| Building the ERP Business Case is all about | | | | As your co-worker evaluates it, ask them to pick it |
| communication. It comes down to putting together a | | | | apart, tell them to be ruthless and pull no punches. If a |
| case that is compelling, straightforward, complete, | | | | member of your team can find holes in it, then the |
| comprehensible and most especially, convincing. | | | | people who give the go-ahead for it can as well. Now, |
| Visualize your ERP business case like a film producer | | | | no business case is entirely devoid of any item that |
| or director would consider their movie pitch when they | | | | can be critiqued or improved, so change your case |
| go to the studio. The first step is always going to be | | | | until you think it's as good as it can get, and move |
| ensuring that you have thought it through, that you | | | | ahead. |
| recognize where you are going with it,that you've | | | | When showing it to an outsider, just ensure you can |
| addressed everything. For a motion picture producer, | | | | fully understand it. Again, many of the people in your |
| this implies that every thread in the plot has been tied | | | | company will likely have earned their job due to good |
| up, that there's already a compelling concept behind | | | | business acumen or merely due to the fact they had |
| the motion picture to drive the style, casting and | | | | the budget to finance a project, but not all of them will |
| marketing of the movie. For an ERP business case, | | | | have the same business training that you have. So be |
| this means you have covered every thread when it | | | | sure that your friend, your neighbor or your cousin can |
| comes to business, when it relates to management, | | | | actually get the gist of what you're trying to get across |
| that you have an idea of how the whole project will fit | | | | with your business case (bear in mind that the |
| together and that you're not just "testing the waters". | | | | business case may be confidential though!) |
| The next phase is to be sure that you have arranged | | | | All-inclusive and comprehensible: These are the two |
| the case well enough so that anybody can fully grasp | | | | key aspects when it comes to creating a business |
| it when picking it up, even if the person picking it up | | | | case. It's about, above all, getting your point across, and |
| doesn't know the first thing about Enterprise Resource | | | | then, to assure that you're making a point worth |
| Planning. You need to write it in clear language | | | | making, that you've covered your bases and are |
| because, it's likely that, you'll be presenting this case to | | | | presenting what you might call the final draft of your |
| a number of people with varying levels of expertise in | | | | business case. |
| ERP. | | | | It's not actually extremely hard. Provided that you have |
| That is probably the most important step. In fact, if you | | | | a sound comprehension of your ERP, as long as you |
| can't clearly turn your business case into plain English, | | | | know how to get your points across, you should be |
| into something that just about someone might pick up | | | | able write the final case in two or three drafts. |
| and fully grasp, then find somebody who can turn it | | | | Anticipate to reword your case not less than once or |
| into layman's language for you, as this is remarkably | | | | twice, and then to perform a handful of alterations |
| beneficial. Irrespective of how great your strategies, | | | | along the way (in simple fact, there's no shame in |
| the truth remains that if the Senior Managers don't buy | | | | continuing to modify it little-by-little right until you present |
| into, then they will never give the green light. | | | | the case for approval). |
| If you need to assure that your ERP Business Case is | | | | As the old saw goes "Writers don't write, they |
| going to get the idea across and make a compelling | | | | rewrite". For the first draft, just throw all of your points |
| case, then what you will want to do is give it a "test | | | | down on paper. With the second, ensure that that |
| run". This means, after you have been through the | | | | they're prepared and comprehensive, that you're not |
| steps and pulled it all together, you need to show it to | | | | spending a lot of time on aspects that scarcely need |
| some people. Involve at the very least one co-worker | | | | bringing up, but that you ARE taking enough time on |
| and an outsider - an individual with no idea what the | | | | the ideas that need to be made. For the third version |
| project is or even a base understanding of business | | | | and tweaking, just ensure that that you're making your |
| processes or accounting. | | | | point clearly and briefly. |