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Chapter 7 • Operations and Postimplementation 195

Workaround: If the task or activity is not
complete before Go-live, is there
an acceptable workaround?
Decision Owner: Name of the person responsible for
making this decision.
Task Contact: Name of the person responsible for
working on the task and can
address the actual status of the task
or activity.
Minimum Pass: Usually a percentage of task or
activity that must be completed
before going live. This can be
anywhere from 100 to 85 percent
complete.
Current Status: This is the status as of the readiness
assessment
Assessment: This is usually a red, yellow, green
indicator. Red means that, given the
current assessment, this activity will
not be ready before the Go-live
date. Yellow indicates that in all
likelihood the task or activity will be
completed. Green indicates the
activity is complete.
Assessment Date: Date on which the task or activity
was assessed.
Source: Developed and used at UMass for Peoplesoft ERP
implementation with Accenture as the implementation partner.

There needs to be a list of tasks and activities identified for each category. This information
is usually taken from the project plan and incorporated into the readiness document. The PMO
and team leads are key contributors to setting up the initial document. The process for determin-
ing readiness consists of a series of meetings and discussions on the status of each area’s tasks
and activities. The meeting will be with each of the team leads, team members, and the subject
matter experts (SMEs). It must be conducted by the PMO with the goal toward gathering input
on project activities. Listening is the key skill for the PMO during these meetings. The PMO will
assess the overall implementation readiness after each meeting. As previously stated, the PMO
should see a lot of red items the first time through. It does not mean the Go-live date is in
jeopardy; rather, it will help to focus the project teams on what needs to be accomplished
in the time period between the assessment and Go-live (see sample readiness assessment in
Appendix A). The readiness assessment must be reviewed by the teams and with senior manage-
ment for consensus once it is ready and documented.

ERP TRAINING
It is important to discuss the value of training and the training concept on ERP implementa-
tions as an organization is going live. Training must be provided to everyone who will be using
the system and should use real data and examples that will be performed once the system is