A working CRM prototype in 10 days
An aviation organisation planned to move an on-premises CRM to the cloud, but an earlier requirements phase had produced no working system. I switched to hands-on prototyping with a key user and delivered a working CRM prototype in 10 days.
- Type
- Professional · client project (anonymised)
- Period
- Apr 2024 – Jul 2024
- Role
- Senior Power Platform Consultant
- Sector
- Aviation · Netherlands
Client names and financial figures are left out. Details are limited to what can be shared.
Context
The organisation ran an on-premises CRM that was more than ten years old, next to applications that were several decades old and critical to its aviation operations. The project was in its concept and proof-of-concept phase for a move to Power Platform.
Problem
Expectations were significantly misaligned. The organisation had already invested substantially, but had no working proof of concept or base system: only Excel sheets.
Constraints
Legacy, operations-critical applications around the CRM, urgent stakeholder needs, and low trust after the earlier phase.
My role
Senior Power Platform consultant. I built the first version of the app myself, together with the key user.
Decisions
I moved from a high-level requirements approach to a hands-on approach: build the low-code app collaboratively and in real time, with the key user sitting next to me, and document the requirements alongside the build.
Delivery
Agile prototyping on Power Platform, with ALM in Azure DevOps.
Outcome
A functional CRM prototype within 10 days. Stakeholder trust was restored, and the prototype became the foundation for later project refinements.
IT considerations
- Adoption
- The key user shaped the app from the first build, instead of reviewing documents.
- Requirements
- Requirements documented alongside working software, so they could be checked against it.