At Global Business Consulting Group, we assess each project on its own merits and we analyse the existing system carefully, so we come to a clear understanding of the existing systems as well as to have a clear understanding of our clients' requirements. Here are some hints, which may help you plan and implement a successful system project.

Hints on project implementation; Why many business systems projects fail.

Brands Vs Efficiency

Do not choose business software simply by the brand. Your business is different to every other business; each software package is different to every other one. Take time to select the most valid combination; you are spending a considerable amount of money and the outcome of your decision is going to leave good or bad results for a long time. If you do not have the relevant experience then ask for help and assistance, preferably from a neutral source. Advertisements mean very little in the business software market. What counts is the practicality and efficiency.

Insufficient staff

Organisations rarely budget for sufficient internal staff time, and the project time that is budgeted is often diverted for other purposes. Do not compromise on input, whether it is time or training. Consider bringing in contract staff for routine work and allowing your permanent team a chance to focus on your new, business-critical system. If you can manage an implementation with your existing level of resourcing then you are probably over-staffed and you need to address this issue.

Inadequate expertise

Make sure you have the right experts. You want people who have worked on implementations, not just run a software package or simply install a piece of application. Someone classed as an expert user is most unlikely to be able to build a new system.

End users

Consult end-users early and often. They will know for certain what is wrong with the old system and probably understand a lot of what is needed to make the new one a success. If they are not kept involved from the beginning then the shock of the new system will hit very heavily indeed and, however good your new implementation, it will be months before the benefits are fully recognised. Make sure you listen to what they have to say as they are those who are using the system on day-to-day basis. Throughout implementation, make sure you keep them involved as they are best people to give you information on what is needed from your system and do not forget to offer them a proper training.

Defining business processes
If you haven’t decided what you want the system to do then how are you going to task anyone to set it up? How can you even choose a software package? Begin with a clear statement of requirements specific to your business, particularly of the processes that are unique to you. Time spent here will be recouped many times over within the project life-cycle.

Reports
Management and statutory reports will be key outputs from most systems. If you have not defined these ahead of the system design then you may risk expensive re-work when demands subsequently arise. It is common for report design to be left to a late even post-implementation phase. Clear reports are cruicial to the overal system function and bad reports can equally contribute to system failure and can be very damaging.

Data migration
Over time most systems build up a residue of redundant or incorrect records – both reference data and transaction history. If you are migrating data then plan properly for review and cleansing, or you will move all of the problems into the new system. Another issue to consider is the legal aspect of data migration. Some dara must be kept for certain period of time and often companies suffer data loss as result of not having an appropriate data migration plans ahead of migration and implenetation.

Integration
Be both focused and pragmatic over integration. Where business benefits are concrete and significant accept no compromises. However, do not let your database guru takes you into integrating systems for the sake of it. Building integration is always much more difficult and much more messier than anticipated.

Testing

Test all system outputs regularly. Document failures clearly, and then if necessary, redo and re-test until the results are acceptable. It is easily stated and appears to be easily understood, but surprisingly, rarely done and is often forgotten.