This is one Flu that all project manager and consultants are likely to catch at some point of time or another.
If you have been involved in an ERP project, then I am sure there has been atleast one instance in which someone in the group would have suggested why not we do a customization for this process.
Having been in the ERP Industry as a systems executive / consultant / project manager myself I should say that, when the term customization is referred to itself, makes us go, “hold on now, there is some other way we can get this thing done!!!. This is simply because we understand how something as simple as a customization to add a text field in one column could change the format of a standard report printed in this process.
So then, does this mean that all customizations in a project should be avoided at all costs ????
Answer : Not necessarily I would say, for example there are companies that have there own terms and conditions with external parties and have their own unique way of doing business, for these situation it is not feasible to go for an entire change, thus in these situations it is often the case for some customization to suit the company’s need, but it should be kept in mind not to go overboard with the customization as it could be the beginning of a series of wrong moves which might jeopardize the entire implementation.
Keep these in mind…….
When designing and developing a customized solution it is of utmost important that a proper guideline with a single framework be designed for the customization work to be carried out, as it is often the case that the deeper you get into customizing certain functions the scope gets larger and you end up doing a customization that in itself takes up a large % of the standard ERP Solution initially proposed, this phenomenal is often termed as “Scope creep” in the project implementation environment.
As often the case, the customers would require that the smallest thing be customized as well, simply be saying “we pay we say”, the unfortunate things in these circumstances is that when the consultants start questioning other related processes and procedures that are linked to the customization, but in different areas of the business, the customers are often caught up and start up the merry-go-round process….Yippyyy!!!!
Therefore, it’s up to the consultant to make sure that the right people concerned are involved in the process and address the customization requirement.
One of my favorite independent consultants “Ipshita Basu” hits the nail on the head by saying that “ERP implementation is the right time for Business Process Re-engineering. Instead of modifying an application, it is better to modify the company processes as per the ERP standards since they already have the best practices incorporated in them.”
The truth is that unfortunately sometimes, consultants too, forget this is one of the primary objectives of the implementation and instead concentrate on configuring the ERP to suit the company’s present requirement than to actually try to do some business process re-engineering in connected areas as well. This is understandable sometimes given the knowledge that the consultant needs to have of certain functions of an ERP that he/she might sometimes totally forget to concentrate on BPR activities, process studies and the other fancy terms that we all like to talk about during ERP Implementations.
It is also a given fact that during the project there is always the likely chance that people from both sides will leave, this is something that the PM has always make sure to address as the IT industry is such a competitive field for everyone involved, you never know where the next knock on the door would come from. This problem is further compounded by the lack of proper documentation and the tracking of the changes which have been initiated, thus when a new person takes on a customization that was in progress he/she needs to start from scratch and this further prolongs the implementation, and we all know the other considerations related to this.
Finally, lets say the customizations have been done and now the process is in operations, and after a few years, its time for an upgrade and the ERP Vendors have the necessary patches to do the upgrade, but things are not going to be that rosy as additional customizations would be necessary to make the upgrade possible, and this is going to create a snow ball effect, but no worries this time we’ll plan ahead and get it right……aaachoooooo!!!!!
