This document discusses implementing ERP solutions using agile methods to enable faster deployment. It advocates using an agile approach with rapid incremental delivery to provide quicker time to value over traditional waterfall implementations that can take 18 months. Key aspects of the rapid agile approach discussed include value stream mapping to optimize processes, building and releasing solutions incrementally in sprints, and conducting data conversion, integration testing, user acceptance testing and go-lives on separate cadences post deployment and rollout. The document provides guidance on addressing challenges to adopting agile for ERP projects and lists critical activities like establishing a champion, integrating change management, and dedicating resources to support an accelerated schedule.

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Husni Roukbi
Regional Director, Ellucian
Rapid deployment of ERP
solutions using lean & agile
methods

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WHO IS IN THE AUDIENCE?
• How many people work for an
organization that has an ERP
system
• How many people have worked
on an implementation project for
these software applications?
• How many people have
implemented a project for these
applications using Agile?
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• Implementing ERP solutions in the traditional waterfall way that takes up to
18 months before a customer can see the value of it is no longer acceptable.
CLOUD AND AGILE HAS CHANGED THE BUSINESS MODEL FOR
IMPLEMENTING ERP SOLUTIONS
Initiation Planning Execution Transition
& Close
Monitor & Control
Define Design Configure Test Deploy
Educate
Project Management Solution DeliveryProject
Management
Solution Delivery

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THE GOAL — WHAT?
Faster & Cheaper Approach
Reduce Risk with incremental approach
Deployment flexibility (Hosted, Saas, On-Prem)
Avoid customization that prevents future upgrade
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Schedule savings
Cost savings
Scope savings
• Rapid deployment means a mix of:
• Faster time to value and faster to go-lives – schedule savings
• Lower total implementation, few hour and reduced travel – cost savings
• Adjusted scope to focus on what clients need most and fastest – scope savings
BENEFITS OF RAPID DEPLOYMENT APPROACH
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ERP IMPLEMENTATION VS. APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT
• Product Backlog vs. Solution Backlog
• Coding vs. Configuration
• Complexity of Business Requirements
• Diverse set of skills required to complete ERP
Processes
• Need for support teams with various skill sets
• Systems Administration
• Security
• Organizational Change Mgmt.
• Quality Assurance / Testing
• Training / Deployment
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ADDRESSING THE CHALLENGES OF ERP AGILE ADOPTION
• Identify a champion for agile
• Integrate Organizational Change Management
• Training for Agile
• Training at all levels
• Ability to apply agile techniques for all aspects of the project
• Dedicate time to an accelerated schedule, faster than the
standard model
• Willing to prioritize resources to support a faster time-to-value
• Make processing decisions quickly to meet project schedule
• Provide staff to configure/test/validate
• Dedicate executive sponsorship to the implementation
• Dependency on legacy data – Data Conversion
• End-to-End Solutions – Integration touch points
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Key Ingredients of the Rapid Approach
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Best Practice
• Accept a prescriptive scope model and follow vendor’s
recommendations including acceptance of pre-configured rules
and validations—and product mix
Value Stream
Mapping
• “See the flow” of your value stream and wastes in the flow
• Amend business processes to maximize efficiencies in the system
• Draw the future state
• Prioritize activities needed to achieve the future state.
Build & Release
Incrementally
• Structure project to deliver the solution incrementally
• Release on a separate cadence

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Setup Analysis Build Deploy &
Rollout
• Welcome
Environment
• Baseline
build based
on best
practices
• Training
• Value
Stream
Mapping
• Solution
Backlog
• Release
Plan
• Sprint Backlog
• Sprint Goal
• Acceptance
criteria
• Walkthrough
with
stakeholders
• Obtain signoff
• Deploy
configuration
• Data Load
• Knowledge
Transfer
• SIT
• UAT
• Cutover
• Go-live
support
ERP Rapid Implementation Approach

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WHAT IS A VALUE STREAM?
A Value Stream is a fundamental thinking construct in Lean. Each Value
Stream is the sequence of steps used to deliver value to the Customer.
• “See the flow” of your value stream and wastes in the flow.
• View all services from a system perspective.
• Understanding both material and information flows of your value stream (Current
State)
• Draw a blueprint for LEAN transformation – the Future State Map
• Prioritize activities needed to achieve the Future State.
Lead time
R E P E A T
$
Trigger

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WHY VALUE STREAM MAPPING ?
• VSM helps to reduce workflow costs and steps.
• VSM is a useful visual tool for optimizing your ERP system
because it shows a complete view of your entire process
at every level.
• VSM provides an efficient and standardized way to
identify waste in the production process and eliminate it.
• The only truly effective way to implement Value Stream
Mapping is to assemble a team of process stakeholders,
study the process, record each step on large paper/poster
board to plaster on a large wall, identify data streams and
systems, and identify KPI (key performance indicators) for
each step, while recording process & queue times.
• Many customers discover that their existing ERP mods are
not needed at all. Instead, they only masked poor
processes that did not add value.
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VALUE STREAM MAPPING PROCESS
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Services
family
Create Current
State
Analyze
Build Solution
Backlog
Create Future
State
SolutionBacklog
Repeat
3days
Services with common Process Steps
consisting of all the data for your current
process (resources, time, and quality for each
step of the process)
Find opportunities to improve things.
Identify/Document Deltas & Gaps
Update Business Models & Process Design
Update Solution Backlog Prioritization

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ERP FUNCTIONALITY TARGETED FOR VALUE STREAM MAPPING
• Financial (GL, AR, AP, Asset Mgmt.,
Treasury)
• Sales & Distribution (Prospects, Customer
mgmt., sales order mgmt.)
• Manufacturing (BoM, Routings)
• Materials Mgmt. (Procurement, Inventory
mgmt.)
• Logistics (Warehouse Mgmt.,
Transportation Mgmt.)
• Reporting
• Business Rules (customization)
• Workflow (Decisions making & approval
points, Alert/warning rules).
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Stakeholder
Product Owner
Solution team
member
Product
Owner
Vision
Scrum
Master
Solution
Backlog
Potentially
shippable solution
Daily Stand-Up
Sprint
Sprint Review
Burndown Charts
Sprint
Backlog
Retrospective
Sprint Planning
Solution Backlog
refinement
AGILE BUILD : USE SCRUM TO BUILD SOLUTIONS
Solution
Increment

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DEPLOY & ROLLOUT
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E p i c E p i c SIT UAT
Data Conversion
Cycle I
Data Conversion Cycle
II
Sprint2 Sprint3 Sprint5 Sprint6Sprint1 Sprint 4
R e l e a s e
• Data conversion cycles are executed iteratively at a different cadence.
• Integration Test & UAT are executed post release completion.
• Multiple Go-live are possible.
Data Conversion Cycle
III
Sprint2 Sprint3 Sprint5 Sprint6Sprint1 Sprint 4
Cutover
SIT UAT Cutover

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Questions
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