The document discusses Mitchell & Associates' Solution Assessment service for JD Edwards customers. The Solution Assessment provides a comprehensive review and analysis of a customer's JD Edwards environment, applications, infrastructure, user skills, and support structure. It identifies specific actions and recommendations to enhance functionality, performance, and user skills. The typical engagement involves on-site meetings, interviews, a technical review, and develops an action plan to close any gaps between the current and original goals. The Solution Assessment is usually completed over a 4-6 week period with deliverables including a detailed report on findings and recommendations.

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S O L U T O N A S S E S S M E N T S
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Mitchell
A s s o c i a t e s &
INTERNATIONAL
INTEGRATION
S P E C I A L I S T S
JD EDWARDS
S O L U T I O N S
Headquarters
Mitchell & Associates, Inc.
200 Centennial Ave
Suite 200
Piscataway, NJ 08854 USA
Telephone
+1.732.699.0020
Fax:
+1.732.699.0021
Web
www.maa-imcs.com
Email
info@maa-imcs.com
Concept
The Solution Assessment is a comprehensive analysis of the customer's J.D.
Edwards environment and user community resulting in specific courses of action
and recommendations to enhance functionality, boost performance, and improve
the user skill base.
Objective
• On-site meeting with the customer's team to review business conditions
• Comprehensive review of J.D. Edwards software applications
• Detailed analysis of the J.D Edwards technical infrastructure
• System management and end-user skill assessments and training paths
• Support structure overview and connections to resources
The investigation focuses on both the effective use of technology, and whether the
technology employed is meeting the current and/or future needs of the
organization. Several process areas are targeted depending on which JD Edwards
modules are in use. Technical implementation issues are also addressed. System
software configuration, software limitations, user access, and training issues are
used to develop an action plan to close the gap between the current situation and
original objectives.
Duration
The typical high-level Solution Assessment can be completed 4-6 week period.
Four weeks are required at the client site by a senior professional, with two weeks
allotted for deliverable preparation. A detailed Solution Assessment typically takes
twice as long.
Methodology
Staff Interviews
• Senior Management. Identify important savings that were originally intended
from the implementation and their overall feelings on the actual success of the
project. In addition, senior management can give an indication of some of the
problem areas.
Aim for success,
not perfection.
We are born to
succeed, not fail.
- Dr. David A. Burns
TUNING YOUR JD EDWARDS SOLUTION FOR OPTIMUM
PERFORMANCE AND LONG-TERM SUCCESS

2. S O L U T O N A S S E S S M E N T S
M
A
A
Aim for success,
not perfection.
We are born to
succeed, not fail.
- Dr. David A. Burns
Headquarters
Mitchell & Associates, Inc.
200 Centennial Ave
Suite 200
Piscataway, NJ 08854 USA
Telephone
+1.732.699.0020
Fax:
+1.732.699.0021
Web
www.maa-imcs.com
Email
info@maa-imcs.com
JD EDWARDS
S O L U T I O N S
• Supervisors. Supervisory personnel in all the various disciplines—
maintenance, inventory, purchasing, accounts payables, etc.—are
interviewed. Here the problems that really affect getting the job done will
surface and an idea of additional functionality that may be required can be
identified.
• Project Team Members. Review system configuration with project team
members to understand the decisions made during the implementation and
the reasons behind them. Revisit any configuration decisions made based on
time or budget constraints.
• End Users. System acceptance, ease of use, level of training, and extent of
use of the system can be identified among other issues. (Note that these
interviews are usually the most informative and help identify the real
problems.)
Resource Loading Study
• Perform a high-level resource loading study to determine actual resource
availability as it compares to actual workload.
Information Management and Use Review
• IS Support/System Administration—system security, response time, level of
training, type of support problems, software deficiencies (bugs).
• System Configuration—this is a critical area of the post implementation
assessment as it gives an early indication of how well the system is tailored to
match the client’s business needs.
• Hardware Design—a review of the existing hardware architecture and actual
hardware on site can help resolve some of the frustrations usually
experienced by personnel. Review can reveal a lack of printers, printing
problems, or slow response, for example.
• Data Quality—a review of the integrity of the actual data in the database will
give an indication of any problems with the collection and data entry process.
Deliverables
Feedback and Action Planning
Results Documentation and Feedback—based on the above evaluation; a
detailed report on findings, conclusions, and recommendations is prepared.
Identify current gap or potential based on findings and original objectives. Mitchell
& Associates experience with best practices and JD Edwards is used to suggest
the performance gap.
Validate the report findings and recommendations with all personnel to ensure
that all documentation is both factual and realistic.
Present the report to management and key personnel and seek agreement on the
analysis.
Develop an action plan based upon approved recommendations, costs, and
establish a schedule for implementation. A separate engagement proposal is
written and signed for services to be provided.
INTERNATIONAL
INTERGRATION
S P E C I A L I S T