Questions
When you're a consultant, asking questions is your best method for learning about your customers and the users' needs. Ask several questions to learn about your users' needs and how you can best create the system that they need.
Consider the following scenarios and determine how you can use them to conduct a thorough needs assessment:
You're planning to implement Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales, but no salespeople are involved in the design process. In this scenario, you'll need to figure out how to create a good system for salespeople.
You're implementing Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and only have IT people in your project group. In this situation, you'll also need to make sure that the system follows the standards of accounting.
You're implementing Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Insights - Journeys and no one in the project group knows about regional regulations and privacy rules. In this scenario, you'll need to determine how to create a good system for users who aren't informed of these regulations and rules.
Involving users in the process of designing the system is imperative because they're whom you're designing a system for. If you don't have a user from today's system, and none of the people who are involved will use the new system, then your challenge is to determine how to create a good system for the users. So, you'll need to make sure that you have users in your project team, or you can at least talk to users before designing your Dynamics 365 solution.
After you've established that you have users in your project group, you can start asking them questions. It's only by asking questions that you'll discover how to design the new system.
Most customers like talking about themselves and their company. If you plan to create a good system for a company, then you'll need to get to know that company. A great way to learn about a company and its processes is by asking questions. Start by asking open-ended questions, where the customer can openly talk about themselves and their needs and give you as much information as possible.
Examples of open-ended questions include:
Tell me about your company.
Tell me about the service that you provide.
Tell me about your employees who will use the system.
Tell me about your customers.
Tell me how you currently complete the tasks.
Tell me about the process(es) that you want this system to support.
These types of questions will give you extensive information about the company and a good start toward understanding the customer and the users. Now that you have a foundation to work from, you can ask more in-depth, follow-up questions, such as:
What's the biggest problem with your process(es) today?
What's the technological level of your employees?
What's the technological level of your customers?
What do you want the new system to help you with?
These questions will help you get more information about your customers' needs. Moreover, they'll help you determine how complex the solution should be. You'll need to design a solution that fits the level of complexity of the users whom you're designing the solution for. For example, if some users have barely used a laptop, and you've designed an overly complex solution, then they'll most likely be dissatisfied. Alternatively, if you design a simple solution, and the users and customers have complex needs, then your design won't be beneficial for them.
Make sure that your questions focus on a customer's business needs rather than on their personal information. If the question isn't relevant to the design of the system, then it's likely not a good question to ask. Asking for employee ages isn't relevant to the design; however, asking about their technical level is important. For example, if the employees have little to no technical skills, then you'll need to estimate more time for training. Conversely, if the employees have a high level of technical skills, then you can design a more complex solution.
Other questions that you might ask users include:
How many users do you have?
What one feature would make your life easier?
What's your dream feature?
What does your system need to do at minimum?
These questions will prompt the users to express their needs while helping you determine what you need to provide at minimum. Furthermore, you'll find out what would make them happy. Your ability to implement the "happiness feature" will be significant for your customer.
Today, your users only know the solution that they already have. By knowing what the customer has today and what is or isn't working, you can learn a lot about the users and their needs.
Asking the following questions might help you learn more about the solution that the customer currently has:
What's working today?
What's the one aspect that needs to be as good as today's system?
What's the worst characteristic of today's system?
What's your favorite characteristic of today's system?
In today's system, what's the most time-consuming element?
What's one good and one bad component of today's system?
How can we make sure that other users are satisfied with the new system?
What will make other users want to use the new system?
Your users know what they've and what they want. Therefore, you need to ask questions about their current system to ensure that you design a system that does what they need and more. If you implement a system that's worse than what they currently have, then your customer will be dissatisfied. Likewise, your customer won't be happy if you create a system that costs more than the budget and gives them unnecessary features. Find out what will satisfy your users and how you can balance the system with their needs.
Additionally, you'll need to determine the type of terminology that your customers use. For example, if they use the same terminology that Microsoft does, then they'll likely know what a work order is in Dynamics 365 Field Service or Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management. If they use different terminology, then you'll need to figure out how to name certain elements to customize the system for them. How you name the columns and the number of customizations that you make to the system will impact the users and the design.
Keep in mind that you should avoid asking questions that are exceedingly specific about the new system. It's your responsibility as their consultant to find out this information for them.
Sample questions that you should avoid:
What part of Dynamics 365 should we use?
Do you need Dynamics 365 Customer Service or Dynamics 365 Field Service?
Is Dynamics 365 Business Central or Dynamics 365 Finance best for you?
Do you understand what a work order is and how you use it?
After your customers have described their needs, it's time to review the information that they've shared with you. During meetings with your customer, make it a habit to always restate in your own words the information that they've given you. Summarizing in your words helps verify that you've understood what the customer has said, and it helps avoid miscommunication. Taking this step now will help clarify issues now rather than when you're done building the system.
Your goal is to know what the users need and how you can design a system that satisfies them. You can create an amazing system, but if it's not what the users need, then it's unsuccessful.