I actually provided feedback to Matt Furlong on Monday, but there were a few key things -
The admin (at least the primary, but all would be best) MUST take at least the first 4 training classes (previously "Fundamentals", "Work Mgmt", "Resource Mgmt", and the "Admin" class - the regular one, not the advanced yet - that should come at the 6 month or so mark).
This knowledge helped us speak more intelligently to our consultants and helped us guide the discussions on how our business units work processes flowed.
We identified a representative from each work group - we called them "Power Users" or "Super Users" - to come to the meetings with the consultant. They had the responsibility to gather feedback from their groups and bring it to the pilot team - as well as sharing any discussion outcomes with thier groups directly.
The consultants leading dicussions on work processes with our Power Users was eye-opening. We had tried to gather workflows ahead of time and thought we were ahead of the game - the consultants asked all the right questions, pulling on the loose thread of "it depends" to get to the real answer of the WHOLE picture. They mapped it out nicely in a Visio (or something like it) that made complete sense to everyone.
After the initial processes were mapped, we discussed reporting views. Due to the number of users, we didn't want everyone creating their own reports. That was actually part of the reason for a consolidated tool - one version of the truth! The consultants went through various options with us and we started out with have been tweaked over time based on user requests, but having something to build off of truly helped.
Lastly - to be successful, a company or new business unit on an existing instance must let the consultant actually consult. The consultants are there to find out how you work so they can tailor the setup to your needs.
