Eight Best Practices for Planning Your Microsoft Dynamics ERP Project—And Staying Focused on the Big Picture

ERP implementation projects are invariably more complicated than executives expect. For that reason, it's easy to get bogged down in endless detail and decisions around the implementation process. It's essential to remain focused on the big picture. As you start to plan your new ERP implementation project, consider these Eight Best Practices for IT strategic planning.

1. Business Driven, IT Enabled

Successful IT programs are sponsored and fully endorsed by the business, and focus on business results - they are not just one-time IT projects or mere technology decisions. The relevant business stakeholders (including the CFO) should drive the requirements - not IT. CFOs should not and cannot simply defer decisions to their IT staff. The value drivers to the business and your comprehensive business requirements should be the most important guide to the selection and implementation approach of your IT solution(s).

2.  Think End-to-End

Keep the big picture in mind in thinking about your end-state solutions. An enterprise perspective is needed to adequately address the interdependent handoffs and data sharing between departments that are the real opportunities for end-to-end process improvement and achieving the ROI intended. Once everyone is using the new solution for the basics, what then? What other departments/work groups do you envision wanting/needing to share information? What other front and back-office applications would you envision integrating (e.g., unified communications tools, mobile devices, internal/external web portals, flow-through order management, document management, ERP/accounting, electronic banking, et al)?

3.  Standardize on your IT Platform and then select your IT solution(s)

Selecting your core application platform is a foundational decision that enables (or hinders) business productivity and information sharing across your entire organization. By default, it tends ...