Developed in the early 1970s, SAP has evolved

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1 PMI Virtual Library 2013 Sailendra Nath Swain Stakeholder Management in SAP Implementation Projects By Sailendra Nath Swain, PMP Developed in the early 1970s, SAP has evolved into one of the most popular enterprise resource planning (ERP) products, with continuous iterative developments achieved through sustained R&D work. In this paper, the focus will be on the challenges faced during managing the stakeholders in an SAP and the means for addressing them. This can be helpful to the managers handling SAP s and those aspiring to handle SAP s. One of the major activities involved in a typical SAP during the initial stages is requirements gathering. As one of the most critical activities of the plan and define phase, its cascading effect can be felt deeply in the subsequent stages and/or phases. If not properly carried out, the resultant effort can be scope creep and/or budget overrun. As one of the most successfully packaged products in the world, it has created belief among people that it can do wonders at the touch of a button. The majority of people ignore the fact that it is a two-way process; in other words, it involves the participation of both sides. All ERP products are developed and improved on a continuous basis by adopting a collaborative approach; hence, every effort should be made to foster a collaborative approach during this phase. This can be achieved by adopting the following approach (Figure 1). STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS: OVERVIEW This is one of the most critical activities of an SAP and it needs to be executed with utmost care, because this is one of the key elements that will be driving the. This is where caution needs to be observed, because most managers make mistakes at this stage. Stakeholder selection should be a collaborative effort between the client and the team, with the sponsor and manager leading from both sides. Objective: Stakeholder analysis is the process that Is intended for group stakeholders Understands what stakeholders expect from the and what they need in relation to potential risks Identifies actions to minimize risks and maximize benefits by working with the stakeholders. The purpose of this document is to outline a strategy for conducting stakeholder analysis on the ; the objective of this strategy is to define: Guiding principles for conducting stakeholder analysis and planning and monitoring stakeholder actions Key stakeholder groups impacted by and influencing the Figure 1: Flow diagram.

2 Stakeholder expectations by group; how they can be measured; and, a summary of tasks and milestones that will need to be put in place to satisfy stakeholder expectations if they represent a risk. The following life cycle needs to be followed for the same: Provisional list Analysis Impact Filtering Interview Final list Continuous update. Figure 2 depicts the impact of stakeholders on an implementation. Based on the scope of the, a list should be drawn up from the respective departments/organizations, and formal/informal discussion needs to be carried out with each stakeholder. Initial list preparation Initial list preparation Categorization Categorization Interview Interview Impact Analysis Impact Analysis Confirm Stakeholder Confirm Needs Stakeholder and Expectations Needs and Expectations Action Plan Action Plan Figure 2: Impact of stakeholder influence on cost of changes during different phases of the. Stakeholder categorization will be carried out as per the following P&I (positional influence and impact) diagram (see Figure 3). Example: SL. No Name Influence Impact Net 1 X Y Z W Figure 3: P&I diagram. The diagram in Figure 3 indicates X as one of the critical stakeholders. In SAP s, stakeholders can be broadly classified into the following categories, based on the above P&I diagram (see Figure 4). Based on the same diagram, a strategy can be drawn to handle the respective customer/stakeholder for the following: Communication strategy Degree of involvement in various stages 3. Inclusion in different committees 2

3 Customers Suppliers External Stakeholders End Users Reporting Users Businesses Affected Business Managers Steering Group The XXXXX Organization Indirect Users Businesses Not Directly Affected Figure 4: Stakeholder categories. As a consequence to the completion of stakeholder analysis, an action plan needs to be devised for each stakeholder category for effective stakeholder management, which is explained and illustrated below (Tables 1 and 2). MANAGING STAKEHOLDERS SL Number Type of User Requirements Details 1 Business leads To be involved in strategy formulation for change management Involvement in business process re-orientation exercise Access and information on availability of MIS (management information) reports 2 Steering committee members Regular updates on s Awareness on the new system to be implemented in order to facilitate: Business process mapping Providing input to the requirements gathering process Deeper involvement in scope freezing process Access to financial information related to (i.e., budgetary status, etc.) Updates on important issues and risks afflicting the 3 End users Need to know about the upcoming changes to be effected in the existing set up Regular updates on the progress Need to know about the business to be implemented in order to facilitate: Business process mapping Deeper involvement in plan and define phases 4 Power users Access to regular updates on the Access to critical information related to their specific domains To be provided with training in SAP to help in carrying out their activities Need to understand the process changes to be carried out to facilitate business process mapping Table 1: Gathering Requirements from Stakeholders. 3

4 5 Indirect users Need to be informed about the change in their activities and in the new environment Need to be informed about the changes to be done to their existing modes of operation To have basic understanding of the new and system to be introduced 6 Project team members Access to regular updates on the 7 External parties (i.e., customers and vendors) Access to scope-related information Conduct frequent interactive session with business users To be appraised of their roles and responsibilities in the team To be informed about the standards and quality Access to schedule and high-level plan To be informed of the high-level activity plans that will affect them during the Access to updates To be informed of changes to procedures and documentation on the *Requirements will be gathered from the stakeholders after holding several sessions with them. Table 1: Gathering Requirements from Stakeholders (continued). SL Number Type of User Action Plan Communication Strategy 1 Business leads More involvement during planning phase Regular status meetings Involvement in key business decisions communication 3. Facilitating workshops Involvement in impact analysis 4. OCM (organizational change Involvement in organizational change management team 5. management) workshops CCB (change control board) Stay informed of the updates Meetings 2 Steering committee members Access to information related to financial and budgetary status of the s Access to major risks and issues afflicting the Steering committee meetings Governance review meeting Regular status call communication 3 End users Information on updates Regular status call To learn the new under each communication assigned area 3. Training session on different SAP modules and business 4 Power users Information on updates Regular status calls Updates on key business Training session on different Training on key business 3. Change management workshops 5 Indirect users Information on impacted Training session on impacted Change management workshops Table 2: Action Plans for the Stakeholders Requirements. 4

5 6 Project team members 7 External parties (i.e., vendors and customers) To be informed of roles and responsibilities Information on updates Awareness on standards and Complete knowledge on scope Awareness on changes in associated Access to updates 3. Project status calls Facilitating workshops Access to repository for standards and policies Training session on associated business Change management workshops Table 2: Action Plans for the Stakeholders Requirements (continued). About the Author Sailendra Nath Swain is working as a manager for an IT services company. Mr. Swain has over 20 years of work experience across various sectors, which includes 8 years of domain experience and more than 12 years in the IT space industry. He has over 6 years of experience in management and people management, and has earned a Project Management Professional (PMP) credential and an ITIL. He has a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the National Institute of Technology, Rourkela, India. 5