How to run a successful Dynamics 365 project

Project governance is the key to delivering a Dynamics 365 business application that meets your goals and expectations. In this article, we summarize the main points from the previous chapters of the implementation guide and show you how to assess and improve your project governance model.

What is project governance?

Project governance is more than a set of rules or procedures. It's a framework that guides all aspects of your project, from planning and execution to communication and collaboration. It helps you align your project with your business strategy, engage with stakeholders, manage risks, and measure progress.

Project governance also helps you address the specific challenges and opportunities of a Dynamics 365 project. Unlike traditional software projects, a Dynamics 365 project involves delivering the capability to perform business processes using the application. That means you need to involve business users and processes in your governance model, as well as technical experts and tools.

Why does project governance matter?

Many of the critical issues on a Dynamics 365 project that seem like technical problems actually stem from failures of project governance. For example, if you don't have clear roles and responsibilities, effective communication channels, or realistic expectations, you might encounter delays, errors, conflicts, or dissatisfaction among your team or customers.

On the other hand, good project governance can help you achieve better results faster. It can help you:

• Define a clear vision and scope for your project.
• Establish an engaged leadership team that supports decision-making.
• Create a flexible and agile approach that adapts to changing needs.
• Foster cross-functional collaboration and feedback among stakeholders.
• Implement best practices for testing, building, deploying, and managing your application.

How do you assess and improve your project governance model?

You can use the Success by Design checklist to evaluate how well your current or proposed governance model meets these objectives. Ideally, you should do this during the Initiate phase of your project lifecycle and throughout the project stages. But it's never too late to make improvements.

The checklist covers six areas of project governance:

• Project organization
• Project approach
• Project plan
• Test strategy
• Build strategy
• Deployment strategy

For each area, you'll find questions that help you identify gaps or issues in your governance model. You'll also find recommendations on how to address them based on best practices for Dynamics 365 projects.

You can use the checklist as a self-assessment tool or as a conversation starter with your team or customers. The goal is to create a shared understanding of what good project governance looks like for your specific situation.

Next steps

• Use the Success by Design checklist to assess and improve your project governance model and processes
• Read a case study of how a customer implemented Dynamics 365 with effective project governance