ERP Software Implementations – making the implementation plan work from start to finish

When implementing ERP software, we all know the importance of the ERP project plan. Let us take a more detailed look at what should be included in your ERP software project plan. This article has been specifically written for small to medium sized businesses looking to implement ERP software.

The Role of the Internal Project Manager

It pays to have an individual serving as the internal corporate Project Manager for the ERP software implementation. Internal project managers have many responsibilities during an ERP software implementation, and one of the most important is the design, maintenance and updating of the ERP project plan. The most commonly used tools for ERP project planning among small to medium sized companies are Microsoft Project or Microsoft Excel.

Elements of a Comprehensive ERP Project Plan

This ERP software implementation plan serves as the basic guide for project managers, ERP implementation consultants and you, the customer. A well structured project plan must clearly define the following critical elements for every single scheduled task:

• Planned Start and End Dates: Clear timelines for when each activity must commence and finish to avoid project drift.
• Detailed Activity Description: A granular breakdown of each task, eliminating ambiguity about the work required.
• Allocated Consulting Hours: The exact budget of professional services hours assigned to each configuration or training task.
• Real Time Task Status: Clear tracking metrics showing whether a milestone is not started, in progress, pending client review or completed.
• Customer Time Allocation: The estimated number of hours required from your internal team to support the activity.
• Customer Roles and Responsibilities: A precise definition of what your team must deliver, ensuring accountability across departments.
• Assigned Resource Ownership: Explicitly naming the specific consultant or internal team member responsible for executing the task.
• General Comments and Change Logs: A dedicated section to record technical notes, project scope changes or dependencies.

An ERP Software project plan: (Click to enlarge sample)

Governance, Progress Tracking and Testing Verification

It is important that the project plan is updated on a regular basis and that those roles and responsibilities are clearly defined. Completed tasks must be tested and verified. It is no use ticking an item off the project plan as completed to find out later during the project that the item has not been completed to specification or to the desired outcome. This is one of the major tasks of a project manager: verify that the items marked as completed are actually ready for go-live.

Summary

There are several different roles and responsibilities during an ERP software implementation. The ERP software implementation plan should highlight these responsibilities and your critical required by dates. Let us not forget that, as the customer, you have several key responsibilities during implementation, including data cleansing, user acceptance testing and process mapping validation.

Use a well organised, up to date project plan to manage your ERP implementation, ensuring all parties are aware of their roles and responsibilities from start to finish.

The certified project management group at Leverage Technologies has successfully guided hundreds of Australian mid market companies through structured enterprise software deployments.