ICT: SOFTWARE SELECTION AND CHANGING THE CORPORATE INFORMATION SYSTEM

How to transform an ERP change project into a great opportunity for Change Management

Changing over an information system is a demanding and challenging project that represents an important opportunity for the company to radically review its organisational and operational models. So the choice of the solution and the method of implementation are decisive for the success of the project.

From a methodological point of view, the fundamental steps in making the change to the corporate information system are:

 

  1. Systems Plan, to create implementation guidelines,
  2. Software Selection, to analyse the market alternatives, evaluating the costs and benefits, so as to choose the most suitable and consistent solution
  3. Implementation, to activate and bring the corporate information system up to speed, integrating it with the organisation, procedures and any secondary systems.

Systems Plan:

includes planning the corporate information structure, in line with current and future needs, defining the production strategy (make or buy), the operational macro-models, the perimeter and the implementation sequence

Software Selection:

represents a critical phase of the project for changing the information system and, precisely for this reason, the success of the whole project in terms of results and costs often depends on it. The goals of this phase are:

  • to define detailed requirements of a new information system and formalise them in a coded and shared check list
  • to analyse existing software solutions on the market in order to retrieve all the elements which are useful in choosing the most suitable solution/s (in terms of coverage and costs/benefits) and the most qualified provider
  • to draw up a plan for the implementation of a new information system that defines the commitment of resources, the organisation of the project, and the costs and time frames to create them
  • to support the company in closing the contract with the provider

Support for implementation:

If handled in a consistent and organised manner, it becomes a real opportunity for change management and in particular:

  • in the organisational review of the main business processes by seizing the opportunity that changing the information system offers in the “breaking down” habits and in rethinking information flows.
  • in the definition of the functional requirements (alongside key users)
  • in ensuring that application settings are consistent with functional needs
  • in overseeing the system testing and training phases
  • in supporting the start and follow-up
  • in the Project Management, in terms of coordination and supervision of the Working Group (monitoring progress and meeting deadlines and the estimated effort, management of open points, formalisation of decisions taken, organisation of meetings on progress…)
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