It’s easy to quote low to win a project just write a few clauses in the small print:
• Out of the box reports – but do any of these really work for you?
• Load your own data – is that easy? And what so the right sequence and validation
• Use of out of the box security profiles – do these really fit your organisation structure where people do more than one job?
• Use a standard chart of accounts and the same analysis codes as every other industry?
• Don’t implement features the customer doesn’t know about
• Leave the difficult work out of the scope e.g. budgets and consolidation, or forecasts and master scheduling
• Make all customisations a chargeable extra
• Etc
So how do you get a quality implementation that makes the most of your software investment without an open ended budget? Be realistic about the scope and the business case when you set the budget. Don’t start with a budget and work backwards. If a feature adds value and there is a payback then its worth doing properly. If there isn’t a quantifiable return then don’t implement it just because it’s nice to do. If it adds value then implement it properly.
Understand what value the consulting partner can add and what is a routine task you can do yourself. Understand the difference between quantity and quality of consulting contribution. If you face a big challenge in your personal life :you need an operation, or a tooth removed, or have to fight a legal battle then you find the best dentist, the best doctor or the best lawyer not the cheapest. However, you don’t need a dentist to tell you how to clean your teeth or a doctor to stick on a plaster, or a lawyer to write basic letters. You know your business and your data. There is much you can do beforehand to define requirements, processes, reports, and to clean up data, and bring employee basic IT skills up to scratch etc. A little bit of advance diary preparation can save the need to repeat training. Data clean up reduces time on validation and reload.
What happens in a project? Plan it, define the requirement, build it, test it, train users are common steps whatever implementation methodology is followed. But where is the real work content? Is that properly assessed? How much could you do yourself with the right training and tools? There add on modules for most software solutions. Tools for report writing, print output management, and data loading are examples. Typically these areas account for over half the mandays on projects and even more for budget overruns and project delays. Yes, these put up the cost of software investment but these put much more of the scope and cost of implementation and future system maintenance under your own control.
Have you really allowed enough time for training and practice. If training is expensive, then how costly is ignorance? Why is inadequate time spent on training one of the most frequently cite causes of project failure? Usually, because training happens late in the project, when timelines and budgets are already squeezed. Most of the training was given to the project team not to the end users etc. No training needs analysis done. No post training evaluation of trainees done. No time scheduled for practice before go live. Little time spent on prototyping or reading help files or e-learning. All of these issues can largely be managed internally to reduce cost and to increase success.
There is a right cost to any service and a right amount of effort for any project. There is also a huge cost to failure, delay and unrealised benefits. Understand the quote assumptions, and challenge how those worked out on other projects. Understand the project methodology. If implementation quotes vary is there a reason? – what steps are being riskily cut or overlooked, or are not included e.g. post go live hand holding, first month end support, system personalization, audits, etc. Recognize that high skills and experience are needed to deliver complex projects with predictable timelines and costs. Inexperience comes cheap for a reason.
Budget for what you need with some contingency to allow for business changes, staff changes, etc. Control the spend, and use some of the ideas suggested here to achieve more at lower cost.
