A 10 step approach to designing & delivering an integrated solution

When talking about integrating an ERP solution with internal or external systems, it’s easy to get carried away with the details to the extent that a high-level streamlined plan is often overlooked.


Given my experience in the industry, I thought I’ll put down a simple 10 step plan that if followed at
a high-level will at least guarantee an effective integrated system being delivered.

1.Firstly, list down the key processes, those that at a high-level cover the many facets of the business, these are processes such as Procure-to-pay, Make-to-stock, make-to-order etc.

2.Next draw up some process flow diagrams of these business processes. Given that these are existing process there is likely to already be process flows when the initial implementation was done (if you don’t have them, contact the hiring managers and inform them that these documents are the lost intellectual property for the company because of the few $100 that was saved employing an amateur)

3.Identify each process by its system components, e.g. Finance & Controlling, Sales & Distribution, Material Management etc.

4.Identify the relevant business process owners and departments handling each of the above business processes identified, these names are important for actual integration testing.

5.Draw up different scenarios for each of these processes and perform integration testing for each of these scenarios, these should follow the same sequence as the process flow diagrams.

6.Pass onto the business owner’s the ownership of their business processes, they need to feel the ownership and take responsibility for their process when the system goes live.

7.Always records all test results, issues, errors or problems.

8.Perform the routine processes of addressing the issue. Make sure any missed processes are recorded, validated and implemented.

9.Setup workshops/ training session where the business owners run them for all the internal users, try and keep this session very interactive and interesting, otherwise the end-users will see these are extra work rather than taking ownership. Refer to my post  - 13. Training vs Educating (Just Sayin>

10. The key now before GO LIVE, is to make sure all the  concerned parties have a clear idea of the areas integrated and the importance of doing their tasks correctly, no matter how good the integrated solution is if the users don’t know how to use it then this solution might not fly, so make sure the users know how to use the tools to make the delivery a success.

There you go , a high-level simple check-list of the 10 steps to help design& manage & deliver an integrated solution, all the best.