Maximize Your Investment: 10 Key Strategies for Effective Packaged Software Implementations -- Table of Contents -- Maximize Your Investment: 10 Key Strategies for Effective Packaged Software Implementations -- Credits -- About the Author -- Acknowledgement -- About the Reviewers -- Preface -- Vision of the future -- Purpose of this book -- Out of scope for this book -- What this book covers -- Who this book is for -- Conventions -- Reader feedback -- Customer support -- Errata -- Piracy -- Questions -- 1. The Silo Approach is Alive and Well -- Why do we need to change? -- Robbins-Gioia Survey -- Conference Board Survey -- Business solution defined -- What is the most important component of a business solution? -- What is wrong with existing packaged software implementations? -- IT does not matter? Think again! -- Is technology changing Business? -- Ten principles for implementing a business solution -- Principle #1 for implementing a business solution -- Principle #2 for implementing a business solution -- Principle #3 for implementing a business solution -- Principle #4 for implementing a business solution -- Principle #5 for implementing a business solution -- Battle of camps -- Soap box - Bashing methodologies -- Customer-specific implementation -- Principle #6 for implementing a business solution -- Principle #7 for implementing a business solution -- Principle #8 for implementing a business solution -- Principle #9 for implementing a business solution -- Observations -- Principle #10 for implementing a business solution -- Summary -- References -- 2. Focus on Business Results -- Challenging today's mindset -- We focus only on what we measure -- Project scope fixates on software features -- Focus on key drivers for business results -- What results generate business value? -- How to focus on business results during an implementation.

Conduct business training -- Implementation documentation should be Business-oriented -- Use value-added Business results to filter requirements -- Project objectives should address business results -- Summary -- References -- 3. Invest in Your Implementation Partners -- Making the investment -- Document existing business processes -- Enterprise modeling approach -- Build trust in the implementation partner -- Educate the implementation partner on the existing business solution -- Complete packaged software implementation questionnaires -- Conduct project orientation with the implementation partner -- Complete packaged software training before the implementation partner's arrival -- What to expect from your implementation partner -- Predefined business process models -- Detailed Business process maps -- Packaged software implementation questionnaires -- Certified business solution experts -- Summary -- References -- 4. Enable the Customer to Lead During the Implementation -- Enabling the customer to lead is a process -- Educate -- Best Practice: Knowledge transfer plan -- Enable -- Empower -- Celebrate -- Enablement requires different leadership styles -- Implications for implementation partners -- Summary -- References -- 5. Perform Business Solution Modeling -- Defining prototyping and business solution modeling -- Prototyping -- Business solution modeling -- Conducting Business solution modeling -- Recommendations for conducting Business solution modeling -- Customer's knowledge of existing business activities -- Use real customer data during modeling -- Best practice: Number of iterations for business solution modelling -- Core Business practices - consistency -- Have multiple disciplines represented -- Value proposition for Business solution modeling -- Provides a working proof of concept -- Validates software configuration.

Creates a baseline model for impact analysis -- Enables business solution training -- Identifies challenges early -- Facilitates and promotes customer interaction and quick decision-making -- Challenges with business solution modeling -- Won't Business solution modelling slow me down? Is it worth the cost? -- Summary -- Reference -- 6. Determining the Correct Implementation Approach -- Who is the leader - Business or IT? -- Solution-based approach -- Business solution component: People -- Business solution component: Business processes -- Business solution component: Technology -- Disciplines used in a Business solution implementation -- Project management -- Software development -- Hybrid implementation approach -- Organizational change management -- Business process management and Quality management -- Selecting the correct methodology -- Factor: Size of the implementation -- Factor: Personnel capabilities -- Factor: Risk -- Factor: Business-IT relationship and culture -- Business model dynamics -- Factor: Guiding principles for a methodology -- Applying methodologies for COTS implementations -- Integrating methodologies -- Project management -- Silo versus holistic focus -- Project control -- Risk versus reward -- Balanced project leadership between Business and IT -- Software development -- Sequential development versus business process development -- Tailoring software development for COTS -- Organizational change management -- Defining the current business model the and future business model -- Organizational requirements -- Field readiness plan -- Deployment strategy -- Advantages and disadvantages of COTS deployment strategies -- Global considerations -- Summary -- References -- 7. Implement to the Current Business Maturity Level -- Features and capabilities -- Software design tools -- To customize or not to customize.

Challenge with technology-driven change -- Understanding Business solution maturity -- Business process performance within a maturity level -- Illustration for a Professional Services Organization -- Defining the evolutionary path of a business solution -- Three broad categories of business processes -- Revenue generating -- Revenue supporting -- Regulatory and compliance -- Best Practice - Implement to the current maturity level -- Minimize evolving business requirements -- Minimize organizational change -- Maximize opportunity for rapid delivery -- Summary -- Reference -- 8. Minimizing Customizations and Maximizing Enhancements -- Requirements-driven strategy -- Solution-driven strategy -- Configuration-driven strategy -- Requirements management revisited -- Gathering requirements -- Analyzing requirements -- Validating requirements -- Selecting requirements -- Value-added requirements management -- Iteration #1 - listen to the customer -- Iteration #2 - Lead the customer -- Iteration #3 - Confirm with the customer -- Challenging business requirements -- Customizations versus enhancements -- What are customizations? -- What are enhancements? -- Challenges and risks with valued-added requirements management -- Summary -- 9. Negotiate for Success -- Trickle down acceptance falls short -- Developing an effective negotiation strategy -- Paradigm shift in business software expectations -- Paradigm shift in organizational acceptance -- Understand when and where to negotiate -- Utilize your packaged software provider -- Ensuring successful negotiations -- Building momentum -- Marketing your solution -- Summary -- References -- 10. Have a Business Solution Architect -- Perspectives of a Business solution -- Who is covering business processes? -- Solution - Business Solution Architect -- Responsibilities -- Qualifications.

Best practices for identifying conflicts -- Identify functional boundaries -- Identify packaged software dependencies and shared components -- Perform a business process-oriented review of requirements and software configuration -- Validate conflicts -- Assign work in a process-oriented fashion -- Summary -- 11. Accelerate Decisions by Generating More Knowledge and Less Information -- Traditional information gathering approach -- Information versus knowledge -- Decision-oriented information gathering -- Implementation scope defines the decisions -- Best practices influence the decisions -- Effective knowledge generation -- Gather information -- Review information (evaluate) -- Refining information (enrich) -- Relate information (context) -- Enabling decision makers -- Project on-boarding -- Maximize interactions with the project team -- Summary -- 12. Changing the Game -- Traditional approaches fall short -- Understanding packaged software advantages and challenges -- Maximize the advantages of packaged software -- Drive standardization -- Greater focus on strategic activities -- Potential for rapid deployment -- Shared IT development costs -- Simplify the IT footprint -- Minimize challenges with packaged software -- Organizational change impact -- Perception of setbacks -- Discipline to maximize COTS investment -- Different implementation approach -- Change the game by changing strategy -- Summary -- References -- A. Summary of Challenges -- Index.