Chapter 3. Conceptualizing the CRM Design from Business Requirements

With most CRM solutions, you get what you get, but with the right design, you will get what you need. Design is the intentional creation of a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system, or for the implementation of an activity or process. Design can refer to a drawing or other document, or to a created object and the features of it, whether they are aesthetic, functional, economic, or sociopolitical.

In this chapter, we're going to cover the CRM design elements that are driven by business requirements, including:

• Processes
• Applications
• Data
• Security
• Integration
• Deployment decisions

We will walk through the process of design and along the way, I'll recommend some straightforward tools that could help you to manage the process. This chapter will provide you with a comprehensive overview of the high-level design elements that I will make reference to throughout the rest of the book.