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To insure a successful implementation, we recommend that training occur early and often. It works best when users also become trainers. The "train the trainer" approach will develop a team of internal resources that will be invaluable during the first few weeks of "go-live". It also exerts peer pressure on other employees to not be left behind. Custom training materials should be developed so that they become a blueprint for doing one's job. The training materials should include policies and operating procedures as well as procedures for correcting errors. Training should focus equally on error correction as well as routine processing. A key factor in the magnitude of "go-live panic" (discussed below) is making an error and not knowing how to correct it.
"Go-live Panic"
In the best planned implementations, there will almost certainly be a general panic on the part of some users (and maybe some IT support personnel) at "go-live". Anticipating and managing this chaotic period, making sure that resources are available and ready to answer questions, providing hand-holding and fixes is crucial to a successful implementation. Making users feel comfortable with quick answers and problem solving will insure their rapid acceptance and ownership of the new system. It will also prevent errors from proliferating early in the "go-live" process. The true sign that an ERP implementation is successful is when everything suddenly goes quiet. After the chaos of the first few days and weeks of operation this quiet period should be used to compare the operating environment to the requirements definition document to make sure the project team hit the target.
The Gartner Group recently published some statistics that indicates that almost 30% of ERP implementations fail. It does not have to be this way. Our firm has successfully implemented a range of software solutions in various industries over the last fifteen years. We continue to revise and fine tune our implementation methodology as software solutions continue to evolve. The "keys to a successful implementation" are reviewed with our clients before the project begins to insure that we get their full support. There are, of course, other aspects to a successful implementation that have not been mentioned here due to space and time restrictions. Particularly important are the areas of Implementation Planning and System Testing. The experienced implementation specialist will tailor the project plan to emphasize additional elements that are unique to a given client. However, every implementation plan should emphasize the seven keys elements of a successful implementation.
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