The Project Organization defines the human infrastructure of the project. This task is designed to define the project organization chart, the roles, and the relationships of the project team. The organizational structure clearly identifies roles and responsibilities of each position, augmenting the existing role definitions where necessary to cover all of the responsibilities. The Project Organization technique that is used in this step provides a standard set of roles and responsibilities which can be customized for a particular project. This should cover all personnel resources required, both full and part time.

1. PROJECT ORGANISATION STRUCTURE
AND ERP IMPLEMENTATION
METHODOLOGY
Apagen Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
By: Gaurav Kumar

2. CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS FOR
ERP IMPLEMENTATION
• A DEFINED PROJECT ORGANISATION STRUCTURE
- PROJECT PLANNING
- PROJECT EXECUTION
- PROJECT MONITORING
• AN ATTITUDE, STRESSING ON BUSINESS TRANSFORMATION
INSTEAD OF PROCESS AUTOMATION.
• AN APPROACH WHICH BRINGS ABOUT PROPER
INTEGRATION OF PEOPLE, PROCESS AND TECHNOLOGY
THROUGH EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT OF CHANGE.

3. PROJECT ORGANISATION STRUCTURE
• FIRST STEP IN AN ERP IMPLEMENTATION PROJECT.
• IT IS THE HUMAN FRAMEWORK WITHIN WHICH ALL
PROJECT OBJECTIVES MUST BE ACHIEVED.
• PROJECT ORGANISATION STRUCTURE (POS) SHOULD TAKE
ACCOUNT OF
• PROJECT OBJECTIVES
• PROJECT DELIVERABLES
• PROJECT FACTORS RELATED TO PROJECT CONTROL,
RISK AND QUALITY.

4. PROJECT ORGANISATION STRUCTURE
• INVOLVES TOP MANAGEMENT AND REPRESENTATIVES
FROM ALL DEPARTMENTS OF THE ORGANISATION,
SOFTWARE VENDORS, HARDWARE VENDORS AND
IMPLEMENTATION CONSULTANTS.
• THIS HETEROGENEOUS MIX OF PEOPLE ASSOCIATED WITH
THE PROJECT MAKES THE DEVELOPMENT OF CORRECT
PROJECT ORGANISATION STRUCTURE AN ACTIVITY OF
PARAMOUNT IMPORTANCE

5. ROLES ASSOCIATED WITH PROJECT
ORGANISATION STRUCTURE
• PROJECT SPONSOR
• STEERING COMMITTEE
• PROJECT MANAGER
• FUNCTIONAL TEAM
• IMPLEMENTATION CONSULTANTS
• IS/IT TEAM
• HARDWARE VENDORS
• SOFTWARE VENDOR TEAM

6. PROJECT SPONSOR
• NO ERP PROJECT SHOULD BE UNDERTAKEN WITHOUT A CLEAR
PROJECT SPONSOR.
• IS COMMITTED TO CHANGE AND IMPROVEMENT IN THE
FUNCTIONING OF THE ORGANISATION
• HAS THE AUTHORITY AND POWER TO INITIATE THE PROJECT AND
SUSTAIN IT THROUGH TO IMPLEMENTATION.
• IN MOST CASES, IT IS THE CEO OF AN ORGANISATION.
• RESPONSIBILITIES INCLUDE:
- PROMOTING THE BENEFITS OF ERP IN THE ORGANISATION.
- SMOOTHING OUT INTERNAL PROBLEMS.
- MAINTAINING SUPPORT FOR THE PROJECT AT SENIOR LEVEL.
- BEING ULTIMATELY ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE SUCCESS OR
FAILURE OF THE PROJECT.

7. STEERING COMMITTEE
• INCLUDES REPRESENTATIVES FROM EACH BUSINESS AREA
• MEMBERS SHOULD HAVE THE CAPABILITY TO
UNDERSTAND THE IMPACT OF PROJECT RELATED
CHANGES.
• MEMBERS SHOULD HAVE AUTHORITY OVER ALLOCATION
AND MANAGEMENT OF USER RESOURCES.
• PROJECT SPONSOR IS THE CHAIRMAN OF THE COMMITTEE.
• SENIOR REPRESENTATIVES FROM THE CONSULTING TEAM
ARE ALSO PART OF THE COMMITTEE.

8. STEERING COMMITTEE
• MEETS REGULARLY AND PROVIDES DIRECTION AND
DECISION - MAKING SUPPORT TO THE PROJECT
• SERVES AS A COMMUNICATION LINK BETWEEN THE
PROJECT TEAM AND SENIOR MANAGEMENT OF THE
ORGANISATION

9. STEERING COMMITTEE
• TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
- REACHING AN AGREEMENT OVER THE OVERALL SCOPE
OF THE PROJECT.
- SELECTING MEMBERS OF THE PROJECT TEAM .
- CONSIDERATIONS, APPROVAL AND AUTHORIZATION
OF RESOURCES (STAFF, COMPUTER FACILITIES),
PROJECT PLANS (AND REVISIONS TO PLANS) AS
APPROPRIATE.
- REVIEWING AND APPROVAL OF QUALITY PLAN AND
RISK MANAGEMENT PLAN.

10. STEERING COMMITTEE
- MONITORING THE OVERALL PROGRESS OF THE PROJECT.
- ASSISTING IN CLEARING ANY BOTTLENECKS THAT MAY
ARISE DUE TO CONFLICTS IN PRIORITIES OR
APPROACHES WITHIN THE PROJECT TEAM.
- MONITORING RISK ANALYSES AND COST / BENEFIT
ASSESSMENTS.
- APPROVING TRADE-OFFS IN COST VERSUS SCHEDULE
VERSUS BUSINESS BENEFIT.

11. STEERING COMMITTEE
- ASSISTING THE PROJECT TEAM BY ENSURING THAT
QUALITY ASSURANCE IS CARRIED OUT IN A TIMELY
AND EFFICIENT MANNER.
- ENSURING PROJECT BENEFITS ARE REALIZED.
- AUTHORIZING PROJECT CLOSURE.

12. PROJECT MANAGER
• APPOINTED BY THE STEERING COMMITTEE BASED ON
- ADMINISTRATIVE SKILLS
- EXPOSURE TO BUSINESS FUNCTIONS
• CAN BE A SENIOR MANAGER IN THE ORGANISATION
• CAN BE A SENIOR EXPERIENCED MEMBER OF THE
CONSULTING TEAM
•
• FOR LARGE IMPLEMENTATION PROJECTS, TWO PROJECT
MANAGERS - ONE FROM THE ORGANISATION AND ONE
FROM THE CONSULTING TEAM ARE APPOINTED.

13. PROJECT MANAGER
• TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
* ITERATIVE
- DEVELOP / UPDATE THE PROJECT PLAN
- ESTABLISH REALISTIC SCHEDULES THAT REFLECT NOT
ONLY THE TECHNICAL ABILITY TO DELIVER, BUT ALSO
THE ABILITY OF USERS TO PARTICIPATE IN THE
PROJECT
- DEVELOP AND / OR REVIEW DETAILED PROJECT WORK
PLANS
- ESTABLISH / ENHANCE REPORTING MECHANISMS

14. PROJECT MANAGER
• TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
* ITERATIVE (CONTD.)
- ENSURE THAT REALISTIC PROJECT STATUS REPORTS
ARE PRODUCED AND DISTRIBUTED ON A REGULAR
BASIS
- CONDUCT REGULAR STATUS MEETINGS
- PRESENT REGULAR HIGH-LEVEL REPORTS TO THE
STEERING COMMITTEE

15. PROJECT MANAGER
• TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
* CONTINUOUS
- ENSURE PROJECT OBJECTIVES AND BUSINESS
EXPECTATIONS ARE MET
- MONITOR AND CONTROL PROJECT PROGRESS
- IMPLEMENT PROACTIVE MEASURES WHEN THE
PROJECT DEVIATES FROM ITS PLAN
- MONITOR THE QUALITY ASSURANCE, DELIVERABLE
ACCEPTANCE AND SIGN - OFF PROCESSES

16. PROJECT MANAGER
• TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
* CONTINUOUS (CONTD.)
- OVERSEE PROJECT CHANGE CONTROL AND ISSUE
RESOLUTION PROCESSES
- ENSURE THAT STRONG PROJECT SPONSORSHIP IS
MAINTAINED
- MONITOR PROJECT RISK
- MAINTAIN CONTINUOUS COMMUNICATION WITH
THE PROJECT TEAMS.

17.  TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
* HUMAN RESOURCE ISSUES
 DETERMINE SKILL REQUIREMENTS
 IDENTIFY REQUIRED RESOURCES
 MONITOR AND MANAGE USER EXPECTATIONS
 REVIEW AND MODIFY POS AS THE PROJECT PROGRESSES
 DELEGATE RESPONSIBILITIES TO TEAM LEADERS AS
APPROPRIATE
 MANAGE RELATIONSHIPS WITH ERP SOFTWARE VENDOR
AND OTHER EXTERNAL VENDORS OF RESOURCES
 IDENTIFY AND MANAGE RESISTANCE
 MANAGEMENT OF CHANGE
PROJECT MANAGER

18.  TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
* AS NEEDED
COORDINATE MILESTONE DELIVERABLE SIGN-OFF
IMPLEMENT APPROPRIATE CORRECTIVE ACTIONS WHEN
PROGRESS DEVIATES FROM PLAN
EVOLVE AN EXTENSIVE ERP POLICY AND PROCEDURE
MANUAL
PROJECT MANAGER

19. • INTERFACE BETWEEN THE ERP SYSTEM AND END-USERS
DURING PROJECT STAGE
• HAS REPRESENTATION FROM EVERY FUNCTION WITHIN
THE ORGANISATION, VIZ.
INVENTORY, PURCHASE, PLANNING, PRODUCTION,
FINANCE, COSTING, TAXATION, MARKETING, SALES,
MAINTENANCE, HR, ETC.
• THE TEAM MEMBERS ARE SELECTED BY THE STEERING
COMMITTEE BASED ON THEIR EXPOSURE TO
RESPECTIVE BUSINESS AREAS AND THEIR ABILITY TO
MANAGE CHANGE IN OPERATIONAL PROCEDURES
FUNCTIONAL TEAM

20. • RESPONSIBLE FOR
 CONDUCTING A DETAILED REQUIREMENT ANALYSIS
 DEVELOPMENT OF PROTOTYPE ERP MODEL OF THE
ORGANISATION
-- ASSURE EFFECTIVENESS OF NEW BUSINESS
PROCEDURES WHICH GET FRAMED DURING
PROTOTYPING
 DEVELOP A REQUIREMENTS MAPPING REPORT
-- COMPARE IN DETAIL THE PROCEDURES WHICH
ARE FOLLOWED IN THE OLD SYSTEMS WITH
THE PROCEDURES TO BE USED IN THE ERP
ENVIRONMENT
FUNCTIONAL TEAM

21. • RESPONSIBLE TO
 IDENTIFY FUNCTIONALITIES WHICH ARE NOT
SUPPORTED BY THE NEW ERP SYSTEM ALONG WITH
THEIR RELATIVE IMPORTANCE (e.g. ESSENTIAL,
DESIRED, NICE-TO-HAVE)
 DESIGN OF USER DEFINED REPORTS AND SCREENS
 CONDUCT A PARALLEL RUN IN WHICH THE NEW ERP
SYSTEM IS OPERATED ALONG WITH THE OLD
SYSTEM
 CONDUCT ACCEPTANCE TESTING
 CUSTOMIZE USER DOCUMENTATION
 TRAIN AND EDUCATE END-USERS
 PLAN HANDOVER
 POST IMPLEMENTATION SUPPORT
FUNCTIONAL TEAM

22. • TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
 SIMPLIFYAND EXPEDITE THE IMPLEMENTATION
PROCESS BASED ON THEIR KNOWLEDGE OF PROCESS
INTEGRATION AND EXPERIENCE
 PROVIDE AN OVERVIEW OF ERP TO THE TOP
MANAGEMENT
 TRAIN PROJECT TEAM MEMBERS IN ERP SYSTEM
 ENSURE THAT VENDOR-SUPPLIED TRAINING
MATERIAL, ALONG WITH COMPANY SPECIFIC DATA IS
EXTENSIVELY USED FOR TRAINING
IMPLEMENTATION CONSULTANTS

23. IMPLEMENTATION CONSULTANTS
 TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
 PROVIDE A FRESH, UNBIASED PERSPECTIVE ON THE
WAY OF DOING BUSINESS, SOMETIMES EVEN
CHALLENGING THE STATUS QUO
 CONDUCT AN EXTENSIVE POST IMPLEMENTATION
AUDIT
 CONDUCT A POST-IMPLEMENTATION REVIEW AFTER
THE SYSTEM IS FULLY IMPLEMENTED
 ASSIST THE CLIENT IS/IT TEAM IN ISSUES SUCH AS
SYSTEM ADMINISTRATION, SECURITY, NETWORK
MANAGEMENT, ETC.

24.  TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
 INVOLVED IN EVERY ACTIVITY OF THE PROJECT
 REQUIREMENTS STUDY
 SELECTION
 INSTALLATION OF HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE
 PROTOTYPING
 DATA MIGRATION
 PARALLEL RUN &
 CUT-OFF TO LIVE
 RESPONSIBLE FOR INCORPORATING VENDOR-
SUPPLIED UPDATES IN THE ERP SOFTWARE AFTER THE
COMPLETION OF THE PROJECT.
I. S. TEAM

25.  TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
 RESPONSIBLE FOR INSTALLING ALL THE COMPUTER
HARDWARE AND RELATED PERIPHERALS LIKE
PRINTERS AND NETWORKING EQUIPMENT
 FOR MULTI-LOCATION IMPLEMENTATION ALONG
WITH A LOCAL AREA NETWORK, A WIDE AREA
NETWORK ALSO NEEDS TO BE SET UP USING
VSATs OR LEASED LINES.
 RESPONSIBLE FOR MAINTENANCE OF COMPUTER
SYSTEMS THROUGHOUT THE COURSE OF THE
PROJECT AND BEYOND.
HARDWARE VENDOR

26.  TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
 INSTALLATION OF ERP SOFTWARE
 PROVIDE REGULAR UPDATES TO THE SOFTWARE FOR
BUG FIXATION OR FEATURE ENHANCEMENTS
 ASSIST THE DEVELOPMENT TEAM IN
UNDERSTANDING TECHNICAL DETAILS OF ERP
SOFTWARE.
 HELP ACHIEVE INTEGRATION OF NEW MODULES
WITH THE PACKAGE.
SOFTWARE VENDOR TEAM

27.  CONCLUSION
 POS IS A DYNAMIC ENTITY
 POS GENERALLY EVOLVES AS PROJECT PROGRESSES
 ERP IMPLEMENTATION PROJECT SHOULD NOT BE
VIEWED AS SIMPLE PROCESS AUTOMATION BUT AS
AN EXERCISE IN BUSINESS TRANSFORMATION WHICH
CALLS FOR INTEGRATION OF PEOPLE, PROCESS &
TECHNOLOGY.
 SO A GOOD POS IS A KEY ENABLER FOR EFFECTIVE
IMPLEMENTATION.
PROJECT ORGANISATION STRUCTURE

28. • IDENTIFICATION OF THE NEEDS FOR IMPLEMENTING AN ERP
PACKAGE
• EVALUATION OF THE “AS-IS” SITUATION OF THE BUSINESS
• DECIDING UPON THE DESIRED WOULD-BE SITUATION FOR
THE BUSINESS
• RE-ENGINEERING OF THE BUSINESS PROCESSES TO ACHIEVE
THE DESIRED RESULTS
• EVALUATION OF THE VARIOUS ERP PACKAGES
• FINALISING OF THE ERP PACKAGE
• INSTALLING THE REQUISITE HARDWARE AND NETWORKS
• FINALISING THE IMPLEMENTATION CONSULTANTS
• IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ERP PACKAGE
ERP IMPLEMENTATION METHODOLOGY

29. IDENTIFICATION OF NEEDS
FOR IMPLEMENTING AN ERP
PACKAGE
• Why should I implement an ERP package ?
• Will it significantly improve my profitability ?
• Will it lead to reduced delivery time for my product ?
• Will it enhance my customers’ satisfaction level in terms of
cost, delivery time, service and quality ?
• Will it help reduce the costs of my products ?
• Will it enable me to achieve the same business volume with
reduced manpower ?
• Will it enable me to re-engineer my business processes ?

30. IDENTIFICATION OF NEEDS
FOR IMPLEMENTING AN ERP
PACKAGE
Other Factors Worth Considering Are :
– Need for quick flow of information between business
partners
– Effective management information systems for quick
decision making
– Elimination of manual preparation of various statutory
statements
– Need for a high level of integration between various business
functions

31. – What existing business processes the organisation is
following to transact its businesses
– Enumerate various business processes. E.g. procurement,
production, sales etc.
– Use process mapping to list in detail the processes used to
achieve business transactions.
EVALUATION OF THE “AS-IS”
SITUATION OF BUSINESS

32. The process map should give the following details for
any business process :
– The total time the business process takes to complete
– The total number of decision points involved
– The number of departments that the process involves
– The flow of information
– The number of reporting points.
EVALUATION OF THE “AS-IS”
SITUATION OF BUSINESS

33. DECIDE UPON THE DESIRED
TO-BE SITUATION FOR YOUR
BUSINESS
– Use Benchmarking to ensure that targets set are comparable to the
best in the industry.
– Benchmark various aspects of the business like cost, quality, lead
time, service etc.
– Re-engineer The Business Process To Achieve Desired
Results.
Keep in mind the following points :
• The business process cycle time is to be reduced significantly.
• The number of decision points have to be reduced to the bare
minimum.
• The flow of information needs to be streamlined. i.e. there is no
unnecessary to-and-fro flow of information between departments.

34. EVALUATION OF VARIOUS ERP
PACKAGES
• Global Presence :
Check performance and acceptability of the package
globally.
• Local Presence :
Check how the package is performing in the local market.
This gives an idea as to how well a package is taking care
of the country specific business needs.
• Investment In R&D :
Evaluate the package from the point of view of investments
the ERP vendor is making in R&D to continuously upgrade
their product.

35. • Target Market :
See which segment of the industry the package is basically
aiming at. Some packages, for example, are specifically good in
discrete manufacturing. Choose a package that has a strong hold
in your type of industry.
• Price :
This of course, is the main criteria which decides what package
one will finally go in for.
• Modularity :
The availability of the package as independent modules needs to
be considered when one wants to implement only some particular
functions of the ERP package.
EVALUATION OF VARIOUS ERP
PACKAGES

36. Steps involved are -
• Formation of the implementation team
• Preparation of implementation plan
• Mapping of business processes on to the package
• Gap Analysis
• Customization
• Development of user-specific reports and transactions
• Migration of Data from Existing Systems
• Test Runs
• User Training
• Parallel Run
• Concurrence from user on satisfactory working of the system.
• Migration to the new system
• User Documentation
• Post Implementation Support
• System Monitoring & Fine Tuning
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ERP
PACKAGE

37. FORMATION OF
IMPLEMENTATION TEAM
– Team should consist of knowledgeable users from all
functions and I.T. personnel and personnel from the
implementation consultant.
– Identity project manager, project leaders and module leaders.
– Form a steering committee
• to monitor the progress of implementation
• to see to it that the schedule of implementation is
adhered to
• resolve any problems that come up in the due course
of the implementation
• allocate resources for problems.

38. PREPARATION OF
IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
– Use various project management techniques.
– Plan should include:
• Training of project team
• Mapping of business processes onto software
• Function-wise implementation
• Customization
• Migration of data
• Test runs / Parallel runs / Crossover

39. MAPPING OF BUSINESS
PROCESSES ON TO THE
PACKAGE
• Re-engineered Business Processes are mapped
on to the software
• In mapping, the implementation team tries to
fulfill the user requirements by making use of
the standard functionality available in the
software.
• If requirements cannot be covered fully met
by the standard system, then gap analysis
comes into the picture.

40. GAP ANALYSIS
• User requirements that cannot be directly mapped on to the
standard system form the basis of gap analysis. Gaps are
classified under 3 heads:
• Gaps which can be taken care of with a little programming
effort.
• Gaps which involve an extensive programming effort and
hence require extra resources.
• Gaps which cannot be taken care of in the system.
• For the first category, the project team directly takes action and
resolves the issue. Steering committee decides on the extra
resource allocation/process change for the 2nd and 3rd categories.

41. CUSTOMIZATION
- Starts after process mapping and gap
analysis have been completed.
- Customizing needs are first identified and
then the actual jobs are handed over to the
respective functional teams.

42. DEVELOPMENT OF USER-
SPECIFIC REPORTS &
TRANSACTIONS
- Any user requirements not
covered by the standard system
needs to be provided for by
extra programming effort

43. MIGRATION OF DATA FROM
EXISTING SYSTEMS
- Programmed transfer of data takes place
from the existing system to the new one.
- To avoid wrong tabulation of master data,
the transfer process needs to be
thoroughly checked in the trial runs.

44. TEST RUNS
• Sample transactions are tried to see
whether the customising and master
data loading has been error free.
• Result of sample transactions are
evaluated and any changes required in
settings to get the desired results are
incorporated.

45. USER TRAINING
- Logging in and logging out
- Getting to know the system
- Navigating through the various
menu paths
- Trying sample transactions in
respective functions.

46. PARALLEL RUN
• Business transactions are carried out both
through the existing as well as the new
system. The implementation team then takes
care of any lacunae which come to light
during the parallel run.

47. Concurrence From User On Satisfactory Working Of the System
• When the parallel run is satisfactory and error free, or errors that may
have come up have been resolved, the users may be asked for final
approval.
Migration To The New System
• Logging in and logging out
• Getting to know the system
• Navigating through the various menu paths
• Trying sample transactions in respective functions.
User Documentation
• Details on how to carry out various transactions.
• More specific in nature
• Covers alternatives that are used in the particular business so as to make
it easy for the user to understand and use them.
“GO-LIVE”

48. POST IMPLEMENTATION
SUPPORT
- User queries / Minor Changes in
report format
- Small changes in layouts of
print formats

49. NOTE
We wanted to introduce our organization APAGEN Solutions (P) Ltd. – A Global Software & Solution Provider. We are
a business-advantage driven company. We are a part of the Enventa Group and are a proven Odoo/OpenERP
implementers for Services, Education, & Sales. We have experience in implementing & maintaining some of the most
challenging Odoo/OpenERP installations in companies like Bajaj Hologrphics, Ajay Group, Hanusoft, Enventa Power
Systems, Omkam UPS, MV Logistics, Holostic India etc., by means of our Multi-faced OpenERP Partnership
(CHANNEL, SERVICES, EDUCATION, and AMS).
APAGEN has expertise across all versions of OpenERP across the Logistics, Production, Projects, Human Resource
& Financials. The company has an experienced team of Techno-Functional Consultants. APAGEN can add more than
expected value to your organization’s IT structure. Along with it, APAGEN has the capability to integrate with all other
ERP’s & Other 3rd Party Applications, side by side enabling you to make use of the new dimensional products such as
Business Intelligence and Enterprise Portal, Content Management, MDM, Business Server Pages, Java Engine, Web
Dympro, Mobile Applications & Alerts. APAGEN has its functionality spread over versatile domains such as
Electronics, Media, Engineering, Chemical, FMCG, Retail, Utilities etc...This can be either Discrete, or Process
Manufacturing.
APAGEN reduces the total cost of your Implementation & System Enablement by working closely with your
management & key business users. We understand your Business Requirements & bridge it by organizing Bootstrap
Workshops to facilitate organizational preparedness. We also map our solutions to establish seamless Project
Governance framework with continuous Risk Mitigation. APAGEN’s easy Data Management Tool & Ready to deploy
Industry Specific Add-ons can play a pivotal role in the Customize Development of your organization in a positive
manner. Our Innovative Process can help you evaluate your ERP insights with minute details. Assisting you in
discovering the ‘Value’ of the same!
Our varied methodology & orientation can invariably add value to your organization’s IT Structure.
49

50. Head Office:
E-198B,
Sector-63, Noida, India
Tel: +91 11 2487892 | Mob.: +91- 9971800665
Thank you
E-mail: gaurav.kumar@apagen.com | Web: www.apagen.com |