Inadequate Project Planning

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Insufficient project planning coupled with uncontrolled expansion of project requirements during implementation represents the most fundamental failure point in P&C insurance modernization projects.  This encompasses poor requirement definition, unrealistic timelines, inadequate risk assessment, and a lack of comprehensive stakeholder analysis.

The foundation of most project failures lies in insufficient upfront planning and poorly defined requirements. A thoroughly detailed requirements document that lists all of the current functions you expect based on your current system and the desired functions for your modernization project is paramount.  Carriers should collaborate with a third-party consultant to document their requirements in relation to modern systems and identify specific business functional needs.   Your core system of the future may have a new UX and new behaviors, but should still meet your current and future business needs.   

This is where the risks from the  Vendor Selection and Management Failures section start to present.  To protect your company, you should thoroughly review and evaluate the vendor's 

• Implementation methodology against modern best practices
• Change control process and how time and cost are balanced
• Steering committee process and goals
• Transition process from sale to implementation
• Customer project team roles and responsibilities
• Vendor implementation roles and responsibilities
• Meet with at least three similar customers before the deal is signed to learn their experience
• Escalation process for major misalignment issues
• Sample project plans
• Executive sponsor or senior executive to contact outside of the implementation team
• Professional services skills, certifications, and general P&C knowledge
• Documented deliveries for new capabilities
• Deep-dive demonstrations of core function for use cases you define during the sales evaluation, and then include them in the implementation plan
• Train the trainer education materials, like user documentation, technical documentation,  configuration materials, and training videos for the core functions 
• Integration capabilities
• APIs and other interoperability tools
• And more, depending on your lines of business, jurisdictions, and third-party products

Rigorous project management and commitment by both the carrier and the vendor can foster a successful implementation as long as both parties are willing to collaborate and deliver on their commitments.  The carrier is the customer, and while they may not always be right, they should expect to have a vendor partner that will fully commit to their success.  Working with an experienced third-party consultant to help navigate the complexities of planning and execution can help manage success.