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1 PEOPLESOFT UPGRADES Hw t Reduce Yur Upgrade Csts While Increasing Stakehlder Benefits Intrductin Regardless f what versin f PepleSft yu are currently n, yu prbably have a PepleSft Upgrade prject lming in yur future. Upgrade prjects are ften seen as nn-strategic initiatives that have t be cmpleted t stay current t be supprted by Oracle. These Must D prjects can place an undue burden n the rganizatin (frm bth financial and a resurce perspective) and intrduce risks that the cmpany wuld rather nt take n. Whatever the reasn, preparing fr and ging thrugh the upgrade prcess can seem daunting. This may be due t limited client staff available t perfrm the wrk, r lack f PepleSft upgrade skill set / experience. Or bandwidth may be limited due t all the cmpeting pririties yur rganizatin faces. Despite these bstacles, many pprtunities exist t streamline the upgrade prcess. These can ensure success and lcate efficiencies in functinal areas that will justify prject expenditure, and therefre psitively impact yur bttm line. In this white paper, we hpe t prvide yu with sme f ur insights int the upgrade prcess, tips t reduce yur risks and effrts in rder t increase the likelihd f yur prject success. Traditinal Apprach CherryRad Technlgies ERP grup has a lng histry f assisting clients in dzens f upgrade prjects in many capacities (prject management nly, technical upgrade skill set nly, etc.). Over the years we have bserved practices that prevail acrss prjects, acrss cmpanies f many sizes and cmpany industries that include: Cmpany reliance n cnsultants fr upgrade expertise Upgrade Prject duratin spanning a lengthy time frame (mre than necessary) Undetermined Prject Scpe and Objectives that have with n measures f success Limited Internal client resurces assigned t the prject Limited (r, in sme cases, nnexistent) internal business case and/r lack f financial metrics t justify prject Lack f standardized management practices t reduce prject risk such as nt having a PMO r prject management framewrk. Nn-existent r lacking cmmunicatin plan and/r change management apprach fr the prject Prperty f CherryRad Technlgies Inc. These practices ften result in inefficient prgress, pr results and ultimately can cause prject delays and/r terminatin and unnecessary prject expenses and effrts. Upgrade prjects need t be thrughly prepared fr and planned t ensure a prper fundatin has been laid dwn fr prject success. Upgrade Prject Cnsideratins Many cnsideratins can ensure that yur upgrade is prperly psitined and that yur upgrade team has the right framewrk, skills and experience needed fr prject success. Sme issues nt specific t upgrade prjects need t be addressed t ensure a gd utcme. Page 1 f 7

2 Hw t Reduce Yur Upgrade Csts While Increasing Stakehlder Benefits Supprt the Business Case -The first majr hurdle in getting a prject started is ensuring that it has psitive business value. Oftentimes an upgrade prject is seen as a sunk cst that results frm just wning the system. Yu can mitigate this perceptin by displaying tangible imprvements t business prcesses and better cntrl ver cmpliance risks t enhance the visibility and likelihd that the prject will result in added value. If yur business case isn t strng, yu risk prject cancellatin and budget reductin. Prject Perspectives frm HR and IT - Depending n yur rle in the rganizatin, yu may have different views n what the upgrade shuld accmplish. The gal fr IT management may be getting PepleSft up t the supprted release with minimal business disruptins (minimizes risk and prvides same tls). Fr HR management, the upgrade prject shuld prvide imprved business prcesses and capabilities as well as fix current issues (imprve business prcesses and service delivery). A successful prject wuld meet bth needs. Additinal stakehlders may als have precnceived expectatins arund the prject. Stakehlder mapping can help t drive ut and nrmalize these perceptins. Define and Manage Scpe -T manage dwn risk while still maintaining the value, yur scpe must be well defined and dcumented. The scpe statement shuld als be scialized t all stakehlders t ensure that they have a similar perspective and are in agreement. All upgrade prject team members shuld be effective scpe cntrl advcates, and the prject manager shuld actively manage scpe thrughut the prject. Timing - Determining when t upgrade (fr instance, yur license is running ut), cmpeting prjects, dependencies t ther initiatives, etc. all seem t factr inf when yur upgrade prject can and shuld ccur. Often, the pririty f yur upgrade prject isn t clear t all within the rganizatin and there are inherent dependencies t ther prjects such as IT infrastructure imprvements, etc. T understand all f these dependencies, a stakehlder plan must be develped t fully understand the risks and ensure that yu have a plan in place t mitigate risks if they ccur. Plan fr the wrst and strive fr success. Team Cmpsitin - D yu have all the stakehlders identified and invlved? Are the right peple in the right rles? Where are my experience gaps? Lk at this prject as an pprtunity t clse these skill gaps via knwledge transfer frm cnsulting resurces and as an pprtunity t psitin resurces in rles mre aligned with individual strengths. Prperty f CherryRad Technlgies Inc. Cmmunicatin and Change Management These areas f an upgrade prject are ften underplanned r ignred altgether. In talking with ur clients ver the years, ur clients have ften stated that the rt cause fr issues r prject risks that were realized during the prject was the result f pr cmmunicatin and management f the change. Even in a prject that is cnsidered a Technical Upgrade (n new functinality, n prcess changes), there has t be sme level f cmmunicatin (i.e. cmmunicatin and training plan) t ensure prject success. Prperly Leverage any Cnsulting Help - If yu d the upgrade prject with yur wn client persnnel, yu may still have t engage functinal r technical cnsultants t assist with sme aspect f it. As a functin f vendr management, make sure yu are crystal clear n what rles yur cnsultants will perfrm and the respnsibilities they will hld during the engagement. Yu d nt want t end up with a successful prject but cnsultants wh knw yur business (r yur system) better than yur internal staff. Page 2 f 7

3 Hw t Reduce Yur Upgrade Csts While Increasing Stakehlder Benefits Plan fr Business Disruptins during Upgrade Prject - In this dynamic ecnmy, rganizatinal changes are the nrm, s yur team shuld be prepared t handle a change such as an acquisitin, divestiture r rerganizatin. Depending n what phase the prject is in, this change culd have a drastic impact t yur prject like having t recnfigure the rganizatin structure in PepleSft and retesting. Track Prductin Changes Yu als want t make sure that during yur upgrade timeline, that yu track any changes made int the prductin envirnment and try yur best t minimize any prpsed changes during that timeframe (think abut a develpment blackut perid). Leverage New Tls in Release - The new PepleSft applicatin release v9.1 has several features that yu shuld take advantage f such as perfrmance mnitr, data archive manager and apprval wrkflw engine. Yu shuld at the very least, explre this new functinality and determine hw these tls can make an impact yur business. Depending n yur apprach t prject scpe, mst features can be deplyed either during the upgrade prject r as a pst-upgrade task. Yu als have the ptin f deplying the feature in a test envirnment and just turning it n in prductin at a later date. This allws yur team t fcus n the upgrade prject while psitining fr mre value via new functins in the future. Mdels/Appraches f Upgrade Prcess There are many appraches t an upgrade prject including n-site team upgrading n internal machines, utsurced upgrade, hybrid f these tw, etc. Each f these appraches has strengths and weaknesses that may decrease yur csts, but may als increase risks depending n several factrs such as cmpany culture, resurce skills and bandwidth, etc. Each f these ptins is briefly discussed belw: Client-Owned Upgrade - This apprach applies when the client has the internal skills and experience necessary t perfrm the upgrade n their wn and des nt have t bring in additinal resurces fr help. Prperty f CherryRad Technlgies Inc. Psitives - Minimal external csts since the emplyees perfrming the wrk dn t have t wrk with cnsultants, builds team experience. Negatives - Dn t get best practices, may have t delay ther initiatives since team cmprises f cmpany internal emplyees, and there may be limited emplyee bandwidth fr nging prductin supprt during upgrade prject. Lab-based Upgrade - This apprach traditinally invlves the cnsulting rganizatin ging away fr a perid f time and perfrming upgrade tasks by themselves in a lab envirnment. Resurces perfrming this upgrade are ften ff-shre resurces with limited PepleSft experience. The utput is their initial attempt at an upgraded and retr-fitted instance f yur prductin system. Psitives - This will help t accelerate yur retrfitting prcess, and will limit the respnsibility f yur technical resurces since the lab will d a majrity f the wrk. This apprach is a lwer-cst alternative. Negatives - The ne majr negative fr this apprach is that the quality f retrfitting the bjects might be lacking and testing dne n these upgraded bjects/instance might be minimal. This may result in mre iterative rewrk f develpment bjects nt prperly retrfitted and mre testing effrts may be needed that may ffset develpment cst savings. This apprach als intrduces sme level f risk. Page 3 f 7

4 Hw t Reduce Yur Upgrade Csts While Increasing Stakehlder Benefits Traditinal On-Premise Upgrade - This apprach cnsists f engaging external cnsulting resurces t wrk at the cmpany n site, t wrk with internal resurces t wrk n deliverables and share knwledge. This apprach is usually undertaken t build internal resurce capabilities via knwledge transfer, balance internal resurce wrklad and utsurcing prject risk. Psitives - Prject shuld allw fr knwledge transfer, additinal scpe items identified and ften cmpleted, minimal rewrk and retesting needed, quick turnarund, mre flexible apprach. Negatives - Mre cstly than lab-based apprach (traditinally), higher space needs, team integratin might be an issue, versight f cnsulting resurces needed. Hybrid Upgrade - This mdel invlves a blend f the abve appraches based n the client s gals and culture whether t minimize client-emplyee invlvement due t limited resurces and/r t minimize prject csts. This apprach prevails mre tday in the market since many rganizatins have develped sme prduct expertise t perfrm the upgrade themselves, but wuld like t augment their staff r limit cnsulting help due t budgetary cnstraints. This apprach takes a cuple f frms first, it can be a lab-based apprach (r n-premise apprach) with client resurces cmpleting the develpment and testing effrts r it culd be npremise with client team members perfrming key prject team rles t minimize cnsulting csts. Psitives - Cheaper than a full n-premise upgrade, still getting sme level f knwledge transfer. Negatives - Requires mre crdinatin and management than n-premise, mre risk than full n-premise apprach, can be lnger than lab-based apprach, may nt get full benefits f best practices r knwledge transfer that is needed. Regardless f the mdel that yu chse, it is imprtant t take int cnsideratin yur rganizatinal culture and resurces t ensure that the apprach is a gd fit and will help t achieve prject success. Prperty f CherryRad Technlgies Inc. CherryRad Technlgies Value Prpsitin CherryRad Technlgies appraches upgrades as a jint upgrade effrt. We bring ur in-depth PepleSft technical skills and Human Resurces functinal best practices t the prject t ptimize yur return n yur PepleSft investment. We strive t ensure that yur internal team increases their PepleSft capabilities/skills in rder t supprt the new system versin int the future. Here, knwledge transfer is critical, and with it, the client can realize the value f partnering with CherryRad Technlgies. Our team f veteran cnsultants can draw n ur deep experience in upgrades t ensure that yur prject will succeed. We lk at each client as a lng-term partner, s client satisfactin is vital t ur way f ding business. Yur rganizatin shuld target a cnsulting partner that displays these critical values in rder t realize nt nly a successful prject utcme, but the even mre imprtant (and ften ver lked) benefits f increased capabilities f yur internal team, HR best practices and a prven cnsulting partnership that yu can leverage in the future. These benefits will have pay-back fr years t cme. Page 4 f 7

5 Hw t Reduce Yur Upgrade Csts While Increasing Stakehlder Benefits CherryRad Technlgies Upgrade Tls and Acceleratrs CherryRad Technlgies has develped several tls and acceleratrs t streamline upgrade activities and reduce verall prject risk. We have experience in perfrming upgrades n-site, remtely and as a hsted ff-site prcess. Thrughut ur prject experience, we have develped tls and techniques t increase prject efficiency and effectiveness. Sme examples f these tls include: SQR and Query Cmpare Tl - Identifies impacts f new versin n all SQRs and prduces an impact analysis reprt. This tl is als a great way t validate that all yur cding updates have been cmpleted, and that nthing gt missed by running this prcess again when SQR develpment has been cmpleted (takes less than an hur t run). Prven Upgrade Scripts (based n delivered scripts frm Oracle) - We have captured issues with the Oracle delivered upgrade prcess, as well as added additinal steps that need t be taken t ensure a successful upgrade pass and ptimize upgrade prcess perfrmance. We use this experience t jump-start each upgrade prcess. Business Prcess Maps - We have a library f best practices prcess maps that incrprate functinal best practices in human resurces as well as hw these business prcesses wrk within the PepleSft system. Fit/Gap Templates - PepleSft prvides a great system t supprt functinal business prcesses, but there are sme areas within the applicatin that have gaps. We have gne thrugh this prcess analysis with dzens f cmpanies, and bring this knwledge with us t help build yur future-state functinal prcesses within the new system versin. Testing Strategy and Test Scripts - We never like t start frm scratch and we make use f ur prven testing strategy and library f test cases/scenaris t build a thrugh testing prcess and test script inventry that can be leveraged by the client resurces fr future initiatives and prjects (such as tax updates, etc.). Prperty f CherryRad Technlgies Inc. Autmated Parallel Testing Recnciliatin Prcess The parallel testing prcess can be very time cnsuming frm a time and resurce perspective. CherryRad Technlgies has streamlined this prcess by creating an autmated recnciliatin prcess that allws yu t cmpare yur legacy payrll t the payrll results n yur new release. This cuts dwn n time and resurces spent recnciling, and als identify ANY incnsistencies dwn t the penny that might be an issue. Security Tlkit and Mdel - Since the Sarbanes-Oxley legislatin, security and cntrls prcesses and prcedures are a critical cnsideratin fr all ur prjects. We have a security framewrk that will allw us t quickly perfrm due diligence n the current cnfiguratin and build the mdel t reestablish a self-dcumenting Sarbanes-Oxley-cmpliant security structure. Lessns Learned Upgrade prjects are usually unique t each client situatin, but ver the years we have fund sme cnsistent appraches that can help drive prject success. We share a few f these lessns with yu belw: Display Business Value - Effectively build the business case fr yur upgrade prject by displaying a return n the investment thrugh tangible hard dllar savings r cnservatively quantify sft dllar savings. Get all yur stakehlders t help spnsr and sell these returns. Page 5 f 7

6 Hw t Reduce Yur Upgrade Csts While Increasing Stakehlder Benefits Cllabrate between HR, IT and Finance Functins - Having all parties wrking jintly tward a shared gal ensures a higher degree f success. Clearly Define Team Rles and Expectatins - A client s inability t recgnize a lack f upgrade experience r lack f resurce bandwidth can result in prject failure befre the prject even begins. Alternatively, strict reliance n a cnsultant s knwledge rather than inside expertise limits future grwth f client resurces and ensures higher future csts t supprt the system. Build Prject Mmentum - Once an bject is in mtin, it mves faster but may nt rll in the right directin. The same applies fr prjects, s try t engage the prject team members as sn as pssible t mve the prject frward; then build in methds t keep them engaged during the prject time frame. Sell, Sell, Sell - Even the mst successful prject can be seen as a failure due t lack f expsure. Yu need t sell yur prject s successes during the upgrade prject as they ccur, NOT just nce the prject is cmplete. Supprt fr Change - Ensure that yu have the ability t supprt the new system, and make sure yu knw the impacts n all emplyee rles within the rganizatin (such as emplyee, line managers, call center persnnel, etc.). Cmmunicatin and change management are crucial here. Jumpstart yur Upgrade Prject There are several steps yu can take befre the start, t get yur team wrking efficiently and effectively nce the prject gets t full speed. Suggestins fr such activities prir t kickff are: Inventry yur Cde (including SQRs, COBOL, etc.) - Have yur technical team lk at all f the develpment items that have been made t the system (nt just the SQRs that run n a peridic basis). Build an inventry f these prgrams in MS Excel that includes the SQR name, prgram descriptin and any ther pertinent details (such as wh cded it and wh requested the SQR) that can help identify its purpse. As part f the upgrade prcess, the mre SQRs that yu have already reviewed as N Lnger Used, the quicker the analysis prcess will g. Prperty f CherryRad Technlgies Inc. Inventry yur Queries Mst rganizatins that have been n PepleSft fr years and utilize PepleSft query, have a large vlume f ad-hc queries r queries n lnger needed. Make an inventry f the queries yu knw yu need and have used recently (lk at query definitin fr this). The rest can be stred in a test system until users state that the query is needed. This will reduce the retr-fitting and testing effrts. Build a Draft f an Interface Map - Build a picture f what data ges in and ut f yur current systems (nt just PepleSft) and where that data ultimately resides. The interface map will give yu a great idea f where risks are and any areas that need specific attentin such as additinal level f testing r invlvement by ther stakehlders. This will als help t drive yur system and integratin testing prcess. Gvernance Structure - If yu dn t already have a team f crss-departmental prduct champins (IT, HR, Benefits, Payrll, etc.), yu shuld identify wh the stakehlders are and get them invlved in the prject. Build this team nt nly fr the upgrade prject but t supprt nging peratins as well. Yu will need t implement these items typically during the planning and initiatin phases f an upgrade prject, s it will be wise t have them cmpleted befre the upgrade prject cmmences. Page 6 f 7

7 Hw t Reduce Yur Upgrade Csts While Increasing Stakehlder Benefits Cnclusin Fr many rganizatins, explring the prpsitin f perfrming an upgrade is daunting, unclear and seemingly cstly at the very least. The upgrade prject can als be viewed psitively as an pprtunity t reevaluate current business prcesses and reassess hw PepleSft is leveraged as an enabling tl. Des it prvide better business value? Des it increase the return n the PepleSft investment? Fr sme rganizatins, upgrade prjects that can t vercme a negative frame f mind dn t ever start. With the prper framewrk, tls and perspective, the upgrade prcess can be streamlined and efficient enugh t minimize negative impacts n the business/resurces while still imprving business prcesses and ultimately the cmpany s bttm line. Prperty f CherryRad Technlgies Inc. Page 7 f 7