“Business analysis” and specifically the “Business analyst” role is used in various contexts and sometimes the definition is adapted to the specific needs of the organization. However, when it comes to ERP implementation projects, the business analyst role is a well-defined one, and absolutely critical to the success of the project.
Before we dive into the details of the business analyst role in the context of an ERP project, we would be remiss to discuss this topic without at least a brief mention of the two fundamental approaches to transformational projects. As companies grow and expand, processes most often remain unchanged, and antiquated, no longer matching the needs of the business. Sub-optimal processes become much like a hand-brake that slows down and eventually chokes the engine that drives business agility and excellence.
Approaching process change and process improvement can be initiated on the process side, where best practices in the specific industry are studied, internalized, and adapted for the organization. Another way of approaching such change is by leveraging technology, specifically the ERP, to define and drive the basic process changes. The pros and cons of each approach are the subject of a different article. For now, it is important to note that depending on the approach chosen by the organization, the business analyst role in the project may vary in focus and timing of involvement in the project. Nonetheless, the role remains essential and indispensable for a successful project.
One of the critical components an ERP implementation project is process mapping, and it is the business analyst role’s main focus.
Process mapping can sound like a rather daunting task, and dismissing the effort involved in doing it right is sure to endanger the project’s success.
But I have bright people surely they can draw some lines and a few shapes and map out processes. Why would I spend money on someone from the outside and invest time in teaching them our processes just so they can draw them?
There is no doubt that you have bright people in your organization after all you have grown now to the point where it is warranted to move to the next level and implement an ERP! And this is why hopefully you are ready to select your brightest and most visionary of your employees to be subject matter experts in the project. However the process of analyzing and documenting the various activities, decision points, and explicit or implicit business rules; defining the engine that operationalizes and makes your company work, is a different skill set all together. Even more so when you are looking to gain efficiencies by aligning as closely as possible the system design to the process maps.
Can I just hire someone, you know, a professional business analyst?
Certainly not all organizations have readily available among their staff an experienced business analyst who not only understands the complexities that need to be addressed in proper and effective business process mapping but someone who is readily available to take on a project of this magnitude, someone who has experience with the actual implementation of the specific software in question, someone who has been through this process before and knows which are the particular stones that need to be turned.
And this is an absolutely key takeaway where most organizations fail even when they have the right intentions and want to follow through in terms of best practice in preparing for such a large and critical project: part of the project team have to be individuals in key roles who not only have experience with this particular software but who have previously been involved with and contributed to the implementation of this specific software. I am in no way suggesting that everyone on the project team needs to already be an expert in the new software that is being implemented. I am merely pointing out that there are several key roles such as the business analyst role where an understanding of exactly how the system being implemented can be modeled to support the business processes is critical. Without that experience and understanding, it is impossible to efficiently be able to document the key decision points where the system configuration has to accommodate for business rules.
Your second best option is to rely on a business analyst that is able to thoroughly documented the processes in a system-agnostic way. And this is another key takeaway: in this case, the documentation has to be truly system-agnostic. It does not mean that they have experience with a slightly different software and they are relying on the specifics learned and experienced in that project to build up the processes for your current project. It means that the output of their work could be used to the same extent in any ERP implementation, regardless of the specific software and its specific functions.
But business analysts have so many transferable skills, surely any experienced BA will do?
Under any other circumstances, I couldn’t agree with you more! But for an ERP implementation project remember, you are not just documenting processes. You are documenting processes with a focus and goal of developing a blueprint, a foundation that the ERP has to be modeled after, and support as effectively and efficiently as possible.
Key Takeaway
For an ERP implementation project, it is absolutely critical that the role of a Business Analyst is included as part of the project governance. Remember that you must look for:
- Experience in ERP implementations of the same software you are implementing, OR
- Proven ability to document business processes in a completely system-agnostic manner (note however this will take a longer time to complete, as all processes and their components are treated with the same level of detail, since the BA is not aware of the specific trigger points within the software being implemented).