Stéphane ParentSelf Employed / Semi-retired| Leader MakerPrince Edward Island, Canada
Having been involved in Siebel CRM projects for the last two years, I find ERPs tend to be a different beast to implement and manage.
Has anyone other software development PMs experienced the same difference when implementing and/or customizing ERP systems? How have you adapted? Saving Changes...
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Howard LaiPMP, CEng, CPEng, NER, IntPE(Aust), RPEQ, MIET, CSSBB, CISA, ISO9001 LA| QHBrisbane, Queensland, Australia
Yes, ERP is quite complicated to implement and manage, especially those PO, GL, AR, AP modules you need accounting knowledge.
It is hard to manage unless you can engage the key stakeholders like Finance Managers, and you might learn critical business knowledge from them Saving Changes...
Stéphane ParentSelf Employed / Semi-retired| Leader MakerPrince Edward Island, Canada
I agree that stakeholders are important in an ERP implementation.
One of my previous contract was lost because the subject matter experts did not support the solution, even though senior management did. Saving Changes...
Prolay ChaudhuryPractice Lead & Lead Solution Architect| Chaudhury, Inc.Bangalore, Karnataka, India
As a Siebel CRM Solution Architect, I found it tough to manage and support the ongoing projects and as well as to develop new customized applications. (Now I am working as a Salesforce Technical Architect).
Below are my observations -
First of all, Siebel has complicated User Interface Navigation and Stiff learning curve for the end users
Complex deployment process and challenges to setup the configuration management. It is tough and time-consuming to configure and customize the out-of-the-box industry standard Siebel functionalities based on client specific complex business processes because Siebel CRM package does not encourage heavy customization of non-standard business processes. Still you can extend the package with extensive use of Siebel eScript or VBScript but during up-gradation to the new version, the development team has to upgrade the code manually, and custom configured Siebel components.
Deployment and upgrade process is also very challenging (time-consuming and error-prone) because the lack of orchestration of Software(OS, Database, Browser) Hardware, and Network. Many times due to the mismatch of OS and Database patches with Siebel patches the system becomes unstable and difficult to sort out the source of the issue and after identifying the culprit you many need to take a call to downgrade some OS or Database patches those are causing the pain.
Difficult and time-consuming integration processes. Simply if you do major changes in the integration objects, you have to abandon the old one and need to create new integration objects.
Stéphane ParentSelf Employed / Semi-retired| Leader MakerPrince Edward Island, Canada
Thank you, Prolay, for sharing your Siebel experience. I also found environment deployment a struggle, usually involving many manual steps.
As you also pointed out, a large part of development goes into figuring out a solution that leverages and fits with the existing Siebel framework. Saving Changes...
Elizabeth HarrinDirector| RebelsGuideToPM.comLondon, England, United Kingdom
Yes, I found managing an ERP solution project entirely different from any other package software deployment. The big challenges were the support function it needed: the role of the functional consultant going forward and the set up of a large, multi-disciplinary project team. The deployment was more challenging than ''normal'' because it affects so many different areas of the business. It''s really a business change project, not a software implementation. Saving Changes...
Stéphane ParentSelf Employed / Semi-retired| Leader MakerPrince Edward Island, Canada
I totally agree, Elizabeth. ERPs are usually driven from the C-suite, which can make for interesting organizational dynamics during the project. Saving Changes...
Stephan GarlandERP Implementation Consultant| ERPConsultingProCalgary, Alberta, Canada
I've been implementing ERP software for nearly 10 years and CRM for the past 5. ERP applications, as Elizabeth said are really business change projects because they affect the operations of the entire business. For the past 2 and a half years I have worked with ERP solutions for the Construction Industry and these take the complexity of ERP systems to a whole new level. Construction ERP's not only manage the accounting but also Estimating, Project Management, Document Management, and Job Costing. Saving Changes...
