Implementation Phase

• Solution tested and ready to go into production.
• Business process work complete and training material available

• Staff trained and ready to use the system
• Data prepared and converted successfully
• Infrastructure in place for the new solution
• Solution in production
• New business processes in place

Every implementation is different. There are issues of differences in industries, locations, number of users, infrastructure, skill levels and much more. The implementation plan will identify all the activities and each may need considerable planning to estimate time. Implementation can range from a few weeks to a few months. If it is a rolling implementation (for example an international airline booking system that needs to be rolled out across the planet) it can take years.

Infrastructure is also an area that may require considerable lead time. Often hardware and networks will have lead times that are weeks if not months. Implementing infrastructure may also require building modifications or additional wiring to be put in place. This can be a lengthy process to coordinate multiple parties to undertake the work.

• Project Manager
• Sponsor
• Business Analyst
• Business Representatives
• Business Users
• Technical Experts
• Vendors (Technical Staff)
• Configuration Consultants
• Infrastructure Specialists and Providers

Implementations can vary enormously from package to package and from company to company. Some options may be to implement:

• Using a "big bang" approach. Clean cut over of all areas at one point in time
• Progressive rollout by geographical area
• Progressive rollout of components of the solution
• Parallel run for a period of time
• Conference Room Pilot where the new system is run on a limited scale to identify any issues

One of the key things is to work through all the impacts and identify what actions will be required for each area. These include impacts in staff, customers, suppliers, processes, hardware, geographical locations, other software and services. Once identified, a plan will need to be drawn up to manage the impacts.

It is also important to decide in advance the criteria for going live, and the criteria for handing the solution over to production support. Having the criteria defined focuses the team on what they need to achieve. There is less chance of last minute hitches prior to go live, or when the team is ready to handover the new system to production support.