Using the paper developed in Weeks One and Two, add an additional 3 to 4 pages (1,050 to 1,400 words) describing your user acceptance testing plans for ensuring the Business Enterprise Software performs at an acceptable level.
Running head: Brewton Business Scenario
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System Deployment Preparation
System deployment is a critical but complex aspect of a software implementation such as the case with Brewton business. There are two main activities that will be involved during the deployment preparation. The first activity will involve developing an elaborate plan. This deployment plan will put emphasize on the individuals, processes, and technologies required for the successful installation of the ERP system. The second activity will involve developing an operational support plan which will be used to ensure that the new system is properly integrated and adequately supported by the necessary IT resources on an ongoing basis. The project team led by myself will identify all resources, activities, and tasks needed to support the system as well as the operational support team and their roles.
System Documentation
System documentation will be a necessary part of the ERP implementation process. It will involve coming up with documents which describe the requirements, functionalities, design, operation and maintenance of the system.
Data Conversion
Data conversion is the process of moving certain data formats from one system or database to another. For this case, the conversion will involve moving all data from the current system including manual records to the new ERP system. All company data will be mapped, and the necessary software will be used to move data.
System Testing
System testing will be performed just before the system goes live so as to evaluate the compliance with all the specified requirements. Several techniques of testing will be used, and they include acceptance, system, integration and unit testing.
User Training
As the project manager, I will be responsible for identifying, designing and sourcing the training resources needed to train users about the specific modules and processes which relate to their respective departments. Training will be conducted at all company branches as well as the headquarters, and select users will be trained in turns to ensure that normal business operations are not affected.
System Startup
The system startup process will involve running the system on different personal computers and devices such as desktop computers, laptops and even BYOD devices which can be used by employees in future. The process of starting up the system will involve accessing the ERP portal and fill up login credentials so that all users can be able to access modules based on their roles and the departments they represent.
Identifying Key Stakeholders
As the project manager, I will be responsible for the planning, procurement, and implementation of the ERP system proposed by Brewton business. To ensure the success of the project, I will require the input of several stakeholders during the implementation process that will play different but interconnected roles. The first key stakeholder will be Mark Brewton, Chief Executive Officer.as the leader of the company, Mr. Mark has directed the IT director to acquire and implement the enterprise system, and he holds the view that it will help streamline accounting and purchasing processes. Mr. Mark will play an oversight role as well as developing the ERP implementation team and assessing its overall performance. He will also be responsible for approving the entire project budget with input from the chief finance officer.
The second stakeholder will be Mike Benson, the Information Technology Director. The IT director and his team will be responsible for the day to day operations of the ERP software and the infrastructure that connects all employees to the ERP system. The IT director will also be responsible for drafting the project budget. The third key stakeholder will be Barbara Scharer who’s the Chief Financial Officer for the company. Barbara will be in charge of the financial management section of the proposed ERP system. She will also be interested in the budget proposal that will be submitted by the IT director and will be responsible for its approval (Lech, P. 2016).
Finally, the last stakeholders I will involve in the implementation process will be the users and employees at the company. New systems bring about change in any business due to the implementation of a new and different set of business processes, and this mostly leads to change resistance (Lech, P. 2016).User input during the implementation process will be essential in fulfilling all requirements and harmonizing all issues raised as well as providing a channel for users to interact with ERP system before it’s finally rolled out (Lech, P. 2016).
IdentifyingAny Challenges Anticipated In Working with Stakeholders
The entire process of implementing an ERP system can bring numerous challenges for all stakeholders involved. These challenges have the potential of derailing the project progress or lead to its complete failure (Seo, G. 2013). As the project manager, I’ve acknowledged a few challenges and the first challenge anticipated while working with the above stakeholders is the lack of effective communication. To avoid this, during the ERP implementation process I will ensure effective communication by organizing meetings where all stakeholders will air their opinions and provide feedback. Another challenge is employee morale. Individuals assigned to ERP projects are often put under the stress of lengthy working hours with extra workload and sometimes no off days (Seo, G. 2013). This is not exempted for Brewton’s case since the ERP system will be expansive and be developed to serve many users. The stress which is associated with the implementation can potentially decrease the stakeholders’ output and negatively impact the implementation process. To counter this, I would propose that the company’s executive leadership which comprises of the CEO, CFO, and human resources director must provide flexible working hours to achieve better results.
Specifying All Human Resources That Will Be Required During System Implementation
The human resources needed to implement the ERP system will consist of different individuals performing different roles, and the first one is the project manager (Lech, P. 2016). Being the project manager, I will be involved in managing the project team, project budget, and ensuring that the schedule is adhered to. The second human capacity needed will be the IT director and his team whose main role will be to assist with installation and configuration of the system and also providing technical training to all employees.
The third human resource needed will be the system administrator who will be responsible for the collective setup and technical aspects of the administration of the ERP system. The final human capacity needed will be the technical support team who will assist employees and customers with ongoing operational issues. This team will deal with the continuing needs of both users and customers during implementation and even after roll out.
Identifying computer and network resources required for the production mode of operation.
For the purposes of using the system production mode, several computers and network resources will be required, and they include desktops, monitors, and laptops together with fast and reliable servers which should be hosted in an expanded server room in the IT department. The enterprise system will also be customized to ensure that future releases and updates from the vendor are easy to be integrated into the deployed system (Lech, P. 2016). An SQL server database that supports all the ERP application will also be built and integrated into the network. The network for the entire production floor will be built using category six cables since they can run for distances of up to 100 meters and deliver high and reliable speeds of up to 100 Mbps.
Developing The Project Communication Plan
A project communication plan is used to facilitate effective and efficient communication with the various stakeholders during its implementation. An effective communication plan includes certain key elements such as communication objectives, important content for the dissemination, target audiences and the methods to be used as well as the frequency. A good two-way channel of communications is crucial for the success of the implementation of an ERP system or any other system in general. Good communication can be used to inform all key stakeholders on the progress of the project as well as reveal omissions and misallocation of resources early enough to allow for rectification and revision.
For this case, a communication plan will be used to keep all the stakeholders and managers informed and updated on all the happenings and progress of the ERP system implementation process. There are several forms of communication that will be used to communicate to all users on how their jobs will change, how they will be trained to use the new system and many more activities such as key milestones achieved and the overall implementation progress. The first form of communication will be through status reports, and these reports will constitute of content such as expected risks that could affect the system and what deliverables will be aligned with risk mitigation and contingencies put in place in case of the risk materializes. These reports will be sent electronically to key stakeholders such as the company's CEO, CFO, and IT director on a weekly basis.
The second form of communication will via newsletters and emails, and these channels will work well for disseminating announcements since the company has a broad target audience which is geographically distributed in different locations. This technique will be used to provide information relevant to the project progress as well as information about the ongoing and upcoming activities throughout the ERP implementation process. These emails and newsletters will be sent on a weekly basis to the IT director, the systems administrator, sales and advertising director as well as the web developer.
The final form of communication will be through meetings where stakeholders who include the IT director, the systems administrator and their teams will be briefed weekly on the progress of the implementation process through face-to-face meetings. On the other hand, the executive will receive the overall updates on a monthly basis which will start with a visual presentation of the project progress and later a discussion to deliberate on the milestones achieved and any challenges encountered or projected to occur in the future.
Milestones are an integral part of any project, and they provide a way to gauge on the implementation process as well as the transition of processes from one phase to another. For this case, specific project milestones will be used in determining where the implementation stands and they include the initial phase where the scope will be defined, expectations set, timelines developed and cost estimates prepared. Another milestone will be at the stage where user training will be undertaken, and users are given a walkthrough of all proposed businesses processes. The third milestone will be at the point where data is migrated from the old system to the new ERP system.
Types of Documentation That Will Be Required To Support the Future System Operation
After the system is fully rolled out, the major task of supporting its day to day usage begins, and during this phase, the technical support teams and the IT department can refer to support its intended usability. For this case, there will be several user and technical documentations in place and the first one will be the User Requirements Specifications (URS). This document will be used to describe business needs required from the system by the users. The URS will not be a technical document and will be used to provide general knowledge of the new system to all intended users during its operational phase.
Secondly, a technical specification document will be used to support the future system operation. This document will be to describe all parts of the overall system design and this will include interfaces and the data types required which includes input and output data types. This document will incorporate solutions to all expected technical problems and will specify relationships with other system components and their responsibilities and dependencies.
Lastly, there will be a functional requirements specifications document which will describe all the activities and operations that the new ERP system will perform. Some of the functional requirements to be included in this document will include the descriptions of which type of data will be entered into the system for all departments in the company. Another requirement to be documented will be the descriptions of how each screen or form will perform all operations. Finally, the requirement of individuals authorized to enter data into the system will be incorporated in this functional requirements specifications document.
The Change Control Process
Projects undergo change at any stage of implementation, and the executive and managers should understand the importance of the change control process which ensures that any changes along the implementation process flow smoothly. For this case, the change control process to be used will include documentation of the change request, formal assessment, and justification for the change and the risks and benefits expected. The process will also incorporate a planning stage where the project implementation team will create a detailed plan for design and implementation. The process will then include the design and testing phase where the team will design the program for the system change and tests. The final step will involve implementation and review of the change by the stakeholders to ensure that it has been implemented as planned and will be easily reflected on the system.
Outsourcing is a great option for companies which lack the required expertise and personnel to implement an extensive ERP system such as the one to be adopted by the company in this case. Some of the tasks that can and will be outsourced during the implementation process include producing the technical specification documents, data conversion or migration, and system testing. Outsourcing of the above tasks to the vendor or any other proven firm can ensure that the few employees at the company continue performing their day-to-day responsibilities using the current system without disruptions.
Consulting or outsourcing as it’s known has its benefits since individuals or firms who offer these services tend to be specialists in their field of work and therefore guarantee the delivery of reliable and state of the art ERP systems. Additionally, the outsourcing option is less expensive than hiring full-time employees since the company won’t be committed to annual salaries and benefits. However, outsourcing has its own challenges which include difficulty in finding a reputable and dedicated firm that will offer the high-quality services expected of them.
On the other hand, the benefits of an in-house team are that the executive has control over all activities to be performed including building a team of their own for the implementation process as well as overseeing all budgetary responsibilities. The in-house option also saves on costs that would have been used to hire external consultants who are paid by the hour. However, use of in-house services comes with several cons, and the first one includes the lack of innovation. Due to familiarity with the same work environment and equipment, employees tend to lack the necessary innovation skills that are possessed by consultants who spend their time exploring new technologies and equipment. Additionally, it would require more technical personnel when adopting in-house services for intensive tasks such as development and data migration.References
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