PACEY: Requirements Gathering, ITT, Partner Selection, System Implementation

Challenges

PACEY’s CRM system was inefficient and created disjointed ways of working due to lack of integration with other systems
Their current system was now end of life · There was no single view of members

Outcomes

Expert management of technology partner selection process · Implementation of new CRM system delivered within a tight timescale
New CRM technology will form a solid base for improved ways of working and better experience for our members

Key services

Requirements gathering & ITT
Technology partner selection
Implementation of new CRM system

Hart Square help PACEY implement new CRM

Formed in 1977, Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years (PACEY) is a charity dedicated to supporting everyone involved in childcare and early education. PACEY supports childminders, nannies, nurseries and pre-schools to provide high quality services, information and advice to children, their families and carers across England and Wales. With almost 20,000 members PACEY provides services such as training, insurance, expert advice, help and peer support to practitioners.

To continue to support their members, PACEY looked to move more support and services online. To do so, PACEY needed to replace their legacy CRM system with a highly functional modern CRM which would allow for improved ways of working and better experience for their members.

PACEY established the CRM project to overcome the following challenges:

Their current CRM was inefficient and was now end of life
Their current technology systems were not integrated and so did not support their plan to move more support and services online
Disjointed ways of working across the organisation
No single view of members

It was a strategically important project for PACEY with tight deadlines bringing pressure to the delivery, as the charity had to be off their Integra CRM by the end of December 2020.

Requirements Gathering

Hart Square initially engaged with PACEY to run a series of workshops to help identify their requirements and challenges with teams from across the charity. The outcome of these workshops was brought together in a comprehensive Invitation to Tender (ITT) Document. Hart Square established and ran the partner selection process, engaging with all partners and facilitating the meetings between the technology partners and PACEY.

Selecting the right partner

PACEY appointed Bluelight CRM as their chosen delivery partner for the new CRM who then worked alongside their existing website provider NetConstruct. Their website provider would deliver integration support and a new member portal.

PACEY retained Hart Square as the Project Manager to deliver the implementation of the new CRM & portal. Working very closely with key PACEY stakeholders throughout the project, Hart Square guided PACEY through the different implementation stages to enable them to successfully migrate from the old CRM to the new system.

Keeping on track

During the relatively short project delivery time, there were several challenges that the project had to overcome. The largest challenge that faced all stakeholders was the move to remote working due to the pandemic.

To keep the project on track, it was imperative to ensure decision making was not impacted. Hart Square ensured that all key sessions were recorded and documented and worked with Bluelight & NetConstruct to understand where PACEY’s input was needed. Hart Square coordinated stakeholders to ensure very tight deadlines were met allowing for sign off on key milestones such as the functional specification.

Additionally, there was a short delay to the go-live and a requirement to push back by two weeks due to challenges with signing off User Acceptance Testing (UAT). It was important to PACEY that they were comfortable that the new functionality met their requirements and the integration with the existing website was delivered before they introduced the new member portal to their members.

Once it was established that a delay would be required, Hart Square convened all stakeholders to assess the options and highlight the risks to ensure PACEY could make an informed decision. It was agreed that the best solution would be to delay the go-live by two weeks to enable UAT to be completed. This would still allow for go live before the end of the year.

Working collaboratively

Throughout the project, the most important lesson was ensuring that there was regular communication with all stakeholders, especially at critical points in the project such as UAT. This enabled PACEY staff to give feedback and share any concerns that could be actioned or escalated to the technology partners.

Hart Square ensured that although the whole project was delivered remotely, decisions could be made effectively, and solutions identified. It was critical to create an environment where issues could be actioned quickly, continuing to operate to maximum effectiveness through regular project meetings. It was important to work in partnership with the technology partners and have clear lines of communication and regular discussions to enable them to respond to PACEY’s needs throughout.

Liz Bayram, PACEY’s Chief Executive, reflects: “We are very pleased with how Hart Square responded to the challenges of this project, working collaboratively across all stakeholders, to deliver it remotely within incredibly tight timescales. The project enabled us to move to the new CRM technology, that will form a solid base for our improved ways of working and better experience for our members.”