Beyond the Selection: The PSA Implementation Playbook

Success starts with the right people in the room. When your team is encouraged to join the conversation from day one, they’ll feel empowered to make decisions and take ownership of the process — leading to smoother PSA selection and implementation. 

But building the right team isn’t just something to tick off your “to-do” list. It’s one of the key factors in a successful implementation. 

Here are the core roles to add to your project team: 

• Executive Sponsor: This leader needs to do more than approve budgets. They must advocate for change, attend key meetings, and help navigate resistance.
• Decision-Maker: This person serves as the tie-breaker and the voice of authority. They must absorb input from stakeholders and make final calls quickly and confidently.
• Dedicated SMEs: These are the people who’ll likely be using your PSA tool the most, so their input is essential. Your subject matter experts (SMEs) should be hands-on and prioritized accordingly.
• Technical Admin: Consider these your PSA selection and implementation MVPs. Involving your tech or IT team from the get-go ensures you choose a solution that fits seamlessly into your existing tech stack and aligns with your security protocols. 

“Every organization has constraints. Particularly when I talk to teams, their IT department seems to have way more things that they can do than time to do it in. I think that’s why bringing them in early, getting their buy-in, getting their input, and understanding how big of a task this is going to be for them and then scheduling that out is really critical.”

– Austin Grigg, Co-Founder & CEO of Kalon Creative

Key Takeaway: Without this core team, progress stalls, priorities shift, and momentum fades. Build the team before you build the plan.

Your software only matters if your people actually use it. But your team will only use it if they  understand the purpose, the vision, and — most importantly — their role in making it work. Because change management is more than a communications strategy. It’s an adoption strategy.

“You can implement the greatest solution in the world, but if no one’s going to use it, then it’s a failure and you’ve wasted a lot of time and money. Don’t skimp on the change management.”

– Kurt Kilgore, Global VP of Professional Services at Kantata

Your strategy should include: 

• Communications Plan: You need to be able to articulate the story driving your change. Include what’s changing, why it matters, and how each team member will be supported.
• Training Plan: Training starts before your PSA goes live. If you wait, chaos can (and will) ensue. Use scenario-based learnings that mimic real-life challenges and responsibilities.
• Executive Support: Leaderships must do more than champion change. They need to model engagement and speak consistently about its value.

Key Takeaway: Many customers underestimate the cultural lift required to move off legacy tools. The more deliberate your plan, the smoother your ramp.

Testing is where theory meets reality — and is the only way to truly prove whether your new PSA supports the way your team actually works.

• Build test cases from end-to-end scenarios that reflect your actual needs
• Assign clear ownership and accountability for each test round
• Incorporate at least two full test cycles, with time for questions, feedback, and resolution between them

Key Takeaway: Use testing not only to validate configurations, but to drive user confidence. When testers feel heard, they become champions.

Your data is one of your most valuable assets, making accurate and efficient data migration a critical step in successful implementation. Data issues can lead to project delays, erode trust, and make accurate reporting impossible. If you underestimate this step, you’ll find yourself scrambling at the worst possible moments. 

To ensure a seamless data transfer, you need to:

• Know Your Data: What organizational structures currently exist? How consistent is your naming strategy? What information is critical to retain — and what no longer serves you?
• Clean It Early: The sooner you begin mapping, updating, and cleaning your existing data, the more confidence you’ll build in the new system.
• Include Edge Cases: Every org has its own unique use cases. If you don’t take the time to test them now, they’ll be more likely to break later.

Key Takeaway: Clean, structured data is a strategic asset. Invest accordingly.

A PSA should never be an isolated point system. It needs to work seamlessly with your systems as part of your overall organizational ecosystem. That’s why integration planning should happen early and include long-term scalability considerations.

To get the most value from your PSA: 

• Use middleware where feasible to future-proof integrations and simplify updates
• Identify and engage system owners or 3rd-party partners involved in key workflows
• Clarify who sends what to whom, and how those exchanges are validated

Key Takeaway: An interface without a clear owner is a liability. Build integrations like you expect them to last.

“As you’re implementing a new piece of software, there’s so many things that are happening. You’re getting it set up correctly. You’re making sure that people are getting trained and you’re creating materials, but you can’t forget about the integrations and how that’s fitting into the overall picture.”  

– Austin Grigg, Co-Founder & CEO of Kalon Creative

If your old processes aren’t delivering as much value as they could be, it’s time to rethink your approach. Rather than trying to recreate broken or inefficient workflows, use your implementation to make meaningful changes to the ways you work — and the outcomes you achieve. 

To get started, consider the following steps: 

• Define the problems you’re solving before building out functionality
• Prioritize capabilities that unlock outcomes, not features that look good on demos
• Measure success in terms of business results, not software deployment milestones

Key Takeaway: Successful teams embrace change not as a burden, but as a lever.

Implementing a PSA offers an opportunity for your organization to elevate and scale your work, rather than an obstacle to overcome. Yes, the process will test your alignment, your processes, and your clarity of purpose. 

But we promise it will be worth it. Because with the right preparation, you’ll experience meaningful results and open the path to successful growth and sustainability. 

Kantata has helped hundreds of organizations navigate this journey. We know the points of friction, the decision-making hurdles — and the milestones that matter most. And we know how to guide your team through them.

Let’s take the next step. Together.

Looking for more? Check out Kantata’s PSA Buyer’s Guide to PSA for the low-down on choosing the right PSA solution for your business.