Updated Solution Blueprint & ADO Template/Standard Process is LIVE in the Playbook (for BC/FO Projects)!

Updated Solution Blueprint & ADO Template/Standard Process is LIVE in the Playbook (for BC/FO Projects)!

We're excited to announce that as of today, Monday, July 8th the updated Solution Blueprint Workbook and ADO (Azure DevOps) standards and templates have officially been launched in the Playbook and are ready to use on BC and F&O Consulting Services Projects (CE projects will be 'live' July 22nd pending some final training). Consulting Services Directors and Managers, please pass this along to your teams and let them know these materials are live and ready to be used; as well as pass along the training material that is available in Ascend (and encourage team members to take it!) - see below. 

What Does This Mean?

• Project teams engaging on any newly starting multi-workload, F&O and large-scale BC implementation projects are to use the updated Solution Blueprint workbook and ADO process / templates going forward.

  • We will not be retroactively applying the new templates / process to in-flight projects (see the FAQ document for reasons / guides on navigating between processes)

  • If you have questions on if a project should utilize the new process/templates, reach out to me (Grace Stevenson) or the Practice Director of that area (Anne, Dustin or Nicole, Matt VanDyke once CE is live)

What Training is Available for my team to Learn About the Updated ADO / Blueprint Workbook Template?

• We've created a training playlist in Ascend with materials specifically targeted to project team members (non-project managers - project managers have received more in-depth training)

• Please navigate here -Azure DevOps & Solution Blueprint Workbook for Project Team Members Playlist and share / assign with team members as needed

  • We recommend that all team members watch the overview before starting a new project that will be utilizing ADO to get acclimated

  • Project Managers will also provide additional training specific to the individual project as part of the project onboarding process

  • The training is about an hour for ADO and 30 minutes for the Solution Blueprint Overview

• We will also be creating a weekly office hours drop-in for project leads if they want to join in and ask any questions, give feedback, get demos, etc. Look for that invite shortly.

• Last, we will be creating a few key milestones for targeted feedback and review of the processes / templates after they've been in use for a period of time. We have targeted milestone check-ins with project leaders in September as well as December/January to make sure we are reviewing and adjusting as necessary. The key thing now is to start using the templates and process as-is.

What New Materials Are Available in the Playbook?

• Several new materials have been created. NOTE: Any existing links to documents released in the 'Soft Release' will no longer work. All team members should use the Playbook links as the source of truth going forward.

Updated Solution Blueprint Workbook Materials

• The Updated Solution Blueprint Templates

  • There are Blueprint workbooks for each practice being released today (BC/FO) along w/multi-workload templates

  • IMPORTANT: The Templates are exactly the same, follow the same process, and use the same language. There are separate ones for each practice simply for ease of use; each individual template removes any EPICS/FEATURES/REQUIREMENTS that are not relevant to that specific practice (for example, BC removes several features and processes that are only accommodated on an F&O project)

• Overview & Demo Recording

  • Provides a quick overview of the background and intent of the Blueprint workbook, as well as a general navigation walk-through

• Solution Blueprint Workbook User/Navigation Guide

  • Written step-by-step instructions on how to navigate the Blueprint Workbook within projects (complete with screenshots)

ADO Process Materials (for projects)

• Overview & Demo Recording for Project Team Members

  • Provides a quick overview of the background and intent of the ADO template/process, as well as a guided video walk-through of the new process

• Navigation / User Guide for Project Team Members

  • Provides written step-by-step instructions on how to navigate the new ADO template from the lens of a project team member

• FAQ

  • Provides responses to commonly heard / asked questions related to the new ADO standards

• User Guide for Project Managers

  • A detailed, written step-by-step guidebook that provides guidance on how to navigate the new ADO template and process end-to-end from the lens of a project manager (includes items related to scalability factors, setting up ADO w/clients, etc.)

• Ascend Training Playlist

  • A curated playlist with training resources for team members regarding the new ADO process and templates (see bottom of email for link)

Where Can We Find These Materials in the Playbook?

We have created several access points to accommodate how different individuals navigate the Playbook.

1. Proven Process Fundamentals Section (for quick access to all things related to the updated Solution Blueprint Workbook & ADO template)

   

2. Roadmap Project Type (all items related to the Solution Blueprint Workbook since it is a key Roadmap Deliverable)

   • NOTE: All old Blueprint templates have been removed and as a reminder, team members should use the Playbook as the source of truth going forward and disregard any old templates or previous links to templates.

   

3. PM Initiation & Planning Workflow (all materials project managers need to successfully navigate through the new processes)

   

4. BC & FO Net New Implementation Project Type (all items related to both the Solution Blueprint Workbook as well as ADO have been added to the project type homepage)

I want to send a sincere thank you to all of you who participated in bringing the standardized Solution Blueprint and ADO Template / process to life (Anne Diaz, Noelle Super, Tim Fry, Deb Schaffer, Joshua Merwin, Stefan Goepel, Syed Jalal, Abby Hoglin, Natalie Pueschner, Kim Nelson, Tim Pypa, Craig Conzemius, Nicole Gentz, Dustin Pagano, Emily Johnson, Mike McCardle, Bob Ringwald, Jenny Winter - this is just from the FO/BC side, we will recognize CE team members when those materials are released ), as well as extend a thank you to the CI Team (Brooke and Jenny Hardisty) for your partnership as well as the L&D team (Cassidy Fields, Morgan Radunz) for putting together the Ascend materials. I know it's been a long time coming, but we are finally here! Your efforts and input are invaluable and I'm excited to finally have these templates out in the wild!

As always, let me know if you have any questions or concerns. As mentioned, CE projects will be live the week of July 22nd (we'll send a notification when those materials are available). 

Thanks,

Grace Stevenson