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A Recommended Framework for Implementing Siebel Business Processes

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In this guide, the term Siebel implementation means deploying a Siebel solution where there is none already in place, as well as making changes to an existing deployment of Siebel applications.

Figure 4, Figure 5, and Figure 6 show a business process diagram that models a recommended way to plan a Siebel implementation that employs Siebel business processes.

Figure 4.  Business Process for Planning a Siebel Implementation (Part One of Three)

The top row in Figure 4, Figure 5, and Figure 6 separates the diagram into six implementation stages: Define, Discover, Design, Configure, Validate, and Deploy. The column at the left edge of the diagram shows the roles that perform the tasks of the planning project. These roles make up the members of the implementation planning team: executive sponsors, an implementation project manager, functional groups, a technical team, and a training team.

Figure 5.  Business Process for Planning a Siebel Implementation (Part Two of Three)

Figure 6.  Business Process for Planning a Siebel Implementation (Part Three of Three)

Define

Steps 1 and 2. You start by defining your company's Siebel implementation goals. What are the reasons behind your company's decision to implement Siebel applications? What are the specific business objectives that you are aiming to meet?

An example of a well defined business objective is decrease customer defection by 25%. An example of a goal that is not specific enough is manage customer retention. One way of defining clear and precise implementation goals is to conduct an executive workshop, and get the executives within the company to agree on a handful of the most important problems the business is facing, and the necessary actions to focus on to solve them.

Discover

Steps 3 through 6. Once a set of specific implementation goals is determined, you begin the process of discovering your business requirements. Review the business process diagrams provided in Siebel Cross-Industry Business Process Reference and make decisions about which Siebel business processes align with your implementation goals. Consider the roles within each business process to determine which groups within your company will be affected by the implementation plans. When you know which groups are affected, you can involve representatives from these groups in gathering the rest of the requirements.

Now your implementation planning team has grown to include individuals who will be involved in the actual implementation. This group might include representatives from your I.T. department, senior managers from departments the implementation will affect, an executive sponsor, and a workshop facilitator.

You can conduct business process workshops to discover the business requirements, and get buy-in from all groups involved. The implementation planning team reviews the overview information and process details (contained in the reference pages for the business process diagrams) for the relevant Siebel business processes, and identifies the specific Siebel business processes to implement. The team reviews the current processes in place to determine:

Which processes work well
Which processes can be kept and improved
Which processes need to be replaced

The team then determines:

Which parts of the selected business processes need to be modified or customized to meet the company's particular requirements
Which elements of each business process will use Siebel Workflow to support the process
Which elements of each business process will require training for users

The business requirements gathering sessions that the implementation planning team conducts should also yield decisions on the screen and view changes that will be needed in the software's user interface, as well as identification of necessary customizations and integration points.

Design

Steps 7 through 15. After your business requirements have been discovered and clearly defined, you move on to the design phase of your implementation planning. The most important part of this design stage is defining the phasing for the Siebel implementation project. Phasing is critical because the implementation should occur in stages. This is useful for several reasons:

Separating a project into stages helps to keep the size and scope manageable
Your company can begin to benefit from the implementation sooner, once the first stage has been completed but before the other stages are finished
The knowledge and experience your company gains in the early stages of the implementation project can be applied in the later stages

For example, an implementation of Siebel Service should go live in one of three call centers within a company, so that it affects a fraction of the total number of users rather than all the service users at once.

You then use the separate stages identified to create a detailed work plan, and then get buy-in and approval from the executive sponsor. You assemble technical and training teams, containing members of the implementation planning team as well as other individuals who will configure the Siebel application and design the necessary training. You distribute work plans to begin work on Phase One of the project. The technical team creates detailed Siebel Workflow designs and specifications. The training team creates outlines for upcoming instruction for users. The implementation planning team then reviews these designs and outlines.

Configure

Step 16. While the project manager monitors development, the technical team configures the Siebel implementation, and the training team develops training.

Validate

Steps 17 through 20. The implementation must be tested before it goes live to all users, so the work of the technical team and the training team is built into a pilot program, in which the functional groups of users evaluate the new and improved business processes and the Siebel application. The technical and training teams make changes to the solution as necessary, and then the functional groups and the implementation planning team evaluate and approve the changes.

Deploy

Steps 21 and 22. At this point, the Siebel implementation is ready for deployment to all users, so the technical team moves the installation from the development environment to the production environment. Then the implementation planning team, the functional groups, and the technical and training teams collaborate to deploy the solution.

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