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IT 657 Milestone Four
Dominic Harris
IT-657- Enterprise Resource Planning
Dr. Perez
September 8, 2024
Strategy
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Implementing the ERP system is complicated, and utilizing the correct strategy increases
the chance of success. The project to implement a new ERP system for the school district will be
done in a phased approach. A phased ERP implementation plan involves a stepwise approach in
which the overall ERP system rollout is broken down into smaller chunks that may be more
easily manageable for some organizations. (Shannahan 2024) Considering the size of the project
and the several departments that will be impacted minimizing impact with handling it in parts.
To minimize impact on daily operations the legacy system will remain operational until the full
ERP system has been tested and ready to go live. The ERP systems will change business
processes in several departments and each department will need to be trained on the new process.
Managing the scope of each small project protects against the project getting too large and
manages the time to support on-time delivery. This allows the project team's available resources
to be focused on one area to complete the specified project before continuing.
Rationale
The current infrastructure has supported business operations, and with expansion on the
horizon, other resources will be more beneficial. The IT team is challenged with supporting an
infrastructure that covers databases, websites, voice-over-internet protocol, and other software
that helps support the district offices. In the current system, you will find outdated software and a
large-spread attack surface due to network components that must be monitored across the
district. Providing proper network security will be challenging but consolidating network
location, upgrading outdated software, and implementing the ERP system will improve the IT
ecosystem. Selecting a single location to house much of the network infrastructure and limiting
key network components on-premises improves the security the network. We are moving to a
cloud-based ERP system that will support the district being able to scale, its accessibility, and
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how quickly it can be implemented. This will allow us to limit the number of devices we have at
each location and consolidate key function components is highly secure areas with proper
support. Becoming more efficient with daily IT operations processes, better business processes,
and integrating both in a system that benefits both improve how the district functions. Moving
forward security must take into account the changes and these changes will improve our overall
security.
Implementation
1. Discovery & Planning
The research has been to identify what processes that are needed to be improved,
what options are best to fit our needs and create a project plan with a team that will work
on the project.
2. Design
From the information gathered about current workflow and system requirements a
new workflow can begin to be designed. Gathering the subject matter expert on the ERP
system and a few users for gap knowledge will benefit in creating a productive improved
business process.
3. Development
After reviewing what is needed from the design requirements, identifying the
areas where customizing software may be needed, and what business processes
are now replaced by the selected ERP system. If any legacy software remains
after, then integration will need to be configured along with any other third party
software. Hardware may be decommissioned and replaced due to being
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incompatible with the new processes. It would be beneficial if during this time
documentation of training material for users aids in a better user experience.
Planning data migration happens at this stage and preparation is important to
lower the risk of lost data. Data is stored in different formats and depending on
the system the data is moved to a change maybe needed.
4. Testing
The project team will begin to run the business process through the ERP system
and work out any bugs that are presented. Testing the system will be done in
sections to give time to correct any fixes or make changes if adjustments are
necessary. The legacy system will still be running while the new process will stay
in testing until the process can run with minimum to no errors. When each section
has passed the testing phase then the system will be accessed to see how it holds
up to daily processes.
5. Deployment
Go live is the day the ERP system goes live, and users will use the new system.
All hands will be on deck to assist users with business process changes, access
issues, and errors that may occur. The expectation is that there will be issues and
quickly identifying those issues and finding solutions will be important.
6. Support & Updates
This is an ongoing step that will continue to ensure the ERP system is successful
in achieving business processes. As users get to use the system getting feedback
from users and looking at tickets for user issues will identify trouble points.
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Getting the ERP system to run optimally will take time and several updates to
work out any bugs.
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Resources
Shannahan, M. (n.d.). The 4 ERP Implementation Types to Choose From. Synergy. https://wm-
synergy.com/the-4-erp-implementation-types-to-choose-from/
