Govern and Manage an Enterprise Software Implementation

You have been tasked with delivering a large-scale software implementation project. Historically, similar projects within your organization have failed to complete on time, on budget, and/or have failed to deliver upon their intended benefits. It some cases, these projects have even been abandoned altogether. With a new project on the horizon, you need to minimize your risks of repeat failure.

Our Advice

Critical Insight

Even in today’s day and age, where information sharing is easier than it has ever been, large-scale software projects continue to fail at an alarming rate (an average of 66% over budget, 33% over time, and delivered with 17% less value than originally predicted, according to a recent publication by McKinsey & Company). Although most companies will survive a failed software implementation, 17% of the failed projects researched can essentially threaten the existence of an organization.
One would think that IT shops would have such implementations down to a science; however, these “black swan” projects (defined as projects that exceed 200% in budget overruns), occur a lot more than what would be expected.
You have solicited the professional services of a systems integrator. You want to ensure that you are able to manage the SI, and aren’t solely dependent upon their methodology throughout the implementation period.

Impact and Result

Assuming greater accountability over the project (avoid over-reliance on the SI)
Leveraging the collective knowledge and advice of other IT professionals
Reviewing common pitfalls and lessons learned from failed implementations
Proper risk mitigation planning for each stage of the project
Self-assessment of your own readiness to enter/exit each stage of the project

Govern and Manage an Enterprise Software Implementation Research & Tools

1. Determine project rationale

See if COTS process optimization makes sense.

2. Prepare for the project

Determine appropriate project governance.

3. Enter plan/analyze phase

Adequately prepare for the overall project and gather requirements. Conduct a stage-gate assessment of the phase.

4. Enter design phase

Prepare for overall software project design. Conduct a stage-gate assessment of the phase.

5. Enter build phase

Build the solution in a manner that meets identified requirements. Conduct a stage-gate assessment of the phase.

6. Enter test/deploy phase

Thoroughly evaluate that the deployed solution is meeting business objectives. Conduct a stage-gate assessment of the phase.

Govern and Manage an Enterprise Software Implementation visualization

Don’t outsource your brain. You can’t outsource project accountability to the SI.

About Info-Tech

Info-Tech Research Group is the world’s fastest-growing information technology research and advisory company, proudly serving over 30,000 IT professionals.

We produce unbiased and highly relevant research to help CIOs and IT leaders make strategic, timely, and well-informed decisions. We partner closely with IT teams to provide everything they need, from actionable tools to analyst guidance, ensuring they deliver measurable results for their organizations.

What Is a Blueprint?

A blueprint is designed to be a roadmap, containing a methodology and the tools and templates you need to solve your IT problems.

Each blueprint can be accompanied by a Guided Implementation that provides you access to our world-class analysts to help you get through the project.

Table of Contents

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Guided Implementation 1:

Call 1: Enter plan/analyze phase entry and exit readiness reviews
- Once you have reviewed the common pitfalls, created your risk mitigation plan, and self-evaluated against the entry criteria, we can help review your plan, discuss any of your concerns, and validate your readiness for entry into the Plan/Analyze phase.
- Once you approach the closure of the phase and have self-evaluated against the exit criteria for Plan/Analyze, we can discuss any lessons learned, and validate your readiness for exiting the Plan/Analyze phase.

Guided Implementation 2:

Call 1: Enter design phase entry and exit readiness reviews
- Once you have reviewed the common pitfalls, created your risk mitigation plan, and self-evaluated against the entry criteria, we can help review your plan, discuss any of your concerns, and validate your readiness for entry into the Design phase.
- Once you approach the closure of the phase and have self-evaluated against the exit criteria for Design, we can discuss any lessons learned, and validate your readiness for exiting the Design phase.

Guided Implementation 3:

Call 1: Enter build phase entry and exit readiness reviews
- Once you have reviewed the common pitfalls, created your risk mitigation plan, and self-evaluated against the entry criteria, we can help review your plan, discuss any of your concerns, and validate your readiness for entry into the Build phase.
- Once you approach the closure of the phase and have self-evaluated against the exit criteria for Build, we can discuss any lessons learned, and validate your readiness for exiting the Build phase.

Guided Implementation 4:

Call 1: Enter test/deploy phase entry and exit readiness reviews
- Once you have reviewed the common pitfalls, created your risk mitigation plan, and self-evaluated against the entry criteria, we can help review your plan, discuss any of your concerns, and validate your readiness for entry into the Test/Deploy phase.
- Once you approach the closure of the phase and have self-evaluated against the exit criteria for Test/Deploy, we can discuss any lessons learned, and validate your readiness for go-live.