Opening of Proposals - Utility Billing System - North Star Utilities Solutions - Part 1

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NORTHISTAR- • Implementation and rollout strategy • Communication and Change Management Plan The Project Plan is the primary deliverable of the Planning and Scoping Phase that documents the milestones and deliverables identified during the Project Planning Session. It includes a detailed project schedule, identifies the resource requirements, outlines the project management processes to be followed throughout the implementation, and forms the baseline upon which the project's performance is measured. It's in this phase that we help the customer finalize their Customer Information System Solution Requirements using NorthStar Utilities Solutions requirements templates and NorthStar Utilities Solutions interview guides. NorthStar Utilities Solutions can also help the customer in its selection of a Customer Information System solution and provide a recommendation. This is performed using NorthStar Utilities Solutions' Solution Selection Tools and Methodology. The major activity during the Planning & Scoping phase is a weeklong on -site discovery workshop performed in South Bendlaboration with the City of Arlington. During this time, the respective project managers will review critical project planning deliverables and agree on a path forward. At the same time NorthStar and Arlington technical teams will perform an on -site discovery of current processes and environments in place in order to develop function and technical solutions utilizing the NorthStar software. The Planning and Scoping Phase also includes the development of a Change Management and Communication Plan. It is important to communicate the new system's value proposition to the organization, and to ensure that all users are properly prepared for the impact of a new system on their day to day activities. The communication plan also provides for ongoing updates to keep the user community informed on the projects progress throughout the project lifecycle. NorthStar Utilities Solutions Consultants play an active role throughout the entire implementation, and are the primary contacts until support responsibilities are transitioned to the Client Customer Information System Help and Support Desk in a later stage within the implementation. NorthStar Utilities Solutions Consultants facilitate implementation activities while working hand -in -hand with the organization's CIS project team to ensure a successful implementation. Phase Two: Design In this phase, NorthStar Utilities Solutions Consultants will be focusing on the development of the Solution Design Workbook. This workbook, when completed outlines all aspects of the solution design. The Solution Consultants provide product review covering core CIS functionality to the organization's project team. The Functional Analysts work with the customer's project team and other stakeholders to analyze and refine the business processes that are impacted by the CIS. Throughout a series of analysis and design sessions focused on each functional area, a baseline NorthStar Utilities Solutions configuration is defined to support the organization's business processes. In each session, NorthStar Utilities Solutions Consultants lead the organization's project team through actual scenarios presenting business process best practices and configuration options. Each session addresses CIS functionality focused on a business function, but also includes a review of CIS cross -functional tools, such as Knowledge Management, Performance Management, Workflow Management, and Reporting Tools. The agenda for each design session is typically composed of the following steps: • Review client's existing business processes NorthStar Proposal Response —South Bend Indiana