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The Importance of Assigning Tasks and Resources in Project Management

One of the key success factors in an ERP, CRM, or other implementation is that there is good project management. This article touches on some of the features of managing the project: managing Tasks and managing Resources.

The Importance of Assigning Tasks and Resources in Project Management
John Reynolds

There are two major ways to estimate the lengths (i.e., durations) of tasks. The simplest way is to estimate the elapsed time of a task.

If someone says it will take him a week to do a particular task, he is probably offering an elapsed-time estimate. They generally mean that it will take him one work week to get a task done, not that it will take them 40 hours. When estimating elapsed time, people generally account for not working on the project tasks full-time, and for working on other, higher-priority tasks first.

In most projects, however, lengths should be estimated based on the amount of work, not the amount of time. That way, adding resources will shorten a task, and using resources only part-time will lengthen a task. Tasks that fluctuate like this depending on the resources assigned are called resource-constrained tasks.

There are several ways to estimate the resource time for a task. One is to let the project manager calculate the estimates based on an employees performance on similar tasks. Another is to let the employees performing the tasks calculate their estimates, generally based on how they performed on similar tasks. A third way to estimate is to use standard metrics for generic tasks.

Although many project managers like to follow the standards established by these generic metrics, their plans are generally more accurate when they and their employees do their own estimating. It usually takes three to five projects to become proficient, but the eventual accuracy is worth the delay. Sometimes tasks will not be resource-constrained and can be estimated based on the elapsed times. Examples would be training classes or project meetings. Even though two or more people may attend a class or meeting, the length of the task does not shorten. These types of tasks are called time-constrained.

Good project management requires excellent communication forms and documentation. Get professional project manager templates to help you with your next ERP, CRM, or other technology project.

If estimates are being provided from standard metrics or project managers, them resources (i.e., employees) should be assigned after task lengths are determined. If estimates are coming from the employees performing the tasks, obviously these steps will be reversed. Regardless of the order of these two steps, one or more employees should be picked for each task that is resource-constrained.

Employees assigned to multiple tasks are often scheduled for too much work while there are simultaneous tasks to complete and not enough work when there are no task assignments. To maintain a consistent workload, resources need to be ‘leveled.’ There are only two main ways to level resource allocations: by adjusting the task schedule or adjusting the resource assignments. Project management packages generally adjust the schedule to increase the amount of time it takes to finish the project.

Remember these basic principles for assigning task lengths and resources to improve your management proficiency.

John Reynolds has been a practicing project manager for nearly 20 years and is the editor of an informational website rating project management software products. For more information on project management and project management software, visit Project Management Software Web.

How to Select and Implement an ERP System

How to Select and Implement an ERP System
Michael Burns
WHAT IS ERP?

ERP is a term that is widely used yet probably not well understood. It stands for Enterprise Resource Planning and although it was initially targeted to manufacturing companies, today it encompasses any product that can be used across an enterprise. When implemented effectively, ERP enables companies to break down traditional organizational silos, replacing them with a tightly integrated horizontal structure in which strategy, organizational structure, process and technology are closely aligned. Applications can include financial, distribution, manufacturing, human resources, payroll, and project costing.

There is a lot of confusion between an accounting system and ERP. In the past, an accounting system was limited to just Continue reading How to Select and Implement an ERP System

The top 20 ERP implementation tips

We ran across an interesting article on the things you should do during an ERP implementation. Worth a read:

The top 20 ERP implementation tips
By Jan Stafford, Site Editor
22 Jun 2005 | SearchOpenSource.com

An enterprise resource planning (ERP) software project can be daunting for first-timers or veterans handling a migration. Get started on the right foot with the top 20 ERP implementation tips from Linux users, consultants and vendors.

Planning

1. Know your goals for your ERP implementation. Choose the product that promises to meet those goals and put measurement tools and processes in place to gauge your success, advises Lance Williamson, engineer, Engenio Information Technologies, Inc., Wichita, Kan. In particular, he said, set goals for performance, response time and downtime.

2. Don’t do any project without a plan, particularly an ERP project which touches almost every part of your organization, said Bernard Golden, CEO, Navica Inc., a consulting firm in San Carlos, Calif. Create process with regular milestones and participation from affected organizations. And be sure to test, test, test, all the way through. “All of these things seem like ‘nice-to-haves’ rather than critical elements in a project, but can make the overall project much more successful,” Golden explained.

3. Involve users in your ERP project planning phase, said Andy Klee, president of Klee Associates, Inc., a consulting firm in Cedaredge, Colo. “The software is not going to do you much good if you don’t have employee buy-in,” he added.

4. Don’t do the planning and implementation alone if you don’t have the in-house skills to make it happen, said Jorg Janke, president of open source ERP vendor Compiere Inc. in Portland, Ore. “Determining which options and features to use requires experience,” he said. If the in-house team doesn’t have that experience, Janke advises, find a local ERP expert who is trustworthy and who collaborates well with your team.

Read the rest of the article here…

Having RICE with your ERP Implementation

When I first heard the term RICE, during a large ERP implementation, I thought it was a joke. What do you mean you want RICE? Do you want it with butter or soy sauce?

It was explained to me later that RICE stands for:

Reports
Interfaces
Conversions
Extensions

Come to find out, I was used to dealing with these, but using the acronym helped clarify and organize these key implementation functions. You need to properly plan for RICE and you need to address these elements during your implementation for the project to succeed. All RICE aspects need to be tested and validated by the users of the system. If they are not, then there will be problems. Let’s look at them one by one.

Reports

First, you have Reports. All of your business reporting should be examined to ensure that you go live with at least as much information as you use today. The question is though, do you need the report or can you live with the new systems processes and online lookups? Often reports are generated to support a manual process that takes some human intervention. For example, a min-max report was printed to help the buyer make purchase decisions. “Not with the new MRPII system; the system provides suggested buys through an online lookup.” So do you need that old report?

The best thing to do is to catalog all of your current reports and go through each of them and determine what the business need for that report and working with your implementation consultants, find out if there is a better way to get the same information. If there isn’t, then mark that report as a necessary report for going live. (Chances are it is already in the system.) If the report is not currently in the new software, then a custom report will need to be made. These too should be prioritized. Some may not be critical to going live and are “nice-to-have” reports. There are many reporting factors to consider in a Successful Packaged Software Implementation.

Interfaces

Second is Interfaces. How many other systems will be linking with the new ERP solution? Interface development takes some software architecting, but you can see which software will be replaced by the new system and which software will remain. Does the legacy software have a need to be integrated into the new ERP? What is the cost of integrating that new solution, versus a manual entry? These are some of the decisions that you will face.

Linking two systems together can be as simple as a data export and data load, to as difficult as a synchronized data movement between the systems. Often it is the first option. Export the data from the external system on a set schedule and then import the export file into the ERP system. There is usually an intermediate program that does the task automatically of file format conversion. This is common in EDI. The EDI data is downloaded, is run through a translator, and then uploaded into the ERP system. The reverse also happens (as in the case of shipping notices). A data file is exported from the ERP to the translator, which then maps and prepares the upload file to the EDI system.

Conversions

Third, you will need to look at conversions. Conversions are one of the most deceiving areas of an implementation. It might seem simple at first. “Oh, we just are converting the Items, Customers, and Vendors.” Okay, simple enough. But do you have all of the data fields that the new system requires? Do you have good and valid data to be brought over? One of the key factors of implementations (regarding labor) is the data clean up. Most ERP implementers have a standard data import template. You can then map your data fields to that model. Sometimes it is even in Excel. You just cut and paste your exported data into Excel. But what if your legacy system is an old green screen with the only export are reports written to a file? Then you have to have a program written to parse that text file to pick up all the correct data. Even then, there will be dirty data that needs to be cleaned. If you have a lot of records, then this will be very time-consuming.

The other option is not to even export and import. You can manually enter data too. The rule of thumb I go by is if there are less than 500 records in a data file, then it should be manually entered. If it is more than that, then you should look at an automated data load.

Extensions

Extensions are additional programming functionality. Sometimes referred to as Enhancements they provide functionality that doesn’t exist in the core ERP package. Often this is due to a very particular task that the old system did to satisfy a customer need or to meet a legal regulation that is specific to a niche industry. These custom programs are not written into the core ERP since that will break the upgrade path in most cases. Instead, a separate program is developed using the same tools that the ERP system uses and data hooks are created to link the extension to the core ERP.

Extensions should be avoided if possible, but if there is a unique functionality that cannot be handled by the system, then an extension is the preferred way to address it.

RICE Summary

In summary, Reports, Interfaces, Conversions, and Extensions are key aspects of any Successful Packaged Software Implementation and should be properly scoped in the initial planning phase. Insufficient time or resources can have a detrimental impact on the overall implementation budget. If you are about to embark on an implementation, be sure to look at all aspects of RICE before you begin.

My ERP supplier has been acquired – now what?

With all the ERP consolidations going on (look at Infor, Sage, Oracle, etc.) it is hard to know what to do. This interesting article points out the issues surrounding the client of an acquired software.

My ERP supplier has been acquired – now what?
By Quocirca

Published: Monday 5 February 2007

If your ERP vendor is acquired, don’t panic. Quocirca’s Sharon Crawford explains how to decide whether to jump ship to a new vendor or stay the course with your newly merged supplier.

Given the recent abundance of mergers and acquisitions amongst the mid-market ERP vendors, IT directors managing an ERP system may feel uncertain about the future of their incumbent system. Yet it is critical to be able to assure the board the product wont disappear – or at least warn them if its time to switch vendors. Read more…

Using ERP to get everyone on the same page

There is an excellent article on ERP from IBM that discusses the issues of the value of ERP. Getting everyone communicating together is one of the largest benefits of implementing an ERP system.

Using ERP to get everyone on the same page
By Julie Fraser

How many different applications are in use across your organization? Most small and medium businesses have dozens if not hundreds of different systems. The result: critical information is not being shared among departments, and employees struggle to get visibility to what is correct or what has happened. The cost of manually tracking down information is considerable. When you consider that it also leads to missed opportunities, poor decisions, poor execution, and disjointed customer service, the cost is far higher than many companies realize.

Read entire article…

Vista hits the street – How will it affect ERP?

Vista hits the street today, so how will it affect ERP? Vista ultimately will pervade the corporate environment. For now though it is the home user that will be scooping it off the shelves.

For the server side, vendors are either already there with Windows Server 2003r2 or are coding to make it ready. There is a good link here where Microsoft lays out its promises to how the server operating system will work.

We want to know what you think. Please comment on this post and let us know what you feel will happen in the ERP space now that Microsoft has launched their new flagship.

In the meanwhile, here is an entertaining video of Bill Gates on The Daily Show.

What the ERP Salesperson doesn’t tell you

An interesting article from ITToolbox on ERP:

What the ERP Salesperson doesn’t tell you

“Let me show you how easy our software is to use”
Salespeople or professional demonstrators are trained to present their software to look as easy as possible. The truth is it is impossible to know how easy the software is until you have been using it for over 12 mos.
Ask the Customer references you speak to if the system is as easy to use and implement as they originally anticipated.

“I will give you three references for you to call â€¦”
Software Vendors commonly offer three, carefully selected customer references for you to speak to. What do you learn from speaking to three ecstatic customers? Absolutely nothing!
A Suggestion: Ask for a list of customers in your area that have been using the system for 12 mos, preferably with similar requirements and a similar size. Then from that list you can choose which to speak to, and maybe visit one (you might even know one). If they do not have customers in your area that meet all the criteria, ask to visit a local customer that is a similar size, and to speak over the phone to a customer in a similar industry (confirming the system has had success in your industry).