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Process Modeling, Process Improvement, and ERP Implementation

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Source Line: SAP AG.

FIGURE 7-17 Implementation Roadmap in SAP’s Solution Manager

The first phase of the Implementation Roadmap is Project Preparation. Some of the
tasks in the Project Preparation phase include organizing the technical team, defining the
system landscape (the computer servers, networking hardware, and peripherals necessary
to operate the ERP system), selecting the hardware and database vendors, and most
importantly, defining the project’s scope—what the project is to accomplish. A common
problem in ERP implementations is scope creep, which is the unplanned expansion of the
project’s goals and objectives. Scope creep causes the project to go over time and over
budget and increases the risk of an unsuccessful implementation. Defining the project’s
scope ahead of time helps prevent this problem.
In the second phase, Business Blueprint, project team members produce detailed
documentation of the business process requirements of the company. The Business
Blueprint phase results in a detailed description of how the company intends to run its
business with the SAP ERP system. Process mapping is critical in the Business Blueprint
phase. The results of the Business Blueprint phase will guide consultants and project team
members in configuring the SAP ERP system (which occurs in the third phase). During the
Business Blueprint phase, technical team members determine the method of data transfer
from the firm’s existing computer systems (called legacy systems), which may be replaced
by the ERP system or may continue to function with the ERP system through an interface.

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