Level 1 - Deployment Plans

Lesson - Artifacts: Deployment Plans

Key Takeaway

When unique occurrences or deviations from the typical are accounted for within the plan, team members will be able to communicate the status of their assigned tasks based on progress. This ensures smooth hand off step to step and fosters synchronization. Ultimately, this method aims to streamline the deployment process, making it effortless and enjoyable. Smooth deployments build client confidence and thus enhance a consultant’s appeal.

The Stress of Deployment

One of the most stressful aspects of a Salesforce project is the deployment.

Deployment: When you take all the finished work in a particular sprint, or particular phase, and transition into the live production environment.

For more complex deployments, you’ll actually deploy through staging orgs, Quality Assurance Sandboxes (QA), and other orgs on the way to production. Each one can have their stresses and differences.

The goal is to help you make deployment a yawn–even relaxing.

The Role of a Deployment Plan

Deployments can be a breeze and leverage all of that positive energy that people have in their excitement to go from the test plans into production. Their excitement is driven by the fact that they realize the value that they’ve invested for the prior weeks and months, and anticipate the opportunity to experience the value. I want you to benefit from all of that goodwill by making deployment a breeze. How do we do that? By leveraging a key PFM artifact, the deployment plan.

Streamlining Complexity

The key reason for a deployment plan is that deployment is complex even if you’re using a DevOps tool to help you manage the process. Many deployments still have aspects that:

Are not supported by the metadata API.
Will have pre and post configuration details that need to be executed manually.
Require collaboration between different teams or individuals.
Require a specific order of operation and solid coordination.

These aspects are with the client’s team as well as within your own project team. Sometimes, these efforts come down to a particular day and a particular time when things need to happen. This is especially true when there’s a cutover of a live application, need to disrupt normal production operations, or the deployment of a new application/integration.

Precision is paramount when launching a new application because every detail must be meticulously considered to ensure its success. From functionality to user experience, getting it right from the start is crucial. A single oversight could impact performance, user satisfaction, and ultimately, the application’s viability.

Collaboration and Coordination

Having all these complex sequences and requirements choreographed inside of a deployment plan in advance provides anyone that is related to the project with a single source of truth. This includes the internal team, the client team, and any third parties involved. All of them can go through, in advance, to understand their role, responsibilities, and the status of the plan. The key here is that you’re separating your thinking from your doing.

## Separating Thinking from Doing Separating thinking from doing involves thinking through the process and asking yourself the following questions: - What activities need to occur? - What order do these things need to occur in? - Which team will perform which item? - Is there a specific actor in the team that needs to perform a specific item? - What particular time should the item be deployed? - Is there anything particular that is nonstandard? These questions and others that seek to expose gaps and understand implications may be run through your favorite AI tool, such as Perplexity or Grok. This will highlight areas that you may not have considered. These questions are discussed and answered together as a whole. We like to use an online collaborative spreadsheet like Google Sheets, that way everybody can see the progress and all stakeholders can: - Watch what's happening in real time - Reserve times that may be relevant to them and promote awareness - Ask the questions they'd like. - Have documents for the discussion calls. It is important that they are aware of what's going on. Then, when you get to the deployment date, you are executing the deployment according to the plan you created and also updating the same spreadsheet with the progress you're making. --- ## Managing Exceptions and Surprises The deployment team is often scattered across different regional areas, so it is important that exceptions or surprises are captured in the plan. When you follow the People First approach, people can: - Access items assigned to them on their schedule. - Indicate the status of items. - Detail progress they've made. - Share data on particular portions. - Show when they've finished. - Hand it off easily. This helps everyone stay in sync and separates the thinking from the doing so that deployment is a relaxed process. This makes you irresistible as a consultant. --- ## Lessons Learned - Understand the critical nature and complexities of Salesforce deployments. - Learn to construct and utilize a detailed deployment plan using online collaborative tools. - Develop the ability to coordinate deployment activities effectively among diverse teams. - Acquire skills in managing pre and post-deployment activities and handling real-time deployment challenges. - Enhance capabilities in fostering teamwork and clear communication during the deployment phase. --- ## Personal Reflection & Discussion – Artifacts: Deployment Plan Spend some time reflecting on these questions, then post your feedback to the Cohort Collaboration & Communication tool prior to the Weekly Cohort Call. ### Personal Reflection Questions 1. Reflect on a previous deployment experience. How could a detailed deployment plan have improved the outcome? 2. Discuss the importance of clear, empathetic communication with clients and team members during deployment. 3. How does understanding the intricacies of Salesforce deployment change your approach to project management? ## Cohort Activities & Discussion

### Salesforce Deployment Planning Exercise Participants engage in creating a detailed Salesforce deployment plan using an online spreadsheet. This exercise stresses the importance of precise planning and role allocation to simulate real-world deployment scenarios. **Scenario #1: Staging to Production Transition** Participants practice the transition of deployment stages, addressing potential challenges and ensuring smooth transitions. **Scenario #2: Handling Deployment Surprises** Teams are presented with unexpected challenges and must update their deployment plans in real-time, focusing on adaptability. **Scenario #3: Collaborative Deployment Execution** Participants simulate executing a deployment plan, emphasizing teamwork and clear communication. --- ### Empathetic Stakeholder Engagement Practice Participants role-play as consultants interacting with mock clients to gather project details for the deployment plan, emphasizing empathetic and effective communication. **Scenario #1: Navigating Language Barriers** Participants role-play scenarios where they must collect detailed deployment information from a client who speaks limited English, focusing on clear and empathetic communication using simple language and visual aids. **Scenario #2: Addressing Client Concerns About Privacy** In this scenario, participants address a client's privacy concerns related to sharing contact information for the deployment plan, ensuring understanding of data security and confidentiality. **Scenario #3: Collaborating with a Technologically Challenged Client** Participants guide a client not familiar with digital tools through the process of providing information for the deployment plan, ensuring they feel supported and avoiding confusion. --- ### Interactive Q&A Workshop on Deployment Plans Participants are presented with scenarios that require the use of a deployment plan. They develop questions to extract necessary project details from clients, which will populate the plan. **Workshop #1: Complex Salesforce Implementation** Participants ask targeted questions to complete the deployment plan effectively for a client unsure about the specifics of a robust Salesforce setup. **Workshop #2: Migration to Salesforce** Participants determine the right questions to capture all necessary data for a smooth CRM transition to Salesforce. --- ### Contribution Facilitation Simulation Participants simulate scenarios where they assist clients in contributing specific information to the deployment plan. **Scenario #1: Custom Field Specification Collection** Participants collect specific custom field requirements from a client, using a structured template in the deployment plan. **Scenario #2: Timeline Feedback Request** Participants seek client feedback on a draft timeline for the deployment plan, requiring a quick and straightforward review method. **Scenario #3: Resource Allocation Collaboration** Participants collaborate with a client to fill out a resource allocation sheet in the deployment plan, guiding the client effectively despite their limited formal project planning experience. --- ## Organizational Impact Encourage the sharing of successful deployment stories in team meetings, highlighting how detailed planning and effective communication led to positive outcomes. This promotes the adoption of best practices in deployment planning and execution across the organization. --- Spend some time reflecting on these questions, then be prepared to share your feedback with your Cohort in the Weekly Cohort Sync.

## Cohort Discussion Questions 1. What are the challenges and benefits of using an online collaborative tool for deployment planning? 2. How can deployment plans be tailored to accommodate different project size and complexities? 3. In what ways does effective deployment planning contribute to the overall success of a Salesforce project? ### Quiz – Artifacts: Deployment Plan 1. True or False: Deployment is considered one of the most stressful aspects of a Salesforce project. - [x] True - [ ] False 2. True or False: The deployment process does not involve stages like staging or QA before reaching production. - [ ] True - [x] False 3. True or False: A deployment plan is crucial even when using DevOps for Salesforce deployment. - [x] True - [ ] False 4. What is the primary purpose of a deployment plan in a Salesforce project? - [ ] To ensure that only the project manager knows what to do - [x] To create a choreographed plan for the team, including pre and post-configuration details - [ ] To eliminate the need for any testing before deployment - [ ] To allow team members to work without coordination 5. What is the benefit of using an online collaborative spreadsheet in Salesforce deployment? - [ ] It ensures that only the deployment team can see the progress - [x] It allows stakeholders to watch the deployment progress in real time - [ ] It automatically completes the deployment process - [ ] It is only useful for small-scale projects 6. In the context of Salesforce deployment, what is meant by 'separating your thinking from your doing'? - [x] Planning the deployment process separately from executing it - [ ] Thinking about the project but not actually working on it - [ ] Doing the deployment without any prior planning - [ ] Avoiding any thinking during the deployment process 7. How does a well-orchestrated deployment plan affect the deployment team? - [ ] It creates confusion among team members - [x] It helps the team to stay in sync, especially when they are regionally dispersed - [ ] It's not necessary for teams in the same location - [ ] It only benefits the client, not the deployment team 8. Why is it important to capture exceptions or surprises in the deployment plan? - [ ] To avoid discussing them with the team - [x] To ensure that they are addressed and everyone is aware of any changes - [ ] Because they are irrelevant to the deployment process - [ ] To blame team members for any mistakes

Lesson - Artifacts: Deployment Plans

Key Takeaway

The Stress of Deployment

The Role of a Deployment Plan

Streamlining Complexity

Collaboration and Coordination

Complete this lesson.