Project Management for ERP Systems

1
Project Management for ERP Systems

• Mark Roman
• Executive Project Director, Carleton University
• CANHEIT, June 2005

2
Background

• June 2002
• ERP implementation at Carleton was facing
  challenges
• Primarily project management issues
• Audit
• Internal
• External
• Strong technical and functional team members
• Subject matter expertise
• Care about the institution
• Success necessary because
• Cannot afford costs of unsuccessful
  implementation
• Current technology architecture no longer
  supported

3
New Project Management Processes
Cost Management
Technology Readiness Assessment
Dedicated Resource Program
Reporting Strategy
Transition Planning
Data Access Protocol
Integrated Project Schedule
New Project Management Process
New Communication Strategy
Changed Organization Structure
Go Live Planning
Re-Vamped Steering Committee
Project Status Reporting
Vendor Relationships
Banner Information Center
Risk Management Process
Weekly Management Review
Production Systems Review
Culture Shift
4
Changed Project Organization

• Issues
• Needed to match functional project management
  with technical project management
• Technical and functional had to be considered
  part of the same team
• Needed greater role definition for project
  management
• Results
• De-silo functional and technical teams
• Tear down the invisible managerial walls
• Removed barriers across sub-projects and with
  partners

5
Project Reporting Structure
Alumni
Human Resources
Finance
Student
Functional Project Team
Functional Project Team
Functional Project Team
Alumni Support Team
Technical Project Team
Technical Project Team
Technical Project Team
Manager, Student Functional
Manager, Finance Functional
Manager, HR Functional
Manager, Alumni Support
Manager, Student Technical
Manager, Finance Technical
Manager, HR Technical
Banner Project Management Team
Project Director
Banner Steering Committee
6
Dedicated Technical Resource Program

• Introduced dedicated technical resources to
  specific functional problems
• Successful with degree auditing and graduate
  eligibility sub-projects
• Creates focus, limits flexibility
• Challenge was to limit legacy support work

7
Risk Management Process
Write Plan
Assemble Team

• Perform risk assessment
• 1 - Risk management plan developed
• 2 - Risk assessment team assembled
• 3 - Risk generation process executed
• 4 - Risk list rationalized
• 5 - Risks ranked and prioritized
• 6 - Response plans written
• 7 - Risk review process established and running
  monthly
• Institutionalize ongoing risk assessment
• Ongoing risk reviews
• Execution of risk response plans if necessary

Generate Risks
Rationalize List
Rank Risks
Write Responses
Monitor Control
8
Vendor Relationships

• Paid bills due
• Support services from affected vendors returned
  to acceptable levels
• Focused on developing personal relationships with
  vendors where possible
• With 10 different vendors, maintaining positive
  relations was challenging but critical

9
Re-Vamped Steering Committee

• Full disclosure of project status
• The good, the bad, and the scary
• If something goes wrong
• What happened
• How did it happen
• What is the impact
• What action are we taking to fix it
• When will it be fixed
• Decision making body
• Enterprise-wide policy
• Escalated issues
• Voting

10
Re-Vamped Steering Committee

• ERP Project
• Management Meeting
• Purpose
• To review progress, address issues, and take
  corrective action
• Frequency
• Every week
• Attendees
• Project managers
• Project director (chair)

• ERP Steering
• Committee Meeting
• Purpose
• To resolve strategic issues and monitor project
  success measures
• Frequency
• Every two weeks
• Attendees
• VP Finance Admin
• VP Academic
• Dean of Students
• Dean of Grad Studies
• AVP Enrollment
• AVP Alumni
• CIO
• Director HR
• Director Finance

Issue requests status updates
Issue resolution direction
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Integrated Project Schedule

• Changes
• Schedule developed for each module
• All modules put into an integrated plan
• Schedule review sessions and update progress
  every 2 weeks
• Not interested in tracking history

• Results
• Critical path issues identified
• Resource allocation problems determined
• Radar screen for potential problems
• Translates into a PowerPoint chart for steering
  committee

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Steering Committee Detail
Feb. 24
Jul02
Oct02
Jan03
Aug02
Sep02
Jun02
Nov02
Dec02
Feb03
Mar03
Apr03
May03
Jun03
Jul03
Aug03
Sep03
Oct03
Nov03
Dec03
Infrastructure OUAC HSA EMAS Letter
generation Transfer artic. DARS Interfaces e-Visio
ns ESIS/UAR UGAFA
13
New Communications Strategy

• Consistent key messaging
• Going live is not the end of the project, it is
  just the end of the beginning
• The show me year - demonstrate, dont speculate
• Match expectations with reality
• No rah-rah messages
• Mandate to replace legacy system, not improve
  upon it
• Going live means a non-ERP team member has
  entered permanent data into the system

14
ERP Data Access Protocol

• Background
• External systems accessed legacy data through the
  back door
• Same external groups wanted to continue this
  practice with ERP
• Purpose of protocol
• Formalize process for facilitating data access
  through the front door
• To maintain the projects schedule and budget
  (and manage scope changes) the external projects
  were asked to follow this protocol
• Scope control
• Data propagation restraint
• Principles
• Use central database instead of edge systems
  whenever possible
• Avoid duplicate functionality
• Need a standard approach to respond to external
  systems
• Data will be supplied if business case warrants
• New ERP changes will supercede any edge system

15
Reporting Strategy
Number of Users
Complexity of Report

• Oracle
• Production reporting
• Standardized, repeated reports

• Access
• Quick development of ad hoc queries
• Low volume of data

• Impromptu
• what if decision support modeling
• Reports needing high presentation flexibility

• eVisions
• Customize Banner reports
• Specialized external, formal reports

• PowerPlay
• Executive dashboard tool good for analytical work
• Not useful for day-to-day reporting

• PL/SQL
• Efficiency of processing needed
• Complex queries

16
Attitude shift

• Positive, buoyant culture introduced
• Can-do, non-adversarial

Go Live
Morale
Reality sets in
Recognize progress
Trough of Disillusionment
Kickoff
Time
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ERP Implementation Costs