How do you map your organization's CRM needs?

Required tools

• Time with those doing the work — Not just with the managers.
• Someone who writes things down — Someone needs to take ownership of the minutes, otherwise the findings will be lost.

Talk to people

1. 1.Interview five to eight people, one at a time

   Salespeople, caseworkers, a manager, someone from finance. One-on-one conversations yield more honest answers than a workshop, where people adapt to each other.

2. 2.Ask to see how they work

   Sit beside them for twenty minutes. You’ll find spreadsheets, notepads, and workarounds no one would have mentioned in an interview.

3. 3.Ask what they would have removed

   People describe what they want poorly, but their frustrations precisely. The latter are easier to address.

Sort the findings

1. 4.Distinguish between symptom and cause

   “We can’t find customer information” is a symptom. The cause may be duplicate records, poor search functionality, or that no one is entering any information. Different causes require different solutions.

2. 5.Group by hit frequency

   Something that annoys one person once a month carries less weight than something that takes ten minutes from twelve people every day.

3. 6.Present back before you conclude

   Show the findings to the people you spoke with. If they do not agree with the description, they will not agree with the solution either.