IOM3: Requirements Gathering and Project Management

Challenges

• Managing member services and interactions was becoming difficult due to an outdared legacy CRM
• There was no single view of members
• Their current CRM system would no longer be supported

Outcomes

• Expert guidance on replacing existing CRM
• Management of technology partner selection process Implementation of new technology, delivered on time and on budget
• Technology solution meeting business objectives

Key benefits

• Expert guidance on replacing existing CRM
• Expertise on CRM vendors
• Management of vendor selection process
• Solutions met business objectives and aggressive timescales
• Implementaion of new system
• Members will have better access to online services

Hart Square show its metal for IOM3 CRM Implementation

The Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3) is a major UK engineering institution whose activities encompass the whole materials cycle, from exploration and extraction, through characterisation, processing, forming, finishing and application, to product recycling and land reuse. Members benefit from the Institute’s many networking activities, publications and conferences and from access to its Information Services, as well as training, professional qualifications and career support.

Outdated legacy system

Managing member services and interactions was becoming difficult due to an outdated legacy CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system. Nuna Staniaszek, Director of Communications at IOM3, takes up the story: “We wanted to increase engagement with our members on a more personalised level, but our current disparate systems would not allow us to have a single view of members. Also, the current CRM system would no longer be supported beyond January 2020, so we had to consider options for a replacement.”

In addition, the existing CRM system did not allow for integrated email marketing or renewal management and did not meet GDPR requirements. IOM3 therefore had to use a number of workarounds on the system to meet day-to-day member requirements.

Business-critical decision

“Finding a new CRM was a business-critical decision,” said Nuna Staniaszek. The senior management team at IOM3 were aware that there needed to be a change, and were looking at the future of the organisation to become more engaged with members. However, they were cautious due to the poor experiences they had with IT projects in the past.

“All partners say they can give you a great system, but without any experience of CRM partner selection, this was a daunting prospect for us. I had heard a lot of horror stories about organisations trying to implement new CRM systems. I definitely wanted to avoid that.”

An initial meeting with Hart Square towards the end of 2018 seemed to provide a solution. Nuna Staniaszek added: “Hart Square are system-independent, so there was an opportunity to bring them in to work with us through the whole CRM selection process and provide us with a structured means of getting to where we wanted to be. That really appealed to us.”

Requirments gathering for ITT

Hart Square organised nine workshops with IOM3 teams and gathered detailed requirements, which formed the basis of an Invitation to Tender (ITT) to send out to CRM partners. “This was the first time we had ever captured what we actually do in all our different activities – it had never been documented before, so that in itself was very useful to us,” said Nuna Staniaszek. An important aspect of any digital project is getting the team on-board. Nuna Staniaszek explains at IOM3, “Everyone was ready for change due to the frustrations felt with current CRM. We had good buy-in and commitment from the team as following the requirements gathering, they could see what the end result could be and the impacts it would have on their day-to day activities.”

Selecting the right partner

The requirements gathering was followed by a rigorous series of meetings with four partners, including initial and final demos of their products, and a review of written responses from each partner to questions and queries. The senior team and other heads of activities were consulted before a final decision was made, and the board of trustees was also kept informed.

“Hart Square project managed the entire partner selection process. Hart Square’s experience was invaluable as we appreciated the input from someone who had experienced that process before and who know which partners could work for us.” said Nuna Staniaszek.

Implementing the technology

IOM3 worked closely with Hart Square on the successful implementation of the minimum viable product (MVP). “It was reassuring to have Hart Square there who have tackled similar projects before and to help communicate between ourselves and the technology partner.”

Nuna Staniaszek describes. Once the MVP was live, Nuna explains the challenges of moving onto phase 2. “Once we reached MVP, the team were exhausted so it took a bit of time to get started on phases 2 and 3. However, we could not have managed this without our Hart Square Project Manager, without them it may have not been as successful as it was”.

The new system

With the new system implemented, Nuna Staniaszek describes “Overall the project has been a huge success, being delivered on time and on budget. We are enjoying having the new system as it has allowed us to do things we couldn’t do before.” She concluded: “Hart Square have really lived up to expectations. I don’t know how we would have got through this process without their help and guidance. It’s a massive thing to replace a CRM as it involves all aspects of the organisation. Hart Square’s experience and guidance has been invaluable.”