There are outrageous rates of failure in most implementations of NetSuite ERP solutions. How you set up your NetSuite ERP implementation project for Your Business can make all the difference in its success. Regardless of your knowledge and competency in NetSuite ERP implementation, here is a list of eight technical tips for effective NetSuite ERP project management:
1. Stop Scope Creep As Early As You Can
If you think preventing scope creep is an essential tip in general project management, you are absolutely right. However, scope creep often rears its head in the implementation of software. For example, you may be surprised to learn how an aspect of your implementation you originally considered out of the scope ultimately ends up in your NetSuite ERP project plan. Usually, a Statement of Work (SOW) will indicate the business processes to be implemented within the project scope. It will also outline a list of business processes and other workflows that are out of scope. Suppose your team gathers the requirements for a NetSuite ERP implementation, and they identify that some requirements are workflow related. The need to include them in the project plan remains valid, considering their sole role is to complete the business procedure or process in question. By introducing new workflows to the scope of your project, the time for testing increases.
2. Make the Timeline Realistic
The usual triangle of time, cost, and scope is typical for good reasons because increasing or decreasing any of the factors requires you to alter the other factors. However, the difficulties of predicting future tend to be understated. Therefore, when arriving at a timeline for your project, schedule realistically. For example, when the people who sponsor your project require your team to do a 12 weeks workshop, you may want to get back to them and ask for more time or reduced work volume.
3. Schedule for Regression Testing in Your Project Timeline.
Developing a timeline for some phases of your project such as gathering software requirements and design, is easy because it is possible to estimate the time you may spend on each step of those phases of the project. However, you might tend to overlook the regression testing time for your project. Regression testing allows you to retest every script and customization previously developed and tested before it affects the codebase. This kind of testing for NetSuite ERP implementations may take longer than when testing a new feature. Recently, trends in automating regression testing have been on the rise. Automation could save time, but it is still essential to set aside some time to develop test scripts for programming the tool.
4. Adopt the Use of Document Templates
Considering that most of the team members may write design and integration documents while only a small number of team members review them, approve the document templates and apply those templates to promote document consistency. The review process will get smoother for the reviewers allowing them to focus on areas that require extensive review. It also saves time for writers of the documents because they can be uniformly instructed on essential specification areas to add performance considerations and security requirements.
5. Use Project Management Tools to Monitor Deliverables Status
Daily and weekly reports are compulsory requirements for NetSuite ERP project managers. As a project manager, you may not have the time to show up for all workshops, but other project members may have this data. Getting updates from every member of your team can be exhausting for both NetSuite ERP consultants and business analysts. You can eliminate the headache of daily updates by aligning your project with a project management tool and extract any required data to create a report. This prevents any double work because your team will complete and update the project management tool tasks.
6. Create an Impeccable Cutover Plan
A cutover plan is one of the items often ignored in an NetSuite ERP project plan. It usually encapsulates activities needed to prepare the environment for production for an end-user. Cutover tasks include kicking off batch jobs, linking hardware with NetSuite ERP, loading user ID on a system, and commencing any integration service. Cutover plans are extremely essential because there are several tasks that are needed to make NetSuite ERP system production ready and some tasks depend on each other. Therefore, sequencing tasks in order of dependency is one of the ideal techniques in cutover plan creation.
7. Create a Set of Expectations for Availability of Your Team
Setting expectations for the whole team such as attendance required for remote workshops eliminates future bottlenecks. Get a calendar of availability from your NetSuite ERP project team so that you plan for meetings appropriately. Also, have holiday policies between your company group, NetSuite ERP vendor, and NetSuite ERP consulting partner made available. This is an aspect not to overlook because it will help you to know your resource capacity when the moment for supporting the live NetSuite ERP system arrives.
8. Include Some Fun in Your Plan
Working all the time drains the brain and lowers team morale. Research shows that happy and motivated employees are more productive, therefore avoid the myth that time away from work is counterproductive. For example, having team building events to eliminate barriers between individuals in the workplace is one of the key activities that allow employees to know each other and create buy-in.
For further clarifications and guidance, it is prudent to find an official NetSuite Solution Provider Partner that prioritizes your Business requirements. At SCG, we analyze Your Business needs and provide a proper strategy for successful NetSuite ERP project management. To get professional consultation, contact Seibert Consulting Group at 760-205-5251 or email us at hello@seibertconsulting.com
