Changeability of ERP Systems Literature Research Master Thesis Presentation Business Administration Programme Supply Chain and Operations Master student: Vitosh Kolev Doynov Supervisor: prof. dr. Manda Broekhuis Client and supervisor: prof. dr. Laura Maruster Client and supervisor: prof. dr. ir. J.C. (Hans) Wortmann

Contents Introduction Research questions Methodology and Research Design Results Conclusion Questions and comments

Introduction ERP – a concept, composed of a set of processes, methods and techniques for effective planning and control of resources¹. ERP – a cornerstone in any organization². The maintenance of the EPR systems is expensive - an average ERP upgrade carries a price tag of $1.5 million³. In general change is a risk factor, contributing to project failure⁴.

Research questions What is ERP changeability? How is it defined in the literature? What framework for ERP changeability can be used in order to analyze ERP changeability results? What recommendations and applications for ERP practitioners can be derived from the analysis of the results?

Methodology and Research Design I Literature review provides possibilities to summarize report and evaluate previously reported evidence⁵. Table with following columns is created: Title Description of Change Agent of Change Effect of Change Mechanism of Change Organizational Impact

Methodology and Research Design II Content analysis for determination of Organizational Impact. Three standard⁶ steps for content analysis: Open Coding Axial Coding Selective Coding

Changeability – How to define it? Aspects of changeability⁷: change agents change effects change mechanisms System parameters of changeability: Flexibility Adaptability Scalability Modifiability Robustness Flexibility of a system is defined by the set of changes induced by external agents that can be accommodated Adaptability of a system is defined by the set of changes induced by internal agents that can be accommodated Scalability is the ability to change the level of a feature Modifiability is the ability to change the set of features itself Robust of a system is, when it is able to remain constant in features, despite of the changes

Introduction of selected framework ERP changeability can be expressed with the terms⁸: Configuration Modification Configuration is considered as setting parameters in the package to reflect organizational features. Modification is related to changing the package code, and real programming (usually ABAP) inside the ERP. 13 change mechanisms are recognized.

Results I Results from the Content analysis steps: Open Coding Axial Coding Selective Coding User Training Tension Improved Reporting

Results II Mechanisms of change from the 18 case studies. Summarized results of change effects. Summarized results for expected change effects.

Results III Organizational Impacts of ERP changeability project. Total number of studies, having the organizational impacts – resistance, chaos and tension. Presence of Tension, Resistance and Chaos in case studies, where functionality loss and bad performance are reported.

Results IV Sequence of negative organizational impacts of two selected changeability projects.

Conclusions What have we done? Presentation and test of ERP changeability framework. Collection and summary of organizational impacts from ERP changeability projects. What knowledge have we obtained? Results from the ERP changeability framework test. Summary of organizational impacts from ERP changeability projects. Why is it useful? Strengths and weaknesses of the paper.

Thank you for your patience! Please, share Your questions and comments for this paper!

References Schönsleben, P. (2012). Integral Logistics Management. CRC Press Motiwalla L. F., Thompson, J. (2012). Enterprise Systems for Management, Pearson Education Inc. Bonasera, J. (2002). AMR Research Report Evaluates the Costs, Challenges and Added Benefits of ERP Upgrades, AMR Research [www document] http://www.thefreelibrary.com/AMR+Research+Report+Evaluates+the+Costs,+Challenges,+and+Added...-a084208743 (accessed 26th August 2013) Brehm, L., Heinzl, A., Markus, M. (2001). Tailoring ERP Systems: A Spectrum of Choices and their Implications. Proceedings of the 34th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences Denyer, D., Tranfield, D. (2009). The Sage handbook of organizational research methods. Los Angeles (CA): SAGE Cavana, R.Y., Delahaye, B.L. Sekaran, U. (2001). Applied Business Research: Qualitative and Quantitative Methods, Wiley, Brisbane Ross, A. M., Donna, H. R., Hastings, D.E. (2008). Defining Changeability: Reconciling Flexibility, Adaptability, Scalability, Modifiability and Robustness for Maintaining System Lifecycle Value. System Engineering, 11(3):246-26