ERP

implementation
methodology

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Challenges in ERP Project

Large, Complex and Expensive; Drains a big chunk of yearly IT budget
Spawns multiple business units and departments so deliverables are very high
Known to run over budget and above scheduled completion time
In short, delivering expected benefits on time, within the allocated budget using the given resources is
the biggest challenge.

What Aspire does to solve it?

We follow the time tested Oracles Application Implementation Methodology (AIM) framework. AIM
entails all the tasks required to complete a project, what order they should be completed in and what
kind of resources will help it complete in time with expected benefits. It also provides deliverable
templates for all the tasks which can be followed by the team.

How AIM is different?

Defines business needs at the beginning of the project and maintains their visibility throughout the
implementation
Defines internal, external, and time sensitive business events and maps each event to the
responding business and system processes
Helps gain accurate understanding of the business requirements which needs to be focused on
during implementation

Primary Elements of AIM

Task: Its a unit of work, provides deliverables like report, schedules, code etc
Phases: Group of tasks which helps in scheduling major deliverables and run projects on time
Processes: Closely related group of dependent tasks based on common discipline and meets a
major objective
These primary elements are related in such a way that, every process runs in multiple phases with
every phase divided in multiple tasks with strong deliverables and dependencies. Also, multiple
processes run at the same time in an ERP project as shown below in the AIM framework chart:

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Definition

Operation
Analysis

Solution
Design

Build

Transition

Production

Project Management
Business Process Architecture
Business Requirements Definition
Business Requirements Mapping
Application and Technical Architecture

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Module Design and Build

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Data Conversion

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Documentation
Business System Testing

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Performance Testing

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Adoption and Learning

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Production Migration

Lets look at the phases and processes in more detail.

Phases:
The phases in AIM is divided under 6 broad categories to provide quality & control check points for
coordinating project activities that have a common goal. The six categories are:

Definition:
Prepare Scope of
Work, Align Business
Objectives with Time,
Resource and Budget
Constraints

Operations
Analysis:
Develop business
requirements scenarios,
Identify gaps between
requirements and standard
ERP functionality

Solution
Design:
Develop detailed designs,
create detailed narratives
of process solutions

Production:

Transition:

Build:

Regular maintenance,

Deploy finished solution,

Code & test

refinements, performance

Configure production

customizations

measurements, system

environment, Train end

& enhancements, perform

support

users

business system testing

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Processes
Business Requirements
Defintion

Define business needs that must be met by Implementation project

Identify business events & document business processes for them

Business Requirements
Mapping

Compare business requirements with standard ERp functionality & identify gaps
Document workarounds, alternative solutions, application extensions to resolve gaps

Application & Technical

Architecture

Design Information systems atchitecture that reflects the business vision

Develop plan for deploying & configuring hardware required for successful implementation

Module Design & Build

Design, build and test custom program modules to fill in the gap identified in the business
requirements mapping stage

Data Conversion

Define business objects required to convert legacy data to ERP tables

Use the data for system testing, training, acceptance testing and production

Documentation

Create detailed documents on the user and technical material used in the project tailored
to implementation

Business System
Testing

Link test requirements to business requirements

Utilize common test information & data profiles to minimize test preparation effort

Performance Testing

Define, build & execute performance test cases

Propose tactical or strategic changes to address the performance quality shortfall

Adoption & Learning

Train users & administrators on the new ERP application

Develop courseware tuned towards roles & jobs of the users

Production Migration

Move the company, system & people to the new ERP and provide post production support
Monitor & refine production system and plan for the future enhancements