ERP - Project Initiation

What are some of the critical success factors to have an effective ERP Project Initiation Phase?  What are the deliverables that needs to be prepared and delivered to the client during this phase.

What are some of the considerations that project team must take care of while kick-starting the ERP Project.

The Project Initiation is the kick-off or start of a new project and the Project Manager and a few Key resources that basically form the ERP Project management team are required to carry out this phase. Before embarking on creation of a Project Plan there are certain golden rules which each member of the ERP Project Management Team needs to keep in mind and practice as necessary. The golden rules are as follows:

Start Right - If you start badly, it is always difficult and often impossible to recover.

Know your Client - Get to know the project stakeholders and, in particular, who is funding the project. These two parties usually are not the same people. Understand their spheres of influence; agree on when and how their support will be called upon, and what the project will expect of them.

Define the Project Scope – Study the Contract; Reach agreement with the client on a precise definition of the scope of work and terms of engagement; understand how consultant’s scope of work relates to the client’s business objectives and the key benefits the client expects to achieve from it.

Manage the Risks - Determine the key risks, analyze their impact, define containment strategies, and establish contingency plans.

Field a winning Team – Select People based on the 3 primary criteria, Merit, ability to adapt rapidly and personality fit with the team.

Communicate with Honesty and Conviction - Set standards with the stakeholders and the team on communications and progress reporting, adhere to them, be honest, and do it frequently; Set for everyone involved the expectation of “no surprises”; Adopt a conflict minimization strategy and try to reach a win-win solution.

Produce formal Documentation - Document all deliveries, agreements, decisions, issues, resolutions, actions, and file them with all correspondence and minutes of meetings.

Plan for Completion - Project Completion is the final phase of the change process brought about by the project. Plan early for it. Final impressions are the ones that you leave with people.

The Major activities during a Project Initiation phase are as follows: 

• Contract review and Sign Off
• Project scope
• Project Assumptions and Exclusions
• Deliverables
• Prepare a unified Project Plan
• Field a Project team
• Install the ERP Software