IT project implementation in the enterprise

I am often asked to talk about IT project implementation at the enterprise level. If I could put down every view I have, within a few months it would probably develop into a pretty useful book. But people like me do not know how to write a book, though—I reckon—we can write reports and give short talks. I plan to share these thoughts with you readers. Today I will touch upon five aspects of implementing large IT projects (ERP, SCM, CRM, etc).

Managing disagreements & dissent
One of the golden IT project implementation rules reads: “There should not be any public criticism of the ERP project by the team members and the higher-ups.” Here ‘public’ means any person other than the next one above in the ‘chain of command.’ If any member has any difference of opinion on how things should be done, he/she should send an e-mail to his/her superior or go across and meet him/her. This discipline has to be followed right down the line by each one; with feedback, one’s job ends when one has conveyed one’s view to one’s superior. Afterward, whatever is the decision must be honoured in right earnest and carried out. I do not mean by this that the issues should not be debated at all, I am merely suggesting that this free and frank expression of opinions be done privately rather than in a public forum.

Public dissent has a very detrimental effect on people at all levels. It dampens enthusiasm and affects the morale of those who are implementing and supporting the project; it increases doubts in the minds of the so-called Doubting Thomases; and it provides fuel to those who are opposing the project.

Organisations must remember that the ultimate responsibility of implementing ERP, or for that matter any big IT project, rests with the management alone. Vendors and implementation partners of the vendors do not take responsibility for failures. Only about 40 percent of organisations succeed in implementing ERP solutions.

However, these companies derive so much benefit that others get attracted to tread this path too.

Interaction with the team
It is seen that most of the organisations that fail in implementing ERP are organised in a way such that the ERP team works in an isolated manner. This group in such companies adopts the attitude of being ‘enlightened’ and, knowingly or otherwise, members behave like they are on the fast track. This is resented by the others, and all support for them dries up. This also results in business units not owning the solution offered. The environment within the organisation is of ‘us v/s them’—and that’s highly counterproductive.

Therefore, conscious efforts must be made to draw out the users and ensure that the ownership of the solution rests with them and not with the ERP implementation team. The team should be perceived as the means to achieve the solution desired and designed by the business units.

The ultimate objective of implementing the solution is to create the new lifeline of the organisation. All must know, accept, recognise and remember that once ERP is implemented the older transaction processing system is killed.

Positioning the people
People often mistakenly believe that the implementation team must not be disturbed during the project period. But if the work demands that any person has to be shifted out because of exigencies of work, that should definitely be done. During the time when the software is being configured and fine-tuned there will be some people who cannot cope with the demands of the work. These have to be isolated and shifted out. While implementing the software in the field units there will be people who will resent implementation. These too have to be proactively identified and
tackled.

At the same time, the reservations and apprehensions of people must be taken care of. Adequate training through a well-designed course must be imparted to people. One must also recognise that despite the best efforts and intentions, there would be some people who may have to be shifted out. The problems arise partly because different people take varying amounts of time to learn and do not want to be seen in a bad light. One has to balance the opposite demands of ‘carrying people along’ and ‘going along with the people’.

The end of batch-mode
This applies not only to computer systems but also to the general way of working and thinking. Everyone in the organisation must realise that with ERP they are no longer working in batch mode. It is not that the data will be processed and made available only by the middle of the following month, after which reports will be perused and analysed and decisions will be taken. ERP/SCM/CRM solutions enable 24x7x365 access to information and reports.

Most reports would now be available daily and decisions could be taken on them instantly. Once the system is implemented completely, there is no need to send data and reports from the field offices to the headquarters. The HQ would too have online access to the data and would see all that is there to see and would accordingly act and react instantly. Everyone must know, accept, recognise and remember that the batch mode is dead forever once these projects are implemented.

The technology
IT is a very specialised area and expert help must be taken where needed. A number of new problems often surface just before or after the rollout begins. One has to remember that information technology changes the way work is done within an organisation. It also puts a halt to a number of malpractices and takes away a number of undocumented, discretionary powers exercised by different people in the organisation. The IT projects (ERP, SCM, CRM, etc) are resented not only by groups that are likely to lose in the power game but are also resented by groups suffering from ‘techno phobia’ and ‘techno stress’. All these groups form a part of the white-collar mafia of the organisation. Fighting this white-collar mafia is very difficult because dealing with them requires an altogether different skill-set. But that discussion’s for another day.

Harsh Kumar is Advisor—IT at Hindustan Petroleum. He can be contacted at harshkumar@hpcl.co.in. The views expressed herein are his own, and do not necessarily reflect those of the organisation