Start at the end and work backwards.
Clearly define and communicate what end business results the implementation must deliver. Then work back from there to plan, design, and deliver to only meet these goals. On an execution level, three imperatives surface. First, test early for strong executive sponsorship and stop the project if it is not present. If it is not present, there likely is not a compelling enough business reason for the project to survive.
Second, determine what the customer/field users need and stay focused on providing only these functions. Control the scope in order to reach the end state.
Finally, build superior business analysis skills in both the IT and business areas in order to be able to effectively define what is needed and how it must work.
