Maximize Your Investment电子书

Maximize Your Investment: 10 Key Strategies for Effective Packaged Software Implementations

Table of Contents

Maximize Your Investment: 10 Key Strategies for Effective Packaged Software Implementations

Credits

About the Author

Acknowledgement

About the Reviewers

Preface

Vision of the future

Purpose of this book

Out of scope for this book

What this book covers

Who this book is for

Conventions

Reader feedback

Customer support

Errata

Piracy

Questions

1. The Silo Approach is Alive and Well

Why do we need to change?

Robbins-Gioia Survey

Conference Board Survey

Business solution defined

What is the most important component of a business solution?

What is wrong with existing packaged software implementations?

IT does not matter? Think again!

Is technology changing Business?

Ten principles for implementing a business solution

Principle #1 for implementing a business solution

Principle #2 for implementing a business solution

Principle #3 for implementing a business solution

Principle #4 for implementing a business solution

Principle #5 for implementing a business solution

Battle of camps

Soap box — Bashing methodologies

Customer-specific implementation

Principle #6 for implementing a business solution

Principle #7 for implementing a business solution

Principle #8 for implementing a business solution

Principle #9 for implementing a business solution

Observations

Principle #10 for implementing a business solution

Summary

References

2. Focus on Business Results

Challenging today's mindset

We focus only on what we measure

Project scope fixates on software features

Focus on key drivers for business results

What results generate business value?

How to focus on business results during an implementation

Conduct business training

Implementation documentation should be Business-oriented

Use value-added Business results to filter requirements

Project objectives should address business results

Summary

References

3. Invest in Your Implementation Partners

Making the investment

Document existing business processes

Enterprise modeling approach

Build trust in the implementation partner

Educate the implementation partner on the existing business solution

Complete packaged software implementation questionnaires

Conduct project orientation with the implementation partner

Complete packaged software training before the implementation partner's arrival

What to expect from your implementation partner

Predefined business process models

Detailed Business process maps

Packaged software implementation questionnaires

Certified business solution experts

Summary

References

4. Enable the Customer to Lead During the Implementation

Enabling the customer to lead is a process

Educate

Best Practice: Knowledge transfer plan

Enable

Empower

Celebrate

Enablement requires different leadership styles

Implications for implementation partners

Summary

References

5. Perform Business Solution Modeling

Defining prototyping and business solution modeling

Prototyping

Business solution modeling

Conducting Business solution modeling

Recommendations for conducting Business solution modeling

Customer's knowledge of existing business activities

Use real customer data during modeling

Best practice: Number of iterations for business solution modelling

Core Business practices — consistency

Have multiple disciplines represented

Value proposition for Business solution modeling

Provides a working proof of concept

Validates software configuration

Creates a baseline model for impact analysis

Enables business solution training

Identifies challenges early

Facilitates and promotes customer interaction and quick decision-making

Challenges with business solution modeling

Won't Business solution modelling slow me down? Is it worth the cost?

Summary

Reference

6. Determining the Correct Implementation Approach

Who is the leader — Business or IT?

Solution-based approach

Business solution component: People

Business solution component: Business processes

Business solution component: Technology

Disciplines used in a Business solution implementation

Project management

Software development

Hybrid implementation approach

Organizational change management

Business process management and Quality management

Selecting the correct methodology

Factor: Size of the implementation

Factor: Personnel capabilities

Factor: Risk

Factor: Business-IT relationship and culture

Business model dynamics

Factor: Guiding principles for a methodology

Applying methodologies for COTS implementations

Integrating methodologies

Project management

Silo versus holistic focus

Project control

Risk versus reward

Balanced project leadership between Business and IT

Software development

Sequential development versus business process development

Tailoring software development for COTS

Organizational change management

Defining the current business model the and future business model

Organizational requirements

Field readiness plan

Deployment strategy

Advantages and disadvantages of COTS deployment strategies

Global considerations

Summary

References

7. Implement to the Current Business Maturity Level

Features and capabilities

Software design tools

To customize or not to customize

Challenge with technology-driven change

Understanding Business solution maturity

Business process performance within a maturity level

Illustration for a Professional Services Organization

Defining the evolutionary path of a business solution

Three broad categories of business processes

Revenue generating

Revenue supporting

Regulatory and compliance

Best Practice — Implement to the current maturity level

Minimize evolving business requirements

Minimize organizational change

Maximize opportunity for rapid delivery

Summary

Reference

8. Minimizing Customizations and Maximizing Enhancements

Requirements-driven strategy

Solution-driven strategy

Configuration-driven strategy

Requirements management revisited

Gathering requirements

Analyzing requirements

Validating requirements

Selecting requirements

Value-added requirements management

Iteration #1 — listen to the customer

Iteration #2 — Lead the customer

Iteration #3 — Confirm with the customer

Challenging business requirements

Customizations versus enhancements

What are customizations?

What are enhancements?

Challenges and risks with valued-added requirements management

Summary

9. Negotiate for Success

Trickle down acceptance falls short

Developing an effective negotiation strategy

Paradigm shift in business software expectations

Paradigm shift in organizational acceptance

Understand when and where to negotiate

Utilize your packaged software provider

Ensuring successful negotiations

Building momentum

Marketing your solution

Summary

References

10. Have a Business Solution Architect

Perspectives of a Business solution

Who is covering business processes?

Solution - Business Solution Architect

Responsibilities

Qualifications

Best practices for identifying conflicts

Identify functional boundaries

Identify packaged software dependencies and shared components

Perform a business process-oriented review of requirements and software configuration

Validate conflicts

Assign work in a process-oriented fashion

Summary

11. Accelerate Decisions by Generating More Knowledge and Less Information

Traditional information gathering approach

Information versus knowledge

Decision-oriented information gathering

Implementation scope defines the decisions

Best practices influence the decisions

Effective knowledge generation

Gather information

Review information (evaluate)

Refining information (enrich)

Relate information (context)

Enabling decision makers

Project on-boarding

Maximize interactions with the project team

Summary

12. Changing the Game

Traditional approaches fall short

Understanding packaged software advantages and challenges

Maximize the advantages of packaged software

Drive standardization

Greater focus on strategic activities

Potential for rapid deployment

Shared IT development costs

Simplify the IT footprint

Minimize challenges with packaged software

Organizational change impact

Perception of setbacks

Discipline to maximize COTS investment

Different implementation approach

Change the game by changing strategy

Summary

References

A. Summary of Challenges

Index