Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Customization
Álvaro Augusto Neto 1 Clayton Martins Pereira 1
1. Introduction
The increasing use of ERP – Enterprise Resource Systems is associated with several
economic benefits that they are capable to propitiate to the small, mid-sized and large
companies. The relevant benefits are reduction of costs, increase of the productivity, capacity
to execute more complex tasks in lesser time, beyond the easiness for manipulation, diffusion
and reuse of great volumes of information.
The possibility to incorporate new functionalities and adapt it continuously to the new
business-oriented rules, or operational contexts, place the ERP systems in the center of the
evolution process of the products and services commercialized by great part of the modern
companies.
In the actual business-oriented environment, the companies that use ERP systems, as
well as the companies that are dedicated to it development and integration, are continuously
challenged to answer quickly to the frequent changes that occurred in its operations scenarios.
These changes result from the appearance of new opportunities and business-oriented rules,
threat of competitors, increase of the customers expectations for the offered products,
necessity of reduction in costs and from efficiency improvement of yours production systems.
As consequence of these facts, not only the “products of systems ERP”, but also its
customization processes are submitted to a constant necessity of evolution and transformation,
exactly after the conclusion of the first cycle of development and operation of the product or
service.
The actual technology for systems development still uses a less automated structure,
which is intensive in human work [Greenfield & Short, 2004]. Because this, organizations
that dedicate it to ERP integration and customization in several simultaneous projects,
undertake continuous efforts to obtain more automation for standardize and to command your
activities, in way to become its organized and with more foreseeable operations.
However, in the measure that the demand for ERP systems implementation increases,
also extend the problems of the systematic used by developers and integrators, causing
difficulties for integration and harmonization of the technical characteristics of each ERP
module and a great management effort to control the complex process to be executed in each
project.
In the ERP systems customization, this problem is increasing. To take care of its
necessities, the organizations that buy these systems make order of additional functionalities,
as form to personalize these systems to your business-oriented strategies.
This personalization can be the most complex part of an ERP system implementation
process, being responsible by the majority of deadline extend, causing costs increase and
customers unsatisfactory.
1.1. Objectives
This work presents a new approach for modeling, organize and manage ERP systems
customization processes, becoming possible the integrated management of the diverse
activities to be executed in each project and quickly answer to the adaptation necessities of the
business-oriented processes of its customers.
To become its operational, we propose the use of a customization management
framework that abjective to optimize the processes to be executed and allow its fast
reconfiguration to add more adequate functionalities to the new contexts that appeared during
the projects execution.
The main components of this model are represented in schematically way in Figure 2.
Os principais componentes desse modelo são representados de maneira esquemática
na Figura 2.
Figure 2 – ERP System Customization Project represented by an Metaprocess
The structural model directly represents on elements to the way as the organization is
structuralized and describes the Inter-relationship of the diverse components used in the
customization activities. Its characteristics are determined by the necessities established for
the customers of the developed projects, for the involved technical resources and the context
partner-technician where it carries through its activities.
O modelo estrutural representa os elementos diretamente ligados à maneira como a
organização está estruturada e descreve o inter-relacionamento dos diversos componentes
empregados nas atividades de customização. Suas características são determinadas pelas
necessidades estabelecidas pelos clientes dos projetos desenvolvidos, pelos recursos técnicos
envolvidos e pelo contexto sócio-técnico onde ela realiza suas atividades.
The dynamic model of management of the customization represents the commanded
set of activities management techniques and that are developed with the objective to plan, to
execute, to integrate and to control the customization activities. Although these activities
directly are influenced by the structural model, them they possess proper dynamics and they
suffer to frequent necessities from reorganization and adaptation to the new necessities, rules
of business and scenes that they make possible to extend the efficiency of the customization
operations.
O modelo dinâmico de gestão da customização representa o conjunto ordenado de
atividades técnicas e gerenciais que são desenvolvidas com o objetivo de planejar, executar,
integrar e controlar as atividades de customização. Embora essas atividades sejam diretamente
influenciadas pelo modelo estrutural, elas possuem dinâmica própria e sofrem freqüentes
necessidades de reorganização e adaptação às novas necessidades, regras de negócio e
cenários que possibilitem ampliar a eficiência das operações de customização.
The necessity to carry through these alterations occurs in way each more frequent
time, therefore to remain competitive the companies they need to quickly adapt its structure
and information systems, form to incorporate new technologies, to reduce costs, to adjust it
new cultural and institutional environments, etc. They are made with the objective of not only
adjusting the changes to it in the operational environment, but mainly, in search in a way each
more efficient time to operating its processes, in view of that in the environment business-
oriented where they operate, a continuous increase of the competitiveness caused for the fact
of the competition occurs to be carried through in scale each bigger and less restricted time to
the regional contexts.
A necessidade de realizar essas alterações ocorre de maneira cada vez mais freqüente,
pois para se manterem competitivas as empresas precisam adaptar rapidamente a sua estrutura
e sistemas de informação, de forma a incorporar novas tecnologias, reduzir custos, adequar-se
a novos ambientes culturais e institucionais, etc. Elas são feitas com o objetivo de não só de
ajustar-se às mudanças no ambiente operacional, mas principalmente, em busca de uma
maneira cada vez mais eficiente para operacionalizar seus processos, tendo em vista que no
ambiente de negócios onde operam, ocorre um aumento contínuo da competitividade causado
pelo fato da concorrência ser realizada em escala cada vez maior e menos restrita aos
contextos regionais.
The structural and dynamic aspects of customization metaprocess consist in the
essence of the considered model, therefore they allow a holistic boarding and to
transdisciplinary of the some involved aspects in the modeling, organization and management
of the production in the ERP systems customizations. The detailing of these characteristics
will be boarded resumed to follow.
Os aspectos estruturais e dinâmicos do metaprocesso de customização constituem-se
na essência do modelo proposto, pois permitem uma abordagem holística e transdisciplinar
dos vários aspectos envolvidos na modelagem, organização e gestão da produção nas
customizações de sistemas ERP. O detalhamento dessas características será abordado
resumidamente a seguir.
4.1. Metaprocess Inputs: Structural Model for ERP Systems Customization
The Metaprocess receives as entered initial the requirements from business and the
definition of the target that must simultaneously be boarded for the different projects
developed for the integrator. This set defines the main aspects that will be used in the
planning and execution of its operations.
O metaprocesso recebe como entrada inicial os requisitos de negócio e a definição do
escopo que deve ser abordado pelos diferentes projetos desenvolvidos simultaneamente pelo
integrador. Este conjunto define os principais aspectos que serão empregados no
planejamento e execução de suas operações.
Another determinative aspect for organization of the operations involves the context
existing partner-technician in the organization, represented for its organizational culture, its
nets of relationships and the technology used for organization and management of its
processes. In a vision of long stated period these factors if constitute in the determinative
aspects of the operational efficiency of the integrator.
Outro aspecto determinante para organização das operações envolve o contexto sócio-
técnico existente na organização, representado pela sua cultura organizacional, pelas suas
redes de relacionamentos e pela tecnologia utilizada para organização e gestão dos seus
processos. Numa visão de longo prazo esses fatores se constituem nos aspectos determinantes
da eficiência operacional do integrador.
The production resources used by metaprocess represent the set of used ways to carry
through the customization activities. They are composites for the human resources, of capital
(material, equipment, installations, etc.) and services of third that they are used in the
customization project.
Os recursos de produção utilizados pelo metaprocesso representam o conjunto de
meios utilizados para realizar as atividades de customização. Eles são compostos pelos
recursos humanos, de capital (materiais, equipamentos, instalações, etc.) e serviços de
terceiros que são utilizados no projeto de customização.
The detailing of the structural model allows reducing the involved uncertainties and
operational risks in the diverse stages of the projects.
O detalhamento do modelo estrutural permite reduzir as incertezas e riscos
operacionais envolvidos nas diversas etapas dos projetos.
4.2. Metaprocess Outputs: Dynamic Model for ERP System Customization Management
The dynamic model of ERP systems customization management involves a set of activities
based on the diverse areas of knowledge that the PMBOK (2004) establishes for the
management of projects. In the PMBOK these areas are divide in 44 processes of
management that nor always reflect the reality of the customization projects executed in each
customer simultaneously.
O modelo dinâmico de gestão da customização de sistemas ERP envolve um conjunto de
atividades baseadas nas diversas áreas de conhecimento que o PMBOK (2004) estabelece
para o gerenciamento de projetos. No PMBOK essas áreas são dividas em 44 processos de
gerenciamento que nem sempre refletem a realidade dos projetos de customização executados
em cada cliente simultaneamente.
In this way, it was opted to simplifying this set of activities in only six managements
that summarize the main processes related with: 1) Integration, Execution and Control
Management 2) Target and Configuration Management 3) Stated periods and Costs
Management 4) Quality Management 5) Technical Resources Management and 6) Risk
Management.
Desta maneira, optou-se por simplificar esse conjunto de atividades em apenas seis
gerências que sumarizam os principais processos relacionados com: 1) Gerência de
Integração, Execução e Controle 2) Gerência de Escopo e Configuração 3) Gerência de
Prazos e Custos 4) Gerência da Qualidade 5) Gerência de Recursos Técnicos e 6) Gerência de
Riscos.
Amongst the main results foreseen with its use of the considered environment they are
the dynamic balancing of the demands for the resources used in the different projects, and the
possibility to correct the existing distortions in the customization processes before its impact
if propagates and extends the rebuild necessities.
Dentre os principais resultados previstos com a sua utilização do ambiente proposto
estão o balanceamento dinâmico das demandas pelos recursos utilizados nos diferentes
projetos, e a possibilidade de corrigir as distorções existentes nos processos de customização
antes que seu impacto se propague e amplie as necessidades de retrabalho.
6. Conclusions
This work presents a model for management of ERP systems customization projects
for diverse simultaneous customers, that allows optimizing the processes executed in different
environments of execution and makes possible a flexible implementation of the necessary
functionalities for the customization metaprocess management.
Este trabalho apresenta um modelo de gestão de projetos de customização de sistemas
ERP para diversos clientes simultâneos, que permite otimizar os processos executados nos
diferentes ambientes de execução e possibilita uma implementação flexível das
funcionalidades necessárias para a gestão do metaprocesso de customização.
The use of an integrated environment and one framework of management of the
customization allow that the modules of a system ERP can easily be personalized of adjusted
form more to the contexts that in this way appear during the execution of the projects,
diminishing the losses and rebuild necessities.
A utilização de um ambiente integrado e de um framework de gestão da customização
permite que os módulos de um sistema ERP possam ser facilmente personalizados de forma
mais adequada aos contextos que surjam durante a execução dos projetos, diminuindo desta
maneira as perdas e necessidades de retrabalho.
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