The role of super users is important for providing ongoing support of ERP systems after implementation. As the front line contact for end users and the liaison between business and IT, super users help address user issues, provide feedback on system usage, and help the system evolve to meet changing business needs. Properly defining, staffing, and communicating the super user role is key to maximizing the benefits of an ERP system.

1. Research
Publication Date: 4 April 2006 ID Number: G00138658
Super User Role Is Key to Post-Implementation Support
of ERP Systems
Pat Phelan
Super users are key components of the ERP support infrastructure. In addition to being
on the front line with end users, they also serve as liaisons between business and IT
organizations, enabling IT organizations to focus on more-technical aspects of system
support.
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2. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
The role of super user is important in providing high-quality ERP support. Defining the job
responsibilities, staffing the role with the right type of and skilled personnel, and clearly
communicating the role to business units and the IT organization are required to enhance the
overall perception of ERP success.
ANALYSIS
An ERP implementation is a major investment. Often, it is executed by a project team that
combines IT and business representatives, and is augmented with external experts from vendors
and systems integrators (SIs). However, once the ERP applications are in place, the project team
is dissolved, and the business users go back to their regular jobs. As a result, there is little
business involvement in the ongoing management of ERP applications. Without this involvement,
there is a risk that the ERP applications stay "static" and do not evolve to meet the needs of the
business, so all that huge effort might be wasted or suboptimized. The most common alternative
for ongoing ERP success is using "super users" — people who bridge the IT/business divide to
ensure that the ERP applications evolve to meet the needs of the business and maximize the
return on investment.
Being on the front line, a super user's role is more important than just assisting end users with
basic navigation questions, and quickly addressing process and system use problems. Super
users, or power users in some organizations, are the most common conduit between business
and IT organizations. They provide feedback on such things as how the system is being used,
what the issues are and what the training will be for new users. The result is greater end-user
acceptance and satisfaction, and IT organizations are able to focus on more-technical aspects of
system support.
Role of Super Users
Super users know the business and are the "go to" people to answer system functionality and
business process questions. They understand the process areas and how their assigned
departments function. They further understand how the system has been implemented to support
the business. Super users can provide immediate responses to end-user requests for business
process help, basic system navigation questions, and other "how to" or "I can't get it to work"
issues. They may assist with training end users on business processes and system use.
Super users also troubleshoot ERP-related problems. They work with the IT organization by
filtering end-user requests and passing along to the ERP help desk only those issues that the IT
organization should be aware of as it tunes or enhances the system, as well as true problems that
need some type of fix or resolution from a system perspective. When errors arise or a system
issue occurs, super users are typically in the best position to translate functional business
requirements into technical requirements and specifications. Having an understanding of the
business needs, how systems have been configured, what the applications' limitations are and
how applications may be changed is a tremendous help when assessing the issues and defining
solutions for them.
Super users must stay abreast of vendor product strategies and help plan the company's upgrade
strategies by identifying the business benefits available in new software releases. (IT
organizations will focus on the technology side of things.) This is crucial to move the ERP
applications forward. Super users also identify changes in the business environment that may
affect the ERP applications and work with the IT organization to plan the changes. An example of
Publication Date: 4 April 2006/ID Number: G00138658 Page 2 of 5
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3. this is if the company moves into a new market or considers an acquisition. The super user would
assist in assessing how the change would affect the company's use of the ERP applications.
By working closely with end users, super users can spot trends in terms of need for additional
training or changes that would improve the end-user training curriculum. They are also well-
positioned to identify process changes or configuration changes that could improve how the
system supports the business. This is especially important in light of the service-oriented
architecture (SOA) changes that are coming to ERP applications. Superior knowledge of the
business will position super users to add tremendous value to business process assessment and
design of SOA initiatives.
Super users belong to the business area and physically reside with the end users being
supported, with a dotted-line relationship to the ERP competency center (IT support group). To be
most effective, super users should be immediately accessible by the end users and valued
members of competency center decisions and tasks. Furthermore, super users must have
credibility with end users and the IT organization. Credibility can most effectively be earned by
working with the competency center on planning and executing system changes and upgrades,
as well as assisting with troubleshooting problems.
An organization may have several super users. Factors that influence the number of super users
include geographical representation (often at least one super user from each major region),
business unit representation (representing the different parts of the business in a diversified
environment) and process area coverage (for example, HR, finance and manufacturing).
Preparing Super Users for Success
When ERP is first deployed, super users should prepare for their new role by participating in the
implementation. Having input into system design and hands-on knowledge of the system will build
credibility with the end users. Participating in unit and integration tests will provide an intimate
knowledge of the strengths, limitations and work-arounds that are a part of the new system.
As upgrades are deployed, super users will:
• Leverage their experience by assisting end users in understanding the options and
alternatives that are available as a result of the new software release.
• Translate the options and alternatives into IT terms.
• Assist with implementing the upgrade and presenting it to the user community.
• Contribute to ongoing business process development.
• Work closely with the IT organization to determine what system configuration is needed
to support the new or changed process.
For new ERP implementations, prior to going live, organizations should formalize the position and
train a force of super users, which can be difficult to achieve. To aid in this process, organizations
need to:
• Understand that the super user role is important.
• Secure funding for the position.
• Include a role description, initial and ongoing training requirements, reporting lines and
retention incentives, which will provide the staffing guidelines and improve the likelihood
of assigning appropriate personnel.
Publication Date: 4 April 2006/ID Number: G00138658 Page 3 of 5
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4. • Staff the position with highly capable resources.
• Include the super user in ERP competence center activities, such as system change
planning, testing and problem resolution.
What Can Go Wrong?
Although super users deserve praise for the key roles they play on the front line with end users
and as liaisons/translators to IT organizations, things can go horribly wrong. When super users
are inadequately trained on the ERP system or have insufficient knowledge of the business and
its processes, they will not be able to provide top-quality service and will not earn the credibility
that is key to success with end users and IT organizations.
A super user who is unwilling to cooperate and communicate with IT, or one who fails to
participate in competence center tasks, will undermine the success of the ERP system. When a
competitive or confrontational relationship forms between business units and the IT organization,
and the super user is not a leader in minimizing the conflict, or worse yet, is a cause of the
conflict, overall end-user acceptance and perceived success of the system can drop dramatically.
Frequent super user turnover also can have a negative impact because a drop in service occurs
while the new super user learns the job.
When super user turnover occurs and the new super user does not have the benefit of
participating in the ERP implementation, there is risk that the high quality of support enjoyed by
end users and the knowledge-based relationship that the super user enjoyed with the IT
organization will cease. Without the understanding that comes from being an intimate part of the
implementation, the super user will merely function as a funneling mechanism for the ERP help
desk and could end up being a bottleneck in terms of system support.
To provide a new super user with a solid starting point as he or she gets immersed in the new
role, there needs to be good system and process documentation and a well-defined training
process for preparing the super user to support the ERP system users. Having another person in
the departments supported by each super user trained as a backup will also help to minimize the
risk of knowledge loss and offer coverage when the super user is ill or out of the office.
Mitigation strategies for super user risks should be thought out prior to system implementation.
These may include tactics such as:
• Certification of new super users via training and testing
• Rotation of super users through the ERP competence center as part of team-building
exercises and ERP governance mechanisms to ensure super user participation and
cooperation in IT activities, and help maintain credibility
• Incentives to retain super users in their roles
• Selection of appropriate personnel for the super user role
• Informed selection process based on competencies desired and traits that will make the
super user successful, rather than just randomly picking someone from the department
Key Facts
Super users serve a critical role in providing high-quality ERP support. It can be difficult to identify
and prepare super users for the role. The role must be formally planned for and arranged prior to
the ERP system going live. The plans should include steps for rotating the super user into the role
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5. and then back into the organization after a prescribed time so they can leverage their ERP
knowledge.
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