How long does it take to bed in once a Project is live?
The 'Bedding in' Phase
‘So how long does it take to bed in a new system?’ was the question raised at the Owen James Meeting of Minds event https://www.owenjamesevents.com/last year.
It’s very common at the start of a Project to see the ‘Live’ date as the end point. However, the Live date is actually the penultimate Project stage and the ‘bedding in’ is the final stage, when people start to use the system and /or new proposition in practice.
How quickly the bedding in phase is completed will depend on a number of factors. In a perfect world the following would be in place for Go Live, removing the need for the final stage:
- A 100% clean database
- All your Business Processes covering 100% of all scenarios ready for immediate use (Day 1)
- Technology functionality all in place for Day 1
- Management Information (MI) with all required reports available one month later (Day 2)
- Accounts able to reconcile and run month end procedures with immediate effect (for CRM change projects)
For a simple and small project, the above may well hold true, however for complex projects in larger companies, the reality is more likely to be an 80/20% approach:
- Core data cleansed and a post cleanse required
- Core Business Processes in place with ad-hoc and annual processes to follow
- Core functionality available with a Phase 2 list
- Some / essential reports available in the first month and more planned
- Accounts reconciliation a mix of manual and automated for the first month run through as people become used to the new processes and systems
Most projects are constrained by time, money and experience within the business so the above will also be dependent on priorities, however there is a correlation between the prep time and the subsequent length of the bedding-in phase.
Changing technology systems is like moving house, you want to clear out the rubbish and excess items first and only move what absolutely required to save you time and money both during and after the move. Data is the key to any business so (time allowing), spending time cleansing before moving systems will speed up adoption of system and processes and assist your new Management Information (MI) reports.
Your business processes are also really important and time is needed during the Project to develop these in tandem with the new functionality and/or proposition. The focus ahead of Live will be your core processes and inevitably the less frequent processes will follow often resulting in temporary workarounds.
Technology functionality is continually developing so it’s important to be clear what will be available for Go Live and what is on the roadmap to help manage client and internal expectations as you move through the bedding in phase. This includes any links and integrations with other systems as it’s not always possible to have everything up and running on Day 1.
Management Information (MI) is always the next requirement once everything is live, but again, the core reports may only be available on Day 1 while other items, for instance, end of year accounts or FCA reporting, could be 12 months away.
Finally, encouraging people to use the new systems and processes is the key to full adoption and this management takes time and effort. How this is achieved will depend on your business as one size does not fit all.
So how long does it all take to become business as usual once live? That will depend on the level of planning, pre-project prep and complexities of your business, but typically it takes 6-12 months once Live to really move into business as usual and see useful measures. Sometimes this is longer, for example, refining your new Proposition with agreed customers before going out to the full market as a couple of my clients have done in the past few years.
The good news is bedding in phase should be a sliding scale as the new processes become business as usual and the gaps are filled. A year later you should be left with just the annual tasks and exception items to work through as they arise.
Whatever the timescale, understanding your data is key and early preparation will help speed up the bedding in and refinement phase when it happens.
Helen runs operational and change management projects to support growing and / or changing businesses, tailored to requirements. For more information please contact [email protected].