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Top 10 ERP Project Management Headaches
Successful Project Manager Characteristics Managing Risk on ERP Projects Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems have fundamentally changed the work of IT organizations. The sheer size and complexity of ERP implementations makes managing these projects difficult. There are really two basic sides to ERP management, people and technology. An ERP package touches the entire organization and can affect nearly every employee. And in some cases, an ERP project manager may not be able to know who will be affected, which can lead to some nasty surprises. One mismanaged ERP implementation left a southeastern electronics manufacturer unable to accept deliveries and nearly closed a plant.
It's also difficult to get a clear vision of the technological portion of the implementation because of the vast combination of hardware and software involved. The project manager must cope with thousands of parts. Whether you are implementing one module or multiple modules, you must ensure consistency and full integration across the various subprojects, which is an enormous effort, even for an experienced system architect.
I did an informal survey of experienced ERP project managers from various corporate IT departments and Big 5 consulting companies, and assembled an unofficial list of the major problems faced by ERP project leads and managers. Almost everyone mentioned size first. Staff problems and organizational politics also ranked in the top ten.
Top 10 ERP Project Management Headaches Rank Issue 1 Project Size 2 Staffing (Includes Turnover) 3 Risk Management 4 Unreasonable Deadlines 5 Funding 6 Organizational Politics 7 Scope Creep 8 Unexpected Gaps 9 Interfaces 10 Resistance To Change
According to the Eden Prairie, Minnesota Gartner Institute (a spin-off of the Gartner Group), the gap between the promise of an ERP system and the business value actually ddelivered once the project has been deployed is great. Enormous cost overruns, deadlines missed in some cases by years, and even abandoned implementations make clear that managing ERP projects is a complex task.
Successful Project Management
Perhaps the single most decisive element of ERP success or failure is the knowledge, skills, abilities, and experience of the project manager. An ERP project manager must understand both the business and the technology. To avoid customization, businesses frequently change their business processes to fit the new software. An ERP project manager must understand the impact of the ERP implementation on the business, and work with business managers to ensure a smooth transition from the "as is" to the "to be" business operating environment.
To help educate project managers, The Gartner Institute created a project management certification program that includes an ERP specialty. The program and its courses focus on the critical issues that make ERP projects different from typical application development projects. This includes planning for the unusually large risk and complex cross-functional issues that accompany most ERP projects.
Using the findings from an on-going Gartner Institute research study, which involves brainstorming sessions with experienced project managers, the course provides the core project management techniques that account for the success or failure of ERP projects. Some core topics include gathering business requirements, blended workforce project organization, entry-, exit-, and acceptance criteria issues, change control and closure. The Gartner Institute also includes risk management, project planning, and scope management as major tasks for project managers.
A project manager must be flexible enough to roll with the changes as the project progresses, and not lose it when unpleasant surprises pop up as they always do during ERP implementations. They must be able to work with nearly every individual in the organization, from the most technical IT staffer or plant engineer, to the mailroom and building maintenance staff. They must also possess the ability to learn extremely fast, because they will need to understand business issues in areas of the organization with which they are unfamiliar.
An ERP project manager must also be highly disciplined. They must be able to clearly envision the project end game, and then hold the entire organization to the road that leads to that successful end. This means bringing other team members back on track when deviations occur or distractions arise. They must also be willing to make tough decisions, and understand that those decisions will upset some and please others. A thick skin is certainly an asset.
Successful Project Manager Characteristics
A successful ERP project managerÂ… * is flexible * is disciplined * is a quick learner * is a good decision maker * has ERP experience * has business experience * has political clout * has a good formal education * is well liked * motivates staff Source: Gartner Institute.
Deciding On Project Scope
Scope management procedures must also be created and enforced to prevent "never ending project" syndrome. Constant scope changes, whether increases or decreases, cause confusion among project team members. The primary focus of scope management is on defining and controlling what is and is not included in the project. The project manager must work with other departments to clearly define the project scope. If the project scope is not defined properly, required work is missed, jeopardizing the project success. On the flip side, work outside the scope of the project may be
Author: Charles Trepper
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