Q.2 Provide examples of events that you think may trigger alterations in a work plan. What would the consequences of such events be?
Have a look at assignment 3. The purpose of this assignment is to provide a case study report. Provide a rough skeleton (dot point form if you wish) of what you are going to put in the main body of your report. You should make clear what the problem is and also outline what the options are.
In Life, planning ahead doesn’t mean things will go according to plan, this rule applies in the business world where planning a implementation of an ERP system doesn’t always follow the plan. There are many reasons for alterations to a work plan as work is commenced and problems arise along the way. The implementation of an ERP is reliant on many things to ensure that the process is carried out in a proper and efficient way, some of the problems that could affect the process are:
· Loss of Personnel – Whether by illness, resignation or even death, the loss of personnel or key personnel could reduce the amount of work done or loss of critical skills could lead to massive delays and therefore put the project behind.
· Resource Problems – If certain required resources aren’t available or don’t do what they are meant to do, this can cause serious time delay as the personnel try and determine the reason for the problem and then try and find a way to correct it, this all takes time.
· Unforeseen Developments – In many projects there events that occur that aren’t or cannot be foreseen until they happen, such as testing a prototype system and discovering system failures or incompatibility with the current hardware.
· Problem Solving – When problems occur some may take longer than others and this can lead to longer waiting times before the project can continue.
· Change of leadership – A new project leader could lead to many changes or improvements to the work plan, in hopes of improving the project, but may not always work out that way, as changing plan mid way through a project could cause more problems.
These problems are some of the most common problems that can occur in projects, causing lost time, money and putting more stress on the team to try and find ways of getting back of schedule, sometimes by cutting corners, that down the track may come back to haunt them with more problems.
Assignment 3
Some of the main points that I am considering placing in my body of my report, which is for the removal of the ERP, are:
· Extremely Costly
· Lengthy implementation time
· ERP are fragile and seem to fail if aren’t properly implemented in the beginning
· The cost of failure is high, with some companies collapsing from the failure.
· Problems can occur over time and give inaccurate data to the users
· Can disrupt the business, while implementing, and
· The system may not do what the company needed it to do.
Companies wanting to implement ERPs need to do a lot of research into ERPs to know what they are getting themselves into and what problems could occur they should also research the success and failures of the many implementations of ERPs and determine what are common factors involved in these causes. Using this knowledge they then should make an educated decision on the right path of implementation and ensure they avoid the many common factors that lead to failure. If the company is open to other alternatives there are other forms of systems that could be used in the business such as “Lean”, but again should defer to the side of caution when dealing with the idea of implementing the system and should do a full investigation into all facets of the system, good and bad.
