Exponent Case Management

"Exponent Partners has provided us with a powerful tool to improve our organizational performance"

Overall: see comments on review

Pros: There is plenty to like about ECM- Usability, flexibility, structure, reporting, reliability, automation and much more! The software has become integral into our efforts on tracking program outcomes, streamlines processes, and reporting on the impact of our programs and services. The underlying structure of the software is excellently matched to case management processes and practices. This makes tracking all of the data for our various programs easy and much more efficient. I am also able to easily tailor ECM to match the unique needs of each program. Overall, I find more ways to utilize ECM to allow our teams to work more efficiently and drive better outcomes for the individuals in our programs and services on a regular basis.

Cons: Most of the minor cons I have are related to limitations with Salesforce rather than ECM. Overall, ECM is meeting our needs.

"Take advantage of what ECM offers"

Overall: Prior to marketing the ECM managed package, Exponent consulted for similiar organizations to create full customizations of Salesforce Nonprofit Starter Pack (NPSP). We were one of the first organizations to sign on for the managed package, and transitioning from maintaining our own custom SQL Server database application for more than 15 years, we sought, insisted on and spent time and money on more customization than was good for us. As the package became more fully realized, we found ourselves stuck behind the curve, unable to impement improved and expanded features that we had passed up and worked around in their early releases. As we entered the third year, we felt like we were not getting the same value out of the package as more recent organizations that used ECM in states more resembling out of the box software. We discussed this with the Exponent team, and they immediately jumped in to help us craft a re-integration strategy, with terrific support from their management and development teams. We also were able to hire a Salesforce Administrator by this time and within 6 months we had brought most functions back into alignment with the core product, made notable user interface improvements, prepared our transition plan from Salesforce Classic to Lightning, and implemented several key ECM features that are now coming into full utilization. That we were able to accomplish so much within the scope of our annual support package is a testament to (see below...)

Pros: The ECM package contains modules for almost any human services/case management function you can think of. Exponent has done a great job of distilling widely varied practices into a basic framework that can work for any organization. And there's ample latitiude for customization (primarily configuration of layouts, workflow rules, flows etc. on the Salesforce.com platform). When that involves modifcations to ECM managed package, you're sure to work with an efficient, meticulous and creative partner on the superb Exponent development team and you'll get a solution you're happy with. Most functions work intuitively, which makes for efficient user trainings and pretty smooth adoption.

Cons: The logic behind the configuration of couple of components, e.g. registration and attendance for group activities is difficult to grasp; since the standard functionality didn't suit our program model, from the beginning we deployed various workarounds, making for an even more complex configuration and some less than straightforward procedures for users. All the while we were hoping for a more fundamental change or the offering of an alternative configuration. We thought that was being planned but it never materialized. That said, i would not have expected Exponent to make a fundamental alteration to teh package if we were the only customer asking for it. There are several reporting constraints imposed by Salesforce.com technology that we don't like, but Exponengt can help develop teh requisite workarpunds as needed.

"Great product with complex functionality"

Pros: Cara implemented ECM in 2014 alongside Exponent. We purchased ECM when it was still an unmanaged package, and as a result we do not pay ongoing license fees (beyond our Salesforce licenses) and do not receive any ongoing extensions or upgrades to functionality. The features that have been most beneficial to Cara are: the configurable "Service Entry" model of entering data across several objects on one form without having to navigate to those objects, the configurable Case Record Status Bar, and Group/Class functionality.

Cons: ECM comes loaded with complex functionality spanning a variety of potential human services and workforce needs. We utilize some of that functionality, but much of it is not relevant or fully aligned to our needs. We've been able to leverage Salesforce to adapt ECM's pre-built functionality in our own way or just completely build around ECM, but many of these realizations came long-after implementation and launch, and as a result we are slowly untangling some of the overly complex functionality that was running behind the scenes in our instance and sometimes taking up unnecessary data storage space or processing power. We were an early adopter of ECM and, at that time, the range of functionality wasn't fully documented and the length and depth of our consulting engagement wasn't necessarily sufficient to allow us to digest our options and repercussions of our decisions. All that said, we get a lot of value out of ECM!