Click the items below to see answers to a variety of questions related to the Asuret implementation risk assessment service.

    Working with Asuret
    Collaboration Methodology
    Workshop
    The Report

What size project is best suited for an Asuret assessment?

The assessment is designed for projects that represent at least a million dollars in total investment--typically, about $200,000 in license fees and another $800,000 or so in implementation costs (customization, integration, testing, training, etc.). If the project risk level is unusually high, however, it may make sense to conduct an assessment even when the total cost is well under this figure.

When is the best time to conduct an assessment?

Sometime between vendor selection and the beginning of the implementation project is best, but it's also possible to look at risk factors in the early stages of a complex project--when it's still possible to fine tune the overall approach.

We already have a detailed project plan. What does an Asuret assessment add?

A project plan describes every detail of an ideal implementation. That's useful, of course, but it doesn't tell you what's likely to go wrong. (Plenty of implementations fail even though they followed the project plan to the letter.) Our methodology looks at a broad range of organizational and process issues--such as management support, input from end users, and project management skills--that are key success drivers but that don't usually show up in a project plan.

Why can't we conduct our own assessment, using the Asuret questions?

In fact, you can. For $2,000, we'll set up an online questionnaire for you and send you a spreadsheet with the survey results. This approach may help you spot vulnerabilities that most people in your organization agree are important. However--people tend to be much more candid when risk assessments are conducted by outside professionals. This is especially true in a workshop discussion, which is a significant part of an Asuret assessment.

Most companies develop a kind of "conventional wisdom" about their own practices, and dissenting views usually don't surface. As outsiders, we're better at extracting opinions from the whole organization.

How will you learn about our specific company environment?

What’s the purpose of the collaboration?

The collaboration is a very efficient way to measure what key stakeholders know (or think) about an upcoming implementation project. The data we collect helps quantify the “collective wisdom” of the organization about risk factors and implementation pitfalls in more than 40 different areas of vulnerability.

Who should take part in the collaboration?

We recommend the you invite at least a dozen participants, specifically including all the project stakeholders--the IT department, the end-user group, finance, support and training representatives, and others. We'll discuss the makeup of the collaboration group with you in more detail when we start the assessment.

How will you contact the participants?

We'll create an e-mail invitation that explains what we’re doing, with a private URL that provides more details. Generally, participation is better if the invitation is sent out over the signature by a company insider who’s already involved with the implementation project.

What if some of the participants don't know much about the project?

Our analysis software lets us easily add and subtract groups (or individuals) from the statistical base on a question-by-question basis. In fact, very few project participants will be able to answer all the survey questions, and that's fine.

Will the collaboration capture longer comments?

Yes. Every question has a text entry area that lets participants expand on their answers or offer in-depth insights.

How long will the collaboration survey stay online?

About ten days. After a week we'll send a reminder notice to anyone who hasn't responded.

Can we see individual responses?

We strongly recommend that collaboration survey responses should be anonymous.

What are the factors you look at in analyzing responses?

First, we look at the average risk-assessment score for each question, which gives us a basic measure of the project's vulnerability in a specific area. Then we look at the degree of consensus about this score--that is, do most people agree that a risk exists, or is there significant disagreement. We also look at the percentage of people who feel able to answer each question, because that's a good indicator of communication and involvement. And finally we look at how respondents rate the importance of each question.

In addition, we roll up the responses from all the questions into higher-level "risk drivers"--that is, broad vulnerability factors (such as a general lack of management support for IT investments or inadequate end-user involvement in planning).

Can we add our own questions?

What’s the purpose of the workshop?

The workshop gives us a chance to discuss “hotspot” issues with your project stakeholders in a face-to-face setting. Based on our analysis of the survey data and our own experience, we’ll develop an agenda that identifies the most important implementation risks you face. You’ll have a chance to explore these risks (and others that may emerge from the discussion), identify underlying causes, and begin to develop action plans.

Will Asuret develop an action plan for us?

As the workshop group discusses individual issues, we'll help you forge a consensus about the most effective risk-reduction tactics. We'll offer an informed, outside perspective on what you need to do, but we expect that the best solutions will come from project stakeholders themselves.

How long will the workshop take?

Anywhere from a half-day to a full day, depending on the complexity of the risks that the survey uncovers. If appropriate, we can divide the workshop time into smaller sessions to focus on specific issues.

Who should take part in the workshop?

Collaboration survey respondents are the most important workshop participants, but you may want to invite other people whose experience is relevant to the “hotspot” issues that the survey uncovers. We’ll work out an invitation list with you; we recommend that you invite at least six participants but not more than 25.

Who will run the workshop?

We’ll provide an experienced facilitator to lead the discussion, along with the implementation consultant who has been analyzing your survey data.

Will we have a chance to preview the agenda?

Yes. We’ll give you a look at our first cut of the risk factors that emerge from our analysis of the collaboration data we collect. Your feedback at this point will help us develop a final agenda and invitation list (in particular, we’ll discuss whether senior management should take part in the workshop). And if you feel a topic should be off-limits to public discussion at the workshop, let us know and we’ll adjust the agenda accordingly.

What facilities will we need?

What kind of report will we get after the workshop is over?

The report consists of two parts—a discussion of major risk issues that your implementation project faces, based on survey data and workshop discussions, and a longer analysis of individual survey questions, with graphs and charts that let you explore the response patterns. The report will also bring together all the text comments that were collected during the collaboration phase.

Who will see the report?

That’s up to you. We’ll provide a pre-publication preview version for you to review, and then we’ll give you an electronic master copy for you to circulate as you see fit.

Will we get any personal analysis?

Yes. After you’ve seen the final report, we’ll come back to brief you about the findings and to answer questions. We’ll also be available for ongoing telephone discussions as your implementation project proceeds.

Phone: 617-905-5950

Email: info@asuret.com

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