Macular Disease Foundation Australia (MDFA) is a not-for-profit organisation based in Sydney, NSW, who represents the interests of the estimated 1.9 million people with some evidence of macular disease. As the organisation aimed to launch their new patient support service program, “Eye Connect,” they recognised that their existing customer relationship management (CRM) system was inadequate. Migrating to a new CRM posed significant challenges as their team lacked the internal technical expertise and time required to manage the requirements analysis, vendor selection, and migration process effectively, which jeopardised the program’s launch timeline.
MDFA had attempted to recruit an internal technical business analyst / project manager to oversee the implementation but faced challenges in finding the right fit. It was challenging to know what technical questions to ask candidates, and to understand their responses. They knew that to launch “Eye Connect” on time, they had to find a capable and reliable partner who understood both the technical aspects and the specific requirements of their project.
Instead of recruiting for an internal Project Manager, MDFA selected their existing Managed IT provider, Myrtec to take on the project management of the CRM implementation. This was possible through Myrtec’s Technology Advisory service. MDFA was assigned Tristan Hough, Myrtec’s Lead Technology Advisor as their Project Manager. Hough’s involvement began early in the process, where he assisted in evaluating vendor proposals following the organisation’s Request for Proposal (RFP). He played a crucial role in preparing MDFA for the vendor discovery process, ensuring that they understood the technical questions posed by the vendor.
1. Scope Identification and Refinement: Throughout the discovery phase, we identified gaps in MDFA’s initial scope of work, ensuring that all requirements were addressed and documented in the RFP.
2. Vendor Selection: We objectively guided MDFA in selecting the preferred vendor, aligning customer requirements with vendor proposals to identify the overlaps and gaps. Salesforce was selected as the appropriate product.
3. Build Document Oversight: After vendor selection, we facilitated the refinement of the scope of work and monitored the creation of the build document, which defined the project’s deliverables.
4. Build Commencement: We ensured that the vendor was meeting the project deliverables, both on time and on budget. We translated the vendors technical questions back to MDFA so that there was no delay in providing accurate responses.
5. User Acceptance Testing (UAT): We prepared users for testing, ensuring that the implemented system met the requirements set out in the Build Document. From here we could apply feedback from the MDFA team.
6. Escalation Management: When complex technical issued occurred, we were able to translate these issues to MDFA so that they understood what was happening and what the possible implications of different outcomes would be. This allowed them to make timely and accurate decisions.
7. Ongoing Support: Throughout the project, we managed action items and escalations. We facilitated weekly updates, providing comprehensive minutes and prioritising tasks for MDFA.
Thanks to Myrtec’s capability and Hough’s dedicated project management, MDFA successfully migrated to Salesforce within budget and on schedule. The new system enabled the launch of “Eye Connect,” a critical support service program that had external deadlines.
Myrtec’s support not only ensured a smooth transition to the new system but also empowered MDFA to focus on their mission—reducing the impact of macular disease—without the burden of project management complexities.
“This engagement was an absolute win for us on this project. We had already developed a trusted relationship with Myrtec as our managed service provider, so it made sense to work with them as they already knew us. Our Project Manager gave us an independent ally as we worked with various vendors. He was able to decode technical problems for us at crucial times so we could make the best decisions. The support we received kept our project on time and on budget – we would definitely use this model again for our next big technical project.”
COMPANY NAME
Macular Disease Foundation Australia
YEAR
2001
INDUSTRY
Not for profit
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