I was having a conversation with some of the team the other day talking about the keys to a successful implementation.  Things had been going smoothly so we wanted to capture what had been going “right”.  People were suggesting things like “active, engaged business sponsor” and “supportive, engaged technical staff” as well as a number of others.

The conversation went on around the group and a lot of good points and ideas were suggested.  The conversation came around to me and the question was asked – “what do you think is the key to a successful implementation?”.  I thought for a minute and said simply “communication”

Let me elaborate (just like the rest of group asked me to do) – all aspects of any implementation require successful collaboration, coordination and execution.  This requires communication.  Whether we are defining requirements, planning the deployment or implementing a configuration, communication is the key.  If subject matter experts do not clearly communicate their requirements, if IT resources do not clearly communicate the details of their technical environment, if project mangers do not clearly communicate plans, expectations, activities etc…. well, you can see where I would say communication is key.

I am not suggesting that all the other ideas put forward were not valid or insightful, just for me it boils down to communication.  As long as open, honest, two-way communication is happening and happening consistently, I believe every implementation will be successful.