Retail Solution Implementation Services

We leverage proven PMO models and strategies that are easy to follow and adaptable while maintaining consistency across the initiative. Our experienced program management resources have business process knowledge and work closely with team members to ensure the timeline and scope stay intact, while acknowledging flexibility is key to solution implementation success. As a key tenet, our PMs work diligently to identify and mitigate risks, resolve issues, ensure risks and issues are escalated when necessary, and make sure there are no surprises for our client partners.

Our program management approach includes:

• Project planning and communication
• Project and decision governance
• Risk and issue management
• Status reporting
• Executive/sponsor communications

We work collaboratively with our clients and vendors to ensure compliance, accuracy, transparency, and quick issue resolution.

Working in collaboration with your teams, we focus on improving, simplifying, and standardizing your processes to incorporate innovation and leading practices, improve efficiency, and drive business performance.

The following are key activities in our approach:

• Review of leading practices and improvement priorities with key stakeholders
• Creation of an improved end-to-end process design
• Definition of business reporting needs
• Assessment of organizational impacts of new business processes
• Identification of dependencies and impacts on other strategic initiatives

Parker Avery uses stakeholder-approved business process designs to drive answers and provide direction during solution design workshops. In collaboration with the software vendor or SI, we ensure the solution adheres to business process decisions while avoiding costly customizations. We also embed business process improvement work in user acceptance testing to ensure consistency and sustainment at deployment.

We don’t tell you how to navigate change. We chart the course with you. We help drive organizational change through capability-building programs, integrating change themes into your solution implementation, maintaining effective communication, and designing leading-edge learning solutions.

Our organizational change management approach includes:

• Change management strategy and plan
• Stakeholder analysis and organizational readiness
• Communications planning and execution
• Learning strategy, materials development, and training delivery
• Adoption and sustainment planning and support

Testing is crucial for success. Key to our retail solution implementation services is helping create comprehensive test plans, outlining the test strategy, tools, roles, responsibilities, and approach. We typically lead user acceptance testing (UAT), since it is business-facing. We focus on test scenario creation, execution plans, and defect management.

We guide the implementation teams through all testing levels:

• Systems and integration testing
• Performance testing
• End-to-end testing
• User acceptance testing

We also comprehensively document and report on test results.

All successful solution implementations require a detailed cutover plan, covering business and system tasks. Cutover planning should begin after the design has been signed off and all development objects (e.g., interfaces, conversions, reports) have been identified.

We guide deployment planning through:

• Cutover plan preparation
• Cutover communication and meeting facilitation
• Data conversion strategy, plan, and testing (mock cutovers)
• Go-live readiness planning and checklist

Hypercare is the stabilization period after going live. It uses an enhanced support model to assist the new users with the new processes and system(s).

We plan for and support hypercare by:

• Preparing the hypercare plan
• Providing oversight and status reporting
• Planning and monitoring controlled start-up activities
• Identifying exit criteria to hand off to steady-state support
• Coordinating with change management and training resources to ensure alignment and full support post-go-live