Create a Functional Checklist
Learning Objectives
After completing this unit, you’ll be able to:
- Explain why a functional checklist is important.
- List three typical documentation gaps.
- List three types of data included in a checklist.
- Explain what a RACI spreadsheet is.
Introduction
Even when you work with a wonderful team and everyone gets along, unstated assumptions about who’s responsible for what can create misunderstandings or slow the project down. That’s why you need to document who’s responsible for each task in a storefront implementation, and why all members of the team need to review the task allocation and agree to it.
Create a functional checklist to track:
- Project tasks
- Participant roles
- Task and functional area ownership
When you explore tasks and assignments in a systematic way, you can identify missing tasks, duplication of effort, and assignment gaps more easily, and you prevent miscommunication and project delays.
Two documents that can help with process are a checklist for operating on Salesforce B2C Commerce and a RACI spreadsheet.
Create a Checklist
We recommend you document who’s responsible for each task in a checklist for operating on B2C Commerce. The checklist helps you focus your team on key areas such as merchandising, operations, and administration. It also helps you identify roles within the merchant’s organization that are responsible for these areas. This isn’t a checklist of all the tasks required for the launch. Instead, it prompts your team to consider what’s needed for effective site operations both before and after launch.
Document Roles and Responsibilities
These are some typical roles for operating a B2C Commerce site. In the checklist, document who fills each role, and whether that function is being provided by a resource within the merchant’s organization, by an external partner or vendor, or by Salesforce.
- Project Management
- Web Operations
- Buying Team
- Merchandising
- UX Team
- Content Team
- SEO Team
- Analytics Team
- Marketing Team
- IT
The operating on B2C Commerce sheet typically has two tabs, Ecommerce Business Activities and B2C Commerce Activities, which divide the tasks by overall function.
Ecommerce Business Activities Tab
This tab lists the business-related tasks, which are grouped as follows:
- Product preparation
- B2C Commerce content production
- User experience management
- Buying and selling
- Business operations
- Web operations
- Customer relationship management
- Customer acquisition
For each task on each of these tabs, document who fills each role and which organization provides the resource.
B2C Commerce Activities Tab
This tab lists the B2C Commerce platform-related tasks, which are grouped as follows:
- Service delivery and platform management
- Product support
- Core platform development
Create a RACI Spreadsheet
A RACI spreadsheet can make your life a whole lot easier.
RACI stands for responsible, accountable, consulted, and informed. A RACI chart is a matrix of the activities or decision-making authorities in an organization, relative to all the people or roles.
Action Level | Responsibility | Number of People |
Responsible (R) | The person who does the work to complete the task, or who makes a decision. | One person |
Accountable (A) | The person who is accountable for the correct and thorough completion of the task. This is the person the responsible role is accountable to and who approves their work. | One person, typically the project executive or sponsor |
Consulted (C) | The people who provide information for the project, and with whom there is a two-way communication. | Several people, typically subject matter experts |
Informed (I) | The people who must be kept informed about progress, and with whom there is a one-way communication. | Several people who are affected by the outcome of the tasks |
A RACI document can have many pages, starting with an overview or high-level summary. Here’s a sample high-level RACI sheet.
Task | Project Management | Web Ops | Buying Team | Merchandising | UX Team |
Planning and Operations |
|
|
|
|
|
Management of content calendar |
|
I |
|
R | C |
Management of digital asset and image |
|
I |
|
C |
|
PIM Management |
|
R | I | A |
|
Management of pricing and promotions |
|
R | A | I |
|
Management of project docs | A/R | C/I |
|
C | C |
Management of Salesforce support and ticketing | C/I | A/R |
|
C/I | C/I |
Business Manager Tasks |
|
|
|
|
|
Management of library and content assets |
|
R |
|
C/I |
|
Management of product images (WebDAV) |
|
R |
|
C/I |
|
Management of digital assets (WebDAV) |
|
R |
|
C/I |
|
In addition to a high-level sheet, create one or more sheets that show greater details. For example, picture Management of content calendar as a line item on the second sheet.
This is how the first set of role columns would look.
Project Management |
|
|
Head of Project Delivery | Project Manager(s) | Business Analyst(s) |
|
|
|
To see more columns from the sample, let’s turn this column 90 degrees. For example, Web Operations would have three more columns, and the Buying Team, two.
Project Management | Head of Project Delivery |
|
|
Project Manager(s) |
|
|
Business Analyst(s) |
|
Web Operations | Head of Ecommerce (Operations) | I |
|
Technical Analyst(s) |
|
|
Operations Analyst(s) | I |
Buying Team | Head of Buying |
|
|
Category Manager/Buyer(s) |
|
Merchandising | Head of Ecommerce Merchandising | R |
|
Merchandiser(s) | I |
UX/UI Team | Head of UX | A |
|
UX Designer(s) |
|
You get the idea. Now create your own RACI spreadsheet.
Find Checklist Gaps
One of your jobs—and it’s an important one—is to identify gaps in the checklist.
Use this list to check your checklist. Any question you answer no to indicates a documentation gap.
- Are all the tasks listed?
- Are all roles listed?
- Did you include all the roles and tasks for each type of participant?
- Did you clearly identify if a role is owned by the merchant, partner, or Salesforce?
- Are there any items where merchant responsibilities are incorrectly assigned to the implementation partner or vice versa?
Now report on your findings and fill in the missing information.