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Overview of Software Implementation Plan for an ERP or Custom Developed Solution

Implementing software solutions in organizations demands huge investments of time, effort and money. With clear and well-defined goals, and a definite implementation plan, coupled with the active involvement of the management at every stage can maximize the returns from the implementations.

 

Making a Business Case

The initial step is to identify a specific business need or a pain point which needs to be addressed. More importantly, it is to identify the bottlenecks. Next, the team needs to work towards the resolution of this issue. While working on the issue the team needs to be able to pinpoint the areas such whether it’s the workflow, processing, operations, know-how which needs to be improved. Based on this they need to outline the stages where the metrics will be defined and measured to gauge the benefits they seek. The overall impact needs to be defined in terms of increase in ROI.

Once this is done, the team evaluates the various options they have in terms of resolving the problem. This involves doing a cost-benefit analysis of the various solutions they can corporate and measuring the results, i.e. the metrics defined against the costs. Since the investments may be huge, this stage is crucial to close on the approach. Some questions the team needs to ask are whether they stand to gain or lose by implementing these options.

Implementing a software solution could be one of the ways to resolve the issue.

Vendor Selection

Now that the management has agreed to resolve the issue with software, the next step is to select a vendor. We need to be aware that software development services providers think pragmatically, they execute the requirements as per the specifications that they are provided with. Therefore, if you give them vague parameters there will be discrepancies between the outcome and the vision that you have for your application. By identifying details at a low level, the gap between the vision and execution can be narrowed.

Organizations that do not have internal in house division of software development should partner with a software development company that offers full lifecycle services such as custom programming, integration, implementation, etc. Software development is feedback driven so though it may not be perfect the first time with feedback but it can be perfected.

Scope Control

When businesses become fixed on perfection, they lose sight of the big picture. PMI defines scope creep as including additional features or functions of a new product, requirements, or work that is not authorized, i.e. features that are beyond the agreed-upon scope. The requirements document defines the capabilities of the new system so that is what the vendor needs to focus on. Requirements are meant to be proactively granular rather than retroactive. Scope creep can be controlled. It normally happens when the business wants everything together.

Create Realistic Teams that Drive Software Implementation Plans

The next critical step in the implementation plan is creating the team necessary for success. The team structure will depend on the type of business; i.e. its unique needs and the scale of implementation. The wider and larger the impact in terms of the business units and users, the larger the implementation team will be. It is important to have an IT lead who would be the point of contact for the vendor.

Another requirement in the team is for a training lead, a representative of the users who will be using the software on a daily basis. This training lead will lead the charge for adoption from the very beginning. He/she will conduct workshops and also take feedback from the users to the vendor.

Generate User Adoption With a Proactive, Engaging Strategy

No matter how strong the new system developed is, effort needs to be invested in having it adopted across the organization. The business must put strategies in place for user acceptance and adoption of the new system.

Without using positive engagement around the use of the application the application may never be used. It is like encouraging an organization-wide change with steps such as creating awareness of the problem, with the desire to use the application to resolve the problem, there could be incentives given to increase its use, arrange training sessions and workshops to share knowledge and skills so that users get familiarized with using it. Organizations can set up helpdesks, etc. that offer inputs readily to avoid users’ giving up on the use of the application. The use can be reinforced by measuring and rewarding the use of the application thereby ensuring an enthusiastic and smooth transition.

Continuous Improvement

To ensure long-term implementation of the new application, say a Fleet Management Software or School Mobile Apps, organizations need to prioritize the most important modules or features that the users must be trained on first as they master using the application. Organizing training is an important step towards achieving this goal. The content of the training is to be tailored to the needs of each team.  Keeping the end in mind, i.e. to affect the greatest possible improvements, training can be monitored for quality so that it resonates and meets the needs of each group in the organization.  Taking an example of an ERP implementation in an organization whether it is an off the shelf product or an application developed using the custom ERP software development exercise, each department or function in the organization needs to be explained and elucidated the specific modules. This is an ongoing task which continues with new changes and enhancements in the software.

This article is courtesy of Acuminous Software, a full lifecycle services software development company. To know more details for a software implementation plan or to get one made for your business reach Acuminous at +1-647-987-6105 (Canada) or +91-8376-908-094 (India).
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Location: India

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