Transcript Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (ERP): Lessons Learned Jim S.C. Tom

Enterprise Resource Planning Systems
(ERP):
Lessons Learned
Jim S.C. Tom
Associate Vice Chancellor for
Information Technology
UMSL
for BA5800
Topics
Introduction
 ERP at a University
 Lessons
 Current status
 Future
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What’s an ERP?
“enterprise resource planning” system
 “integrated” system to manage:
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– Financial transactions and records – accounts
payable/receivable, payments, invoices, vendors, etc.
– Personnel – records, payroll, benefits, taxes, etc.
– Other components that might be included:
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Inventory and asset management
Factory operations
Supply chain management
Customer relationship management
The Hope
Integrate all the information required to
operate and plan a business
 Decision making information at your
fingertips
 Get rid of the mainframe
 Cheaper, faster, better
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The Reality
A lot harder than people realized
 Over budget
 Over time
 Integration not achieved
 Operating costs much higher than
expected
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ERP at a University
Financial system
 HR system
 Student information
 Other components that might be included:
– Constituent relationship management (CRM)
– Fund-raising (development)
– Classroom scheduling and management
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ERP at University of Missouri
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Latest effort began around 1995 – well before my time
Started in earnest in 1998
Goals:
– Streamline administrative processes (reduce costs)
– Replace administrative software systems
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Results:
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Over time
Over budget
User dissatisfaction
Ambiguous achievement of goals
Lesson 1: Ask the hard questions
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What problem are we trying to solve?
Who cares?
What are the assumptions?
Where’s the payoff?
Do you have buy-in?
– Who are the stakeholders?
– Do you have executive/managerial support?
– Have you involved the end-users?
Lesson 2: Plan
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Develop a Charter to capture
– Goals
– Executive/management sponsorship
– Answers to the hard questions
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Develop an overall concept
– Broad milestones and timeline
– Required resources, internal and external
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Develop as realistic a budget as you can
Lesson 3: Communicate
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This is crucial, not “motherhood and apple pie”
Communicate to executive/management
Communicate within your team
Communicate with all your stakeholders
Honesty, openness – problems as well as
successes
Lesson 4: Manage the Project
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Appoint a Project Manager
Develop detailed tasks and timelines
Develop accountability
Track progress
Adjust as necessary
Lesson 5: It’s not about Technology
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Success is not just “on time” and “on budget”
– Nice as those outcomes are
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Success is about changing the way you do
business
Current Status at UM
Finance and HR systems are operational on
latest version of software
 January 2007, UMSL is heading into the formal
implementation phase of a new Student
Information System
 UMR is already “live”
 UMKC and UMC are in the middle of
implementation
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What’s different?
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UMSL has been preparing for a year
The outcomes or measures of success are clear,
including:
– Self-service – that is, direct access to relevant student
information for faculty, staff and students
– Improved service to students
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Recruitment
Admissions
Advising and retention
Financial management
teamwork
UMSL plans
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Began building a joint team with resources from
ITS and from Student Affairs
Secured buy-in from Chancellor, Provost, Vice
Chancellors, Deans
Learned (and continue to learn) from sister
campuses as well as other universities
Developed a Charter and preliminary plan
Developed budget and resource requirements
Progress
Completing a number of preparatory tasks
 Developing a communications plan
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– Faculty, staff and students
Creation of a Project Management Office
 Developed overall timeline and task definitions
 Found space for a “teamroom”
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Challenges
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Resources
– Internal – difficult to recruit
– External – consultants are expensive and in short
supply as well
– System – major technical work is done by System
resources, who will still be working on UMKC and
UMC implementations
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Keeping current operations going while
implementing a new system
Future
Fully operational in Fall 2006 – old system will
be shut down
 Changes in business processes to “best practice”
– more user or “customer” focused
 Better information for decision-making
 Ambiguity in underlying software system – our
ERP is Peoplesoft, bought by Oracle. New
versions will be “converged” system called
“Fusion,” due in 2009
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Where’s the market going?
Disclaimer: my personal thoughts
 End of monolithic systems
 Encapsulation of core functionality
 Modular functionality that will interact
using “Service-oriented Architecture”
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But what’s the key?
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What does it do for the business?
Questions