Define

4. Mobilise

Get the SI team and any additional contractors onto the programme, ready for the work ahead. They may not all be needed straight away, so refer to the resource plan to build the team efficiently. Also, keep in mind that some skill sets can be rare, so start looking earlier and identify specialist suppliers.

5. Design

Based on the initial research and SI proposal, really get to grips with the design. Things to cover in this stage:

• Design Authority setup
• Technical vision
• High-Level Design (HLD) then Low-Level Design (LLD)
• Legacy and reach-back design
• Data flows
• Data model
• Functionality
• Needs, journeys
• Requirements, NFRs (Non-Functional Requirements)
• Business architecture
• Role mapping
• Integration specifications
• Environment model
• Data owner table (accountable data owners)

Common pitfall: Starting to build the test system without an approved High-Level Design (HLD).

Minor tweaks after starting the build can usually be accommodated. However, HLD changes that affect parts of the system already built can cause costly rework or delays. If the build is started alongside iterative design workshops, this needs to be considered carefully.

Solution: Agree on the design before you start building. Get the design signed off by technology and business leads.

6. Strategise

Figure out how to build and deploy your new ERP solution. These strategy documents influence each other and pave the way for viable plans:

Business change strategy: How the people, processes and roles will be engaged and transformed into a new operating model.

Integration strategy: How the ERP will be integrated with external and internal systems.

Test strategy: How to demonstrate the technology works for the organisation.

Tech vendor methodology: The recommended approach and checks required by the Tech vendor to go live on their platform or software.

Deployment strategy: How to prepare the people, processes, data and support teams for cutover and beyond.

Cutover strategy: How to move from the old system to the new. This is heavily dependent on the deployment strategy and data migration:

Data migration strategy: This describes how to prepare, extract (from the source system), transform, load (to the target system) and validate the data.

Environment strategy: How to provide and manage environments to enable the other strategies and frameworks.

Common pitfall: Skipping strategy creation and going straight to plans.

An ERP implementation has many moving parts. If you overlook interactions between workstream outputs, you can miss data migration tasks, leave testing insufficient, and create last-minute resourcing gaps.

Solution: Early on, establish strategies and agree on them across the programme. This will highlight gaps to fill and inform joined-up planning.

7. Plan

Based on the agreed strategies for implementing the ERP, plans now need to be created and baselined. These should specify when tasks start and stop, who is required, and dependencies on other workstreams or teams. The appropriate lead or project manager manages plans for each workstream or area, reporting to the programme manager for overall coordination.

This brings us to the second stage gate: Ready to deliver