5 Tips to Assure a Successful ERP Implementation

8/8/2019 5 Tips to Assure a Successful ERP Implementation

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5 Tips to Assure a SuccessfulERP Implementation

A Planning Guide

WHITE PAPERCincom In-depth Analysis and Review


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5 Tips to Assure a

Successful ERPImplementation

A Planning Guide

WHITE PAPERCincom In-depth Analysis and Review

Table of Contents

Executive Summary ........................................................ 3

Introduction ...................................................................... 3

Implementation Team ....................................................... 3

Developing the Plan ......................................................... 5

Publishing the Plan and Schedule .................................... 7

Progress Reporting .......................................................... 8

Mid-Course Corrections .................................................... 8

Conclusion ....................................................................... 9

About Cincom ................................................................11


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Executive Summary

This paper is aimed at individuals preparing tooversee an ERP implementation project.

These projects are frequently perceived to be lessthan successful. While there are many reasons

why a given implementation project may be lessthan perfect, there are a few steps individuals,teams and companies can take to raise thelikelihood of a successful project.

The paper will go into detail discussing five specificsteps that must be completed to assure a positiveoutcome.

Implementation team formation will be discussed.We will look at team composition, specific goals,cautions and strategies necessary to bring an

implementation project to a successful conclusion.

Development of the project plan is also an essentialelement of the project. Here we will look at whatthe plan should include, development of task lists,how success will be measured, determiningaccountability and monitoring progress. Projectownership, roadblock strategies and scheduling willalso be covered here.

Advance publication of the plan is also a commoncharacteristic of successful implementations. We

will look at how a little internal PR will smooth theway for the many changes resulting from the newsystem. The importance of scheduling all majortasks and events in advance is examined in thissection as well.

Progress reports are most useful as a way to keepeveryone apprised of project progress. Thereporting structure will differ for various groupswithin the organization. Dashboards for C-levelemployees are discussed. Recognition strategiesare reviewed from the standpoint of gaining

enthusiasm and buy in from the ultimate users andconsumers of the system.

Finally the importance of flexibility is stressed.Once the project is underway, many things willsurface that were either unplanned or unknown bythe planners. These can be challenging. Thepaper talks about the importance of being able tomodify on the fly as the project unfolds.

Introduction

Raindrops and roses and whiskers on kittens . . . .

Thus starts the Rogers and Hammerstein song,My Favorite Things from the musical The Soundof Music. One thing you will not likely find on anybodys list of My Favorite Things is ERPImplementation projects.

And is it any wonder? These are high risk, longduration, often thankless projects. They toofrequently end in failure with high visibility careercasualties. History shows that championing andrunning an ERP implementation is not the best wayto fast track it up the corporate ladder. That is,unless you happen to bring in the project on-time,

under-budget and exceeding all expectations.

However, for most of us getting an ERPimplementation successfully completed takescomplete commitment and an abundance of time.The intent of these five tips are to help you makethe most of your commitment in the least possibletime.

What can be done to help assure a positiveoutcome with delighted users? How can you avoidthe career ending disasters that seem to appear in

the headlines almost every week?

Lets take a look at what you can do to help assurea successful implementation.

Pre Implementation Tips

It is essential that your management has boughtinto the system selection decision, that they supporthe project and that you have a named, active,participating executive sponsor. Having a seniormanagement sponsor who can champion thechange needed in your organization is a critical,must have step in the journey to having asuccessful ERP implementation.

Establish the Implementation Team

The first requirement is creating an implementationteam that will be able to maximize the valuedelivered by the ERP system. The team shouldreflect the make up of the ERP user community


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meaning all functional divisions and managementlevels with in the organization will need to berepresented on the team. This facilitates activeownership of the project by all involved.

Be prepared to overcome adversity. Theteam will also need to be adept at

overcoming resistance to change in thedevelopment of the system as it is deployedand brought online. Senior managementinclusion on the team will help facilitate this.

It is an enterprise wide project. This maybe a surprise to some, but thinking of anERP implementation as an IT project or aFinance project is a mistake. Ultimately,this will be a complete re-engineering ofyour company from the core businessprocesses up to how the many tasks

essential to attracting, selling and servingcustomers, including all supportingfunctions, are coordinated and synchronizedfor greater performance.

Forget about vendor provided turnkeyimplementations. There is no such thingas a one and done ERP implementation.Your vendor will need to be activelyinvolved, but, it must be yourimplementation. Even the worlds greatestobstetrician cant have your baby for you,

and a vendor cant implement your system.

Include a C-level Champion on your team.No vendor can help you get over resistanceto change. It is very important to have asenior manager or C-level executive (CFO,CIO, CEO) champion your ERPimplementation. Your chances of successgo up significantly when this person takesthe leadership role of the project anddefines the implementation team.

The system will ultimately involve many people andfunctions beyond IT and Finance in fact it willtouch every significant process and functional areaof the company over time. Those people must beinvolved in the project to overcome resistance tochange and give them a chance to own how their

jobs will change when the system launches.

In a recent study published by PanoramaConsulting Group, fully 38% of companies

surveyed cited lack of employee buy-in as theprimary problem facing the implementation team.Overcoming resistance is such a major issue thatAMR Research has also shown that 70% of CRMprojects fail due to lack of ownership and resistanceto change.

Jill Dyche, best-selling author of CRM books andindustry expert says that fears of how IT systemswill change a persons job and potentially takevaluable information away from them, robbing themof their status and job security, is the single biggestroadblock every company faces in rolling out newsystems.

Establish a Change ManagementProgram. These fears can most effectivelybe addressed with a thorough changemanagement program. Change

management is the study of how toovercome resistance to change. Having aC-level executive is a great first step in yourchange management strategy and plan.

Obtain constant feedback. Creatingopportunities for users to provide feedbackon everything from the system design to theGUI definition. This is how users willdevelop a sense of ownership in the systemand see it as an improvement rather than athreat to their jobs.

Include all functional areas. Acceptance ismuch easier to facilitate if participation inthe implementation is both cross-functionally wide and vertically deep interms of the organization hierarchy.

Consider creating a User AdvisoryCouncil, which is a cross-functional team ofthe departments most affected by the ERPimplementation. The User Advisory Councilwill remain in place well beyond the

implementation to facilitate ongoing systemand process tuning by interfacing the usercommunity with IT.

From our experiences at Cincom this is a win/win:the developers get useful information on howexisting processes work and how to improve themwhile users get an opportunity to influence designat multiple levels, leading to greater ownership ofthe system in the process.


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Include ERP knowledgeable personnel. Theteam should also have some people with expertisein ERP, from system analysts to databasedesigners to human factors engineering to makesure the system is in precise alignment to unmetneeds while increasing process efficiencythroughout your company. The Panorama study

found lack of ERP expertise to be the secondmost commonly cited problem (33%) facingimplementation teams. If this expertise isunavailable internally, go to a 3rd party.

Planning the most important phase ofimplementation

During the initial phase of the project theimplementation team will be primarily concernedwith planning activities. The project will be complexin nature so tools such as project management

software will be essential to establishing specifictask lists, task ownership, task dependencies andscheduling.

Accountability is critical. There must beaccountability at the task level for the ERPImplementation Project to make progress overtime. Again, a C-level champion for your project isthe best way to resolve conflicts as to which tasksget done. A clear line of authority makes it mucheasier to get this work done.

The planning phase will also determine whatresources are required to facilitate theimplementation. These will include fundingrequirements, physical space, human resources,systems, supplies and time.

Finally, the planning team needs to establish howperformance will be measured. How will youknow if you are succeeding or failing? Specificmetrics should be agreed upon in advance tofacilitate the definition of success and also tomeasure the performance of the project itself and

those participating in it. These metrics couldinclude such things as

Actual spend vs. budget per moduleinstalled or department brought online.Task completions percentages over timePersonnel educated prior toimplementation.

This is an opportunity to inject ownership into the

system on the part of users. Have the UserAdvisory Council work in conjunction with systemdevelopers and architects to define the KeyPerformance Indicators (KPIs) that will be used tomeasure system performance again the criticalaspect of this is getting users to own theperformance of the system and increase adoption

rates of its use.

Do not ever define KPIs or dashboards without thefeedback of users; it is critical to have theminvolved to nurture ownership of the system and itsperformance.

It is also important to establish whataccommodations must be made between thesystems capabilities and your organizational needsThis gap analysis is necessary because nosolution will fully address the unique requirements,

organizational structure and needs that youpresent. This may best be accomplished by lookingat these functional requirements through the lens ofbusiness process management (BPM). This isanother skill set to include in the team membership.

Once the basic plan is established and accepted bythe project champions (upper management) thereal work will begin. Your system vendor will likelyhave valuable tools available to help you determinethe specifics related to getting your systemimplemented.

The more complete and detailed your up-front planis, the higher your likelihood of success. This planhas got to have the critical components of changemanagement included too.

Make a very focused and deliberate strategy ofgetting users to own the system to ensure it is asuccess.

At this point, you will be utilizing basic projectmanagement processes. The foundation of your

ERP implementation needs to be built on soundproject management planning but the executionwill require the muscle of your senior managementchampion to make change happen constantlyduring the project.

Define the task list. Using all the informationsources you have available, internal and from yourvendor, lay out a task list. Start with the high levetasks and then expand each of those by identifyingsub-tasks and individual required actions.


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Typical MS Project ERP Implementation Task List

Identify resources required to

complete each task.

Assign Accountability For Each

Phase. Once this is completed, start

matching team member experience

or expertise to each task. This will

help you determine who should

own each phase of the

implementation project. Dont forget

to include management in this area.

The more upper management is

visibly involved, the more credibility

the project will have. Ultimately,

management should sign off on

each major milestone when they are

completed.

Measure, Monitor and Modify. Be

sure to continually measure the

progress towards the project

milestones and seek to understand

how the dynamics of the group may

be impacting exceptional

performance in certain areas and

shortcomings in others. Be sure to

have your C-level championcelebrate the wins and understand

what can be learned from the losses

of getting tasks done on time.

Always seek to impart ownership

of the system to users. What

needs to always be kept in mind by

project management teams and the


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C-level champion is that the ERP

implementation must seek to have a

very high level of adoption if it is to

be successful in bringing greater

levels of efficiency and performance

into the company. ERP

implementations often lead tocompanies completely re-defining

their business models over time. So,

realize this system may change how

you complete manufacturing,

service, support, pricing or

accounting processes. Making

these changes effective for the long-

term all hinges on ownership of the

system by users.

Removing roadblocks is the job

for the C-level champion, and this

includes getting the team help

when needed. Sooner or later, you

will encounter something that is

outside of everyones area of

experience. Do not rule out third

party involvement in these

situations. This is particularly true if

there are political ramifications or

similar sensitivities involved.

Next is scheduling. Assign

reasonable and realistic time

requirements to each task and

subtask. As these assignments are

completed think about sequencing

the tasks by identifying the

dependencies for each task in terms

of what must be done before starting

a task and what can be started afterfinishing a given task. This will

serve as the basis for your schedule.

Task dependencies and time line as depicted in MS Project Gantt Chart


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Publish the Plan

Now that you have a plan, a schedule and tentativestaffing/ownership established, publish these soeveryone involved can review and comment asneeded. You will most likely need to make someadjustments to your plan based on the feed backreceived.

Create buzz. You also want to create somebuzz around the plan to make sure peoplesee their contributions to the project ashaving value and giving them high visibilityin the company.

Identify Milestones. Finally identify themajor milestones in your plan anddetermine who will accept or reject workcompleted toward fulfilling each milestone.

Identify Ownership. Who will sign off andhow will that be documented? It isimportant to publish this along with the planitself since you will want to be able toconfirm that all stake holders are identifiedand represented.

Report on progress early & often: InternalPR to Bring Lasting Change

Remember that change management and fear ofwhat this system will do to day-to-day life in yourcompany is the greatest risk the project has.Aggressively pursue PR and celebrate the smallvictories. Acknowledge individual performancescontributing to the projects success. An internalnewsletter is an excellent way to accomplish this.

Establish creditability. Report project

progress to all involved or affected by theproject. Dont hesitate to report problems ordifficulties encountered along the way aswell as the more successful aspects of theimplementation. Think credibility!

Report frequently. Frequency of thereporting will vary throughout the project.Initially, the implementation team shouldpublish minutes or at least meeting reportsfollowing each meeting. As the projectgains momentum, a regular update

schedule should be followed. In some

cases these reports may be monthly, butkeeping the project on center stage viaweekly reports will have greater benefits. Acombination of newsletters on a monthlybasis, and short weekly updates may be the

most desirable for larger projects.

Aggressively control rumors. Mostorganizations have active rumor mills orgossip networks. If there are problems (andthere will likely be problems) along the way,establish your team as the source foraccurate information.

Gather Feedback. Progress reports shouldcontain links or instructions for your usercommunity to provide feed back to you

regarding the system. Act quickly onproblems revealed and report on theresolutions in the next report.

Recognize Excellence. These reports alsooffer an opportunity to single out people orgroups for recognition of particularlymeaningful contributions to the project. It isa team effort and everyone who contributesshould feel appreciated for their hard work.Think about using plaques, medals,certificates and team golf shirts. These are

all great ways to build the team andrecognize individual performance. Bonusesand additional vacation days are also fine,but visible recognitions are better. Theyhave the affect of advertising the valuedelivered by the employee and the effortrecognized by management.

This is a big deal, it is important to everyone in thecompany. It does require the support andconfidence of everyone in the company, so a thankyou to those putting forth commendable effort is

most appropriate.

Monitor, Measure and Modify

As the project moves forward, there will beunforeseen situations and phases of the operationthat just dont go as planned. To the degreepossible, tweak your own processes toaccommodate these deviations. Dont suspend theentire project while a minor issue is resolved.


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Executive level champions and stake holders willrequire constant updating. This is bestaccomplished through the use of projectdashboards. These will give the C-level championthe kind of data that interests them withoutburdening them with minutia related to subtasks

and minor issues.

In some cases, C-level participation in mid-coursecorrections may be necessary, keeping them up onyour progress will make these corrections mucheasier to implement.

C-Level ERP implementation status dashboard

In Closing

Keep focused on what the purpose of the project is,what ERP can (and can not) do, what the definedgoals are as originally set forth. Dont let scope

creep kill your project. There is always atendency for people to push other, unrelatedprojects into the middle of a large scale project likethis.

Beware the naysayers and gloom merchants; killthis negativity by having a C-level champion thatopenly celebrates each small victory and elevatesthe project to the highest profile in the company.

Do not under estimate the importance of morale in

this type of project and do not underestimate thepotential negative impact those with poor attitudescan have on the overall project.

Lets summarize what we have covered.

1) Form your implementation team involve

management, IT, Finance and other

functional areas affected by the system.

Bring in end users from all levels of the

organization. Consider third party

involvement where needed.


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2) Plan the implementation tasks, sequence,

time requirements and staffing.

3) Publish the plan and implementation

schedule collect feedback and make

necessary adjustments

4) Report on progress regular status reportscovering the successful and problematic.

Solicit feedback. Recognize excellence.

5) Tweak as you go. Nothing ever runs

completely according to script, be prepared

to ad lib and accommodate changes as

required

ERP implementation can be effective andrewarding for those directly involved and for theorganization as a whole. Careful planning, realisticexpectations and effective communication are thebasis for an implementation that will delight all

concerned.

Form

Implementation

Team

Develop Plan

Publish Plan and

Schedule

Report on

Progress

Tweak as

Required


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Documents

5 Tips to Assure a Successful ERP Implementation