Implementing a new enterprise platform in a live student accommodation environment presents a high level of delivery risk. Systems must support finance, operations, compliance, and customer experience simultaneously, often with limited tolerance for disruption during peak operational periods.
At Watkin Jones Group / Fresh, I played a central role in the implementation of a new Yardi student system, supporting the organisation’s move towards a more scalable and standardised digital platform. My responsibility was to ensure the system was not only delivered, but operationally viable, trusted by users, and aligned with real business processes from day one.
Context and Complexity
The implementation involved introducing a new system across a multi-stakeholder environment with established workflows, regulatory obligations, and critical data dependencies. The platform needed to:
• Support day-to-day accommodation and tenancy operations
• Maintain data integrity across integrated systems
• Enable accurate operational and management reporting
• Be adopted quickly by users with varying levels of technical confidence
Any failure at go-live would have resulted in operational disruption, increased support demand, and loss of confidence in the system.
My Role and Ownership
As the Business Systems Analyst, I took ownership of the analysis and delivery assurance activities that underpinned the implementation. My responsibilities included:
• Leading requirements elicitation across operations, finance, and support teams, translating business needs into BRDs, functional specifications, user stories, and acceptance criteria
• Designing and validating future-state processes to ensure Yardi workflows reflected real operational behaviour rather than theoretical designs
• Supporting data migration and integration activities, including validation of migrated data to prevent reporting and reconciliation issues
• Acting as the central point of coordination between business stakeholders, system vendors, and internal technical teams to resolve requirement gaps and delivery risks
• Producing structured system documentation, SOPs, and user guidance to support onboarding, audit readiness, and operational continuity
Rather than focusing solely on system configuration, my priority was ensuring the platform could be used reliably under real operational conditions.
Reducing Delivery Risk Through Structured UAT
A critical area of ownership was User Acceptance Testing (UAT). I led the planning and execution of UAT by:
• Defining high-risk and business-critical test scenarios aligned to real user workflows
• Ensuring traceability between requirements, test scenarios, and acceptance criteria
• Coordinating defect triage, prioritisation, and resolution tracking with delivery teams
• Validating fixes and managing release readiness decisions based on evidence, not timelines
This structured approach significantly reduced the risk of post-go-live incidents and prevented unresolved defects from being released into production.
Outcomes and Measurable Impact
The approach taken during the implementation contributed to:
• A controlled system rollout with minimal operational disruption
• Improved user confidence and adoption during the transition period
• Reduced post-implementation support issues due to early identification of defects
• Clear documentation that reduced onboarding time for new users and supported ongoing system governance
The system was delivered in a state that allowed operations to continue without interruption, while providing a scalable foundation for future enhancements.
Why This Work Matters
Enterprise system implementations succeed or fail based on how well technology is aligned with operational reality. This project demonstrated the importance of structured business systems analysis, risk-aware delivery, and strong stakeholder coordination in enabling successful digital transformation.
By taking ownership of analysis, testing, and delivery assurance, I helped ensure that the Yardi student system was not just implemented, but embedded effectively into daily operations.
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Author
Peter Adebanjo
Business Systems Analyst / IT Business Analyst
Specialising in enterprise systems, ERP implementations, UAT, system integrations, and risk-aware digital delivery across complex operational environments.
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