Phases, owners, and acceptance gates
| Phase | Owner | Work | Acceptance evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Define the workflow | Sales lead and delivery counterpart | Agree lead ownership, stages, buyer evidence, next-action rules, and the delivery handoff. | Two users can classify the same opportunity and explain the next action. |
| Prepare the data | Data owner and administrator | Export a recoverable source, set duplicate rules, and map required fields and relationships. | Sample counts, ownership, activities, and associations reconcile. |
| Pilot the setup | Small seller group | Test inquiry routing, follow-up, reporting, permissions, and failed integration handling. | Real users complete representative scenarios and record exceptions. |
| Cut over and stabilize | Business sponsor | Confirm the system of record, freeze conflicting updates as appropriate, and operate a visible support queue. | The team can run the workflow and the administrator can maintain it. |
Before the first working session
Name a sponsor who can resolve competing priorities and a manager who will maintain the result. Gather a recent normal case, an exception, and the current instructions. Reserve time for the people doing the work; a plan cannot be validated entirely through leadership discussion.
Worked example
Illustrative example: a firm pilots with one seller and one delivery manager. A test lead routes correctly, but the signed deal does not include the promised start dependency. The team fixes the handoff before importing the rest of the active pipeline.
When to pause or revise the plan
Pause expansion if key records do not reconcile, critical permission boundaries fail, or the team cannot identify the system of record. Use a documented recovery plan appropriate to the migration; do not improvise rollback after live data has diverged.
A practical review rhythm
At each phase boundary, review completed evidence, unresolved decisions, and the next owner. If a prerequisite is missing, record who will resolve it and when the team will review it again. Keep acceptance separate from effort spent: a completed meeting is not proof that the new workflow can operate.
Handover and continuing ownership
Assign ownership for field changes, new-user training, integration exceptions, and stage definitions. Review data quality after the pilot so cleanup does not become a recurring rescue project.
Related implementation resources
Discuss the operating problem
Elixir consulting starts at $5,000 per month, with final pricing based on scope. Bring a recent example, the current workflow, and the person who owns the result to define the appropriate implementation scope.