Download pdf - ERP Upgrade & Patch Best Practice - Original Software

2%

10%

TOTALPROJECTEFFORT

TOTAL PROJECT SAVING OPPORTUNITY

Preparation

Evaluation

Planning

TechnicalUpgrade

Adoption

Go-Live

BusinessValidation

60%

PREPARATION

• Resource management solution

• Establish communication and collaboration between teams• Establish responsibilities • Assemble experts and decision making teams

• Prior commitments• Team availability• Skill gaps• Communication channels

• Expertise in areas of importance and high change (e.g. Financials)

• Committed time from key stakeholders • External expertise to fill

skills gap• Previous project experience

• Project managers• Business process owners• Functional analysts• Technical team• DBA• Mid-tier• Developers• Steering group• Business SMEs• IT• External consultants

• Collect previous implementation design and requirements• Establish knowledge base repository

2%

01EFFORT (% of overall project)

SAVINGOPPORTUNITY

20%

EVALUATION

• Automated capture of As-is

• Analysis of customizations

• Documentation review• Functional review• Benefits review• Cost• Approach• Upgrade criteria

• Not involving all of the business at least in some part of this process

• Failure in determining upgrade path based on the release notes available

• Create a watertight business case to provide scope of effort required and get buy in from management

• Selecting the best approach is vital. Main things to consider for this are: – New functionality – Technology improvements – Operational considerations – Support availability

• Steering group• Business SMEs• IT• External consultants

• Document project scope, impact and risk factors• Capture existing system business processes


SAVINGOPPORTUNITY

6%

40%

PLANNING

• Reporting process• Key metrics• Central knowledge

base• Common planning

solution

• Define process, tools and people involved • Ensure the scope has objectives, new feature,

customization and potential downtime decisions

• Ensure scope and a detailed project plan are defined• Ensure that a 'Go Live' checklist is compiled• Understand and mitigate project risks

• Provide clear communication methods for key stakeholders

• Treat this as a formal company wide project• Use a team with broad and complimentary skills• Add time for tuning in to the plan• Create a clear 'as is' document

• PM• Steering group• DB admin• QA• Trainers• Technical Lead

• Process dependencies including up/down-stream systems• Create test plan• Construct test cases for every business process• Plan resource requirements and timescales


SAVINGOPPORTUNITY

40%

10%

TECHNICAL UPGRADE

• Automate upgrade steps and environment validation

• Evaluate architecture• Create technical upgrade document• Perform practice upgrade first• Verfify installation

• Complete a full performance test prior to go live• Calculate the new hardware sizing requirements and

minimum specifications• ID has been transferred

• Check if mandatory architecture change is required

• Take regular checkpoints• Document lessons learned in the practice upgrade• Defrag and re-organise the database• Get code current

• IT• DBA• Dev• QA• BA

• Capture upgrade task steps• Record results of smoke test• Provide stakeholders with real-time progress visibility


SAVINGOPPORTUNITY

30%

10%

BUSINESS VALIDATION

• Knowledge base• Collaboration

platform• Captured test cases• Automated

validation• Issue capture

• CRP• SIT• UAT after production upgrade iteration

• Ensure all business processes are used in test cycle • Ensure test acceptance criteria are used • Ensure all validations comply with audit requirements

• Use tooling to facilitate automatic documentation of validation

• Leverage existing test scripts and plans • Use each CRP as an opportunity to further tune the upgrade • Get functional user buy in • Update user manuals• Team members can easily update their task status

• PM• Key business users• Dev• QA

• Provide stakeholders with real-time progress updates• Enable all participants with ability to easily update

their progress• Record results of test cases, incorporating evidence

of issues• Collect proof-of-testing for audit purposes


SAVINGOPPORTUNITY

75%

60%

ADOPTION

• Automatically created training documentation and videos

• Prepare training docs• Training• New process review

• Ensure all users are aware of new functionality

• Create clear training plan

• Ensure correct timing for training • Optimise training process

• All users of the system, trainers

• Repurpose tests recorded by business users to produce user documentation and videos


SAVINGOPPORTUNITY

50%

GO-LIVE

• Automatic capture of issues

• Cut to live and support users

• Ensure all company compliance requirements are met• Establish baseline for validation of ongoing patches• Training not completed

• Create defensible 'go' / 'no go' decision • Early and easy capture of issues• Fast response to issues

• Make an internal timing decision as to when to move live • Use downtime assesment to plan • Ensure all the latest ERP documentaiton has been used

• Steering group• IT• All users• PM

• Review outstanding issues and results of automated regression testing

• Employ previously captured upgrade tasks


SAVINGOPPORTUNITY

25%

POST LIVE SUPPORT

• Status and project metrics

• Proactive response to users

• Process not being followed• Unclear issue reports

• Early and easy capture of issues• Fast response to issues

• Live monitoring/tracking of users actions/issues• Good documentation access• Clear issue logging/processing

• Support desk• Users• Super users

• Maintain knowledge base in preparation for further patch/upgrade cycles

• Capture evidence of issues


SAVINGOPPORTUNITY

25%

UPGRADE / IMPLEMENTATION / PATCH

Method

Red flags/common mistakes

KEY

Important/goal

Best Practice

Who

Documentation

Technology Solutions

ERP Upgrade & Patch Best Practice

origsoft.com