Never Sink The Project

ERP Projects are one of the most challenging projects to implement simply because of the intangible nature of Software and also because of the highly ambigous requirement intepretation. 

While there can be no one way to do the projects. Following are the list of things to look out for - 

Hostile Client team

In every project of reasonable size, it is almost a given that there will be someone not happy with the transition to your product. Look out for these people. As a practise, identify the key stakeholders during project kickoff or in the very early stages. Map them correctly and try to diffuse tensions as much as possible. In the event that there is continued hostility, aim for increased usage from other stakeholders which will help mitigate risk and act as 

Understanding Key Business functions

During requirement, make sure to understand that the most important business function which has a lot of dependency on the success of the Project. Take extra effort to map these functions and address them with a suitbable workflow offering. Make sure to have clearly defined Acceptance criteria (AC) so that there is no room for misunderstanding. 

Industry understanding before beginning Requirement Gathering

It is extremely important to get a Knowledge Transfer (KT) from the sales team before heading for Kick off or beginning requirements gathering so as to have a basic overview of the Industry in which the client is operating - Retail, Manufacturing etc. Be aware of key terminologies and read up to understand high level workflow. Detailed understanding can be gained through client Q&A too. 

Capture ROI Clearly

For any ERP project to be successful, all stakeholders must at least agree on the basic set of ROI that will be achieved with the project. Read through the proposal or take handover from sales team to understand client pain areas clearly. Finally, during requirements gathering, identify the current pain areas and the expected ROI based on these. Unless the ROI is identified and call out in the open, there is always going to be confusion with the ultimate goal of the project.