From project to operations – why the project operations set-up should be built from day one

Over the years, I’ve been part of many Dynamics 365 projects, as a consultant, a delivery lead, and now as the leader of Service Delivery teams. And time after time, I have seen the same pattern emerge. When planning an IT project, teams spend weeks defining scope, design, and deadlines, but rarely do they ask the crucial question: “How will this solution actually be operated and developed, and how will it deliver value once it is implemented?”

Many organizations only discover how important the operations set-up is after they reach go-live. Documentation is incomplete, responsibilities are unclear and the team that takes over hasn’t been part of the development journey. The result is a system that runs but doesn’t achieve its full potential.

So when operations aren’t integrated into the project process, a gap opens between delivery goals and expected value.

The operating model is not an afterthought

I’ve seen organizations go live with a new solution, but with no clear processes for change, incident, or release management – and where all the energy and ownership that drove the project disappear the moment the project was 'done'.

Assuming that operations can be figured out later is a critical and unfortunate mistake. In reality, the fix is easy: Taking the time to shape and define the future operations model during the earliest project phases, while engagement is high and knowledge, decisions and ownership are still fresh.

When you design the operational framework from day one, something changes fundamentally. Testing and hypercare can be planned with the future operating model in mind. Service Delivery Managers and Release Managers get the insight they need before go-live. And with clear roles and responsibilities, the handover at go-live can be seamless rather than abrupt.

And when the organization can start building rhythms for feedback, improvement and learning already during the project phase, go-live is no longer the finishing line, but a shift in focus – from building something new to continuously improving what has been delivered.

Stability and evolution can go hand in hand

At Cepheo, we work with an ‘Evergreen’ mindset, where stability and evolution go hand in hand. This approach means establishing two separate tracks already in the project phase: one focused on Operational Excellence, to ensure stability, performance and security, and the other focused on Continuous Improvement to enable learning, optimization and innovation.

These two tracks shouldn’t run sequentially but in parallel, to create a strong closed loop between project, operations and business, so that lessons learned can continuously feed back into the project to create new value.

But even the best operational set-up will fail if the people it is created for don’t understand why it matters. The solution is to start change management activities early. When key users, super users and operational roles get insight early, the transition is smoother, and the ownership is stronger. I’ve seen first-hand how much more confident and proactive teams become when they are part of shaping the solution they will use later.

What successful organizations do differently

Organizations that succeed with their digital investments all have a few critical things in common:

• They plan for operations in the early project stages or before the project begins

• They understand that a solution is never ‘done’, it should constantly evolve, improve and adapt to meet changing business needs

• And they know that stability and innovation are not opposites, but two sides of the same ‘Evergreen’ mindset.

In short, go-live is just a moment in time, Evergreen is a state of mind.

In the next article, I’ll share my perspectives on how to structure your organization to get the most value from your IT investments. And that involves defining the right roles, implementing thoughtful governance, and enabling valuable collaboration between business, IT and partners.

"Go-live is just a moment in time, Evergreen is a state of mind."

Anette Christiansen

Head of Service Delivery, Cepheo