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Chapter 8 • Program and Project Management 233

will need to occur. This roll-on process includes orienting the new staff to the teams,
implementation methodology, project assumptions, and current project status, as well as
their role within the project organization.
5. Second guessing project decisions. As with most projects, there will be second guessing
of decisions made, by both team members on the project and even those outside the project.
The one that can be the most damaging is the second guessing from outside the project.
This can lead to more implementation issues as the project nears completion and is ready
for production. Staff that are not on the project do not understand the project methodology
and may not even want the new system, so they may try to undermine the implementation.
The role of the PMO will be to ensure the change management (i.e., managing change)
process continues to communicate and to meet with staff to ensure they are up to date on
the implementation progress and major functionality decisions. While you will not be able
to convince all staff, they will appreciate the effort to communicate, especially when it
comes to listening to the issues.
6. Passive–aggressive staff and users. Any ERP implementation project should encourage open
communication and build a sense of trust so that staff and users feel free to express opinions
and raise issues related to the functionality of the system. For a variety of reasons, however, this
is not always the case. Passive–aggressive staff or users can undermine a project’s motivation
and morale. The best approach to ensure that this behavior is minimized is through account-
ability. The PMO must be sure that there is open and honest communication within the project
and that the project team is accountable for decisions and direction. All team members must
understand that project decisions and direction are made for the best of the organization, and
they must abide by those decisions. Without accountability the project will become chaotic and
team morale will drop.

CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS

Decision-Making Process
A well-defined decision-making process will minimize a number of issues related to scope, efficiency,
and productivity throughout the project implementation cycle. The team must understand how and
when decisions are made. If this process is not in place, decisions related to the project will increase
scope (see next section) and may therefore not meet the overall goals agreed to during project start-up.
In most projects there may be disagreement on how to use the system, what if any modifications should
be made, the reports needed for Day one, and how to convert data. This is all very normal, but the pro-
ject will soon break down if the decision process is not similar or the same with each issue or activity.
If decisions are not communicated properly, the input and options will not be vetted with the proper
groups or users and buy-in will not be achieved.

Project Scope
The project manager has many responsibilities. One of the most critical is the management of project
scope. “Scope defines what needs to be delivered by the project, and a changing scope means the
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project will have difficulty in achieving project goals.” The PMO works through the business

7 Aniceto, J. (March 2003). Project Management—Managing Scope Creep. www.suite101.com/article.cfm/17106/99319
(accessed May 1, 2005).