“THE IMPACT OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT THROUGHOUT ERP

IMPLEMENTATION LIFE CYCLE”

Padmashri Rokade

Abstract:-

The said research paper involves review of project management in ERP implementation life
cycle by studying various project management methodologies. Also the role and critical
activities of project manager, project team and hence project management is explored in ERP
projects implementation in organization of different sizes and culture. Project management helps
you to build a link between your employees and vendor in order to control, coordinate and track
all the activities that are involved during and after the ERP implementation. One of the reason
for ERP implementation fails is lack of project management, In this paper we will understand the
importance of ERP Project management before implementation and after implementation of an
ERP software. Enterprise Resource Planning software development can be tricky if proper
planning and involvement during the implementation phase is not made by the organization.
Therefore it is important to hire an ERP project manager who can be from a professional
company or full time project managers to help implementing successful ERP software for the
business.By examining the existing literature on this topic, this paper focuses on how Project
Management plays a key role during ERP implementation life cycle.

Keywords:- Project Management ,Enterprise Resource Planning, Implementation phase,

organizational culture, Risk Management .

Introduction
In today’s dynamic and unpredictable business environment, companies face the tremendous
challenge of expanding markets and rising customer expectations. This compels them to lower
total costs in the entire supply chain, shorten times, reduce inventories, expand product choice,
provide more reliable delivery dates and better customer service, improve quality, and efficiently
coordinate global emand, supply and production.Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is one of
the most popular software technologies for supporting operational organization and a process by
which a company manages and integrates the important parts of its business. An ERP
management information system integrates areas such as planning, purchasing, inventory, sales,
marketing, finance and human resources. It emphasizes business transformation which will lead
to process change in its effort to maximize the company‟s benefit. However, implementation of
ERP system does not always give a strategic benefit for the company. Most companies did not
succeed in implementing this system. (Dantes, 2012).
In general, an ERP system is a suite of client/server-based application modules that can link b
ack-office operations to front-office operations as well as internal and external supply chains.
ERP is a system for the seamless integration of all the information flowing through the company
such as finances, accounting, human resources, supply chain, and customer information .The
selection, procurement, and deployment of an ERP system are nothing but involvement of high
risks in exchange for significant business and financial rewards . A successful ERP system can
be the backbone of business intelligence for an organization because it can give managers an
integrated view of the processes involved within it . The effective ERP implementation brings in
reduction of cost improvement in quality, productivity & customer service, better resource
management, improved decision-making, planning and hence organizational empowerment .
Despite the wide spread applications and benefits of ERP systems, the statistics show that about
30% of ERP implementations have been successful . In order to overcome failures through
comprehensive literature review 11 critical factors for successful implementation of enterprise
systems were identified as ERP teamwork and composition, change management program and
culture, top management support, business plan and vision, business process reengineering with
minimum customization, project management, monitoring and evaluation of performance,
effective communication, software development, testing and troubleshooting, project champion
and appropriate business. In order to manage all aspects of the ERP software implementation, it
is imperative to empower a project manager whose role is to efficiently handle the changes that a
new system will bring, while minimizing disruptions and managing employee expectations. A
project manager should be assigned internally and will work with a  dedicated project manager
who is assigned by the ERP vendor. These individuals will provide a link between the company
and the provider in order to control, track, and coordinate all activities involved in the ERP
implementation. Project managers are given the authority and support of upper management to
successfully drive the implementation throughout the entire process.

Conceptual Background of the Research Study

The deployment of ERP systems is common practice in today’s business environment. Kumar
and Hillegersber (2000) described the impact of ERP systems on corporations, and confirmed
that ERPs were becoming so common in today’s business environment that they were described
as “the price of entry for running a business”. ERP implementation projects usually involve
selecting the ERP vendor, establishing business process reengineering, implementation, and
evaluation of the adopted system (Wei, 2008). An ERP project is a strategic development process
within a company that involves different phases for its preparation and implementation. ERP
systems can be complex and difficult to implement, but a structured and disciplined approach
can greatly facilitate the implementation (J. Umble 2003) ERP is an integrated information
system built on a centralized database and having a common computing platform that helps in
effective usage of enterprise's resources and facilitates the flow of information between all
business functions of the enterprise and with external Stakeholders. (Ray, 2011)
Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project
activities to meet project requirements. It involves the use of skills and knowledge in
coordinating the scheduling and monitoring of defined activities to ensure that the stated
objectives of implementation projects are achieved (C. Leyh, 2016). The formal project
implementation plan defines project activities, commits personnel to those activities, and
promotes organizational support by organizing the implementation process (Bhatti 2002)
Furthermore, continuous project management allows focus to remain on the important aspects of
the ERP implementation and ensures that timelines and schedules are met (Al-Mashari et al,
2003). Finally, IPMA Competence Baseline (2006) defines a project as a time and cost-
constrained operation to release a set of defined deliverables upto quality standards and
requirements. The implementation (project) phase of an ERP system lifecycle begins after the
system and the implementing partner have been chosen, and ends after the system “go-live”
(Lech, 2013). It involves all of the activities necessary to make the selected system operational in
a given organisation.Although the implementation phase is the most researched topic in the
ERP system lifecycle, papers detailing the implementation and the activities performed during
the implementation are scarce (Eden et al., 2014). IPMA Competence Baseline (2006) makes a
more detailed project management definition and defines it as the planning, organizing,
monitoring and controlling of all aspects of a project and the 5 management and leadership of all
involved to achieve the project objectives safely and within agreed criteria for time, cost, scope
and performancequality. It is the totality of coordination and leadership tasks, organization,
techniques and measures for a project. It is crucial to optimize the parameters of time, cost and
risk with other requirements and to organize the project accordingly. Project management
supports four basic levels of projects: projects, subprojects, programs and portfolio.

Research Methodology
For the said present research study is based on the secondary data. Such secondary data is
collected from various reference books on ERP,Project Management etc. For the said research
study the secondary data is also collected from the various National and International Research
Books and Journals which are related to this topic.The present research study the data pertaining
to the following objectives was collected by the review of the literature on the subject concerned.
The literature was thus collected by visiting various concerned websites.

Objectives of the Research Study

The present study has following important objectives:

1. To examine the Project management methodologies and techniques in ERP
implementation life cycle
2. To enlist the the role of project Manager.
3. To analyse the impact of Project management in ERP implementation life cycle.

Hypothesis of the Research Study

ERP System is considered as a backbone of most organizations across all the industries. It will
usually cover all business functions on all management levels, supporting most or all functional
areas in the daily operations of the enterprise, and it is considered as a source of competitive
advantage for some organizations.

The present said research study was carried out with following hypothesis in view:-
1. There is a correlation between project Manager and successful ERP implementation Life
cycle
2. Impact of Project Management is positively associated with ERP implementation Life cycle.

Project Management Methodologies and Techniques

Many companies regard ERP system implementation as a project management.The

implementation of ERP projects involves various management functions, which inevitably leads
to different levels of management eorganizations . Successful project management is about
managing the risk. Project Management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and
techniques to project activities to meet project requirements. This can be done by using a formal
project management structure(PMS). One of the worlds famous PMS is project management
body of knowledge (PMBOK), which is developed by Project management institute (PMI). This
methodology includes 5 processes of project management such as project initiation, planning,
execution, control, and closing. Also it is comprised by 9 knowledge areas such as Project
Integration Management, Project Scope Management, Project Time Management, Project Cost
Management, Project Quality Management, Project Human Resources Management, Project
Communications Management, Project Risk Management, and Project Procurement
Management. The results from the study on project management strategies under PMBOK frame
work by Fergal et- al,illustrates PMBOK as bit fit for ERP projects and also reveals that the
importance of project governance .
Since ERP environment faces constant change and reassessment of organizational processes
andtechnology and hence the project management method used with ERP deployments must
provide adaptability and agility to support these evolutionary process and technology . The major
problem with software development/deployment is managerial, but not technical. Therefore
project methods with agility to produce a new approach to managing projects is proposed by
Alleman .
The study discovered two conventional approaches to ERP implementation are Agile and
Waterfall. The Waterfall approach is considered the traditional way, and Agile has offered an
alternative ‘that recognizes the difficulty of managing technology projects over longer periods of
time in an environment of change. we can overcome the flaws in traditional approach. By
applying agile values, the following principles for managing ERP projects in agile manner such
as assume simplicity, embrace change, enabling the next effort, incremental change, maximize
stakeholder value.

Role of project manager

 One of the major responsibilities of ERP project manager is to drive the complete ERP
implementation to success by understanding the deliverable, task, functionality that has
been built by the technical team.
 Understanding the current system and workflows and manage them in the ERP software
through standard or customized implementation
 Timeline management is another duty that needs to be performed by the project manager,
ERP implementation can take time if roll out and timelines of each module is not done on
time. In order to ensure success with ERP software, Project manager helps to keep the
timeline intact including the testing.
  Smooth Transition of old process within the new ERP system that has been implemented
by the organization
 Ensure proper training from functional point of view is done with each and every
department and help them to understand complete functionality of ERP.

The impact of project management in ERP Implementation

The impact of ERP implementation can take very different forms from one context to another,
and it influences several dimensions of the company: economic, human, organizational, and it
varies according to the company and its environment.The implementation of ERPs in companies
has led to a change in "information" consumption mode, by allocating more speed, flexibility and
transparency It provides systematic approach which becomes a good framework to understand &
to follow while implementing ERP system in organization.Strategic implementation of ERP is
also defined as the manner in which an organization should develop, utilize, and amalgamate
organizational structure, control systems, and culture to follow strategies that lead to competitive
advantage and a better performance. There are many approaches an organization can take when
it comes to ERP implementation but the most important thing is to choose the best strategy for
their particular business. Several ERP implementation life cycles have been proposed in the
literature among them are (Markus & Tanis) and (Esteves and Pastor) models which describe the
flow of the process from the start until the full stabilization of the system.Brehm and Markus
(2000) gives more attention to post-implementation activities such as software development,
maintenance, enhancement, and support.

it consisted three steps:

1)pre-implementation phase.

2)Implementation phase.

3)Post-impementation phase.

A new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software implementation is a significant

investment for any company, and the implementation can prove to be a significant challenge
itself. In fact, it may be the most significant project a company undertakes in its lifetime. The
projects are expansive, in many cases touching every aspect of the business if not providing the
information to all those corners and the core executive team and upper management as well.

1)pre-implementation phase.
In the Tasly ERP projects in the pre project research, project organization and
project management in the process of successful experience. Throughout the project management
concepts and methods of operation, ultimately leads to success of ERP system and enhances the
overall enterprise management level. And due to that, efficient project management team, sound
project management information and because of the need and the change continues to improve
the Tasly was successful in implementing ERP.

2)During implementation phase.

After the immense literature review identified these achievement level of project Management
as-
1) prepration of implementation plan
2)Analysis of business process.
3)Customization of erp package
4)Acquisition of IT infrastructure
5)Conversion of data i.e Integration of system
6)Testing includes user acceptance.
Here management of all that things step by step acquires performance enhancement of ERP
implementation.

3) Post implementation
The project management theory and methods are used in the construction of enterprise
information based on the life cycle theory. In the implementation process of ERP project,
planning, organization, management and monitoring are executed to achieve the desired
objectives and effects, and create greater benefits for the enterprise depending on the principles
of the overall planning and implementation.

Organizational Culture:
The ERP project implementation is based on the three factors as people,process and
technology. But the IT based challenges in government sectors are mostly human than
technical. And one of the main causes among them is poor project management .
From the study on Jordanian culture , described that there is a significant difference in
project management aspects, in ERP implementation, when applied to public and private
sectors. Moreover, since the critical decisions and approvals are taken only by top
management and due to rigid hierarchy and structures in public organizations leads to affect
timely implementation.
Large and Small Medium Enterprise: Through the appropriate use of Characteristic Analysis
Method (CAM), a tool to ensure that the IT project is manageable and consistent by its
different goals content and development approaches, otherwise implementation of ERP
system causes risks in companies .

Risk Management
ERP projects have often been found to be complex and risky to implement in business
enterprises. The organizational relevance and risk of ERP projects make it important for
organizations to focus on ways to make ERP implementation successful. ERP implementation is
a complex process as it involves both technological and functional issues. Pre defined plan for
managing the associated risk and effectively changing process of the organization will go a long
way to ensure success of the project implementation.

Conclusion
ERP implementations are usually large, complex projects, involving large groups of people and
other resources, working together under considerable time pressure.By studying various project
management methodologies and techniques, and also through various literatures, it is found
that the project management plays a vital role in ERP implementation Life cycle,and hence a
special importance placed in selecting the project team and Project Manager that ensures
proper decision making and results in timely project completion. Here,a proper awareness,
training and support for users, and implementation team composition are the most significant
factors of ERP implantation life cycle. Hence by applying the theory and method of project
management increases more success during ERP implementation Life cycle.

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Bibliography:-
Aloini. D., Dulmin. R., Mininno. V., (2007) “Risk management in ERP project introduction:
Review of the literature”, Information & Management Vol. 44, No. 6. pp. 547-567

ERP DEMYSTIFIED, Second Edition , Alexis Leon.

Fergal Liam Carton(May 2004): Project Management Issues in Implementing ERP – Towards an
Approach more Suited to ERP Projects.