Database Reference
In-Depth Information
12.5 Mission and objectives of the SAP Project
The mission of the SAP project should dovetail into the mission and objectives set forth by a com-
pany for the following 3-5 years.
12.6 Deciding the Scope of the SAP Project
One of the most important responsibilities to be handled by the executive and steering committees
is to decide on the scope of the SAP project. For the Millennium Enterprises under consideration,
the approach being recommended here is to adopt the big-bang approach, whereby the company
implements most of the standard SAP modules and also any SAP industry-specific solutions if
available for its areas of business.
Only in the big-bang approach does the company start utilizing the information captured by
the SAP system as a resource like manpower, materials, and money, rather than merely as a record-
ing and reporting system. The traditional systems have been hobbled into playing exactly such a
role and have never been able to deliver the productivity gains expected of them.
The company must also decide the phases of implementation following the implementation at
the pilot site. The true benefits of an integrated system can be reaped only when all sites and offices
of the company are brought on board the SAP platform. Toward this objective, the pilot site team
must be staffed by personnel from all future sites of implementations, and the functionality, as
implemented at the pilot site, should be as comprehensive as possible, based on the available time
frame and business know-how with the members of the team.
12.7 initiating the SAP Project
Initiating the SAP project primarily involves instituting the project management structure and
appointing the chief project officer (CPO). The CPO would have to formulate and initiate the
mechanism for the selection or nomination process for the members of the team.
The CPO would also have to formulate and get approval from the project's steering and execu-
tive committees on the project policies, the guidelines, the strategies to be adopted for minimizing
the identified risks, and the methods for reporting on the project's progress, budget, and resources.
12.8 SAP Project Management Structure
In this section, we look at the organizational structure of a SAP project.
12.8.1 Chief Project Officer (CPO)
The Chief Project Officer (CPO) is also a member of the project's steering committee and has
enough responsibility and authority to manage day-to-day operational project-related issues and
meet all project-related resource requirements.
he company should appoint a senior manager as the full-time CPO
.
He or she should be
familiar with the business environment and the functional and information technology (IT) to
lead a team's key users and technical consultants, who will also participate in the activities of the
implementation process and be responsible for the successful implementation of the SAP system.
