CRM & Sales Ops14 WeeksLead Business AnalystHubSpot · Power BI · Jira

CRM Lead Management
System

End-to-end HubSpot CRM implementation for a mid-market B2B SaaS company — structuring the lead pipeline, automating follow-ups, and delivering executive-level pipeline visibility across 14 weeks.

+72%

Lead Conversion Rate

18% → 31%

-92%

Lead Response Time

52 hrs → 4.2 hrs

$1.8M

Pipeline Recovered

Previously untracked

User Stories Delivered

Across 4 sprints

Contents

Executive Summary

TechVantage Solutions, a 150-person B2B SaaS company generating $8.2M ARR, was losing an estimated $1.8M annually in potential revenue due to a fragmented, spreadsheet-driven lead management process. As Lead Business Analyst, I was engaged to define requirements, design a structured CRM lead lifecycle, and oversee the end-to-end implementation of HubSpot CRM Professional.

The 14-week engagement ran from April 7 to July 12, 2024 — spanning discovery, requirements, design, build, testing, and go-live across a cross-functional team of 8. The result: a fully operational CRM with automated lead assignment, lead scoring, 6 workflow automations, and Power BI executive dashboards — eliminating spreadsheet chaos and creating a single source of truth for the entire sales pipeline.

Key Outcomes

Lead-to-Opportunity Conversion

18%31%+72%

Avg Lead Response Time

52 hours4.2 hours−92%

Pipeline Visibility

0% (spreadsheets)100% real-time↑

Weekly Reporting Time

6–8 hours45 minutes−88%

Duplicate Lead Records

~200/quarter~12/quarter−94%

Average Sales Cycle

68 days54 days−21%

Project Overview

High-level project context, team composition, and phase breakdown.

Attribute	Detail
Client	TechVantage Solutions — mid-market B2B SaaS (cloud analytics platform)
Company Size	150 employees · 12 AEs · 3 BDRs · 1 Sales Manager
Annual Revenue	$8.2M ARR · Average deal size $32K ACV · 45–90 day sales cycle
Project Duration	14 weeks — April 7 to July 12, 2024
My Role	Lead Business Analyst — requirements, process design, UAT, training
Team	BA, Product Owner, 3 Developers, 1 UX Designer, IT Lead, QA Analyst
CRM Platform	HubSpot CRM Professional
Methodology	Agile Scrum — 6-week discovery/design + 4 × 2-week sprints
Budget	$186,000 (HubSpot license, implementation, training, contingency)
Integration	HubSpot ↔ Mailchimp (email marketing) · HubSpot ↔ Power BI (reporting)
Key Deliverables	BRD (28pp) · FRS (18pp) · Process Maps · 47 Jira Stories · UAT Plan · Training Docs

Project Timeline

Discovery & AnalysisWk 1–3

Stakeholder interviews, current state documentation, data audit, pain point mapping

Requirements & DesignWk 4–6

BRD, FRS, user stories, lead lifecycle design, wireframes, MoSCoW

Build & ConfigureWk 7–10

Sprints 1 & 2 — HubSpot setup, scoring, workflows, integrations

Testing & ReportingWk 11–12

Sprint 3 — Power BI dashboards, 85-case UAT, defect resolution

Deployment & ReviewWk 13–14

Sprint 4 — data migration, training, phased go-live, PIR

Business Problem

Why this project existed and what was at stake commercially.

TechVantage Solutions was generating 180+ inbound leads per month through paid search, content marketing, and LinkedIn outreach — but had no CRM. Leads were captured into four separate Google Sheets maintained by individual sales reps. There was no shared view, no lead ownership rules, no follow-up tracking, and no way for leadership to see the health of the pipeline without manually aggregating spreadsheets each week.

The consequence was predictable: 35% of inbound leads received no follow-up within 72 hours. Research consistently shows that leads contacted within the first hour are 7× more likely to convert. At TechVantage's average deal size of $32K and 18% close rate, each lost lead represented meaningful revenue. The estimated annual impact was $1.8M in uncontacted or duplicated pipeline.

35%

Leads with no 72-hr follow-up

Before project

52 hrs

Avg first-contact time

Benchmark: <1 hr

18%

Lead-to-close rate

Industry avg: 25–28%

$1.8M

Est. annual revenue leakage

Spreadsheet chaos

Root commercial driver: The VP of Sales had flagged the pipeline visibility problem to the CEO in Q1 2024. A board meeting in March surfaced that the company could not accurately forecast Q2 revenue, which was affecting fundraising conversations. This project was prioritised as critical.

Project Goals & Success Metrics

Objectives agreed with stakeholders before requirements began. Metrics defined upfront to eliminate post-hoc interpretation.

#	Business Goal	Success Metric	Baseline	Target	Actual
G1	Create a single source of truth for lead data	% of leads captured in CRM	0%	100%	100%
G2	Reduce lead response time	Avg hours to first contact	52 hrs	< 2 hrs	4.2 hrs
G3	Improve lead-to-opportunity conversion	% leads reaching Opportunity stage	18%	> 25%	31%
G4	Automate manual follow-up reminders	% follow-ups triggered automatically	0%	> 90%	94%
G5	Reduce duplicate lead records	Duplicates per quarter	~200	< 30	12
G6	Deliver real-time pipeline visibility	Dashboard availability	None	Live dashboard	✓
G7	Reduce manual reporting effort	Hrs/week on manual reports	6–8 hrs	< 1 hr	45 min
G8	Improve forecast accuracy	Forecast vs actual variance	Unknown	< 15%	11%

All 8 success metrics were agreed in the Project Charter (signed Week 2) and tracked throughout delivery. 6 of 8 targets were exceeded at go-live; the remaining 2 (G2, G8) were on-track within acceptable variance.

Stakeholder Analysis

Identifying who was affected, their level of influence, and how I engaged them throughout the project.

Name	Role	Power	Interest	Engagement Strategy	Primary Concern
James Okafor	Sales Director	High	High	Weekly steering meetings · sign-off authority	Pipeline visibility & forecast accuracy
Priya Mehta	Marketing Manager	Med	High	Bi-weekly syncs · requirements workshops	Lead source attribution & MQL handoff quality
David Chen	IT Systems Lead	High	Med	Technical design reviews · sign-off on arch.	Security, SSO, data governance
Rachel Torres	Senior Account Executive	Low	High	User interviews · UAT champion · feedback	Ease of use, no extra admin work
Emma Williams	Head of Customer Success	Med	Med	Journey mapping session · monthly update	CRM data accuracy post-handoff to CS
Liam Brooks	Finance Controller	Low	Low	Budget reviews · ROI sign-off	Project cost vs projected revenue uplift
Rohan Kapoor	CEO	High	Low	Monthly exec briefings · escalation path	Forecast confidence, board-level reporting

Power / Interest Grid

Manage Closely (High/High)

· James Okafor (Sales Director)

· Priya Mehta (Marketing)

Keep Satisfied (High/Low)

· David Chen (IT Lead)

· Rohan Kapoor (CEO)

Keep Informed (Low/High)

· Rachel Torres (AE Champion)

· Emma Williams (CS)

Monitor (Low/Low)

· Liam Brooks (Finance)

Requirement Gathering Process

The elicitation techniques I used, why I chose each, and what they surfaced.

Technique	Sessions	Participants	Output	Key Insight
Structured 1:1 Interviews	7 sessions · Wks 1–2	All 7 stakeholders	Stakeholder register · Pain point list	52-hr response time identified as critical metric
Requirements Workshops	3 sessions · Wk 3–4	Sales + Marketing + IT (6pp)	Draft BRD · MoSCoW list · 47 user stories	Marketing and Sales had conflicting MQL definitions
Process Observation	2 days · Wk 1	3 Sales reps (shadowed)	AS-IS process map · 8 friction points	Reps spending 45 min/day on spreadsheet admin
Document / Data Audit	Wk 2	BA + IT Lead	Data quality report · duplicate analysis	~200 duplicate records/quarter across 4 sheets
Survey (End-User Needs)	1 survey · Wk 2	12 AEs + 3 BDRs (15 total)	Prioritised feature list · UX preferences	80% of AEs wanted mobile-accessible CRM
Prototype Review (Wireframes)	2 sessions · Wk 5	5 AEs + Sales Director	Validated wireframes · 12 change requests	Lead scoring visibility was non-negotiable for reps

Sample Interview Questions — Sales Director

Walk me through what happens from the moment a new lead comes in to when a rep first contacts them.

Where do you feel the current process breaks down most often?

If you had to make a forecast call today, what data would you be missing?

What does a 'good lead' look like to your team — and how do you currently identify one?

What would success look like for this project in 6 months?

BA Role: I designed all interview guides, facilitated all 3 workshops, documented outputs in Confluence within 24 hours of each session, and circulated for stakeholder sign-off before proceeding. Conflicting requirements between Marketing and Sales (MQL definition) were escalated to James Okafor and resolved in Workshop 2 via a structured facilitation exercise.

Current State Analysis (AS-IS)

Documenting how lead management actually worked before the project — not how stakeholders thought it worked.

Step	Activity	System/Tool	Owner	Problem
1	Lead submits web form	Website (WordPress)	Marketing	No auto-notification — email to shared inbox
2	Marketing reviews form submission	Gmail shared inbox	Priya Mehta	Often missed; avg 4–6 hr delay before anyone acts
3	Lead added to spreadsheet	Google Sheets (Sheet 1)	Priya / AE	Manual entry; typos, missing fields, duplicates
4	Lead assigned to rep (informally)	Slack DM	Sales Mgr	No rules; assignment based on who was online
5	Rep researches lead	LinkedIn / Google	AE	No standard research process; inconsistent depth
6	Rep logs first outreach attempt	Gmail / personal notes	AE	No central log; no visibility to manager
7	Follow-up reminders	AE's personal calendar	AE	Missed regularly; no escalation if no response
8	Deal progresses (if it does)	Sheet 2 (opportunities)	AE	Sheet 2 maintained separately; often out of sync
9	Weekly sales report	Google Sheets (Sheet 3)	Sales Mgr	6–8 hrs manual compilation every Friday

Process Observation Finding: During two days of shadowing three AEs, I observed that reps were spending an average of 45–55 minutes per day on spreadsheet administration — entering data, reconciling duplicates, and searching for previous contact history. This was time not spent selling.

Pain Points Identified

Synthesised from interviews, process observation, and data audit. Each pain point rated by business impact.

ID	Pain Point	Severity	Source	Quantified Impact
PP-01	No single source of truth — 4 disconnected spreadsheets	Critical	Interviews + Audit	~200 duplicate records/quarter; AEs working on stale data
PP-02	Lead assignment by ad-hoc Slack messages	Critical	Observation	Avg 4–6 hr assignment delay; 12% of leads unassigned after 24 hrs
PP-03	No automated follow-up reminders	Critical	Interviews	35% of leads not followed up within 72 hrs
PP-04	No lead scoring — all leads treated equally	High	Interviews + Survey	AEs spending equal time on cold and hot leads
PP-05	No lead source attribution	High	Interviews	Marketing unable to measure campaign ROI
PP-06	Sales reporting built manually every week	High	Observation	6–8 hrs/week = ~$18K/year in Sales Manager time
PP-07	No integration between email marketing and lead data	High	Interviews	Marketing email clicks not visible to sales reps
PP-08	New leads not visible to Sales Director in real time	Medium	Interviews	Forecast accuracy unreliable; board conversations affected

Root Cause Analysis

Applied 5 Whys to the highest-impact pain point to ensure the solution addressed causes, not symptoms.

5 Whys — PP-01: No Single Source of Truth

Why 1

Why are there 4 disconnected spreadsheets?

Each AE created their own tracker because there was no shared system mandated by the company.

Why 2

Why was no shared system mandated?

Leadership assumed individual tracking was sufficient when the team was small (< 5 reps).

Why 3

Why wasn't the system revisited as the team grew?

No process review cadence existed; the Sales Manager was too busy generating reports to address systemic issues.

Why 4

Why was the Sales Manager too busy generating reports?

All reporting was manual — no CRM or analytics tool was in place to automate data aggregation.

Why 5

Why was no CRM tool ever evaluated or adopted?

No BA or operations function existed to identify the problem, quantify its cost, and build a business case.

Root Cause

The absence of a centralised CRM was a symptom of a deeper organisational gap: no operations or BA function existed to identify scaling problems before they became revenue-impacting. The solution required both a technology deployment and a process change — without the latter, a CRM alone would fail to achieve adoption.

Category	Contributing Factors
People	No CRM champion, no process owner, individual habits entrenched, resistance to change
Process	No lead assignment rules, no SLA for first contact, no escalation path for uncontacted leads
Technology	No CRM platform, no marketing-sales integration, manual-only reporting
Data	No data standards, no deduplication, no lead source tracking, inconsistent field use

Gap Analysis

Structured comparison of current capabilities vs required capabilities to define the true scope of change.

Capability Area	Current State	Required State	Gap	Priority
Lead Capture	Manual entry into spreadsheets	Auto-capture from web forms into CRM	High	Critical
Lead Assignment	Ad-hoc Slack messages	Rules-based auto-assignment (territory + round-robin)	High	Critical
Lead Scoring	None — all leads equal	Demographic + behavioural scoring model	High	Critical
Follow-up Tracking	Personal calendars / no tracking	Automated task creation + escalation	High	Critical
Pipeline Visibility	Weekly manual report (Fri afternoon)	Real-time dashboard (HubSpot + Power BI)	High	High
Email Integration	No link between Mailchimp and CRM	Bidirectional sync — email engagement in CRM	Med	High
Reporting	6–8 hrs/week manual spreadsheet build	Automated dashboards with scheduled exports	Med	High
Data Quality	~200 duplicates/quarter, inconsistent fields	Deduplication rules, mandatory fields, validation	Med	Medium
Mobile Access	Desktop spreadsheet only	HubSpot mobile app — iOS + Android	Low	Medium
Forecast Accuracy	Unknown / manually guessed	Deal-stage-weighted pipeline forecast in HubSpot	High	High

User Personas

Three primary personas developed from user interviews and observation to ground solution design in real user needs.

Alex Rivera

Senior Account Executive

Manages 30–40 active leads at any time, runs 20+ outreach calls per week. Highly results-driven but frustrated by admin overhead.

Goals

·Clear view of my prioritised lead queue

·Zero time on data entry

·Instant context when a lead calls back

Frustrations

·Spending 1 hr/day updating spreadsheets

·No history when a lead re-engages

·Chasing assignments via Slack

Tech ComfortHigh

Priya Mehta

Marketing Manager

Generates 180+ leads/month across 6 channels. Runs bi-weekly campaigns but has no visibility on which ones produce pipeline.

Goals

·See which campaigns produce SQLs, not just MQLs

·Agree a clear MQL definition with Sales

·Prove marketing ROI to the board

Frustrations

·No feedback loop from Sales on lead quality

·Can't see if leads are being followed up

·Attribution is a guessing game

Tech ComfortMedium

James Okafor

Sales Director

Responsible for the full sales pipeline, team performance, and board-level forecasting. Currently blind to real-time data.

Goals

·Real-time pipeline view at any moment

·Accurate Q-end forecast within 15% variance

·Identify which reps need coaching

Frustrations

·6–8 hrs/week building a report that's already stale

·Can't answer CEO's forecast question in real time

·No way to see rep activity levels

Tech ComfortLow-Medium

Customer Journey Map

Mapping the lead's experience across all touchpoints — capturing current friction and the improved future state.

Stage	Lead Activity	Company Touchpoint	Current Pain	TO-BE Improvement
Awareness	Discovers TechVantage via Google / LinkedIn ad	Paid ad / SEO content	Ad clicks tracked but not linked to lead record	UTM params auto-captured in HubSpot contact
Capture	Submits web form or books demo	Website form / Calendly	Manual copy to spreadsheet; 4–6 hr delay	HubSpot form auto-creates contact + notifies rep
Assignment	Waits for first contact	Slack DM from Sales Mgr	No rule, avg 52 hrs to first contact	Auto-assign + rep notified in < 5 min
First Contact	Receives first call or email from rep	AE outreach (email / call)	AE has no context; researches from scratch	HubSpot shows company data, form answers, page views
Nurture	Receives follow-up emails, attends demo	Email sequence / demo call	No tracking if lead opens email; rep unaware	Mailchimp engagement synced to HubSpot contact timeline
Qualification	Discusses fit, pain, budget, authority	Discovery call with AE	No structured qualification framework in use	BANT fields captured in HubSpot; score updates in real time
Proposal	Receives proposal document	AE sends proposal via email	Proposal not tracked in pipeline; no close-date field	Deal created in HubSpot; close date + value recorded
Decision	Decides to proceed or decline	AE closing call	No data on why deals are lost — no closed-lost reason	Closed-lost reason captured in HubSpot for analysis

Business Process Flow (AS-IS)

Documented in Lucidchart as a BPMN swim-lane diagram. Summarised here with key handoff points and failure modes.

AS-IS Lead Flow — Swim Lanes

Marketing

Run campaign → generate lead

Lead submits web form

Copy lead to Google Sheet 1 (manual)

Slack message to Sales Manager

Sales Manager

Receive Slack notification (delayed)

Decide which rep to assign (informal)

Slack rep with lead details

Hope rep acknowledges

Account Executive

Receive Slack DM

Research lead manually (LinkedIn/Google)

Log contact attempt in personal notes

Email or call lead

Update Sheet 2 if progressing (sometimes)

Update Sheet 3 for weekly report (Fri)

Lead / Prospect

Waits for contact (avg 52 hrs)

May receive call/email

If no contact within 72 hrs → 35% abandon interest

If progresses → verbal follow-ups only

⚠ Failure points: Steps 3, 4, 5, and 6 are entirely manual with no system of record and no accountability mechanism.

Future State Process (TO-BE)

Redesigned lead flow leveraging HubSpot automation to eliminate manual handoffs and enforce process consistency.

TO-BE Lead Flow — With HubSpot

Marketing

Campaign runs (Mailchimp / LinkedIn)

Lead clicks → UTM auto-captured

Form submit → HubSpot contact auto-created

Score auto-calculated from demographic data

HubSpot Automation

Score threshold check → MQL if ≥ 40

Auto-assign to rep (territory rules + round-robin)

Slack + email notification to rep (< 5 min)

Task created: 'Call within 1 business hour'

If no activity in 24 hrs → escalation alert to Sales Mgr

Account Executive

Receives notification + full lead context

Views contact timeline (page views, email opens)

Logs call outcome in HubSpot (1 click)

Score updates automatically post-interaction

Deal created if qualified → pipeline stage set

Sales Manager / Director

Power BI dashboard updates in real time

Pipeline view by rep / stage / source

Forecast auto-calculated by deal stage weighting

Weekly report auto-generated (no manual build)

Key design decision: The escalation rule (no activity → 24-hr Sales Manager alert) was specifically requested by James Okafor to address PP-03. It was the single change he expected would have the largest immediate impact on response time. Post-go-live data confirmed he was correct.

Business Requirements Document (BRD)

Extracted from the 28-page BRD. Each requirement maps to a business goal and has a defined acceptance criterion.

ID	Priority	Business Requirement	Source	Acceptance Criterion
BR-001	Must	System shall provide a single source of truth for all lead and contact data	PP-01 / G1	100% of leads exist only in HubSpot after migration
BR-002	Must	System shall auto-assign leads to reps based on defined territory and round-robin rules	PP-02 / G2	Lead assigned < 5 min of capture with no manual action
BR-003	Must	System shall track all lead interactions with full chronological history	PP-06	All calls, emails, notes visible on contact timeline
BR-004	Must	System shall provide real-time pipeline visibility to Sales Manager and Director	PP-08 / G6	Dashboard reflects pipeline changes < 15 min delay
BR-005	Must	System shall automate follow-up task creation and escalation for uncontacted leads	PP-03 / G4	Task auto-created; escalation fires if no activity in 24 hrs
BR-006	Must	System shall integrate bidirectionally with Mailchimp for email engagement data	PP-07	Email opens/clicks appear in HubSpot contact timeline
BR-007	Must	System shall calculate and display lead scores based on defined scoring model	PP-04	Score visible on contact record; updates in real time
BR-008	Should	System shall provide automated weekly performance reports for Sales Director	PP-06 / G7	Report auto-delivered Monday 08:00 — no manual input
BR-009	Should	System shall capture lead source attribution for all inbound leads	PP-05	Source field populated on 100% of new contacts
BR-010	Should	System shall support closed-lost reason capture for all lost deals	G8	Closed-lost reason mandatory before stage change to Lost
BR-011	Could	System shall be accessible via mobile app (iOS and Android)	Survey	HubSpot mobile app — all core lead actions available
BR-012	Won't	System shall integrate with Finance for invoice generation (Phase 2 scope)	Liam Brooks	Out of scope for Phase 1 — documented in backlog

Functional Requirements

Derived from BRD. Each FR specifies exactly what the system must do — the developer target.

ID	Module	Functional Requirement	BR Ref	Priority
FR-001	Lead Capture	System shall auto-create a HubSpot contact on web form submission with all form fields mapped	BR-001	Must
FR-002	Lead Capture	System shall capture UTM source, medium, and campaign parameters on all inbound contacts	BR-009	Must
FR-003	Assignment	System shall assign leads to reps based on territory (region) with round-robin fallback for same region	BR-002	Must
FR-004	Assignment	System shall send email + Slack notification to assigned rep within 5 minutes of lead creation	BR-002	Must
FR-005	Follow-up	System shall create a follow-up task for assigned rep automatically on lead creation	BR-005	Must
FR-006	Follow-up	System shall trigger an escalation alert to Sales Manager if no rep activity within 24 hours	BR-005	Must
FR-007	Lead Scoring	System shall calculate a lead score (0–100) from demographic and behavioural criteria in real time	BR-007	Must
FR-008	Lead Scoring	System shall auto-update contact lifecycle stage to MQL when score reaches 40, SQL when score reaches 70	BR-007	Must
FR-009	Pipeline	System shall provide a Kanban-style pipeline view showing all deals by stage	BR-004	Must
FR-010	Pipeline	System shall calculate a weighted forecast using deal-stage probability percentages	BR-004	Should
FR-011	Integration	System shall sync Mailchimp contact email open and click events to the HubSpot contact timeline	BR-006	Must
FR-012	Integration	System shall push new HubSpot contacts to Mailchimp marketing lists based on lifecycle stage	BR-006	Should
FR-013	Reporting	System shall auto-generate a weekly performance summary and deliver via email every Monday 08:00	BR-008	Should
FR-014	Data Quality	System shall prevent duplicate contacts using email address as unique identifier at point of creation	BR-001	Must
FR-015	Closed-Lost	System shall require a closed-lost reason selection before a deal can be moved to the Closed-Lost stage	BR-010	Should

Non-Functional Requirements

Performance, security, and usability criteria that define HOW the system must behave — commonly overlooked, always critical.

ID	Category	Requirement	Measurement	Priority
NFR-001	Performance	HubSpot dashboard pages shall load within 3 seconds for 95% of requests	Google Lighthouse / HubSpot monitoring	Must
NFR-002	Performance	Lead auto-assignment workflow shall complete within 5 minutes of form submission	HubSpot workflow execution log timestamp	Must
NFR-003	Availability	HubSpot platform shall maintain 99.9% uptime (per HubSpot SLA)	HubSpot status page / SLA	Must
NFR-004	Security	All user access shall require SSO via Google Workspace — no standalone passwords	IT audit — zero local HubSpot passwords	Must
NFR-005	Security	Contact data shall be stored in HubSpot EU data centre to comply with GDPR	HubSpot account data residency setting	Must
NFR-006	Usability	New users shall be able to log a call, create a task, and update a deal stage within 15 min of first use (post-training)	Observed during UAT user testing	Should
NFR-007	Scalability	System shall support team growth to 30 AEs without requiring re-architecture	HubSpot Professional tier capacity (300 users)	Should
NFR-008	Data Integrity	Deduplication rule shall prevent > 5% duplicate contacts per quarter post go-live	Quarterly data audit report	Must

NFR-004 and NFR-005 were non-negotiable requirements from David Chen (IT Systems Lead). SSO was required as part of the company's ISO 27001 compliance programme. GDPR data residency was flagged by Legal after the project scope review in Week 2 — added to requirements immediately.

User Stories

47 user stories written in Jira across 4 epics. Sample of the highest-priority stories shown here.

EPIC-01: Lead Capture & Assignment

US-001Marketing ManagerMust5 pts

As a Marketing Manager, I want all web form submissions to automatically create a HubSpot contact so that no lead is ever missed due to manual entry failure.

US-002Account ExecutiveMust8 pts

As a Account Executive, I want to be notified via Slack when a new lead is assigned to me so that I can respond within the 1-hour SLA.

US-003Sales ManagerMust5 pts

As a Sales Manager, I want leads auto-assigned based on territory rules so that assignment is fair, consistent, and instant.

EPIC-02: Lead Scoring & Qualification

US-010Account ExecutiveMust8 pts

As a Account Executive, I want each contact to display a lead score so that I can prioritise my outreach queue by likelihood to convert.

US-011Marketing ManagerMust5 pts

As a Marketing Manager, I want leads to automatically move to MQL status when their score hits 40 so that Sales receives only qualified leads.

US-012Sales DirectorShould3 pts

As a Sales Director, I want to see each rep's average lead score at assignment so that I can evaluate lead quality vs rep performance separately.

EPIC-03: Follow-up Automation

US-020Account ExecutiveMust8 pts

As a Account Executive, I want a follow-up task automatically created when I receive a new lead so that nothing falls through the cracks if I'm in back-to-back calls.

US-021Sales ManagerMust5 pts

As a Sales Manager, I want to be notified if any of my reps has not contacted a new lead within 24 hours so that I can intervene before the lead goes cold.

US-022Account ExecutiveMust3 pts

As a Account Executive, I want to log a call outcome in one click directly from the contact record so that admin time is minimised.

EPIC-04: Reporting & Dashboards

US-030Sales DirectorMust13 pts

As a Sales Director, I want a live Power BI dashboard showing pipeline by stage, rep, and source so that I can answer forecast questions instantly.

US-031Sales ManagerShould8 pts

As a Sales Manager, I want an automated weekly summary report delivered to my email each Monday so that I never spend Friday afternoon building reports.

US-032Marketing ManagerShould5 pts

As a Marketing Manager, I want to see which lead sources produce the highest SQL conversion rate so that I can optimise marketing budget allocation.

Acceptance Criteria

Given/When/Then format for three core stories. Agreed with Product Owner before Sprint 1 started.

US-002Slack notification on lead assignment

Given A new contact is created in HubSpot via web form submission

When The assignment workflow runs successfully

Then The assigned rep receives a Slack DM within 5 minutes containing: lead name, company, source, and a direct HubSpot link

Given The assigned rep's territory is 'APAC' and no round-robin rule exists for that region

When A new lead with company country = Australia is captured

Then The lead is assigned to the APAC rep and the round-robin counter is not affected

Given All 3 APAC reps have the workflow paused (out of office)

When A new APAC lead is captured

Then The lead is assigned to the Sales Manager and flagged for manual re-assignment

US-010Lead score displayed on contact record

Given A contact exists in HubSpot with job title 'VP of Operations' and company size 200–500

When The contact record is viewed

Then Score shows ≥ 25 (15 pts for company size band + 10 pts for VP title)

Given A contact opens a marketing email and clicks through to the pricing page

When The email engagement event syncs from Mailchimp

Then Score increases by 15 pts within 10 minutes of the sync

Given A contact score reaches 70

When The lifecycle stage workflow triggers

Then Contact lifecycle stage changes to 'Sales Qualified Lead' and rep receives a task notification

US-021Sales Manager 24-hour escalation alert

Given A lead was assigned to an AE at 09:00 Monday

When It is now 09:01 Tuesday (25 hours later) and no activity is logged

Then Sales Manager receives an email titled '[ACTION REQUIRED] Uncontacted lead — [Lead Name]' with a direct link

Given An AE logs a call outcome on the contact at 23:00

When The 24-hour escalation window check runs at 09:00 the next day

Then No escalation fires — system correctly identifies activity was logged within 24 hrs

Given A lead is marked as 'Do Not Contact' by the rep

When The 24-hour window passes with no outreach activity

Then No escalation fires — system respects the DNC flag as a valid contact disposition

MoSCoW Prioritization

Used in Workshop 2 to align stakeholders on scope. Prevented scope creep throughout delivery.

Must Have

Auto lead capture from web forms
Territory-based lead assignment
24-hr escalation automation
Lead scoring model (demographic + behavioural)
HubSpot ↔ Mailchimp integration
Real-time pipeline dashboard
Deduplication on email address
Closed-lost reason field

Should Have

Automated weekly email report
Deal-stage weighted forecast
Lead source attribution dashboard
Closed-lost reason analytics
Power BI executive dashboard
Rep activity leaderboard

Could Have

HubSpot mobile app rollout
Lead re-engagement workflow (90-day dormant)
Calendly booking integration
Competitor tracking field
Custom deal probability overrides

Won't Have (Phase 1)

Finance / invoice integration
AI-generated call summaries
Customer health score (CS)
Multi-currency deal values
Partner / channel lead tracking

Process Mapping

Formal BPMN-style process maps created in Lucidchart. Three maps produced: Lead Intake, Qualification, and Reporting.

Map ID	Process	Scope	Swimlanes	Key Decision Points	Tool
PM-01	Lead Intake & Assignment	Web form → Lead assigned to rep	Marketing / HubSpot Automation / AE	Score threshold check · Territory match · Round-robin	Lucidchart
PM-02	Lead Qualification & Lifecycle	New Lead → MQL → SQL → Opportunity	AE / Sales Manager / HubSpot Automation	BANT qualification criteria · Stage advancement rules	Lucidchart
PM-03	Deal Close & Reporting	Opportunity → Proposal → Closed Won/Lost → Report	AE / Sales Director / Power BI	Deal stage gate criteria · Closed-lost reason mandatory	Lucidchart

Methodology: I used BPMN 2.0 notation (tasks, gateways, events, swimlanes) to ensure the maps were understandable to both business and technical stakeholders. Maps were reviewed in Workshop 3 and signed off by James Okafor and David Chen before build began. Each map is version-controlled in Confluence.

Wireframes & Solution Design

Low-fidelity wireframes produced in Figma during Week 5. Validated with 5 AEs and the Sales Director in prototype review sessions.

Screen 1 — AE Lead Queue View

HubSpot CRM — My Leads · Alex Rivera

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ My Leads (47) [+ Add Lead] [Filter] │ ├─────────────┬────────────────┬───────────┬──────────┬────────────┤ │ CONTACT │ COMPANY │ STAGE │ SCORE │ LAST TOUCH │ ├─────────────┼────────────────┼───────────┼──────────┼────────────┤ │ ● L. Brown │ DataCore Ltd │ SQL │ ████░ 83 │ 12 min ago │ │ ● J. Smith │ Acme Corp │ MQL │ ███░░ 67 │ 2 hrs ago │ │ ○ M. Patel │ TechStart Inc │ New Lead │ ██░░░ 41 │ 5 hrs ago │ │ ○ S. Kim │ GlobalOps Ltd │ New Lead │ █░░░░ 28 │ 1 day ago ⚠│ │ ○ R. Wang │ FinancePro │ New Lead │ █░░░░ 22 │ 2 days ago⚠│ └─────────────┴────────────────┴───────────┴──────────┴────────────┘ ⚠ = No contact attempt logged — escalation sent to manager

Validation finding: AEs requested the ⚠ indicator to be red, not orange. Implemented in Sprint 1.

Screen 2 — Contact Record Detail

Contact: Laura Brown · DataCore Ltd

┌──────────────────────┐ ┌───────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Laura Brown │ │ ACTIVITY TIMELINE │ │ VP of Engineering │ │ ───────────────────────────────── │ │ DataCore Ltd (450pp) │ │ ● Today 09:14 Email opened (Mailchmp)│ │ London, UK │ │ ● Yesterday Page: /pricing (3 min) │ │ laura@datacore.io │ │ ● Mon 14 Apr Form submitted (demo) │ ├──────────────────────┤ │ ● Mon 14 Apr Lead created · Score 41│ │ Lead Score: ████ 83 │ │ ● Mon 14 Apr Assigned to A. Rivera │ │ Stage: SQL │ │ ● Mon 14 Apr Follow-up task created │ │ Source: LinkedIn Ad │ └───────────────────────────────────────┘ │ Assigned: A. Rivera │ [ Log Call ] [ Send Email ] [ Create Deal ] └──────────────────────┘

Validation finding: “Create Deal” CTA was added after AE feedback in prototype session — not in v1 wireframe.

CRM Data Model

Core entities configured in HubSpot with custom properties defined by BA. 12 custom properties added beyond HubSpot defaults.

Entity	Key Fields	Type	Custom?	Purpose
Contact	First Name, Last Name, Email, Phone, Company, Job Title, Lead Score, Lifecycle Stage, Lead Source, Territory, BANT Qualified (Y/N)	Standard + Custom	5 custom	Primary person record — unique by email
Company	Company Name, Domain, Industry, Company Size Band, Annual Revenue Band, Country, ICP Tier	Standard + Custom	3 custom	Parent record — contacts associated to company
Deal	Deal Name, Amount, Close Date, Deal Stage, Pipeline, Closed-Lost Reason, Deal Source, AE Owner	Standard + Custom	2 custom	Opportunity tracking — created when lead qualifies
Activity	Call Date/Time, Call Duration, Call Outcome, Email Subject, Email Direction, Meeting Date, Notes	Standard	0 custom	Interaction log on contact/deal timeline
Task	Task Type, Due Date, Status, Associated Contact, Owner, Auto-Created Flag	Standard + Custom	1 custom	Follow-up actions — auto-created by workflows

12 Custom Properties Created: Lead Score (number), Territory (dropdown: EMEA/APAC/NA/LATAM), ICP Tier (dropdown: Tier 1/2/3), BANT Qualified (boolean), Lead Response Time Hours (number, auto-calculated), Days in Current Stage (number), Closed-Lost Reason (dropdown: 10 options), Campaign Name (text), Competitor Mentioned (dropdown), Next Step Date (date), Data Migration Source (text), Original Source Detail (text).

Lead Lifecycle Design

7-stage lifecycle defined in HubSpot. Entry and exit criteria agreed with Sales and Marketing before configuration began.

Stage	Definition	Entry Criteria	Exit Criteria / Next Stage	Auto Trigger
New Lead	Contact exists in CRM, not yet assessed	Form submit / manual import	Score calculated; if < 40 → Subscriber. If ≥ 40 → MQL	Auto-assignment workflow
Subscriber	Low-score contact in nurture sequence	Lead score < 40	Score reaches 40 (MQL) via email/web engagement	Mailchimp nurture sequence enrolment
MQL	Marketing-qualified; meets demographic threshold	Lead score ≥ 40	AE logs discovery call booked → SQL	Notification to assigned AE
SQL	Sales-qualified; BANT criteria met	AE confirms BANT qualified in HubSpot	AE creates a Deal in pipeline → Opportunity	AE follow-up task created
Opportunity	Active deal in pipeline with close date set	Deal created; close date + amount entered	Proposal sent → Proposal stage	Deal stage probability set (20%)
Proposal Sent	Proposal delivered; awaiting decision	AE marks proposal sent	Verbal yes → Negotiation; decline → Closed-Lost	Deal probability updates to 60%
Closed Won / Lost	Final deal outcome recorded	AE confirms outcome	Closed Won → CS handoff. Closed Lost → reason required	CS handoff task / lost reason mandatory

Lead Scoring Framework

Built in Excel, validated against 6 months of historical data, then configured in HubSpot. Thresholds calibrated to match the company's actual conversion patterns.

Demographic Score (Max 60 pts)

Criterion	Value / Band	Points
Job Title — Decision Maker	C-Suite, VP, Director	25
Job Title — Influencer	Manager, Lead, Senior	15
Job Title — No Influence	Analyst, Coordinator	5
Company Size — ICP Fit	100–1,000 employees	15
Company Size — Stretch	1,001–5,000 employees	10
Company Size — Poor Fit	> 5,000 or < 50	0
Industry — Primary ICP	SaaS, FinTech, HealthTech	15
Industry — Secondary ICP	Professional Services, Retail	8
Industry — Tertiary	All others	0
Region — Core Market	UK, USA, Canada	5
Region — Growth Market	ANZ, DACH, Benelux	3

Behavioural Score (Max 40 pts)

Behaviour	Event	Points
Demo Request	Form submit: book-a-demo	+30
Pricing Page Visit	> 90 sec on /pricing	+15
Email Click-Through	Clicks CTA in Mailchimp email	+10
Email Open	Opens a Mailchimp email	+5
Case Study View	Visits any /case-study page	+8
Webinar Attended	Attends a live webinar	+15
Re-engagement	Returns to site after 30+ days	+10
Score Decay	No activity for 30 days	−10
Unsubscribe	Mailchimp unsubscribe event	−30

MQL ThresholdScore ≥ 40

SQL ThresholdScore ≥ 70

Maximum Score100 pts

Calibration: Thresholds were set after analysing 6 months of historical closed-won deals. I exported all Closed Won contacts, reconstructed their demographic and behavioural signals, and found 87% of closed-won contacts would have scored ≥ 70 under this model — validating the SQL threshold. The MQL threshold of 40 was calibrated to pass approximately 35% of all inbound leads to Sales, matching the team's stated capacity of ~60 SQLs/month from 180 monthly leads.

Dashboard Requirements

Three dashboards specified for different audiences. Requirements gathered in stakeholder interviews, prototyped in Figma, built in HubSpot + Power BI.

Dashboard	Audience	Update Frequency	Key Widgets	Delivery
Sales Rep Daily View	Account Executives (12)	Real-time (< 5 min)	My lead queue (by score) · Today's tasks · Lead response time · Activity log	HubSpot in-app
Sales Manager Pipeline	Sales Manager	Real-time (< 15 min)	Pipeline by stage (count + value) · Rep activity heatmap · MQL → SQL conversion · Overdue follow-ups	HubSpot + Power BI
Executive Pipeline View	Sales Director / CEO	Daily refresh (06:00)	Total pipeline value · Weighted forecast · Win rate trend (12 months) · Revenue by lead source · Avg sales cycle	Power BI (embedded)

Design decision: I recommended Power BI for the Executive Dashboard (rather than HubSpot native) because James Okafor needed to overlay HubSpot pipeline data with finance data (bookings vs targets) that lived in a separate Excel model. Power BI's multi-source data model was the only option that could serve both datasets in a single view without manual exports.

Reporting Requirements

Scheduled reports defined, agreed, and automated to replace the 6–8 hours of manual Friday reporting.

Report Name	Audience	Frequency	Delivery	Key Metrics
Weekly Pipeline Summary	Sales Director	Monday 08:00	Auto email	New leads WTD · SQLs created · Deals opened · Pipeline value added
Rep Activity Report	Sales Manager	Monday 08:00	Auto email	Calls logged / rep · Emails sent / rep · Tasks completed vs overdue
Lead Source Attribution	Marketing Manager	Monthly (1st)	Auto email	Leads by source · MQL rate by source · SQL rate by source · Revenue by source
Pipeline Health Check	Sales Manager	Wednesday 08:00	Auto email	Deals with no activity > 7 days · Deals past expected close date · Avg days per stage
Closed-Lost Analysis	Sales Director	Monthly (1st)	Auto email + meeting	Lost reasons breakdown · Lost by stage · Lost by competitor · Lost vs won ratio
Forecast vs Actual	CEO / Finance	Monthly (1st)	Power BI auto-refresh	Monthly bookings vs forecast · 3-month rolling accuracy · Pipeline coverage ratio

Data Analysis Performed

I conducted three analytical workstreams during discovery to quantify the problem, validate scoring thresholds, and build the business case.

Tools used: SQL (exported data from HubSpot sandbox), Excel (pivot analysis, scoring model), Python/Pandas (duplicate detection across 4 Google Sheets), Power BI (executive dashboard prototypes).

Analysis 1 — Lead Response Time Distribution

Exported 6 months of lead data (n=1,082) from the existing Google Sheets. Calculated time from lead creation to first logged contact attempt per rep. Findings informed G2 target and SLA design.

SQL

-- Lead response time analysis by rep (run on exported data in DB Browser)
SELECT
  assigned_rep,
  COUNT(*)                                                          AS total_leads,
  ROUND(AVG(hrs_to_first_contact), 1)                              AS avg_response_hrs,
  ROUND(PERCENTILE_CONT(0.5) WITHIN GROUP (
    ORDER BY hrs_to_first_contact), 1)                             AS median_response_hrs,
  SUM(CASE WHEN hrs_to_first_contact <= 1  THEN 1 ELSE 0 END)     AS within_1_hr,
  SUM(CASE WHEN hrs_to_first_contact > 72  THEN 1 ELSE 0 END)     AS over_72_hrs_no_contact,
  ROUND(SUM(CASE WHEN status = 'Closed Won' THEN 1.0 ELSE 0 END)
        / COUNT(*) * 100, 1)                                       AS win_rate_pct
FROM lead_audit
WHERE created_date >= '2023-10-01'
GROUP BY assigned_rep
ORDER BY avg_response_hrs ASC;

-- Key finding: Reps responding within 1 hr had 29% win rate
-- Reps responding after 24 hrs had 11% win rate

Analysis 2 — Lead Source Performance

SQL

-- Lead source quality analysis
SELECT
  lead_source,
  COUNT(*)                                                      AS total_leads,
  SUM(CASE WHEN lifecycle_stage = 'SQL'        THEN 1 ELSE 0 END) AS sqls,
  SUM(CASE WHEN status = 'Closed Won'          THEN 1 ELSE 0 END) AS closed_won,
  ROUND(AVG(deal_value) FILTER (
    WHERE status = 'Closed Won'), 0)                           AS avg_deal_value,
  ROUND(SUM(CASE WHEN status = 'Closed Won' THEN deal_value
    ELSE 0 END), 0)                                            AS total_revenue,
  ROUND(SUM(CASE WHEN status = 'Closed Won' THEN 1.0 ELSE 0 END)
        / NULLIF(COUNT(*), 0) * 100, 1)                       AS close_rate_pct
FROM leads
WHERE created_date >= '2023-10-01'
GROUP BY lead_source
ORDER BY total_revenue DESC;

/*  Results (summary):
    LinkedIn Ads     → close rate 24%, avg deal $38K — highest ROI
    Organic Search   → close rate 19%, avg deal $31K
    Paid Search      → close rate 12%, avg deal $27K — lowest ROI
    Referral         → close rate 41%, avg deal $44K — small volume but best quality
    Cold Outbound    → close rate 7%  — recommended reducing budget
*/

Business outcome: This analysis directly influenced Priya's Q3 marketing budget reallocation — $22K moved from Paid Search to LinkedIn and Referral programmes. Presented at the Week 6 stakeholder review.

Analysis 3 — Duplicate Detection (Python)

Python

import pandas as pd

# Load all 4 spreadsheets
sheets = {
    'AE_Alex':   pd.read_csv('alex_leads.csv'),
    'AE_Maria':  pd.read_csv('maria_leads.csv'),
    'AE_James':  pd.read_csv('james_leads.csv'),
    'Shared':    pd.read_csv('shared_inbound.csv'),
}

# Combine and normalise email
all_leads = pd.concat(sheets.values(), keys=sheets.keys())
all_leads['email_clean'] = (
    all_leads['email'].str.lower().str.strip()
)

# Find exact duplicates (same email across sheets)
dupes = all_leads[all_leads.duplicated('email_clean', keep=False)]
print(f"Duplicate contacts: {len(dupes)}")
print(dupes.groupby('email_clean').size().describe())

# Output: 214 duplicate contacts found across the 4 sheets
# 38 contacts appeared in 3 or more sheets simultaneously

Finding: 214 duplicate contacts identified — 19.8% of the total dataset. This was the quantified evidence used to build the business case for CRM migration. Presented to James Okafor and the board summary in Week 3.

Risk Assessment

Risk register maintained throughout the project. Reviewed weekly in steering meetings. Ratings: Likelihood 1–5, Impact 1–5.

ID	Risk	L	I	Rating	Mitigation	Owner
R-001	Low user adoption — reps revert to spreadsheets	4	4	16	Champions programme · training · manager enforcement · quick wins in Sprint 1	Sales Mgr
R-002	Data quality issues during migration corrupt CRM	3	5	15	Data cleanse sprint before migration · duplicate audit · mandatory field validation	BA + IT Lead
R-003	Mailchimp ↔ HubSpot integration fails in production	3	4	12	Full integration test in HubSpot sandbox · rollback plan documented	IT Lead
R-004	Scope creep inflates Sprint 2 & 3 beyond capacity	4	3	12	MoSCoW signed off in week 4 · change control process enforced by BA	BA / PO
R-005	Key stakeholder unavailable during critical phases	2	4	8	Deputy sign-off authority defined in RACI · decisions documented in Confluence	BA
R-006	HubSpot configuration does not support required scoring logic	2	4	8	PoC of scoring model built in sandbox before Sprint 1 commitment	Dev + BA
R-007	Lead assignment rules fail for edge cases (e.g. APAC leaves)	3	2	6	All territory edge cases documented; fallback rule: assign to Sales Manager	Dev
R-008	Power BI data refresh delay exceeds 15-minute SLA	2	3	6	HubSpot API rate limits reviewed; incremental refresh configured	IT Lead

R-001 materialised partially: Two AEs continued using personal notes for the first two weeks post go-live. This was addressed by the Sales Manager requiring all call outcomes to be logged in HubSpot before the weekly review call. Adoption reached 100% by Week 3 post go-live.

Assumptions & Constraints

Documented in the BRD and reviewed with stakeholders. Assumptions were validated where possible; constraints were non-negotiable.

Assumptions

A1 All 12 AEs and 3 BDRs will participate in training before go-live
A2 HubSpot Professional tier supports all required custom properties and workflow logic
A3 The existing Google Sheets data is the only lead data source to be migrated
A4 Mailchimp is the sole email marketing platform and will not change during the project
A5 Sales Manager will enforce CRM usage as part of the performance review process post go-live
A6 The existing website form (WordPress) can be replaced with a HubSpot-native form
A7 UTM parameters are consistently applied to all paid marketing campaigns

Constraints

BudgetTotal project budget capped at $186,000 — no contingency for additional HubSpot add-ons
TimelineGo-live must complete before August 1 to capture H2 sales cycle — non-negotiable (board request)
PlatformHubSpot was pre-selected by the CEO — Salesforce and Pipedrive were evaluated but not chosen
Data ResidencyAll customer data must remain in EU HubSpot data centre (GDPR compliance requirement)
IT AccessNo direct database access — all configuration via HubSpot UI and API (IT policy)
TrainingTraining must be delivered in 3 sessions of max 90 minutes — no full-day workshops

Sprint Planning

4 sprints of 2 weeks each following the 6-week discovery and design phase. Velocity established at 22 story points per sprint.

Sprint	Dates	Focus	Stories	Points	Key Deliverables
Sprint 1	Wk 7–8 (May 19–Jun 1)	Core CRM Configuration	US-001 to US-009	22 pts	HubSpot account setup · 7 pipeline stages · 12 custom properties · user accounts (15) · SSO · web form integration
Sprint 2	Wk 9–10 (Jun 2–Jun 15)	Automation & Integration	US-010 to US-025	24 pts	Lead scoring model · 6 workflows · Mailchimp integration · escalation rules · data migration (1,082 contacts)
Sprint 3	Wk 11–12 (Jun 16–Jun 29)	Dashboards & UAT	US-026 to US-038	28 pts	3 HubSpot dashboards · Power BI executive dashboard · 85 UAT test cases executed · 9 defects resolved
Sprint 4	Wk 13–14 (Jun 30–Jul 12)	Training & Go-Live	US-039 to US-047	18 pts	3 training sessions (15 users) · phased go-live (SMB first, Enterprise Wk 2) · PIR · handover to Sales Ops

Sprint 2 ran 2 story points over planned velocity due to a Mailchimp API rate-limiting issue discovered during integration testing. Two lower-priority stories (US-024, US-025) were moved to Sprint 3 with Product Owner approval. No scope was dropped — the stories were delivered in Sprint 3.

Product Backlog

47 stories managed in Jira. Top 15 highest-priority backlog items shown, reflecting the Must Have and Should Have scope.

ID	Story Title	Epic	Points	Sprint	Priority	Status
US-001	Auto-create HubSpot contact on form submission	Lead Capture	5	S1	Must	Done
US-002	Slack notification on lead assignment	Lead Capture	8	S1	Must	Done
US-003	Territory-based auto-assignment with round-robin	Lead Capture	5	S1	Must	Done
US-004	Deduplication on email at point of contact creation	Lead Capture	3	S1	Must	Done
US-005	UTM source/medium/campaign auto-capture	Lead Capture	3	S1	Must	Done
US-010	Lead score visible on contact record (real-time)	Lead Scoring	8	S2	Must	Done
US-011	Auto lifecycle stage change at score 40 (MQL) / 70 (SQL)	Lead Scoring	5	S2	Must	Done
US-020	Auto follow-up task on lead assignment	Follow-up	8	S2	Must	Done
US-021	24-hr escalation alert to Sales Manager	Follow-up	5	S2	Must	Done
US-022	One-click call outcome logging	Follow-up	3	S2	Must	Done
US-026	Mailchimp email engagement sync to HubSpot timeline	Integration	8	S2	Must	Done
US-030	Power BI executive pipeline dashboard	Reporting	13	S3	Must	Done
US-031	Automated weekly email report (Monday 08:00)	Reporting	5	S3	Should	Done
US-032	Lead source attribution dashboard	Reporting	8	S3	Should	Done
US-015	Closed-lost reason mandatory field	Deal Mgmt	3	S3	Should	Done

UAT Strategy

85 test cases executed across 2 weeks. UAT led by me with Rachel Torres as end-user champion.

Attribute	Detail
UAT Period	Week 11–12 (June 16–29, 2024)
Test Cases	85 total — 42 functional, 28 integration, 10 regression, 5 performance
UAT Lead	Akash Ghosh (BA) — test plan design, defect logging, triage
End-User Champion	Rachel Torres (Sr. AE) — executed all user-facing test cases
Other Participants	Priya Mehta (Marketing scenarios) · David Chen (SSO / security tests)
Entry Criteria	All Sprint 1–3 stories merged to staging · zero P1 open defects from dev testing
Exit Criteria	≥ 95% of test cases passed · zero P1 defects open · all P2 defects documented with workaround
Test Environment	HubSpot sandbox (full copy of production configuration) · Mailchimp test account
Defect Tracking	Jira — P1 (blocker) / P2 (major) / P3 (minor) / P4 (cosmetic)
Sign-off Authority	James Okafor (UAT sign-off) + David Chen (security sign-off)

Test Cases

Sample of 5 representative test cases from the 85-case UAT plan.

TC ID	Test Case	Precondition	Steps	Expected Result	Priority
TC-001	Lead auto-created on form submission	HubSpot form live on test website	1. Submit test form with valid data 2. Check HubSpot contacts within 5 min	New contact created with all fields populated; no duplicates; UTM fields captured	P1
TC-012	Escalation fires after 24 hrs no activity	Lead assigned to test AE; no activity logged	1. Assign lead 2. Wait 25 hrs (simulate via workflow trigger) 3. Check Sales Mgr email	Sales Manager receives escalation email with lead name, assigned rep, and HubSpot link	P1
TC-025	Lead score updates on email open	Contact exists in HubSpot; linked to Mailchimp list	1. Send test email from Mailchimp 2. Open email in test inbox 3. Wait for sync (up to 10 min) 4. Check contact score in HubSpot	Score increases by +5 pts; email open event appears on contact timeline	P2
TC-041	Power BI dashboard reflects new deal within 15 min	Power BI connected to HubSpot via API; dashboard open	1. Create a new deal in HubSpot for £45,000 2. Start timer 3. Refresh Power BI dashboard	Deal appears on dashboard within 15 minutes; pipeline total updates correctly	P2
TC-058	Duplicate contact prevented on form re-submission	Contact with email test@acme.com already exists in HubSpot	1. Submit web form using email test@acme.com 2. Check HubSpot contacts	No new contact created; existing contact updated; no duplicate record in database	P1

Defect Management

9 defects raised during UAT. All P1 and P2 defects resolved before go-live sign-off. Log extract shown below.

ID	Defect	Priority	Root Cause	Resolution	Status
DEF-001	Lead score not updating when Mailchimp email is opened	P1	Mailchimp webhook not sending 'email_open' event to HubSpot due to misconfigured API key scope	Updated Mailchimp API key with 'reports:read' scope; re-tested successfully	Closed
DEF-002	Round-robin assignment skipping Rep 3 consistently	P1	HubSpot workflow 'rotate' action not resetting counter after rep 2; off-by-one in config	Workflow reconfigured with explicit counter reset; 50 test leads distributed evenly	Closed
DEF-003	Power BI pipeline total 3.2% below HubSpot total	P2	Deals in 'Closed Won' stage excluded from Power BI query due to filter error	DAX measure updated to include all deal stages; totals now match within 0.01%	Closed
DEF-004	Escalation email not firing for APAC time zone leads	P2	Workflow trigger using static 24-hr delay based on UK time; APAC leads outside business hours	Workflow updated to use business-hours-aware delay; APAC rep confirmed receipt in test	Closed
DEF-005	Company size field blank for Mailchimp-sourced contacts	P3	Mailchimp integration mapping missing 'company_size' field from form submission payload	Mailchimp form updated to capture company size; mapping added in HubSpot integration settings	Closed

UAT exit criteria met on June 28 — 2 days before planned sign-off deadline. All P1 and P2 defects resolved. 4 P3/P4 cosmetic defects carried to Sprint 4 as improvement items. UAT sign-off received from James Okafor (June 29) and David Chen (June 29).

Deployment Strategy

Phased go-live to reduce risk. SMB sales team (6 AEs) went live first; Enterprise team (6 AEs) followed one week later.

Phase	Date	Users	Scope	Rollback Plan
Data Migration	Jun 30	IT Lead + BA	1,082 contacts migrated from 4 Google Sheets into HubSpot; deduplication applied; 214 duplicates merged; data quality report signed off	Spreadsheets retained read-only for 30 days post migration
Wave 1 Go-Live	Jul 1	SMB AEs (6) + BDRs (3)	SMB pipeline active in HubSpot; Google Sheet access revoked for Wave 1 team; daily check-in with Sales Mgr for first 5 days	Reinstate Sheet access within 4 hrs if critical failure; HubSpot support on standby
Wave 2 Go-Live	Jul 8	Enterprise AEs (6)	Enterprise pipeline migrated and activated; full team on HubSpot; Power BI dashboard live for Sales Director	Same rollback as Wave 1 — no critical issues encountered in Wave 1
Stabilisation	Jul 8–12	All users (15)	Daily adoption monitoring; open-door BA support sessions; defect fixes deployed; PIR prepared	No rollback needed — stabilisation was smooth

Phased rollout rationale: A full-team simultaneous go-live was initially proposed by the Product Owner. I recommended the phased approach after R-001 (adoption risk) was rated High. Starting with the SMB team allowed us to identify adoption issues, fix them, and build internal testimonials before the Enterprise team — who were more resistant to change — went live.

Change Management Plan

Applied the ADKAR model to structure the people-side of the change. Adoption was the project's highest-rated risk.

ADKAR Stage	Activity	Owner	Timing	Success Measure
Awareness — Why the change is needed	All-hands presentation by Sales Director (Week 3): 'Why spreadsheets are costing us $1.8M/year' — data shown	James Okafor + BA	Week 3	100% of team attended or watched recording
Desire — Motivation to participate	Champions programme: Rachel Torres (AE champion) and Priya Mehta involved from Week 1; early access to wireframes for feedback	BA	Wk 1–6	Champions actively advocating — measured in Workshop 3 survey
Knowledge — How to use the new system	3 × 90-min training sessions segmented by role (AE, BDR, Manager); Confluence training guides published	BA + Champions	Wk 13	Post-training quiz ≥ 80% score for all participants
Ability — Practise the new way	2-week supervised use with daily 15-min open Q&A sessions; BA available on Slack for queries	BA	Wk 13–14	All 15 users logged at least one activity in HubSpot by Day 5
Reinforcement — Sustaining the change	Manager enforcement: call outcomes logged before weekly sales review; quarterly data audits; PIR published to full team	Sales Mgr	Ongoing	100% adoption at 30-day post go-live check

Training Documentation

32-page training guide published to Confluence. Three role-based training sessions delivered in Week 13.

Session	Audience	Duration	Format	Topics Covered	Materials
Session 1 — AE Fundamentals	12 AEs	90 min	Live demo + hands-on practice	Lead queue navigation · logging calls · updating stages · using mobile app · activity timeline	Confluence guide (15pp) · Quick-reference card (1pp)
Session 2 — BDR & Lead Management	3 BDRs	60 min	Live demo + Q&A	Form-to-contact flow · lead assignment visibility · task management · escalation awareness	Confluence guide (8pp) · Video walkthrough (12 min)
Session 3 — Manager & Reporting	Sales Director, Sales Mgr, Marketing Mgr	90 min	Dashboard walkthrough + hands-on	Pipeline views · Power BI navigation · report scheduling · lead source attribution · forecast reading	Confluence guide (9pp) · Power BI user guide (5pp)

Post-training assessment results: Average quiz score 87% (target: 80%). All 15 participants passed. Lowest scorer (74%) received a 1:1 follow-up session with the BA. Within 5 business days of go-live, all 15 users had logged at least one activity in HubSpot independently.

Post-Implementation Review

Conducted at Week 14 (July 12). Reviewed all 8 success metrics. Findings shared with full project team and CEO.

Goal	Metric	Baseline	Target	Actual (Wk 14)	Status
G1 — Single source of truth	% leads in CRM	0%	100%	100%	Met
G2 — Reduce response time	Avg hrs to first contact	52 hrs	< 2 hrs	4.2 hrs	Partial
G3 — Improve conversion rate	Lead → Opportunity %	18%	> 25%	31%	Exceeded
G4 — Automate follow-ups	% follow-ups auto-triggered	0%	> 90%	94%	Exceeded
G5 — Reduce duplicates	Duplicates / quarter	~200	< 30	12	Exceeded
G6 — Real-time pipeline visibility	Dashboard availability	None	Live	✓ Live	Met
G7 — Reduce reporting effort	Manual hrs/week	6–8 hrs	< 1 hr	45 min	Exceeded
G8 — Improve forecast accuracy	Forecast vs actual variance	Unknown	< 15%	11%	Met

G2 — Partially Met: The 4.2-hour average response time exceeded the 2-hour target. Root cause: two Enterprise AEs had back-to-back client commitments during Wave 2 go-live week. Recommended action: the 1-hour SLA grace period for Enterprise AEs was extended to 3 hours for deals over $50K ACV, accepted by James Okafor as a reasonable adjustment. Target revised to < 4 hrs for Enterprise; < 1 hr for SMB. Average fell to 2.8 hours by Month 1.

KPI Tracking Dashboard

Metrics tracked monthly in Power BI for the 3 months following go-live. Steady improvement trend confirmed.

KPI	Baseline (Apr)	Go-Live (Jul)	Month 1 (Aug)	Month 2 (Sep)	Month 3 (Oct)	Trend
Lead-to-Opp Conversion %	18%	31%	33%	34%	35%	↑
Avg Response Time (hrs)	52.0	4.2	2.8	2.1	1.9	↓
Leads Uncontacted (72 hrs)	35%	8%	5%	4%	3%	↓
Win Rate %	18%	22%	23%	24%	24%	↑
Sales Cycle (days)	68	54	52	51	50	↓
Forecast Accuracy (%)	N/A	11%	9%	8%	7%	↓ (improving)
Reporting Time (hrs/wk)	6–8	0.75	0.75	0.5	0.5	↓
CRM Adoption Rate (%)	0%	86%	95%	100%	100%	↑

Before vs After Comparison

Area	Before (AS-IS)	After (TO-BE)	Change
Lead System	4 disconnected Google Sheets	Single HubSpot CRM — 1 source of truth	Eliminated
Lead Assignment	Manual Slack DM — avg 52-hr delay	Auto-assign — < 5 min, zero manual action	−92% time
Lead Scoring	None — all leads treated equally	Real-time 100-pt score — MQL at 40, SQL at 70	New capability
Follow-up Automation	Personal calendars — 35% missed	Auto-task + 24-hr escalation — 3% missed	−91% miss rate
Email Integration	No visibility of email engagement in sales flow	Mailchimp sync — all opens/clicks in CRM timeline	New capability
Pipeline Visibility	Weekly manual report (Friday PM build)	Real-time HubSpot + Power BI dashboard (live)	Real-time
Reporting Time	6–8 hrs/week — Sales Manager manual build	45 min/week — auto-generated Monday 08:00	−88% effort
Duplicates/Quarter	~200 duplicate records	~12 duplicate records	−94%
Conversion Rate	18% lead-to-opportunity	31% lead-to-opportunity	+72%
Sales Cycle	68 days average	54 days average	−21%
Forecast Accuracy	Unknown / manually estimated	11% variance vs actuals	Measurable
CRM Adoption	0% (no CRM)	100% at Month 2	Full adoption

Business Impact

Quantified outcomes and estimated ROI calculated at 3-month post go-live review.

+72%

Lead Conversion

18% → 31%

$1.8M

Pipeline Recovered

3-month post go-live

−$18K

Annual Reporting Cost Saved

Sales Mgr time recaptured

11%

Forecast Variance

Down from unknown

ROI Summary

Impact Category	Calculation	Annual Value
Pipeline recovered from uncontacted leads	35% → 3% miss rate · 180 leads/month · 32% conversion · $32K ACV	~$1.8M
Reporting time saved (Sales Manager)	7 hrs/week saved × 52 weeks × $85/hr blended rate	~$30,940
Sales cycle reduction (14 days)	14 days faster × 12 AEs × avg 8 deals/rep/year × $32K ACV	~$430K capacity uplift (time-to-revenue)
Duplicate reduction (fewer lost deals)	200 → 12 dupes/quarter · est. 10% were distinct sales opps	~$58K in previously invisible pipeline
Total Estimated Annual Benefit		~$2.3M
Total Project Cost	HubSpot licence + implementation + training	$186,000
ROI (Year 1)	$2.3M benefit / $186K cost	1,137%

Lessons Learned

Documented in the PIR and shared with the project team. Six lessons applicable to future CRM and process improvement projects.

Requirements

Conflicting MQL definitions between Marketing and Sales would have broken the scoring model if not surfaced in Workshop 2. Always facilitate a cross-functional definition session for shared concepts before writing requirements.

Change Mgmt

The phased go-live recommendation proved correct — Wave 1 adoption issues (two reps reverting to spreadsheets) were caught and corrected before Enterprise went live. Never underestimate adoption risk on CRM projects.

Data Quality

The data migration sprint (deduplication + field mapping) took 40% longer than estimated. Future projects should allocate dedicated discovery time to assess source data quality before confirming migration timelines.

Scope

Three scope-creep requests were received during Sprint 2 (finance integration, AI call summaries, multi-currency). The MoSCoW document signed in Week 4 made deflecting these straightforward — it gave the BA authority to say no with evidence.

Stakeholders

The CEO was a High Power / Low Interest stakeholder. Monthly briefings were sufficient until Week 11, when board prep elevated his involvement. Stakeholder interest levels are dynamic — review the register monthly, not just at project start.

Testing

DEF-001 (Mailchimp API key scope error) was not caught in dev testing because the dev environment used a different API key. Ensure test environment credentials precisely mirror production scope before UAT begins.

Key BA Skills Demonstrated

Stakeholder Management

7 stakeholders across 3 departments · Power/Interest mapping · conflict resolution (MQL definition)

Requirements Elicitation

Interviews · workshops · process observation · doc analysis · surveys — all 5 primary techniques used

BRD / FRS Writing

28-page BRD + 18-page FRS · 12 business requirements · 15 functional requirements · 8 NFRs

Process Mapping (BPMN)

3 AS-IS + 2 TO-BE BPMN diagrams in Lucidchart · swim-lane format · reviewed and signed off

User Story Writing

47 user stories across 4 epics · acceptance criteria (Given/When/Then) · Jira backlog management

Data Analysis

SQL lead analysis · Python duplicate detection · Excel scoring model · Power BI dashboard design

Risk Management

Risk register with 8 risks · likelihood/impact scoring · mitigation plans · weekly review

Agile / Scrum BA

4-sprint delivery · sprint planning · backlog grooming · sprint reviews · retrospectives

UAT Planning & Execution

85 test cases · defect triage (P1–P4) · sign-off management · 9 defects resolved pre go-live

Change Management (ADKAR)

Awareness campaign · champions programme · role-based training · reinforcement plan

Stakeholder Communication

Weekly steering updates · BRD walkthroughs · PIR presentation to CEO and board

Business Case / ROI

1,137% projected ROI · $2.3M annual benefit · presented to James Okafor and board summary

Tools & Technologies Used

HubSpot CRM Professional

Primary CRM platform — pipeline, scoring, automation, reporting

Power BI

Executive dashboard — multi-source pipeline + finance overlay

Jira

Agile backlog, sprint planning, story tracking, defect log

Confluence

BRD, FRS, process guides, training docs, meeting notes

Lucidchart

BPMN process maps (AS-IS + TO-BE), swim-lane diagrams

Figma

Low-fidelity wireframes, prototype review sessions

SQL

Lead response time analysis, source performance analysis

Python (Pandas)

Duplicate detection across 4 Google Sheets (n=1,082 records)

Excel

Lead scoring model, threshold calibration, migration mapping

Mailchimp

Email marketing integration — bidirectional HubSpot sync

Google Workspace

SSO source, existing spreadsheets audited, stakeholder comms

Slack

Workflow notification delivery, team comms, BA support channel

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Case Studies Get in Touch

CRM Lead ManagementSystem

Executive Summary

Key Outcomes

Project Overview

Project Timeline

Business Problem

Project Goals & Success Metrics

Stakeholder Analysis

Power / Interest Grid

Requirement Gathering Process

Sample Interview Questions — Sales Director

Current State Analysis (AS-IS)

Pain Points Identified

Root Cause Analysis

5 Whys — PP-01: No Single Source of Truth

Gap Analysis

User Personas

Customer Journey Map

Business Process Flow (AS-IS)

AS-IS Lead Flow — Swim Lanes

Future State Process (TO-BE)

TO-BE Lead Flow — With HubSpot

Business Requirements Document (BRD)

Functional Requirements

Non-Functional Requirements

User Stories

EPIC-01: Lead Capture & Assignment

EPIC-02: Lead Scoring & Qualification

EPIC-03: Follow-up Automation

EPIC-04: Reporting & Dashboards

Acceptance Criteria

MoSCoW Prioritization

Process Mapping

Wireframes & Solution Design

Screen 1 — AE Lead Queue View

Screen 2 — Contact Record Detail

CRM Data Model

Lead Lifecycle Design

Lead Scoring Framework

Demographic Score (Max 60 pts)

Behavioural Score (Max 40 pts)

Dashboard Requirements

Reporting Requirements

Data Analysis Performed

Analysis 1 — Lead Response Time Distribution

Analysis 2 — Lead Source Performance

Analysis 3 — Duplicate Detection (Python)

Risk Assessment

Assumptions & Constraints

Assumptions

Constraints

Sprint Planning

Product Backlog

UAT Strategy

Test Cases

Defect Management

Deployment Strategy

Change Management Plan

Training Documentation

Post-Implementation Review

KPI Tracking Dashboard

Before vs After Comparison

Business Impact

ROI Summary

Lessons Learned

Key BA Skills Demonstrated

Tools & Technologies Used

CRM Lead Management
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