What Is a Microsoft Dynamics GP Implementation Advocate…and When Do You Need One?

A couple months aback I was on the phone with a Microsoft Dynamics GP customer and the conversation went something like this:

Customer: "Hi, I would like to hire you to follow up on my currently ongoing GP implementation."

Me: "Sure! I will be glad to help. What's the situation?"

Customer: "I am currently in middle of an implementation, but not sure if things are going the way they are supposed to. My budget is limited and I cannot extend beyond the deadline we originally agreed upon with my Microsoft partner. Don't get me wrong, I believe everything is going well so far, but cannot afford to miss the go live date."

Me: "So you need me to take over from your PM then?"

Customer: "No, I need a set of independent eyes to verify that my partner is going to deliver what they promised and on time, and that my project manager is aligning our internal resources accordingly."

Me: "So, you want me to be the overall project director?"

Customer: "No, I want you to serve as an advocate for both parties. I want you to reconcile both points of view and make sure we get to the deadline on time"

Let's break it down and summarize at the same time, shall we? I was supposed to be independent. By definition, this means I could not take either the customer's side or the partner's side in my assessment. However, I must ensure that the customer is going to get what he or ...