Business Process Phase

• Preliminary Requirements Report
  • Functional Decomposition
  • Data Model
  • Business Process Model
  • Impact Assessment
• Gap analysis

• "As Is" Business Processes
• "To Be" Business Processes
• Business Process Training
• Business Process Report

Mapping the existing processes may already have taken place prior to the project commencing. If this is the case, they merely need to be updated and verified. If they have not been mapped, the "As Is" can occur early in the project in preparation for the changes that may be required. By the time the package is selected, the "As Is" can be complete.

Mapping the "To Be" will require understanding of the package and can be a part time exercise done in parallel with customisation. This will include decisions about:

• Changing the software to suit the business processes
• Changing the business processes to suit the software

The work will be done in parallel with configuration. As changes to existing processes are identified, and they can be incorporated prior to implementation, they should be rolled out to lessen the change when the new software is implemented. This will require training materials being developed and training carried out. Time should be built into the plan to cater for these activities.

• Project Manager
• Sponsor
• Business Analyst
• Business Representatives
• Business Users
• Vendors (Sales and Technical Staff)

Business Process change is not a simple activity. These process changes are driven by two questions:

1. What business processes do we need to change to fit the new system?
2. How can we better carry out our business processes?

It will require an agreed approach at executive level to decide how much of "2" will be undertaken as "2" may significantly extend the time required.

You might also want to run this phase into the early stages of implementation. You can effectively implement some business process changes, and produce training material up to a few weeks before the cutover to the new system.

The starting point will depend on how much skill exists in the organisation in terms of BPM (Business Process Modeling). Some training may be required, or external resources may need to be recruited to undertake the mapping. Inexperienced BPM staff can considerably extend the time required. In addition, appropriate tools may need to be obtained and training take place in order to use those tools. Microsoft Visio is often used however a far more powerful tool is Holocentric Modeller www.holocentfic.com

When the changes are identified, they should be split into changes that can occur now, and changes that cannot be implemented until after the software is implemented. In order to minimise the impact, implement the business process changes that can be implemented now, as soon as possible. This will give you a chance to bed down and tweak the changes before the major wave of change at implementation.

Training material on the changed processes is produced in this phase. Some training will be delivered during the phase, and some will be delivered closer to implementation.