Read our latest article on how to best implement a retail planning software.
Inventory Software Implementation Best Practices
This featured article provides tips and guidance to software implementation best practices. It focuses on the three core tenets for seeding a successful implementation of any planning software, concepts that can be applied to all enterprise software implementations. As the need to quickly engage with your customers and prospects is more important than ever to gain market share, it is essential to take the right steps so your business communications are manageable, scalable and traceable.
Core Tenets of Software Implementation Best Practices
There are a number of considerations when evaluating what is the best way to implement a distribution or retail planning software. Similar to resolving any problem, know what your issues and challenges are before you tackle the solution. When implementing a software, the biggest challenges you need to overcome are solution ownership, change management, and user adoption. In fact, these challenges can be applied to almost any software implementation.
From the onset of the implementation, take ownership of the software you have purchased. After all, it is yours, you bought it so own it and the implementation of it. Keep your team informed of all major decisions so the transition from old to new business processes supported by a new system is well received. Lastly, make sure the software is available to users throughout the implementation so user adoption is seamless.
The three core tenets to help you meet these challenges of implementing a software solution is selecting the correct project approach, choosing the right team, and setting a realistic timeline. Understanding these project tenets will prevent these challenges from becoming bottlenecks.
Understand the Software Implementation Approach
There are many tactics for successful implementations, but what is really the best software implementation approach? Regardless of the project management style, focus needs to be on the best way to initiate, plan and execute the implementation. Typically an implementation is grouped by major phases, which are segmented by milestones, which are further detailed by tasks. Inventory Worx’s best practice approach to your software implementation revolves around a simple, four-phased approach: Plan the Work, Work the Plan, Rollout, and Follow Through. It is a simpler doctrine than other methodologies such as Waterfall, Agile or RASCI models. The underlying premise of our four-phased approach is based on the KISS principle, “Keep it Simple Stupid”, developed by the U.S. Navy in 1960. In other words, most projects and implementations work best if they are kept simple rather than made complicated, such is our software implementation best practice emphasis.
In our Software implementation approach, it should be noted that the first two phases, Plan the Work and Work the Plan, have an emphasis on planning. Proper planning from the onset of an implementation pays dividends throughout the project. Lewis Carroll once said, “If you don’t know where you’re going any road will take you there”. You want to, therefore, make sure that during the implementation kick-off, you discuss and document implementation goals, scope, risks, budget, timeline, resources, roles, responsibilities, constraints, and assumptions. All of these key elements constitute the implementation charter and need to be addressed and acknowledged. Remember, better to plan now so you’re not reacting later as “a lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on someone else”.
Your Software implementation approach also needs to address the following software implementation anatomy – Manage, Design, Build, Test, Release, Support, or some variation thereof. Often times these are referenced or used as project phases since they have been carried over from the days when software would be developed for customers rather than simply implementing a packaged product. In Inventory Worx’s four-phase best practice implementation approach, these parts are divvied up and conveyed as major milestones but not explicitly referenced so as to distinguish between a packaged-product implementation versus a software development project.
All implementation milestones should have a clear path to success. That path is a list of tasks. Each task should be assigned to someone and have a clear deliverable and due date. As you complete each task, you need to be able to check it off. Think of it as a check list. Ultimately, your entire implementation should be a large checklist consisting of tasks that you check off.
Lastly, it is important to identify red flags with implementation approaches, especially for packaged-product implementations. If a vendor tries to do the design before you’ve been trained on the software, beware you may have been duped just how packaged and easy to use the product actually is. This is a red flag that they either need to build what you require or configure it for you because it is too difficult for you to do. Either way, this is not the packaged software you may have thought you purchased. Training on the software should always come before the design and represent an out-of-the-box version of the software. How else will you know what you want if you don’t know exactly what you have. And, don’t trust what you learned from the sales demos.
Each implementation phase consists of 4 milestones that have a checklist of tasks to complete.
Select the Right Software Implementation Team
We have all heard that the right people can make or break a project so selecting the right software implementation team is critical. I would go so far as to say it is the most important aspect of the implementation. There are generally two teams of people that need to be assembled. The Steering Committee and the Core Implementation Team.
The Steering Committee responsibilities include forming the project team, developing business objectives, defining the scope of the project, approving the project budget, and committing resources to the project. The Steering Committee also monitors project status and resolves high-level project issues. Committee meetings usually occur once a month. It’s not uncommon for the Core Team to participate and contribute to the stated Steering Committee responsibilities, which include:
Inventory Worx will assign a Lead Consultant to work with the Steering Committee. The Consultant will monitor the progress of the project and advise the Committee if the project appears not to be on track. The Consultant may recommend additional resources to be added to the project to stay on schedule, either internal or additional Inventory Worx resources.
Core Team member’s responsibilities include defining existing policies and procedures, and developing new procedures and business processes. The Core Team must also develop the project plan and requirements, determine the appropriate system(s) preparation, and oversee the proper and timely completion of the implementation phases and underlying tasks. Time requirements vary throughout the implementation. Members become more active as their areas of knowledge and specialty are required. The Core Team typically consists of a Project Manager, Team Leads, and Functional Leads. Ultimately, the Core Team is responsible for the success of the implementation that includes the following key activities:
Here’s a simply checklist to use to help identify whether or not you have the right resources and skills to implement a software solution:
Do you have a Project Manager who:
Do you have Business Lead who:
Do you have a Technical Lead who?
If you find you are in a situation where you or your team is not in a position to manage and control the implementation, take your time to assemble the right people with the right talent. If, on the other hand, you do have the right team, however your software vendor wants to perform all the configuration, get you up and running, train your team and turn it over to you right before their planned go live. This is a huge red flag the software is either immature or not user friendly enough to manage on your own. Chances are you are going to have extenuating consulting costs associated with maintaining the system. You and your team need to perform the implementation and take ownership of the software you purchased so by the time you go live you are not dependent upon the vendor for any of the setup, configuration, and/or maintenance. Further, the vendor you select should be pushing this model, if they are not, keep away unless you like large consulting bills.
Set a Software Implementation Timeline That Makes Sense
Understanding the core trade-offs when setting your software implementation timeline is the first stepping stone to setting a realistic go live target. Scope, budget (or cost), timeline (or schedule), and resources (or team) are the four, fundamental project variables sharing the elastic property – if one changes, so does at least one other.
Visualize, for example, each constant as the side of a square. And, the area of the square they create a representation of the project quality or performance. Should you change the scope, budget, timeline and/or resources, thereby lengthening or shortening a side, at least one other variable or side of the square would be lengthened or shortened. Similarly, the quality of the project may have been impacted, since you no longer have your perfect square. At Inventory Worx we call these factors the four pillars of success.
We have all heard that the right people can make or break a project so selecting the right software implementation team is critical. I would go so far as to say it is the most important aspect of the implementation. There are generally two teams of people that need to be assembled. The Steering Committee and the Core Implementation Team.
The Steering Committee responsibilities include forming the project team, developing business objectives, defining the scope of the project, approving the project budget, and committing resources to the project. The Steering Committee also monitors project status and resolves high-level project issues. Committee meetings usually occur once a month. It’s not uncommon for the Core Team to participate and contribute to the stated Steering Committee responsibilities, which include:
- Business process change approval (i.e., scope creep management)
- Conflict resolution
- Change management
- Quality control
Inventory Worx will assign a Lead Consultant to work with the Steering Committee. The Consultant will monitor the progress of the project and advise the Committee if the project appears not to be on track. The Consultant may recommend additional resources to be added to the project to stay on schedule, either internal or additional Inventory Worx resources.
Core Team member’s responsibilities include defining existing policies and procedures, and developing new procedures and business processes. The Core Team must also develop the project plan and requirements, determine the appropriate system(s) preparation, and oversee the proper and timely completion of the implementation phases and underlying tasks. Time requirements vary throughout the implementation. Members become more active as their areas of knowledge and specialty are required. The Core Team typically consists of a Project Manager, Team Leads, and Functional Leads. Ultimately, the Core Team is responsible for the success of the implementation that includes the following key activities:
- Designing the new business process
- Facilitating inter-team communication
- Learning the planning software
- Testing and validating the processes
- Participating in weekly meetings
Here’s a simply checklist to use to help identify whether or not you have the right resources and skills to implement a software solution:
Do you have a Project Manager who:
- has knowledge of senior management's goals and objectives, and is thoroughly familiar with the business champion’s decision on the scope of the project?
- will manage the Core Team consisting of a Business Lead and Technical Lead and any supporting functional leads?
- will manage the overall project, and will be the main contact between the Core Team and Inventory Worx?
- will audit the user’s knowledge of the software system to assure that the project is ready for the next phase?
- will assure that the business solution processes are ready for implementation and are well documented?
- will advise the Core Team of any areas where the project may be in jeopardy of not succeeding?
- can dedicate 80% of their time to the success of the implementation?
Do you have Business Lead who:
- will aid the Core Team and Project Manager throughout the implementation?
- will execute the project plan and requirements?
- Will become the resident expert on the software system as well as the driving force and champion of the project?
- will determine and prepare the appropriate sample data to support the business processes?
- will oversee the proper and timely completion of the business processes along with supporting documentation?
- will manage the software education and training of end-users?
- will manage and oversee any functional leads supporting the development and documentation of the new business processes and the implementation of the related software modules?
- can dedicated 80% of their time to the success of the implementation?
Do you have a Technical Lead who?
- will aid the Core Team and Project Manager throughout the implementation?
- will execute the project plan and requirements?
- is extremely technical and knowledgeable of the current ERP system and infrastructure?
- will be responsible for the extraction, transformation and loading (ETL) of data as it relates to implementing the software around the new business processes?
- will address any ERP modifications or configurations required to support the software data requirements?
- will manage and oversee any functional leads supporting ETL development and documentation related to the implementation of the software?
- can dedicated 80% of their time to the success of the implementation?
If you find you are in a situation where you or your team is not in a position to manage and control the implementation, take your time to assemble the right people with the right talent. If, on the other hand, you do have the right team, however your software vendor wants to perform all the configuration, get you up and running, train your team and turn it over to you right before their planned go live. This is a huge red flag the software is either immature or not user friendly enough to manage on your own. Chances are you are going to have extenuating consulting costs associated with maintaining the system. You and your team need to perform the implementation and take ownership of the software you purchased so by the time you go live you are not dependent upon the vendor for any of the setup, configuration, and/or maintenance. Further, the vendor you select should be pushing this model, if they are not, keep away unless you like large consulting bills.
Set a Software Implementation Timeline That Makes Sense
Understanding the core trade-offs when setting your software implementation timeline is the first stepping stone to setting a realistic go live target. Scope, budget (or cost), timeline (or schedule), and resources (or team) are the four, fundamental project variables sharing the elastic property – if one changes, so does at least one other.
Visualize, for example, each constant as the side of a square. And, the area of the square they create a representation of the project quality or performance. Should you change the scope, budget, timeline and/or resources, thereby lengthening or shortening a side, at least one other variable or side of the square would be lengthened or shortened. Similarly, the quality of the project may have been impacted, since you no longer have your perfect square. At Inventory Worx we call these factors the four pillars of success.
Changing the scope, timeline, budget, and/or resources will change one or all of these core tenets.
It is important to manage the interdependency of these pillars as they are often competing against each other. Timeline refers to the amount of time needed to complete a project. Budget refers to the planned cost of the project. Scope refers to what must be done to produce the project's end result. Finally, resources refer to the people needed to work on the project. Increasing scope will typically mean an increase in both time and cost. A tight timeline generally means more resources and reduced scope, and so on. Knowing the four pillars and how they compete, you can manage to an informed go live.
When setting your software implementation timeline, specifically, targeting a go live date, it is not the vendor’s job to tell you that a go live date is or is not feasible. It is their job to tell you everything that needs to be done to achieve your go live target. It is up to you to determine whether it is possible by understanding the four project pillars. Remember, vendors and consultants can do anything for time and money. You need to determine, for example, whether your team can commit the time and resources needed while still performing their current duties. If they can’t, what impact will that have on your timeline?
Sounds simple right? Well it is if you embrace these three basic tenets. They are the foundation to practicing software implementation best practices. It is what we at Inventory Worx practice and preach when working with you to successfully implement your software solution.
When setting your software implementation timeline, specifically, targeting a go live date, it is not the vendor’s job to tell you that a go live date is or is not feasible. It is their job to tell you everything that needs to be done to achieve your go live target. It is up to you to determine whether it is possible by understanding the four project pillars. Remember, vendors and consultants can do anything for time and money. You need to determine, for example, whether your team can commit the time and resources needed while still performing their current duties. If they can’t, what impact will that have on your timeline?
Sounds simple right? Well it is if you embrace these three basic tenets. They are the foundation to practicing software implementation best practices. It is what we at Inventory Worx practice and preach when working with you to successfully implement your software solution.
