The project methodology is essential in an ERP project. It can be difficult to know which methodology to choose, where to start or who to call. All the answers to your questions in this article.
An ERP project cannot be improvised. Having a clear
and precise methodology to carry out the project from start to finish is
essential to its smooth running. We recorded a podcast on the ERP project
methodology with Alexandre, Operations Manager at Flow Line. Check out his
transcript below.
Definition of the project methodology
Methodology is a magical term.
Magical because it appears as soon as the term “Project” is pronounced.
Magical because it is supposed to be the answer to all questions.
Magic finally because no one really knows what it means.
Like everything that is magical, it is a little scary
and we sometimes avoid looking it in the face.
Yet the methodology is very concrete and very simple in a way, it's just answering "How are we going to do it? ". Really. Overall and on a day-to-day basis, how are we going to carry out the project. What schedule, what steps, who participates, who validates, what is done and by whom...
What is the project methodology used for?
What is the methodology for? To do cheaper? To do
better? What do we put behind this term?
The methodology is used to arrive at the desired place
with the desired effort.
You want to go up a mountain, if your goal is to go as
fast as possible regardless of the cost, you will take a helicopter. If you
want to bring your whole family, you will take a tent and a donkey, if you want
to do the north face alone you will take crampons and a rope.
Thinking about the methodology helps you avoid trying
to get a donkey into a helicopter.
It is defining the means that will allow you to achieve your objective.
Choose your methodology: several choices are available
to you
It is often thought that it is a choice of project
expert who must tell you how to do it.
So yes, it is important to be accompanied and to build
the method with the one who will commit at your side to make the project a
success.
But the structuring elements of the choice are at the
heart of the company. What matters most is the strategy of the company, its
organization and its culture.
Its strategy because it determines the objective of
the project. Is the goal to become very specific on one or more subjects that
will create a competitive advantage (quality, delivery time, customer
information, etc.)? is it a question of restructuring operations around
standard processes? is it a question of doing external growth with a solution
that we can quickly plug into a new company? This question determines the
target, the mountain that we are aiming for
The organization is both what will allow the project
to be carried out and what the project acts on. It determines who will be able
to lead the project. The DSI, the professions? Is external assistance needed?
What is the availability of people? Will we have to hire?
It is also what will be impacted by the project. Will
the organization be thoroughly reviewed? How should we support him in this
transformation? Is she already ready? He's the one we're going with.
Concerning the corporate culture both in what it is
and in what it must become. Does the company know how to work in project mode?
Are the services autonomous in their choices? Are the decisions taken by
consensus or by the legitimacy of some? Do we want to push a solution or do we
want to co-build it?
An ERP project is an important event that marks the
way employees see their role in the company. What message do we want to convey?
it goes from “We have to think together about the practices of tomorrow” to
“The group gives you tools, you do your job”. It determines how we go about it
and it is far from neutral.
Moving from theory to practice
When you talk to different integrators, they will
present a product to you, but also a project cost and a method.
The first thing to do will be to ask yourself if the
method is in line with your needs. An integrator will be able to offer you a
very inexpensive and very short project because he will assume that you will
carry out a very significant part of the project. Another will be able to offer
you a tailor-made implementation to meet your finest needs because he will
assume that the added value of the project will be there. Both can be right on
two projects, two different companies, but not at the same time in the same
company.
You need to know how to identify the one who co understand
your need. Then you can go into detail and let yourself be guided by his
expertise.
What Flow Line offers you
Flow Line has been integrating for over 20 years.
And depending on the product, whether ERP, CRM or BI
and the nature of the project, we will offer different approaches.
For example, the MIRE method: stands for Rapid ERP
Implementation Method. The objective will be to:
- Implement standard ERP processes
- Limit pilot load by pushing best practices
- Operate on the basis of a model that is adjusted over the course of the workshops
The idea is to set up a standard and robust base on
which optimizations can then be carried out.
We have another approach, which is called Energy.
This time the starting point is not the standard but
it is the business flow that will guide the realization
The pilots are fully involved because they express the
need and participate in the implementation
We have a more important design and analysis phase.
The objective is to achieve a solution that responds
to expert business issues and also to achieve a significant transfer of skills
to the pilots.
And finally, we have agile methodologies, particularly
in the context of our CRM offers, for which we are going to have a more modular
approach by applying the principles of agile methods.
Our goal is to identify with our clients which one
will be relevant in their context.
Concretely, we propose a detailed project organization
plan in line with the defined methodology.
We define the phases of the project, the deliverables,
the schedule, but also how the workshops will take place, who will participate,
who will validate and when, and finally how the tasks will be shared between
Flow Line and the client.
I suggest that you make a detail of this project plan
in a future podcast.