Before I touch a single phone or configure a single extension, I ask 15 questions. The answers determine whether the deployment will succeed or fail. After 400+ deployments, this questionnaire has a 97% correlation with outcome.
The 15 Questions
Network (Questions 1-5)
Q1: What is your broadband upload speed during peak hours?
Not the speed your ISP promises. The speed you actually get at 10 AM on a Tuesday.
| Answer | Assessment |
|---|---|
| Over 20 Mbps | Green — proceed |
| 10-20 Mbps | Amber — configure QoS first |
| Under 10 Mbps | Red — upgrade broadband before deployment |
Q2: Is SIP ALG enabled on your router?
If yes, disable it before anything else. This single setting causes 80% of VoIP quality issues.
Q3: Do you have a separate VLAN for voice traffic?
Not mandatory for under 25 users. Mandatory for over 25.
Q4: How many devices are on your WiFi?
If the answer is over 50 and you plan softphone-on-WiFi, you need more access points.
Q5: Do you have a backup internet connection?
Not mandatory, but recommended. A 4G failover router costs £100 and keeps calls running if broadband drops.
People (Questions 6-10)
Q6: Who will be the internal admin for the phone system?
Every deployment needs one person who knows how to add users, change ring groups, and update the auto-attendant. Usually the office manager.
Q7: How many people work remotely more than 2 days per week?
These users need mobile app + desktop softphone. Desk phones are optional for them.
Q8: Do you have a receptionist or shared reception role?
Receptionists need desk phones with BLF keys. Train them first, separately, before everyone else.
Q9: What is the average age of your workforce?
Not ageist — practical. Teams with many 50+ employees prefer desk phones over softphones. Budget accordingly.
Q10: Has the company changed phone systems before?
If yes, people are more accepting. If no, expect more resistance and plan more training.
Business (Questions 11-15)
Q11: What CRM do you use?
Salesforce, HubSpot, Zoho, Pipedrive — different providers have different native integrations. Pick the provider that natively supports your CRM.
Q12: Do you have compliance requirements for call recording?
FCA, HIPAA, legal retention — these determine recording policy, retention period, and access controls.
Q13: How many office locations?
Multi-site changes the architecture. Each site needs its own network assessment.
Q14: What is your current monthly phone spend?
This determines the ROI case. If spend is under £500/month for a 20-person company, savings are modest. Over £1,000/month, savings are compelling.
Q15: When does your current phone contract expire?
If it expires in 3+ months, start planning now. If under 30 days, you need an emergency deployment timeline.
The Scoring
| Questions Answered Favourably | Deployment Risk |
|---|---|
| 13-15 | Low — standard deployment |
| 10-12 | Medium — address gaps before go-live |
| 7-9 | High — significant preparation needed |
| Under 7 | Very High — delay deployment, fix fundamentals |
What Happens After the Questions
If the score is 10+, I create a deployment plan:
- Week 1: Network preparation (QoS, SIP ALG, bandwidth test)
- Week 2: System configuration on temporary numbers
- Week 3: Pilot with 5-10 users
- Week 4: Training + number porting
- Week 5: Go-live + monitoring
If the score is under 10, I fix the blockers first — sometimes that means upgrading broadband, sometimes it means training the internal admin, sometimes it means waiting for a contract to expire.
DialPhone runs this questionnaire with every new customer during onboarding. It takes 15 minutes. It prevents 97% of deployment issues. Free consultation — no commitment required.
