Almost all project management disasters have a common pathology. Even if the participants are well-intentioned, the same issues surface in the after-action reviews of failed projects. Poor project management is composed of seven common sins that organizations should review before and during a project to avoid ERP failure.<\/p>\n
Envy.<\/i><\/b> The first deadly sin is a weak software evaluation and selection process. Organizations often select ERP software<\/a> based on price, professional\/personal relationships or envy (e.g., \u201cThat\u2019s what our competition uses.\u201d Weak software selection usually stems from poor requirements definition, a misunderstanding of software functionality or poor role definition between client and vendor. While most failed ERP implementations have other more severe issues than those related to software, poor software selection is often a contributing cause.<\/p>\n Pride. <\/i><\/b>The second deadly sin is having unrealistic implementation expectations. ERP implementations<\/a> always seem to take more time and money than initially planned. If the implementation is complicated by multi-site or multi-organizational requirements, reigning-in expectations is vital. Clients and vendors often lie to themselves and say, \u201cOur ERP solution will be 100% \u2018out-of-the-box\u2019 with minimal training and no software configuration or customization.\u201d While this is a way to slice time and budget off the project, a sober and stern assessment is critical to shaping expectations.<\/p>\n Avarice.<\/i><\/b> The third sin on the road to perdition is unclear business requirements and greedily defining requirements by site rather than across the organization. Disastrous projects usually follow a predictable path so heed the warning signs before it is too late. Business processes<\/a> need to be consistent, locked-down and agreed upon across the organization in the early stages of the project, for it is the foundation of the hard work to follow.<\/p>\n Sloth<\/i><\/b>. The fourth sin is a lack of executive sponsorship. If the executive team is taking a hands-off approach and pushing responsibility down without authority, the project is destined for failure. Without executive participation, decisions are slow or nonexistent. An ERP implementation without strong leadership tends to have infighting and internal misalignment.<\/p>\n Gluttony<\/i><\/b>. Too much customization is a bad sign. A good rule of the thumb is that your organization should not have more than 10-15% of its requirements as customizations. You want to implement ERP, not create your own custom software.<\/p>\n Lust. <\/i><\/b>Poor risk management takes the number six spot and never is absent from a failed ERP implementation. Struggling project teams tend to have overly optimistic (lustful) goals and nonexistent mitigation plans or risk management because there is no room for these items in their scope, milestones or go-live dates. When the go-live approaches, the team is left with an untested system, inadequately trained end-users and a preoccupation with going live despite assumed risks. An ERP project team should expect things to go wrong and take longer than originally planned. Although your project budget and timelines may move to the right, it is a much more palatable position to have the time and money to deal with issues rather than having zero project safety margins.<\/p>\n