Post-Implementation

Organization & Support

Loren Blinde
Director, Administrative Systems Group
Session Objectives

 An appreciation of issues that new

customers and recent go-live projects
will face with the long-term support
and enhancement of their SAP
systems

 An opportunity for established

customers to share their experience
Session Topics

 Why ongoing support is an issue

 What a support team does
 Considerations in organizing a team
 Nebraska’s experience

 Open audience discussion

Why Support is an Issue>
Institutional Culture
 ERP system is likely a new thing

 The Business <> Technical

relationship has changed

 There is a NEW business role

Why Support is an Issue>
Go-Live Psychology
 The finish-line is system go-live

 Management expectation of
completion

 User expectation of a finished product

Why Support is an Issue>
“We want our people back!”

 The ERP project was a short-term

assignment

 Many team members are drafted from

your Business offices

 They are also your best people for

system support
Why Support is an Issue>
Money
 You budgeted for the maintenance
agreement

 Did you plan for the human side?

Your Challenge>

Create a reality-based
management perspective of
system support

– Identify what support teams do

– Consider your institutional factors
– Look at peer models
What Support Teams Do>
Maintenance Tasks
 Major upgrades
 Service packs
 Problem solving
 Security administration
 Workflow administration
 Archiving
What Support Teams Do>
Common Business Tasks
 Support the business offices
 Centralized processes
– Tax reporting (US 1099 & W-2)
– Financial closing
– Payroll
– Payment runs
 Data manipulation
– Mass changes
– Data loads
 Ad-hoc report creation
What Support Teams Do>
Tend to the Users
 Training
 Documentation
 Change Management &
Communication
 Internal Influence Channels
What Support Teams Do>
Continuous Improvement
 New initiatives and more SAP
 Accountability to senior management
 Priority setting - consensus building
 Product evaluation and acquisition
 Process redesign
 License management

 Define a priority setting process !

What Support Teams Do>
Stay Smart
 Networking
 Project team training
 Keeping up with SAP
 Advocacy and Influence
 CRM
(Consultant Relationship Management)
What Support Teams Do>
Marketing
 Publicity & Promotion

 Internal Marketing – Selling SAP

Build a Support Team

 Consider your organization

 Build the right team structure
 Find the right people
 Create the right work environment
 Create the right relationships
Build a Support Team>
Consider your Organization
 Single or multiple-campuses?

 Administratively centralized?

 One size does not fit all

Build a Support Team>
The Right Team Structure
 Define the Business > IT Relationship
 Define subject-oriented business
positions
 Obtain executive sponsorship, write it
down and make it official
 Make the team “entity-independent”
Build a Support Team>
Entity-Independent?
 Yes, it’s political
 An issue for multi-campus universities
 Your implementation was “one for all”
 Ongoing support works the same way
 Look at the corporate “home office”
model
Build a Support Team>
Find the Right People
 Desired traits:
– Knows SAP
– Knows your institution
– Knows your implementation
 The perfect fit
– Your implementation team member ?
 View it as new position recruitment
Find the Right People>
“Can’t They Just do Two Jobs?”

 The inevitable compromise for “We

want our people back”
 The “old job” still needs to be done
 The “new system” still needs support
 Somehow the “old job” got done
 The rest of your people just got better
Build a Support Team>
The right work environment
 System integration requires team
integration
 One team – one location
 Keep the team visible
 Become welcome and familiar faces in
the business offices
Build a Support Team>
The Right Relationships
 Team Manager <> Executive Admin
 Team Manager <> IT Manager

 Team Members <> Team Members

 Team Members <> IT Staff
 Team Members <> Business Offices

 Change Management <> End Users

The Nebraska Time Line

 Late 1997 – Begin Implementation (3.1H)

 July 1999 – Go Live (4.5B)
 Late 1999 – Implementation team fades away
 2000 – the “Virtual Team” year
 2001 – Administrative Systems Group formed
The Nebraska Organization
Chief Financial Officer / Chief Information
Associate VP Officer

Chief Business
Director Officers / Steering
Associate CIO
Administrative Committee
Systems Group

Administrative
BASIS Team
Systems Business Customer
Team: Support Team

Finance Change
Applications/
Management
Projects/FM ABAP Team
Communication
Human Resources
Documentation Information
Payroll Access/
Training Business
Procurement/ Warehouse
Travel Team

Workflow
Closing Thoughts

 Preserve your project momentum

 Keep your key people
 Find a way to do it
 Some will question if you can afford it
 Can you afford not to?
Now YOU Talk . . .

 Questions
 Other school’s experience

Loren Blinde
University of Nebraska
327 Nebraska Hall
Lincoln, NE 68588-0521
402-472-7023
lblinde@nebraska.edu