6 steps I followed to build an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)

System

author : raju velayudhan profile : in.linkedin.com/in/rajuvelayudhan/ contact : rajuvelayudhan@yahoo.com

Validate primary reasons for building ERP STEP 1

Confirm basic preparedness STEP 2

Define monitoring and control procedure STEP 3

Design STEP 4

Prototype STEP 5

Iteratively build STEP 6

Validate primary reasons for building ERP

1: Evaluate all available ERP suites. Ensure that there is no ERP suite in the market which is a good fit for your industry

2: Ensure that the option of ‘building and maintaining’ weighs over ‘buying, customizing and maintaining’ an ERP in terms of cost and benefits

STEP 1

Confirm basic preparedness

1: Analyze As-Is business model / processes and define To-Be business model / processes

2: A requirement spec is ready which shall outline the project scope and department heads have signed off their respective part

3: A set of realistic, clearly defined, measurable list of objectives against which project success / failure can be evaluated is ready and is approved by senior management

STEP 2

Confirm basic preparedness

4: A detailed project budget is prepared after detailed analysis and the same is approved by senior management

5: A passionate, experienced, stable team with adequate senior management representation is in place for managing the project

6: The development team has experience in designing and developing enterprise solutions / workflow systems

7: The platform / tool used to build the system is cost effective and there is adequate expertise available in the market

STEP 2 Contd…

Define monitoring and control procedure

1: Define responsibility and authority matrix, escalation matrix

2: Define method and frequency of project progress review, budget review, review of project objectives

3: Define regular / ad-hoc reporting structure

4: Define change management procedure

STEP 3

Design

1: Design user interface elements – page layout, menu structure, navigation, toolbars, color themes, button styles, font type and size, headers and footers. Focus on simplicity and usability

2: Design data base. Derive and follow some thumb rules as to when to normalize and to what level to normalize

3: Identify and design reusable components - workflow manager, access control module, message sending routines, document management, outputs / reports, transaction audit trails, error logs etc

4: Workflow engine is the core of ERP system. It should support task definition, task sequencing, rule based switching, role based access and task intimating

STEP 4

Design

5: Tier the application into layers for easy maintenance

6: Design the underlying system as a Framework which can be extended to implement functionalities

7: Consider availability, security, responsiveness and similar non functional aspects

8: Build wireframes before starting each module and show it to end users to take their initial feedback

STEP 4 Contd…

Prototype

1: Take one module (for eg. Purchase Module) initially and develop a proto. Implement the design along with the functionalities in the proto

2: Then show it to end users of the department. Take feedback. Review feedback and refine the system. Make them try it, use it for recording some past transactions. Try parallel run with few live records. Review, refine, break, re-build until it take good shape.

3: Show the final version to rest of the departments in order to take their feedback at-least on UI elements, navigation, usability etc.

4: Collect maximum feedback, deliberate changes and implement approved changes and refine the proto

STEP 5

Prototype

5: Update scope document to reflect changes, if any

6: Clean up code, optimize where ever required and document code in detail. The first proto shall be clean and complete before we get into the next modules

7: Conduct phase end review meeting and re-review scope, schedule, budget. Measure and review achievement of objectives, if any applicable at this stage. Take required corrective steps as necessary

STEP 5 Contd…

Iteratively build

1: Build the next related module (For eg. Inventory), take it to end users, take feedback and refine. Integrate it with the previously build module. Try trial run, parallel run with end users

2 : Update scope document to reflect changes, if any, clean up, optimize and document code

3: Conduct detailed re-review of scope, schedule, budget at the end of each phase. Measure and review achievement of objectives, if any. Take corrective actions where required

STEP 6

Design Bu

ild

Test

Try/

Use

Scope Review

Pro

gress Review

Budget Review

Rev

iew

ach

ieve

me

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of

Ob

ject

ives

Iterative building model

Thank You

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