1. 1 Copyright Dawn Willan 2005. This work is the intellectual property of the author. Permission is granted for this material to be shared for non- commercial, educational purposes, provided that this copyright statement appears on the reproduced materials and notice is given that the copying is by permission of the author. To disseminate otherwise or to republish requires written permission from the author.

2. Using a Formal Lessons- Learned Analysis to Improve Future ERP Implementations January 13, 2005 MARC 2005 Conference Baltimore, Maryland

3. This presentation will describe how The College of New Jersey identified some of the experiences that worked well (or did not) during our Financials and Human Resources implementations, and how we plan to ensure each item is addressed in our upcoming implementation of the PeopleSoft Student Administration system. Overview

4. 4 State College, located in Ewing, NJ Primarily undergraduate liberal arts Students - 5,600 FT, 330 PT, 850 graduate Faculty - 325 full-time, 350 adjunct Staff - 675 full-time, 125 part-time Student Employees/GA’s - 1,300 4 The College of New Jersey

5. PS Financials 7.52 (live in 2001, currently upgrading to 8.3) PS HRMS, Payroll, Benefits 8.3 (live in 2003) PS Portal (partial go-live in 2003) PS Student Administration 8.9 (implementation began Fall 2004) Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge (estimated go-live = February 2005) 5 TCNJ Administrative Systems

6. 6 Some thoughts… “A failure is a man who has blundered but is not able to cash in the experience” Elbert Hubbard “Life can be understood only backwards, but it must be lived forwards.” Soren Kierkegaard

7. 7 Financials Project First ERP project Team = 4 functional + 4 Technical Timeline = 21 months No backfill Consultants Part-time project management No formal lessons learned analysis

8. 8 HR Project Team = 2.5 functional + 4 technical Timeline = 2 years Backfill Consultants Part-time project management Formal lessons learned analysis

9. 9 HR Lessons Learned Purpose – analyze project & difficult post- go live shakedown period Goals –Identify & repeat project successes –Avoid future problems –Improve project management practices –Promote internal staff development through self review and analysis

10. 10 HR Lessons Learned (cont’d) Participants –Project Team –System end users –Project Sponsors - CIO & Asst VP of Human Resources Timeframe Compilation of responses Sharing results

11. 11 HR Survey Expectations Complete survey electronically Distribute results and recommendations to all survey participants Participants should consider what went well and what we can learn Feedback should be honest, but constructive Looking for positive outcomes

12. 12 HR Survey Instructions Consider all phases of project Provide at least one ‘success’ in each area Provide at least one item that could be improved upon Provide realistic recommendations

13. 13 HR Feedback Categories 6 areas of feedback –General staffing –Sponsorship –Communication –Project Management –Design/Development/Testing –User Readiness

14. 14 Question: How do we ensure that we address and benefit from both the informal and formal lessons learned exercises from previous projects?

15. 15 Strategy Identify items that did or did not work well Identify a set of guiding principles to consider on future projects Develop concrete action items in response to each item

16. 16 Process Reviewed & considered results of HR analysis Planning team brainstorm Combined and revised pertinent results

17. 17 Issue Resolution Process Issue: Full utilization of issue resolution process Response: –Develop formal strategy –Utilize steering committee to a greater extent –PM and Tech Lead to provide biweekly updates to CIO

18. 18 Change of Business Processes Issue: Changing business processes where possible Response: –Identify a functional lead for each module –Charge functional lead w/responsibility –Steering Committee will review all recommendations for modifications & provide authorization –Project manager & Steering will challenge existing business processes

19. 19 Campus Communication Issue: Continue to communicate with campus community throughout project Response: –Hire new position – Training & Communications Coordinator –T&C Coord will develop comprehensive communication plan –Steering Committee will approve communications plan –Steering Co & PM ensures plan is being followed

20. 20 Project Milestone Checkpoints Issue: Checking in throughout the project at key points Response: –Steering committee meetings at project milestones on project plan –Steering committee to provide ‘sign-off’ before moving forward

21. 21 Slippage in Early Stages Issue: Avoiding slippage in early stages of project Response: –Develop positive reinforcement strategies –Review project plan frequently, identify slippages, address w/team leads, bring to Steering for senior management enforcement

22. 22 Social Gatherings Issue: Plan for social gatherings of project team Response: –Hold a kickoff party/meeting –At least 1 social gathering per quarter –Go-live celebrations for each module –Include events on project plan

23. 23 Functional vs. Technical Issue: Combating functional vs. technical mentality Response: –Internal communications directed to entire team –Team building/communications workshop(s) –Social gatherings –Cross training –PM role should be neutral –CIO to assist

24. 24 Team Communication Issue: Timely communication between functional & technical teams Response: –Weekly team meetings –Respond to communications within 48 hours –Issues log –Distribute notes within 48 hours –Steering to address breakdowns

25. 25 Data Mapping Issue: Consultant participation during data mapping exercise Response: –Schedule data mapping sessions on project plan and meeting calendar –Include consultants

26. 26 Reporting Issue: Required reports should be completed prior to go-live Response: –Identify all required reports early –Prioritize reports & identify required deadlines –PM & Steering to ensure reports are completed by deadlines

27. 27 Testing Issue: Complete thorough testing on all processes Response: –Identify all populations & scenarios as early as possible –Obtain input from team members when developing timeframes & deadlines –Develop complete test plans –Assign testing coordinator role –Convert & test data as early as possible

28. 28 Consultant Issue: Retaining consultants throughout life of project Response: –Engage consultants part-time over a longer time period –Retain consultants on-site through post go-live activities

29. 29 End User Training Issue: Ensure adequate end user training Response: –Hire Training & Communications Coordinator –Survey users prior to go-live to assess readiness –Re-train where necessary –Involve end users during testing –Consider mandating supervised periods of time for users to ‘play’ in system

30. 30 Load Testing Issue: Perform adequate load testing Response: –Purchase software –Perform load testing on all SA modules prior to go-live –Perform load testing on all SA + other PS modules prior to go-live

31. 31 Staffing Plans Issue: Ensure adequate backup & backup staffing plans Response: –Identify key staff back in admin offices –Consider pending retirements –Develop plans to replace both key staff or team members I special circumstances – Continue to allow team to be 100%, with temporary backfill staff

32. 32 Scope Creep Issue: How to avoid scope creep Response: –Define initial scope as early as possible, and refine through fit/gap –Steering to approve all modifications –Steering to approve all functional scope changes –Manage expectations throughout the project (sponsor, PM and T&C Coordinator)

33. 33 Where are we today? Early stages of SA project SA Team is reviewing this information Project plan is being built Training/Communications strategies are being developed

34. 34 Future Considerations Checkpoints against responses w/SA project Post SA project review Future projects

35. 35 ‘Off the Record’ Executive sponsor role People dynamics Risk assessment Consulting budget development Don’t always share

36. Nadine Stern Chief Information Officer The College of New Jersey E-mail: stern@tcnj.edu stern@tcnj.edu Dawn Willan Data Resources Administrator The College of New Jersey E-mail: willan@tcnj.edu The College of New Jersey E-mail: willan@tcnj.edu Contacts