test each component. Test all the integrations. Test the whole system - end-to-end