Since the pandemic, companies and their employees have found ways to work efficiently in a virtual environment. However, companies may still be holding off on moving forward with major projects, such as system implementations, until all employees are back to working in-person. A newly implemented system, such as an ERP, can provide numerous short- and long-term benefits to an organization. So why wait any longer? The following are five best practices to ensure a successful and on-time virtual system implementation.
A system implementation will require numerous meetings with various members of the project team. Too often, people join these meetings just to join them and they end up being a waste of everyone’s time. It is important to have a well-defined structure that participants can follow so every meeting counts. At the beginning of the meeting, the goal for the call should be stated to set expectations. For example, once all participants join a system requirements call, the organizer can say, “The purpose of today’s meeting is to gather system requirements related to inventory management in the new system.” As the meeting is wrapping up, it is important to restate the open items to those participants who are responsible for completing them. It is easy for open items or tasks to get lost in the shuffle as these calls can run long and cover a wide variety of material. After the meeting is over, the organizer should send a recap email to all participants with open items and next steps.
On a recent virtual 19-week ERP implementation project for an oil and gas company, numerous half- and full-day meetings were conducted. Each meeting started with an opening statement by the organizer to state the meeting objective. The organizer took notes on all open tasks as they were identified and repeated them at the end of the call. For example, throughout 4-hour ERP walkthrough sessions, numerous system modification questions were noted. At the end of the call, the organizer repeated these questions to system developers to remind them to investigate if the modifications inquired about were possible. These notes were put into an email and sent to all meeting participants. This ensured everyone stayed on the same page and open items or key milestones were completed on time.
As each person handles their responsibilities during a system implementation, it can be easy to lose sight of progress, especially in a virtual environment where everyone is in a different room. It is important to hold daily or weekly status updates with the project team to keep track of the implementation progress. The party leading the status update should create a deliverable, such as a single PowerPoint slide, that includes the initial project timeline, recent accomplishments, upcoming activities, open items, and issues or risks. Often, meetings turn into a competition of who can create the most slides to show off to the group. Why overwhelm people with a bunch of irrelevant junk? The slide should include a table with open items, the responsible individual, and due dates to remind everyone of their responsibilities. Those leading the meeting should speak to key accomplishments or upcoming activities as well as project status (on time, at risk, etc.). It is important to leave time at the end of the call for team members to ask questions. Lastly, the deliverable should be sent to all status meeting participants.
On a recent virtual ERP implementation for a growing midstream company, status updates were held for 30 minutes every Friday morning with the steering committee. A single PowerPoint slide containing the project timeline, recent key accomplishments, upcoming key activities, issues and risks, and open items was shared and sent out post-meeting. This provided an opportunity to keep discussions at a high level and avoid minute details that lead to rabbit holes. The new ERP system was implemented on time and within the project budget.
Throughout a system implementation, questions may arise that require a quick response. In a virtual environment, the benefit of leaning over to your neighbor or popping into someone’s office to ask a question is lost. Instant messaging platforms such as Microsoft Teams or Slack have numerous capabilities that can be leveraged throughout a virtual system implementation. They allow for quick communication as opposed to relying on email or scheduling a call with someone just to ask a quick question that could be hindering progress. These platforms also save all discussions for future reference. If a question arises surrounding a key decision, it’s easy to reference discussion archives for clarification. Additionally, instant messaging platforms hold the team accountable and prevent the “I never said that” conversation. Instant messaging platforms provide a log of proof for key decisions and help ensure everyone is doing their job throughout the course of the project.
On a recent virtual implementation for an oil and gas client, numerous data mapping activities were performed to translate historical financial transactions from the old system to the correct accounts in the new system. There were several scenarios where old system accounts did not match new system accounts 1:1. Microsoft Teams was utilized to clarify account-specific questions with the Financial Reporting Manager on the client side. Questions were answered quickly, which allowed the team to continue moving forward with the data mapping process. As similar questions were identified, the archived discussion with the Financial Reporting Manager on Microsoft Teams was leveraged for clarification. These features helped save significant time and effort. All historical financials were transferred to the new system swiftly and accurately, which ensured the implementation was completed on time.
Any type of system implementation requires numerous testing and training sessions to ensure end user readiness and knowledge retention. Teleconferencing platforms such as Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and WebEx have a screen sharing function that should be utilized for these virtual sessions. System trainers can walk end users through applicable scenarios and processes in the system to ensure they feel comfortable. On a recent virtual ERP implementation for a midstream client, the screen sharing function on Microsoft Teams allowed end users to walk through various system scenarios. In one instance, the procurement team was guided through creating a purchase order and route for approval. End users were able to complete system processes on their own prior to ERP go-live.
The recording function should also be used to record all testing and training sessions. The recordings of these sessions should be organized into a training library or folder that end users can access for future reference. This will also benefit those who missed the meeting.
One of the most crucial aspects of an implementation is coordinating meetings. There are a few ways to streamline this process. Team members’ calendars should be visible, shared, and color coded to display the importance of blocked off time. For example, blocks of time in red indicate important meetings that cannot be moved, and blocks in green indicate meetings that do not require attendance or can be rescheduled. Team members must also keep an honest calendar, especially when everyone is working from home with limited supervision. There always seems to be one person on a project that blocks off their entire calendar. Half the time, they are just grabbing coffee or setting their Fantasy Football lineups. Keeping an honest calendar will allow necessary meetings to be scheduled and the system implementation to stay on track.
On a recent virtual ERP Implementation, the project team streamlined the scheduling process to the point where it took less than five minutes to organize a meeting that fit everyone’s schedules. All meetings were scheduled on time which led to an on-time and within budget ERP implementation.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Trenegy has worked with numerous clients to implement systems virtually. All projects have been completed on time and within budget. Although new challenges arise constantly, following these best practices has helped ensure organizations complete a successful and timely implementation.
