Staffing a Microsoft Dynamics AX project: Finding the right balance for a successful outcome

When a company looks back at an ERP project, a factor that always contributes to the outcome is the team of core resources on the project. In my experience over the last seven years providing temporary and permanent ERP resources to organisations implementing and upgrading ERP systems, with the last three focusing exclusively on Microsoft Dynamics AX, I have observed that when it comes to successful programme outcomes, the quality of the individuals and the right mix of resources heavily influence the results.

More specifically, from my conversations with customers, partners and consultancies I have concluded that the most successful programmes are delivered using a mixture of resources, including subject matter experts (SMEs)/internal resources, partner resources, and independent professionals.  It may come as no surprise, but each type of resource brings a different strength to a project, and together they help support the client organization's needs in terms of software decisions, system setup, deployment, user adoption, and long term support.

Now, I appreciate that the size and financial situation of organisations varies among AX customers, however I am still continuously surprised by the number of organisations that don't invest in resources for their implementation. Surely the benefits realised by the business from a successful programme, and the costs that are associated with a negative outcome, outweigh the costs of ensuring the appropriate resources available.

SMEs / Internal resources

It is essential that SMEs are available to the programme in some capacity, with the ideal scenario being that there is someone from each key function available to the programme full time; again, I stress ‘ideal' but appreciate that it is not always possible.

It is important to note that these resources need to be selected by someone with proven ...