"Top Secret" to Successful IAM/IGA Projects? Customer Involvement.

What’s the most important factor in an IAM/IGA project? Strong vendor? Good product? Proper planning?

All critical — but not the core. The most important factor is customer involvement.

IAM/IGA implementations are not like building a standalone module or a microservice where you meet stakeholders twice, vanish for 3–12 months, return with a beautiful demo, say “look, magic,” and hope for applause.

IAM/IGA doesn’t work like that. It sits at the center of the digital infrastructure. It touches everything. And because of that, it requires constant communication with the customer’s team.

Why Customer Involvement Is Non-Negotiable

IAM/IGA is a connectivity project. These projects:

And every integrator knows this moment:

“Yes, our system has an API.”
→ Two weeks later: “Well, it’s not exactly for user management…”
→ Four weeks later: “We may develop it, but it will take time.”

This is why customer involvement matters. Not philosophically — practically.

The customer often thinks: “I’m paying money. You are doing the job.” They’re right. But the integrator also knows something the customer doesn’t: to implement IAM/IGA properly, we need them. Their knowledge, their decisions, their insight into systems and processes.

We are not escorting them to a product; we are navigating with them through uncharted waters.

How We Approach It at ID Masters

We’ve learned that to reach success, we must align early — not at the finish line. Our approach:

  1. Tell the truth early: IAM/IGA is a big integration project
    We explain gently but firmly: there will be meetings. Many of them. Workshops. Clarifications. Architecture sessions. Because this is not “install-and-go”; this is integration on a wide scale.
  2. Forecast problems before they appear
    We know what will hurt: outdated systems, systems without proper APIs, undocumented business rules, manual provisioning “exceptions” that nobody admits exist. We warn the customer before they fall into the hole. We point to pitfalls, but also shortcuts.
  3. Bring the customer into the context as early as possible
    The worst failure scenario: customer sees the system for the first time at the end during UAT. Disaster guaranteed. Success scenario: by the end of the project, the acceptance test is boring. Representatives yawn, drink tea, and ask where to sign. Because they’ve seen the system evolve step by step — nothing is surprising.

True success in an IAM/IGA project smells like boredom.

Want this kind of delivery rhythm on your project?

Contact us and tell us what systems, stakeholders, and constraints you’re dealing with.