Kick Off, Review, and Train
Learning Objectives
After completing this unit, you’ll be able to:
- Describe the SRA process.
- Summarize the purpose of the Launch Readiness Bootcamp.
- List the topics covered in the Launch Readiness Bootcamp.
Meet and Greet
To kick off the SRA, the Salesforce customer success manager invites you and the merchant to an intro call. This call is a meet-and-greet for the teams. It’s also a learning session intended to demystify the SRA process and set expectations about team responsibilities, deliverables, and timeline. A successful site delivery starts with this call.
Specification Review
Once everyone is up to speed on the SRA process, it’s time to start the reviews. Up first, the specification review—or spec review for short. We split the spec review into two phases: the functional review and the technical review.
Functional Review
The functional review evaluates how the site works from the user’s perspective—the custom features, their behavior, and how the user can impact their behavior. The SRA team’s functional architect performs the functional review, which includes a thorough assessment of:
- Annotated wireframes
- Functional specifications
- Site-setup strategy
- Search engine optimization (SEO) requirements
- Promotions and marketing logic
- Data model
- Business Manager permissions
Technical Review
The technical review analyzes your precise technical implementation details. The SRA team’s technical architect gives an in-depth assessment of the project’s:
- Overall solution architecture
- System integration and data architecture
- Implementation approach
During the reviews, the technical and functional architects enter their questions, comments, and requests in the SRA workbook. Take all requested actions and, where appropriate, enter your replies in the SRA workbook.
Required Deliverables
To complete the spec review, the SRA team needs your:
- High-level project plan
- Functional specification document (FSD)
- Technical specification document (TSD)
- Architecture diagrams
- Data model
- Load test plans
- Annotated wireframes
- Content inventory matrix
- SEO documentation
- Order management system specification (if not part of the FSD)
- List of site entry points and rendering templates
- Key performance indicators (KPIs)
As a partner, the SRA team is counting on you to deliver these documents on time at the start of the spec review process. If you expect a delay, tell us immediately. We understand and will help where we can.
Train to Improve
Once spec reviews are complete, it’s time for the launch readiness bootcamp (LRBC). The bootcamp is a 2–3 day workshop that prepares the merchant to launch and manage its B2C Commerce storefront. We typically conduct it 4 weeks before launch and we highly recommend that you attend it too!
Before LRBC, the merchant’s team must complete the Managing the Storefront Training (CCM101) course. This course teaches merchants and marketers how to use the Commerce Cloud Business Manager tools to manage catalogs, products, and promotions for a digital storefront. It‘s vital that the merchant team attend the training before the LRBC so they arrive prepared.
Prepare the Staging Environment
We conduct the LRBC using the staging environment. As the partner, it’s your job to fully prep the staging environment and configure SRA team member access before the start of the workshop. To closely mimic a production environment, the LRBC relies on merchant-provided production-ready catalog data and site content. It’s essential that you obtain this data from the merchant and upload it to staging before the workshop begins.
Validate the Storefront
While the Managing the Storefront training teaches merchants the standard Business Manager functionality, the LRBC is a customized workshop. It focuses on the specific use cases of an individual merchant and covers topics such as:
- Product setup
- SEO
- Search
- Content assets
- Sorting rules
- Campaign management
During the LRBC, our functional architect and the merchant review and finalize the site configuration and settings. The merchant gets hands-on with its new storefront and production-ready data. This is an opportunity for the merchant team members to put their Managing the Storefront Training skills into action. They review all the relevant Business Manager data such as product information, text, and promotion criteria. As they review, questions often arise. Our goal is to answer all their questions and prepare them for operational success.
Train Like a Merchant
As we mentioned, we highly recommend that you attend the LRBC. It’s an opportunity for you to help the merchant use the site you built. After all, your team knows the implementation better than anyone and is in the best position to help the merchant. It’s also a chance to receive their valuable feedback while they use the site. You get to showcase your knowledge and capabilities, and they benefit from the extra support.
While we’re in a recommending mood, we also encourage you to complete the CCM101 course. You’ll learn about the merchant’s approach to storefront management, gain insight into site usability, and discover potential enhancements. Plus, you might pick up a few new tricks along the way.
Both the LRBC and CCM101 can help you validate that your implementation meets the merchant’s needs. Take advantage of the additional opportunities to offer guidance, build trust, and shine.