The formula for any project's success is to involve the right talent and have a strong team. A team working toward a common goal is a must and each member must be on board with project objectives.

Each team member must be trained in a matrix management style to get the best from them, as this form of organizational structure fosters collaboration unlike any other. Not just Dynamics 365, but any ERP project has so many moving parts that unless the team works in a united fashion, success can't be guaranteed.

Remember that no single cross-functional team is alike, as it is influenced by individual personalities, strengths, and weaknesses, coupled with the unique requirements of each initiative. This is what makes every Dynamics 365 implementation unique; hence, it is important for the project sponsor and the project manager to play the role of a binder to foster strong team dynamics.

A typical project team structure based on our experiences while implementing Dynamics 365 solutions and leveraging CRP methodology can be seen as follows: 

As shown in the preceding diagram, both sides of members need to function as one team, and hence, it typically becomes a matrix organization reporting with lots of dotted, as well as direct, reporting responsibility.

As ERP projects are usually large-scale initiatives, the support of external consulting partners and advisors is needed to form the right team for success. As described in the diagram, there are several full-time or part-time internal (client) roles as well as advisor/consulting partner roles highlighted.

We'll now share our knowledge on complete team composition, comprising groups and/or individuals, as follows:

• Steering committee:

  • These are the owners of providing resources, securing funding, and liaising with the executive management/board of the organization.
  • This role typically involves management representatives from the key departments of an organization.
  • This committee is expected to execute executive-level leadership, keeping the larger vision in perspective.
  • This committee needs to make policy decisions as necessary to ensure the success of the project.

• Project sponsor:

  • This role acts as a champion and gives a much-needed thrust to meeting the project's goals and objectives.
  • A project sponsor needs to be ahead of all of the project activities and is a single point of contact for all of the decisions needed for the project.
  • A project sponsor acts as a liaison to the steering committee and leads such meetings.

• Project manager:

  • The project manager is responsible for the overall management and implementation of the solution throughout its lifecycle.
  • The project manager leads the project planning activities and manages the execution of projects according to plan.
  • They manage relationships with stakeholders and keep them informed of the progress and issues.
  • They become the driving force for managing the expectations from all project deliverables.
  • The manager is the motivator of the team and enables and empowers the team members to deliver their best.
  • They create and maintain the project plan.
  • They manage and protect scope and creep.
  • The project manager should always baseline the project plan in line with the objectives, changing conditions, and actuals.
  • They manage the financial aspects of the project, ensuring accurate budgeting and estimates to the actual variance.
  • They prepare the contingency plans, proactively work to identify triggering events for any issues/risk, and come up with an initial mitigation plan.
  • They act as a single point of contact for sign-off-related activities.
  • They are the knowledge champion of the project management methodology, standards, tools, processes, and procedures.

• Business lead:

  • This is an internal role and mostly comprises business experts, process owners, or SMEs.
  • Business leads are a central point of contact for a specific business process, and they need to carry end-to-end responsibility for the process.
  • They are responsible for translating the business needs into processes and requirement specifications.
  • They ensure that all of the current (as-is) and future (to-be) processes are incorporated in the solution scope.
  • A business lead is the owner of an end-to-end business process.

• CRP lead:

  • This is a cross-functional role involving knowledge of project management methodologies and the commitment to drive the project to success.
  • CRP leads are responsible for defining, planning, tracking, and managing every identified pilot.
  • They participate in the project planning activities and lead the execution of the pilot.
  • They manage relationships with project stakeholders, keeping them informed of the progress, issues, and deliverables in a pilot.
  • They are the owners of the business blueprint.

• Advisor/partner/functional consultant/developer:

  • These are external knowledge experts in the solution, whom we generally refer to as value experts.
  • They need to lead by example and carry multiple roles (namely architects, consultants, and so on).
  • They are the key link in enabling business transformation initiatives.
  • They are the owners of the solution blueprint.
  • They lead strategic discussions with stakeholders on matters of systems, business processes, and requirements.
  • They help to map business needs with solution features and where needed, fill in product gaps/whitespace with a custom solution.

• Change management lead:

  • Change management leads are the owners of all of the change management initiatives that spin off when implementing/adapting the Dynamics 365 solutions.
  • They chair the Organizational Change Management (OCM) discussion, and they provide advice for and direction in managing the changes arising from the project.
  • They assist the project manager and the CRP lead in identifying potential risks, and they create plans to mitigate the risks in plan execution.
  • They need to proactively identify new processes and changes to the existing business processes, and communicate these changes well through proper training.

• IT lead:

  • The IT lead is usually an information technology role, involving customer personnel.
  • The role supports all IT-related enablers in project execution.
  • They develop and review the technological scope.
  • They bring in technical direction and guidance.
  • They provide system and technical expertise to the project team.

Once you have a project team composed of the aforementioned roles, you have laid down a solid foundation for the success of your project. However, the preceding recommendations need to be mashed up as per the project's and organization's needs. We have seen exceptions to the preceding team structure and would like to call out the top two reasons for exceptions:

• Based on the project size, type, and complexity, a single person may perform more than one role. For larger initiatives, a dedicated Project Management Office (PMO) may also be formed, which enables the coordination of meetings, travel, activity collection, and project status distribution.
• Large enterprises also set up something called the service desk, which is typically an IT function that supports several IT operating processes, depending on the nature of the task. Also, if there are multiple initiatives, then each initiative can be treated as a project, which necessitates the dedicated role of a program manager.