PMI_SAP

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PMI Virtual Library

© 2013 Sailendra Nath Swain

Stakeholder Management in SAPImplementation Projects

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 project and the means

for addressing them. Tis can be helpful to the project

managers handling SAP projects and those aspiring to handle

SAP projects.

One of the major activities involved in a typical SAP

project during the initial stages is requirements gathering.

As one of the most critical activities of the plan anddefine 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 over-

run. 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. Te 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. Tis can beachieved by adopting the following approach (Figure 1).

By Sailendra Nath Swain, PMP

STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS: OVERVIEW

Tis is one of the most critical activities of an SAP project and

it needs to be executed with utmost care, because this is one of

the key elements that will be driving the project. Tis is where

caution needs to be observed, because most project managers

make mistakes at this stage. Stakeholder selection should be a

collaborative effort between the client and the project team,

with the sponsor and project manager leading from both sides.

Objective:

Stakeholder analysis is the process that

Is intended for group stakeholders•

Understands what stakeholders expect from the project•

and what they need in relation to potential risks

Identifies actions to minimize project risks and maximize•

benefits by working with the stakeholders.

Te purpose of this document is to outline a strategy for

conducting stakeholder analysis on the project; 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•

project

Figure 1: Flow diagram.

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2

Stakeholder expectations by group; how they can be•

measured; and, a summary of project tasks and milestones

that will need to be put in place to satisfy stakeholder

expectations if they represent a project risk.

Te 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 project.

Based on the scope of the project, a list should be drawn

up from the respective departments/organizations, and

formal/informal discussion needs to be carried out with each

stakeholder.

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 .95 .9 0.855

2 Y 0.75 0.75 0.56

3 Z 0.5 0.5 0.25

4 W 0.25 0.25 0.06

Figure 3: P&I diagram.

Initial list

preparationCategorization Interview

Impact

Analysis

Confirm

Stakeholder

Needs and

Expectations

Action Plan

Figure 2: Impact of stakeholder influence on cost of changes during different phases of the project.

Te diagram in Figure 3 indicates X as one of the critical

stakeholders.

In SAP projects, stakeholders can be broadly classified

into the following categories, based on the above P&Idiagram (see Figure 4).

Based on the same diagram, a strategy can be drawn to

handle the respective customer/stakeholder for the following:

Communication strategy 1.

Degree of involvement in various stages2.

Inclusion in different committees3.

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3

As a consequence to the completion of stakeholder

analysis, an action plan needs to be devised for each

The XXXXX Organization

Businesses

Affected

BusinessesNot Directly

Affected

End Users Business

Managers

Steering

Group

External

Stakeholders

Reporting

Users

C u s t o m e r s

S u p p l i e r s

Indirect

Users

Figure 4: Stakeholder categories.

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

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•

2 Steering committee members Regular updates on projects

Access to financial information related to project (i.e., budgetary status, etc.)

Updates on important issues and risks afflicting the project

3 End users Need to know about the upcoming changes to be effected in the existing set up

Regular updates on the project progress

Need to know about the business processes 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 project

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.

stakeholder category for effective stakeholder management,

which is explained and illustrated below (ables 1 and 2).

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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 processes and system to be introduced

6 Project team members Access to regular updates on the project

Access to scope-related information

Conduct frequent interactive session with business usersTo be appraised of their roles and responsibilities in the team

To be informed about the project standards and quality processes

Access to project schedule and high-level plan

7 External parties (i.e.,

customers and vendors)

To be informed of the high-level activity plans that wil l affect them during the

project

Access to project updates

To be informed of changes to procedures and documentation on the project

*Requirements will be gathered from the stakeholders after holding several sessions with them.

SL

Number

Type of User Action Plan Communication Strategy

1 Business leads More involvement during planning phase Regular project status meetings1.

Email communication2.

Facilitating workshops3.

OCM (organizational change4.

management) workshops

CCB (change control board)5.

Meetings

Involvement in key business decisions

Involvement in impact analysis

Involvement in organizational change

management team

Stay informed of the project updates

2 Steering committee

members

Access to information related to financial and

budgetary status of the projects

Steering committee meetings1.

Governance review meeting2.

Regular status call3.

Email communication4.Access to major risks and issues afflicting the

project

3 End users Information on project updates Regular project status call1.

Email communication2.

Training session on different SAP3.

modules and business processes

To learn the new processes under each

assigned area

4 Power users Information on project updates Regular project status calls1.

Training session on different2.

processes

Change management workshops3.

Updates on key business processes

Training on key business processes

5 Indirect users Information on impacted processes Training session on impacted1.

processes

Change management workshops2.

Table 1: Gathering Requirements from Stakeholders (continued).

Table 2: Action Plans for the Stakeholders Requirements.

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