PostImplementation Organization

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Post-Implementation Organization Support

• Loren Blinde
• Director, Administrative Systems Group

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Session Objectives

• An appreciation of issues that new customers and
  recent go-live projects will face with the
  long-term support and enhancement of their SAP
  systems
• An opportunity for established customers to share
  their experience

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Session Topics

• Why ongoing support is an issue
• What a support team does
• Considerations in organizing a team
• Nebraskas experience
• Open audience discussion

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Why Support is an IssuegtInstitutional Culture

• ERP system is likely a new thing
• The Business ltgt Technical relationship has
  changed
• There is a NEW business role

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Why Support is an Issuegt Go-Live Psychology

• The finish-line is system go-live
• Management expectation of completion
• User expectation of a finished product

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Why Support is an IssuegtWe want our people
back!

• The ERP project was a short-term assignment
• Many team members are drafted from your Business
  offices
• They are also your best people for system support

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Why Support is an Issuegt Money

• You budgeted for the maintenance agreement
• Did you plan for the human side?

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Your Challengegt

• Create a reality-based management perspective of
  system support
• Identify what support teams do
• Consider your institutional factors
• Look at peer models

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What Support Teams Dogt Maintenance Tasks

• Major upgrades
• Service packs
• Problem solving
• Security administration
• Workflow administration
• Archiving

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What Support Teams Dogt Common Business Tasks

• Support the business offices
• Centralized processes
• Tax reporting (US 1099 W-2)
• Financial closing
• Payroll
• Payment runs
• Data manipulation
• Mass changes
• Data loads
• Ad-hoc report creation

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What Support Teams Dogt Tend to the Users

• Training
• Documentation
• Change Management Communication
• Internal Influence Channels

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What Support Teams Dogt Continuous Improvement

• New initiatives and more SAP
• Accountability to senior management
• Priority setting - consensus building
• Product evaluation and acquisition
• Process redesign
• License management
• Define a priority setting process !

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What Support Teams Dogt Stay Smart

• Networking
• Project team training
• Keeping up with SAP
• Advocacy and Influence
• CRM
• (Consultant Relationship Management)

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What Support Teams Dogt Marketing

• Publicity Promotion
• Internal Marketing Selling SAP

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Build a Support Team

• Consider your organization
• Build the right team structure
• Find the right people
• Create the right work environment
• Create the right relationships

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Build a Support TeamgtConsider your Organization

• Single or multiple-campuses?
• Administratively centralized?
• One size does not fit all

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Build a Support Teamgt The Right Team Structure

• Define the Business gt IT Relationship
• Define subject-oriented business positions
• Obtain executive sponsorship, write it down and
  make it official
• Make the team entity-independent

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Build a Support Teamgt Entity-Independent?

• Yes, its political
• An issue for multi-campus universities
• Your implementation was one for all
• Ongoing support works the same way
• Look at the corporate home office model

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Build a Support Teamgt Find the Right People

• Desired traits
• Knows SAP
• Knows your institution
• Knows your implementation
• The perfect fit
• Your implementation team member ?
• View it as new position recruitment

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Find the Right Peoplegt Cant They Just do Two
Jobs?

• The inevitable compromise for We want our people
  back
• The old job still needs to be done
• The new system still needs support
• Somehow the old job got done
• The rest of your people just got better

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Build a Support Teamgt The right work environment

• System integration requires team integration
• One team one location
• Keep the team visible
• Become welcome and familiar faces in the business
  offices

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Build a Support Teamgt The Right Relationships

• Team Manager ltgt Executive Admin
• Team Manager ltgt IT Manager
• Team Members ltgt Team Members
• Team Members ltgt IT Staff
• Team Members ltgt Business Offices
• Change Management ltgt End Users

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The Nebraska Time Line

• Late 1997 Begin Implementation (3.1H)
• July 1999 Go Live (4.5B)
• Late 1999 Implementation team fades away
• 2000 the Virtual Team year
• 2001 Administrative Systems Group formed

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The Nebraska Organization
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Closing Thoughts

• Preserve your project momentum
• Keep your key people
• Find a way to do it
• Some will question if you can afford it
• Can you afford not to?

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Now YOU Talk . . .

• Questions
• Other schools experience
• Loren Blinde
• University of Nebraska
• 327 Nebraska Hall
• Lincoln, NE 68588-0521
• 402-472-7023
• lblinde_at_nebraska.edu