SAP projects done better – my open ERP book here on Li...
...about SAP (or more generic ERP) projects and use, how to not only survive this kind of project, but get a new skill set, have a really interesting professional successful story to tell, find friends and happiness in our work!
This is how to do SAP projects good, along with Business targets, along with all people around.
Kotter's organizational change model together with PMI good practices and governance will help here and SAP Activate way of deployment in an ITIL wise IT environment is the methodical framework.?
I am writing this open and free book using social network technology - here in LinkedIn ??- means using a kind of continuous development/intregration! It opens the opportunity to gather continuous feedback thus influencing the content! Yes, this is a kind of Book as a Service made in a CD/CI way.
Look forward to hearing your feedback!
- Introduction why I am writing this book as after 20+ of SAP Project management I have something to tell you!
- Why any new book about ERP and IT projects? Because it is clear there is still a huge space to be covered and we face the same issues...
- What is an ERP and why this more than 30 years old technology is still worth writing about? Why so much bad press and stories about suffering with it? Why it is and must be disruptive and why everything (people, processes, culture...) needs to change along...
- Digital Transformation - really a good name for something we struggle with for more than 30 years...
- Why I value Kotter’s more than other Organizational Change Management methods and find it a very good pair to SAP Activate or other PMI or PRINCE2 based methodologies?
- Bad habits and patterns So if you look for any ERP which is possibly close to what you have you enter most likely a way to the hell...
- Lessons learned – success stories, failures, disputes, litigation cases and trials
- Record of changes of this text
Introduction, why I am writing this book
Working on many projects and sometimes in charge of escalation management I had for long time the idea to write a book about SAP project. Observing many things I was sure we can do it better with better attitude and for the sake of better result. Now in times of Digital Transformation (which I find as new very good name for what we named so far a "implementation") I see that is still valid and even because of bigger complexity may be even more helpful. So I set a New Year resolution for 2019 to write it!
I love my work and always am keen on sharing my knowledge and experience with my peers but also for wide public as I am sure ERP (focused on SAP which is my domain) technology brings a lot of value for everyone and can make everyone happy.
The specific of the ERP domain is specific - will try to explain further why - and because of it there are many myths and self-fulfilling prophecy or bias making the projects harder. I am going to tackle all of these here.
I am working since 20+ year in SAP business, last 10+ years as a contractor, and always was keen to meet students, tell the stories about and share my optimistic view. So let's start!
Why any new book about ERP? Because it is clear there is still a huge space to be covered and we face still the same issues with even bigger intensity recently...
Yes, there seem to be a lot of books about and around ERP, but I found none dealing with it this way I am going to draw, so I am sure can give you a really new and fresh view. I am sure that especially this holistic approach embracing SAP, SAP Activate, ITIL as deployment platform and surrounding the project, PMI as source of good practices and good, inspiring Organisation Change Management, all of these components in accurate proportions making this a holistic method for ERP Digital Transformations.
After all I can see we struggle nowadays with many more troubles than we experienced since the beginning of ERP. So it seems with this very old technology creates more confusion now than before. It may be the symptom ERP becomes today especially important. I mean very ERP implemented the right way as it becomes a base for new digital platforms for IoT and Machine Learning. That makes me sure there is still a lot to do.
Why it is so? Because we still fall in the old-fashioned mindset of making things sequentially where ERP is a social network allowing but also demanding people performing everything concurrently.
That is also why I am writing this book using social network technology - means here in LinkedIn - to share it in the way startups do, with their products and by the way to get your feedback.
What is an ERP and why in a view that this technology is more than 30 years old we still suffer with it? Why it is and must be disruptive and why everything (people, mindset, processes, culture, etc.) needs to change along...
ERP makes the things better but different, so it makes no sense to expect ERP was making the things 100% the same way! My wording of the very short and essential definition of ERP is:
“Real time integrated system embracing possibly all transactions within an organization with unified user interface, unified administration and unified development environment.”
Only this has a clear business sense and system constructed this way brings really new level of business information processing thus all the expected advantages and benefits. means creates new Value.
What is very important here an ERP brings new business model with central database. ERP is organisation-centric. This is completely different to any organically grown AS-IS legacy, which is typically composed from domain-centric solution with proprietary databases and some part of manual processing.
As a clear consequence of above is, that there is no chance to find a real ERP package which fits to any pre-ERP legacy processes, as ERP is completely new business model making the best from relational databases. That is the same like with moving assembly line invented by Henry Ford, as that was only possible with right industry technology development. So the legacy processes need to change or even be exchanged by new as a part of the ERP transformation.
Short post with some discussion: Looking for an ERP that best fits your needs you may be on a good way to hell…
In this sense the ERP is like the moving assembly line invented by Henry Ford and works very well for the above - looking for ERP that fits pre-ERP legacy is like looking for a modern production system that works like a manufacture - that is impossible to find such!
Short post with some discussion: ERP shares many similarities with the moving assembly line invented by Henry Ford 110 year ago.
A clear wish to get a New Additional Value by a kind of jump onto new business model is the root cause of any ERP Digital Transformation, and a new technology like ERP is an enabler and in the same time a part of the necessary organizational change.
ERP works like social network but in a business transaction sense - everything is seen up-to -date at every time for everyone. Any pre-ERP legacy is like any traditional post automated to the form of e-mails. Automating any pre-ERP legacy has some sense but also clear limits as it never becomes really real-time processing and visibility solution.
Clearly e-mails have brought a new value like by sending it to many people in a real time. However social network creates a completely new model of collaboration and new abilities which makes it very close to a team work in very real time.
Some think and even advise that ERP way of information processing can be reached by any organically growth automating legacy piece by piece – that is simply impossible! Only adoption of an ERP wise solution with adequate organizational change along can do it.
Here another example which works well: of a transport company operating cart and horses like it was 100 year ago which wants to change to automobiles. For us it is clear now, but imagine cars are a new technology and they already know it they need to change because they competitors do. Just optimizing carts and horses will newer bring them to cars, they need to change a lot and the best at once. This was a really disrupting transformation.
In this case they might exchange piece by piece horses to cars though, but real improvement is possible by disruption exchanging all to cars with appropriate business model change at once.
The other example that may work here well is a social network. This gives some functionality like electronic post (e-mails) but a lot more on the top of it. That is maybe the best one, as indeed ERP works like social network for all business transactions. Any pre-ERP legacy works as traditional post - sequentially - whereas ERP like social network, enables concurrent work and real time visibility for all stakeholders.
Short post with some discussion: Signs of bad and good SAP Projects (24) – Lidl case lessons: traditional post will never become a social network!
Following article is one of many giving it clear - this time about new ways of performance management - which is possible with this kind of ERP like SAP SuccessFactors:
We can still make it a kind automated traditional way like bi-dimensional by setting targets and periodically check the progress but if we wand to fully leverage ERP in this area we can set it also team wise oriented with more visibility thus making is even more less stressful and fair. Yes! Again: ERP makes the things much more humanistic, human-centric and social.
So, all in all there is clear difference in a way of doing things with an ERP solution against any pre-ERP legacy.
ERP is a disruptive technology like production assembly line was more than 100 years ago. What is a bit funny, there is no doubt with production line for ages, but we still suffer with understanding and consequently implementing ERP.
There are many consequences of these named similarities and the first would be that the best ERP like the unified production line should be deployed “at once”.
In practice for obvious reasons in more complex cases should rather be implemented phased what demands clear vision and leadership.
This is a big challenge and we still - even ERP is so long with us - can see pitfalls and mistakes that undermine the value of ERP by recreating any sequential rituals. This I am going to present and discuss in next chapters.
So how to deal with an ERP?
“Train yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose.” – this one of Yoda sayings shows the right approach. Indeed in case of ERP the best would be to forget about what was so far and just to take the new bunch of processes.
If you just ask users supposed to implement an ERP, what they want, they tell you a story about their legacy, so then you will not make any digital transformation, but just the legacy reincarnation within an ERP package…
There are solutions, that are well transformed with pure agility approach – shall we say via Digital Optimization – like BI or e-Commerce. Here you can start even from the scratch with this nice “scrumish” approach describing stories with “As a XXX, I need YYY, So that YYY”, enabling their creativity.
But definitely ERP – means its core of accounting coupled with logistic chains - is this kind of species of transformations, which require really strong organizational change management.
That was so far for decades made with methods like BPR, but the problem is that you take old processes and try to make them better changing them in long and arduous work. This, as we know based on experience, eventually often brings a mediocrity, something that automates just the old processes, but doesn’t bring really the expected value.
Trying to change business processes very often eventually brings a mediocrity, something that automates just the old processes, but doesn’t bring really the expected value. The alternative better approach of jump-start into new business model.
So, in case of ERP Digital Transformation, there is first a need to guide people about new business model, to create the urgency of a change and explain what is the change to be about. Even more as beginning is quite easy to persist on the course of change every day as every day, they will drift to what they know very well – to the legacy.
Digital Transformation - really a good name for something we struggle with for more than 30 years...
Yes – after years of naming it like a “SAP Implementation” we have now really good name which reflect the very nature of ERP transformation: "digital" means newest IT and "transformation" means change of an organisation to get the best of it. My definition is:
Digital Transformation is an adoption of the newest digital technology and organizational change along of this adoption to get together the best new added value by new business model
That is it – a change of the Organization along with technical part is the immanent part of any Digital Transformation. That is why we call it “Transformation”. Lack of this change is main cause of troubles here.
Customer's most unrealistic expectation is…that they can get a huge improvement just by buying new toys, but they rely they can still follow the same old rituals as it "always" was. That’s impossible!
Short post with some discussion: Signs of troubled SAP Projects: Customer's most unrealistic expectation is…
If more succinct definition needed I think this one can reflect everything what is needed:
Digital Transformation is an organizational transformation driven by the newest technology
Short post with some discussion: What is ERP digital transformation on about …
That is not any truth that people don’t like change as many events show they love it and look forward!
Short post with some discussion: People don’t like changes? No kidding!
Short post with some discussion: ERP is for humans but we (IT) tend to do digital transformations like we were aliens doing it for people.
Short post with some discussion: Let’s make people love a change, love ERP!...
That is only a matter of right positioning and based on my experience all the people around may benefit from ERP transformation. The problem is that usually they become satisfied long time after the project and one of purposes of this book is to show they could be at the beginning.
Imagine all ERP project stakeholders were looking forward and keen on doing ERP transformation like they usually are in many changes in their lives, like buying a new car, smartphone, getting married or becoming parents. I will present my view on ahy it is
Long article:What an ERP digital transformation is about … Published on November 13, 2018
SAP Digital Transformation state of the art - 30+ years on the market but still no holistic method and many troubles...
ERP digital transformation is something that creates a value in minds of all stakeholders. This is not like a building or a machine we can see and measure in an objective way. So, if people around don’t know how to use it and see it as something bad, that means it is a failure.
Yes that is it: that are emotions triggered by good understanding of the mission and persistence in this are a pivot and even a game changer in such an endeavor like ERP digital transformations.
Before I come to advise more on it I wand to give you picture about and this podcast gives very well why it is so:
this podcast is about some very important aspects also for SAP transformations or wider about a happiness in the work, where some important areas are non-measurable.
Emotions of the community may even differentiate success from failure and reasons why some technically correct projects fail.
I saw some loud failure cases even ended with a court verdict granting high award, with system working all the time. The only one thing that has changed are the money transferred. In other words, the award brought satisfaction which was missing before. That is it - "buy-in" really matters and missing "buy-in"is a big flaw in ERP transformation. ??
The Haribo case: the line between success and fiasco is in ERP transformations quite blurred…
ERP Digital Transformation pitfalls: lack of a OCM
ERP Digital Transformation pitfalls: ordinary implementation mistakes - breach of good practices that backfires like a hell!
having said that ERP is 30+ years old technology and we have very well established methods to implement it we could assume that it is sufficient to keep a hold of some known simple rules and work well together to get it done very well!
Yes that is - so much and only this, just follow the rules! Nevertheless every project has its own dynamic and complexity and usually many compromises are necessary.That is the practice and it works the problem is that there are areas where compromises are deadly harmful. Good project manager should know it.
Again: studying ERP fiasco cases never have found any sticking to the rules among them, so take only these compromised may fail, and usually after massive breach, as such a solutions like SAP are very tolerant in implementations, but sometimes bad luck happens.
Many such cases show that they were to relaxed, had wasted a lot of time discussing in blueprinting and even realizing, but wanted to still keep original deadline thus compromising testing and training. Very simple causality: who sows the wind, will reap the whirl wind.
Here we can use this quote: “Mind what you have learned. Save you it can.” Yoda
Lets have a look at Haribo case, what happened end of 2018: rather just “ordinary” negligence in area of test and training.
Recently we can see many articles about Haribo troubles, sometimes even calling it “failure”. For sure this is a kind of troubled project, but it seems the situation has stabilized and the troubles are over.
Taking common facts from these articles and comparing with similar patterns in other troubled projects I have studied, I dare to say we have here “just” negligence and breach of good practices in area of test and training and not any sophisticated process definition misalignment.
We can learn that they failed to supply their distribution network for some time. That could show a quite specific area of interfaces with external parties creating and integrated supply chain. Whereas SAP components are “standard” ones thus requiring limited tests. This doesn’t apply to interfaces which are always a kind of unique and require comprehensive testing like any new development…
All in all, such a situation should have not happened in well organized project and simple cheap project audit could help avoid it saving a lot of money and also reputation.
ERP Digital Transformation pitfalls: bad Project Management and poor Governance
SAP Activate - official SAP implementation method- very good recipe based on implementation model that is proven in 30+ years practice.
In SAP Activate a concept of Fit/Gap approach has been launch and I am going why it is better than blueprinting.
“Fear is the path to the dark side.” – Yoda
ERP despite is quite matured technology still causes misunderstanding and fear. This redesign of business – new comparing to any legacy, causes troubles in adoption because implementations take time. Even started with big energy and clear wish to change is exposed on Death Star gravity and may get lured by the dark side of the force, mains by legacy.
The first point which can be a wrong step towards the dark side is the blueprint. If given in hands of weak consultants who are not strong enough to keep the line of the ERP transformation may be really catastrophic for the entire project.
To put it clear it is not fair to blame people, who will always fear the new unknown and refer to what they know and what they are sure it works. That is to blame the leaders for lack of governance.
That is why I find the fit/gap approach in SAP Activate as much more robust, safe and secure for the sake of successful transformation even if needs more discipline to keep the backlog consistent.
Fit/Gap approach is the materialization of one of fundamental Agile Manifesto principles, saying that working product values more than comprehensive documentation. Documentation may be ambiguous where working product is clear – there is no space for any dispute or litigation!
Some discussion about it you may find here: Why fit/gap approach is better than blueprinting
Here my big article about it:
Organizational Change Management method as a good match for SAP Activate and why I find Kotter’s org. change leadership method is the best matching candidate here …
This chapter is the organizational part of any ERP transformation what means human side of it. That is important to understand that here not only numbers count but also non-measurable aspects like emotions. Good Organizational Change Method must embrace emotions.
“Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny, consume you it will.” – Yoda
Stepping into ERP transformation organizational change needs to be applied the right way, not too early and not too late, even not too much of it, just the way according to the digital adoption.
Working in SAP business for more than 20 years ever now and again I can hear tales that organization change should be performed before ERP implementation or after it. That was even not possible though! The right time for the organizational change is the implementation time and best all the time along with it.
Imagine you are a horseman and going to exchange horse to a car. So when would you change the habits? Before means riding the horse as a driver, or after the change means driving the car as riding the horse? Sure, that only experiencing the car! Sure, you said you were taking a driver’s course and that is right! The same way it is to be done in form of hands on workshops in the first part of the implementation.
Some say there is a need to prepare prior to this transformation. Maybe, but definitely this kind of preparation may be also a kind of dangerous as may be misleading. I must admit never have witnessed any good result of it.
Some discussion about it you may find here: Organizational change needs to be applied the right way, not too early and not too late, even not too much of it, just the way according to the digital adoption
I value Kotter's as very good match for SAP Activate project method because of many reasons, here I give here four of them:
- It is quite intuitive as even after reading a book or watching some of YouTube movies about it, we can already adapt skills helping us in conducting of any change endeavor like I show an example below;
- it is focused more on emotions thus on human side rather than goals and administration (as for example Prosci seems to be next administrative and check list-based method) what makes a quite well couple with SAP Activate which is strongly “check-lists” based. Kotter’s with more soft-skills-good-practices approach may be very good balance;
- what more important Kotter’s puts on the positive proactive actions (like for example Form “Build a Guiding Coalition”) whereas Prosci rather about how to heal sickness: like resistance management - where resistance is already a result of bad treatment;
- Kotter’s is in its very nature supplementary to any project management method and don’t pretends to by any complete project (means transformation) methodology.
Some discussion about it you may find here: I value Kotter's as a very good match for SAP Activate project method because of many reasons, here I give four:
Please note I refer here to the newest set named Accelerate which assumes concurrent and continuous run of all of the 8 steps:
Here is some example how intuitive, easy and straight forward are the steps of Kotter’s. You can for example make a health self-test considering any particular project:
Signs of bad and good SAP Projects (9) – Lessons learned – do OCM self-test of your project!
Consequently, I did this exercise for Lidl case (discussed in more detail later here). Since it is based on press articles it is only a kind of an intellectual game now: ROLL-OUT needs OCM otherwise it will backfire like a hell! (Lidl case)
Bad habits and patterns So if you look for any ERP which is possibly close to what you have you enter most likely a way to the hell...
Lessons learned – success stories, failures, disputes, litigation cases and trials
Success Stories
Uniper and Lidl cases – only persistence differentiates success from failure!
Loud Failures
Lidl case - this case is very well characterized in this article in Handelsblatt:
In my opinion “stock valuation” here is only a fake code name, a kind of rational-ish name for something irrational.
This huge program took too long and almost all “owners”, like sponsor, left in the middle of it. That has damaged the governance and this project lest without ownership after initial success has drifted eventually in many uncontrolled changes of everything, eventually leading to the situation that nobody wanted to took over the responsibility of this mess.
That is pity, definitely like a ship without navigation they went astray but were still in the position to turn around. They have abandoned this indeed saying they are going to maintain further spaghetti-wise legacy solution they found 7 years earlier as wrong. Can not find any rationale in this...
For sure there was also resistance – like usually on this kind of programs – but since they started already live and happy in several countries clearly not any part of the solution was any reason for this failure. Blaming people for what they – left without clear leadership – have tried to do everything like they did so far and know the best, is unfair.
Short posts with some discussion:
Lessons learned from Lidl and Lufthansa: there is always a way to improve and correct!
Lidl case – inner dynamic of digital transformation and how to avoid drifting into bad patterns?
DO NOT blame people for they right mentality! Lidl case
Disputes and Trials - National Grid case
Short posts with some discussion: Lidl and National Grid: how could we avoid such failures?
based on publicly available audit report: Audit Report
Complaint: Complaint
Disputes and Trials - Copart case
This is embraced in separate chapter:
Record of changes:
17-March-2019: added "So how to deal with an ERP?"
13-January-2019: solid extension about ERP