ERP PACKAGE IMPLEMENTATION

It's Not Rocket Science.

One of the most important factors in a successful implementation is the discipline to manage and control the project carefully. Utilizing a solid methodology, included a structured project plan, the project team can be assured that all of the steps have been accomplished.

At Applied Data Solutions, we believe it is important to work closely with the customer to come up with an implementation model and plan that best fits the strategic needs of the business. Many of the software vendors have their own basic plan and methodologies, but these often do not answer some of the most important questions.

Our Approach

There is no standard methodology that fits all organizations. The implementation methodologies used by each ERP software vendor are basically the same and are valid for a good percentage of the companies.

Some of the different decisions that will affect the implementation and associated project plan are:

1. Will you install the package with or without major modifications or enhancements?

2. How good of a fit is the software to your business needs?

3. How much are you willing to change your business to meet the business practices often imposed by the software? In some cases, the software package offers best business practices.

4. Are you planning on installing the package in a "Big Bang" (all modules across the entire organization) or in a phased approach?

5. How much re-engineering or process improvement will be done before, after or during the implementation?

6. How much of the project work will you outsource to consultants versus in-house resources?

7. How many in-house resources are you willing to dedicate full time to the project?

8. What are the complexities of the interfaces to external systems?

9. What is your organizations willingness to change?

Basic Project Implementation Plan

As stated above, there are many methodologies and project planning tools, but they all come down to some basic phases. Below are the phases and tasks accomplished within the phase. In many cases some tasks within the phase overlaps tasks within another phase. There is a good deal of iterative planning, testing and configuring. Also, the plan must be modified to the business needs of a particular organization and its answers to the questions above. We will work closely with the implementation team to develop the right plan for your projects specific needs and complexities.

1. Project Planning and Organization
   

   1. Steering Committee
      

   2. Creation of The Core Team and Extended Teams
      

   3. Re- affirm Business Goals
      

   4. Development of the Project Scope
      

   5. Development of the Guiding Principles
      

   6. Formalizing the Success Criteria
      

   7. Core Team Training
      

   8. Hardware / Network Requirements Definition
      

   9. First Cut of the Detailed Project plan
      

   10. Definition of Service Levels
       

   11. Change Management Plan
       
       

2. Business Case Piloting and Testing
   

   1. Business Process Analysis (As Is To Be)
      

   2. Unique Business Case Development
      

   3. Product Configuration and Testing
      

   4. Interface Definition
      

   5. Reports Analysis
      

   6. Data Conversion Planning
      

   7. F. Business Process Testing
      
      

3. Integration and Implementation
   

   1. Integration Testing
      

   2. Reports Testing
      

   3. Data Conversion
      

   4. Interface Development & Testing
      

   5. Production Simulation or Integration Testing
      

   6. Documentation
      
      

4. Go Live Implementation and Support
   

   1. Final End User Training
      

   2. Final Data Conversion
      

   3. Contingency Planning
      

   4. Temporary Help
      

   5. Cut-Over Planning
      

   6. Resource Allocation