Implementation Journey
Sensei IQ implementations follow a structured, proven process refined across hundreds of deployments. Here's what to expect from kickoff through go-live and beyond.
The Sensei Proven Process
Every engagement moves through four stages:
Technical Readiness → Deployment & Pilot → Solutions Tailoring → Ongoing ClientCare
Most organizations reach go-live within 8–12 weeks. The pilot phase is where the system starts to feel like yours — your projects, your data, your team.
Stage 1 — Technical Readiness
What happens: Your technical team prepares the Microsoft 365 environment before Sensei touches anything. This is the only prerequisite before deployment can begin.
You'll need to:
- Confirm Power Platform licensing is in place
- Create a dedicated Power Platform environment for Sensei IQ
- Set up a deployment account and grant the necessary consent
- Complete the Technical Readiness Questionnaire to confirm you're ready
Your Sensei Engagement Lead will support you through this — it's a collaborative process, not a solo checklist.
Who's involved: Your M365 administrator, your Sensei Engagement Lead.
Stage 2 — Deployment & Walkthrough
What happens: Once technical readiness is confirmed, a Sensei Deployment Engineer installs Sensei IQ in your environment. This includes the core solution, Power BI reports, and the Microsoft Teams app.
After deployment, your core team attends a 3-hour walkthrough — a hands-on orientation covering the system's main areas and how everything connects.
You'll receive:
- A working Sensei IQ environment with sample data loaded
- Access for your initial users
- A Power BI workspace with Sensei's standard reports
- The Sensei IQ app installed in Microsoft Teams
Who's involved: Your core team (sponsor, project manager, admin SME), your Sensei Deployment Engineer.
Stage 3 — Pilot Phase
What happens: The pilot is where your organisation's data and configuration replace the sample. Over roughly 8 weeks, Sensei works with your team to configure the system and load your first set of real projects.
Suggested timeline:
| Weeks | Focus |
|---|---|
| 1–2 | Project types, fields, forms; collaboration artifacts (issues, risks, etc.); Teams integration |
| 3–4 | External tool connections (Jira, Azure DevOps, Planner Premium, etc.); bookable resources |
| 5–6 | Governance lifecycle (business process flows); financial categories |
| 7–8 | Load 5–10 live projects; remove sample data; status updates; first Power BI reports |
Sensei will:
- Configure project types, forms, fields, and financial categories to match your process
- Load and configure bookable resources and enterprise calendars
- Connect your external execution tools using standard Sensei dataflows
- Guide your team as they begin using the system day-to-day
You'll deliver:
- Completed requirements workbooks (project types, execution tools, bookable resources)
- A list of 5–10 initial projects to load
- Access to your external tool environments
Who's involved: Your core team, your Sensei SME/CSM.
Stage 4 — Solutions Tailoring
What happens: After the pilot, most organizations engage Sensei's consulting team to extend and customize the system. This is scoped in your Statement of Work and typically includes a combination of:
- Solution Design & Implementation — custom fields, forms, views, and solution configuration
- Process & Automation — Power Automate flows for notifications, approvals, and governance
- Reporting — custom Power BI reports and dashboards tailored to your audience
- Integrations — connections to additional tools beyond the standard dataflows
- Migration — importing historical project and portfolio data
Consulting services are delivered in scoped blocks of hours. Your engagement lead will help you prioritize what to tackle first.
Ongoing — ClientCare
Once you're live, Sensei stays engaged through a standard ClientCare package:
- Unlimited Help Desk — raise tickets through the Sensei portal anytime
- Solution Updates — Sensei IQ updates are applied to your environment as part of your subscription
- Training Updates — access to updated eLearning content as the product evolves
- Quarterly Check-ins — regular calls with your Sensei account team to review adoption and plan ahead
- Maturity Assessments — periodic reviews to identify opportunities to get more value from the system
Your Core Team
A successful Sensei IQ deployment depends on having the right people engaged from day one:
| Role | Responsibility |
|---|---|
| Sponsor / Champion | Sets the vision; makes decisions; drives adoption |
| Project Manager | Manages the schedule, risks, and action items |
| Business Analyst | Defines processes and governance; supports testing |
| Application SME / Administrator | Learns Sensei IQ deeply; manages the system ongoing |
| M365 Administrator | Handles licensing, users, security groups, and technical readiness |
Ready to get started?
Review the Technical Readiness requirements to understand what your environment needs before deployment begins.