You Are Not Alone Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Faces a New Era

You Are Not Alone Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Faces a New Era Wednesday, May 4 th 1:30 2:30 PM Copyright Copyright 2016 2016 by Sciens by Sciens LLC. LLC. All right All right reserved. reserved. 1

Presenters Sid Hudson Director of Information Technology, City of Allen 30+ years of technology experience ranging from large mainframe systems for bank processing to medium- and small-size networks Managed the growth of Allen s network from one server to more than 100 servers His team supports all City Departments, plus Police and Fire Departments, and the Allen Event Center Stephen Gousie Partner, Sciens Consulting 25+ years working with Public Sector technologies as a customer, vendor and consultant Published author and nationally recognized expert in public sector systems, including Municipal ERP systems Certified Project Management Professional (PMP) Copyright 2016 by Sciens LLC. All right reserved. 2

What is a Municipal Enterprise Resource Planning System? Core modules bridge the administrative and operational sides of an organization s business Centralized database shares information with other systems or databases Common systems include document management, GIS, reporting/analytics, dashboards, portals Goal is to minimize data entry points to improve efficiency, minimize errors Copyright 2016 by Sciens LLC. All right reserved. 3

Sound familiar? You are not alone. Current systems architected in the 1990s or earlier. City staff tries to cover gaps with Access databases, Excel spreadsheets, manual workarounds. Lots of data re-entry across the system seems to inhibit productivity, not enhance it. One-off requests from Council or open records requests are met with laughing, crying and long hours. Best-of-breed mini-applications that Band-Aid the current system. Support for this mess as well as blame for failures falls on IT Department. Copyright 2016 by Sciens LLC. All right reserved. 4

So, why don t we change? Money. Council and City Management operate at a high level and may not understand the problems that systems create for day-to-day operations. Departments want the best-of-breed systems. Money. Replacing an ERP system is like replacing a car engine while it is being driven 65 m.p.h. COTS systems seem to only meet some of the needs. The people making the decision to change are close to retirement. Money!!! Copyright 2016 by Sciens LLC. All right reserved. 5

So then, why do cities change? Hardware and/or platform is near its end-of-life. Ownership or finances of vendor questionable. Investments in product development have ceased. Staff members who created fix-it workaround processes are retiring. New employees don t want to work on green screens. Managers need just-in-time information to make critical decisions. Field workers need to do their jobs in the field. Citizens are expecting an Amazon-like experience working with the City. Cities need to be transparent. Copyright 2016 by Sciens LLC. All right reserved. 6

The Promise of ERP Splendor Citizens City Council City Staff Citizen access to City for transactional purposes wherever, whenever Provide transparency to City information Improve responsiveness to Citizen request Improve communications and transparency to Citizens Can get answers to questions themselves through self-service Enhance credibility with real-time information Enable managers to make the right decision at the right time with real-time information Enable workers to get their work done wherever, whenever Copyright 2016 by Sciens LLC. All right reserved. 7

How do we get this done? Justify Plan Select Implement Systematic process to minimize surprises Objective selection Criterion-based, instead of opinion-based Presents a defensible position for the City Engages users throughout the process critical to change management Copyright 2016 by Sciens LLC. All right reserved. 8

JUSTIFY Making the case for change Justify Plan Select Implement Key Elements Build a business case Establish a shared, strategic vision of the future Expose the current risks to the organization Examine the potential value of a new system Present a business argument for the investment with only a few technical elements IT manages the project with key departments actively supporting the change ERP Business Case Copyright 2016 by Sciens LLC. All right reserved. 9

PLAN Jumpstart the project for success Justify Plan Select Implement Key Elements Prepare an honest assessment of the current environment, including GIS, identifying potential risks and how deal with them. Perform a market analysis to understand strengths and weaknesses of available systems. Develop a detailed plan for system acquisition, cost containment, risk mitigation, change management, governance. Establish an estimated budget and timeline. Communicate, communicate, communicate. Environmental Readiness Assessment ERP Plan Copyright 2016 by Sciens LLC. All right reserved. 11

Vendor 1 Vendor 2 Vendor 3 Vendor 4 Vendor 5-5.00% 5.00% 15.00% 25.00% 35.00% 45.00% 55.00% 65.00% 75.00% 85.00% 95.00% Qualifications Functional Requirements Hardware/Network Service & Maintenance Performance Implementation Contractual Price Data Migration Demo SELECT Choose a long-term partner Justify Plan Select Implement Key Elements Be wary of vendors under constant change of acquisitions, consolidation and integration. No Vendor will meet 100% of your needs, requirements. Choose a vendor based on the potential for a long-term relationship Demonstrated investment history and product roadmap Ability to meet most of your needs right now Ability to satisfy customers during and after implementation Stability as a company Request for Proposal Evaluation Matrix Copyright 2016 by Sciens LLC. All right reserved. 12

Vendor 1 Vendor 2 Vendor 3 Vendor 4 Vendor 5-5.00% 5.00% 15.00% 25.00% 35.00% 45.00% 55.00% 65.00% 75.00% 85.00% 95.00% Qualifications Functional Requirements Hardware/Network Service & Maintenance Performance Implementation Contractual Price Data Migration Demo SELECT Choose a long-term partner Justify Plan Select Implement Key activities for selection Key Elements Engage users in determining the specifications critical for change management Prepare a Request for Proposal (RFP) Develop a defensible evaluation methodology that is updated throughout the process Evaluate proposals, demonstrations, references, site visits Negotiate with a long-term relationship outlook Request for Proposal Evaluation Matrix Copyright 2016 by Sciens LLC. All right reserved. 13

IMPLEMENT The marathon to success Justify Plan Select Implement Key Elements Full ERP implementations can take 24-36 months or longer Large IT projects are 20 times more likely to fail than large projects in other sectors (e.g., construction) Typical results of large IT projects 27% over budget 55% longer to complete than planned Only 16% likelihood of coming in on-time and on-budget* Vendor s Statement of Work Project Plan & GANTT Acceptance Test Plan Project Charter * Oxford s Said Business School BT Center for Major Programme Management, 2012 Copyright 2016 by Sciens LLC. All right reserved. 14

IMPLEMENT The marathon to success Justify Plan Select Implement Key Elements Potential Causes of Project Failure Lack of User Involvement Lack of Knowledge by IT Department Poor or No Requirements leading to Scope Creep Experts Overscheduled, Get Re-assigned Mid-Project Bad Change Management Inadequate Training of Users Inadequate Support During Transition After Go-Live Vendor s Statement of Work Project Plan & GANTT Acceptance Test Plan Project Charter Copyright 2016 by Sciens LLC. All right reserved. 15

IMPLEMENT The marathon to success Justify Plan Select Implement Recommendations Key Elements Get a Project Manager to oversee the plan, the vendor, acceptance Prevent Implementation Fatigue Manage 4-6 separate projects, not 1 Focus on communications, team motivation Right Team and Right Training Vendor s Statement of Work Project Plan & GANTT Acceptance Test Plan Project Charter Celebrate successes. Can be as simple as a Thank you! Copyright 2016 by Sciens LLC. All right reserved. 16

Keys to a successful implementation Jumpstart the Project for Success Risk Management Strong Project Team Jumpstart the Project Team for Success Professional Project Management Training Sponsorship & Governance ERP Project Success Change Management & Communications Copyright 2016 by Sciens LLC. All right reserved. 17

ERP project implementation organization Project Sponsor (Executive) Stakeholders Departments City Manager s Office Finance Utility Billing Purchasing Project Steering Committee Project Management Core Project Team Human Resources Make policy decisions Review budget, timeline Manage, report on budget, timeline Coordinate resource needs with resource managers Drive plan, task completion Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) Supports policy decisions Timeline review Day-to-day implementation Public Works Community Development Information Technology Provide additional SME support Copyright 2016 by Sciens LLC. All right reserved. 18

City of Allen s ERP project timeline Justify Plan Select Implement December 2011 2011 IT Strategic Plan November 2012 RFP Released July 2013 Intent to Award June 2014 Project Start August 2015 Phase 1 Finance & Doc Mgmt Go-Live November 2016 Phase 4 Community Development Go-Live August 2017 Phase 5 Utility Billing Go-Live December 2011 August 2017 June 2012 ERP Assessment & Plan February 2013 Vendor Demos December 2013 Contract Negotiations Concluded January 2016 Phase 2 HR/Payroll Go-Live January 2017 Phase 3 Work Order/Asset Mgmt Go-Live Copyright 2016 by Sciens LLC. All right reserved. 19

What have we learned so far? Establishing an effective Steering Committee with the correct people is important. Rank and personalities should be considered. Create an equal playing field. Don t bite off more than you can chew. Consider the degree of complexity being undertaken while cleaning up perceived problems. Evaluate your staff carefully are the SME s the best people to represent each project area. Carefully consider your project timeline in the contract. Think clearly about the amount of staff needed to complete the project. Don t let the vendor set the timeline for you. Copyright 2016 by Sciens LLC. All right reserved. 20

What have we learned so far? Study software cost for field employees who don t need access to applications, and only need access to an email account for electronic timesheet notifications. This can have a major impact to EA agreements. Don t rely on the vendor to create test scripts for module sign off. Vendor test scripts are very basic tests of minor functionality that always work. Instead create difficult test scripts to push the limits of the system. Carefully review the database connections documentation to verify there are no problems from not configuring your database connections correctly. Both your ERP vendor documents and your SAN vendor documents need to be considered. Copyright 2016 by Sciens LLC. All right reserved. 21

What the future holds maybe. Mainframe Client-Server Web-based Integrated Mini-Apps Enhanced user experience with PCs and GUI Non-integrated operational applications Enhanced reporting Dashboards/portals Easy, intuitive reporting SRSS Shopping cart-style for citizens Self-service for staff Citizen transparency Big Data analytics Leveraging the IoT environment Operational and financial applications integration Copyright 2016 by Sciens LLC. All right reserved. 22