ERP Project Management Tips

ERP implementations are significant endeavours with a well-known high failure rate. How can a project manager position themselves, their team, and an ERP implementation for success?

We've compiled a collection of technical ERP project management advice based on our experience. These pointers serve as a solid starting point for project managers, who may then add their own flair in accordance with the dynamics of the ERP project team and the ERP system that is being implemented.

Early Squash Scope Creep

You could be thinking that this advice is standard project management practise. True, but have you ever seen how it may appear in a software implementation so quickly? Here's a straightforward illustration of how something that was previously declared out of scope could afterwards make its way into your ERP project plan: The statement of work (SOW) specifies that the project's scope includes all accounts payable business procedures. The SOW has a list of business operations, and "settle vendor invoices" is one of such activities. Automated workflows are also mentioned as being outside the scope of the SOW.

Maintain Timeline Realism

The scope, time, and cost restriction triangle in traditional project management is well-known for a reason. A factor cannot be increased or decreased without correspondingly affecting the others as well. Unfortunately, time is often the aspect that is underestimated because it is based on future assumptions. Having said that, it's crucial to be realistic while determining your project timeframe. It's time to have a reality check with your leadership to either extend the timetable or narrow the scope of the project if your project sponsors are insistent on having all requirements gathered in two months yet you still have 12 weeks of workshops to complete.

Plan ahead to allow for regression testing

It's not difficult to create a schedule for gathering software needs, designing, and developing: A feature's design and development complexity can be estimated, and based on this complexity, you can estimate how many hours or days will be needed for testing when the product is deployed. Regression testing is a component that is, however, usually always overlooked while creating the project timeline. Regression testing involves running all previously passed test scripts again to make sure that no new changes have affected the outcomes. Sometimes, testing the new feature itself takes longer than regression testing for ERP requirements.

Make Design and Integration Document Templates Available

Many team members may write design and integration documents, but only a small number will evaluate and approve them. We advise adhering to a standardised form for design and integration papers to provide some consistency to the reviewers and approvers. This will make it possible for reviewers to skim through lengthy texts quickly and focus on intricate portions that demand close examination. Additionally, it saves time for the document writers because they will be reminded to add things like performance considerations, security needs, and test scripts.

Use DevOps Tools to Monitor Deliverable Status

Reporting on the state of the project is a weekly, or perhaps even daily, necessity for ERP project managers. Since project managers are unable to attend every workshop and meeting, other project team members give the information for these reports. It takes time for all parties involved to request daily or weekly updates from each member of your team. Business analysts and ERP consultants must set aside time each day to write up a report, and you, the project manager, must then compile all of these separate reports. If your project is using a DevOps tool, however, you can easily extract the required data when you need it to include it in a report.

Create a Reliable Cutover Plan

A cutover plan is one deliverable that is frequently skipped over or hurriedly completed during an ERP implementation. The list of tasks needed to get the production environment ready for end-user use is called a cutover plan. Cutover responsibilities include beginning batch jobs, connecting hardware to the ERP solution, loading user IDs into the system, establishing any integration services, and starting any batch jobs. Cutover plans are crucial since there are several, interdependent actions that must be completed in order to have an ERP system ready for production. Take commencing integration services as an illustration. To identify any records created or altered via an integration, the majority of ERP systems demand a user ID.

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Conclusion

The ERP consultants at ICONIC BIZZ can assist you in ERP Project Management activity that will enable you to secure the successful ERP implementation.

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