How do you plan and execute ERP system upgrades and maintenance?

If you have selected a SaaS ERP, then system updates should be considered business as usual. You should have a team of people reviewing the ERP vendor's release plans who can assess and prioritise opportunities in terms of business value. These should then be delivered and released as part of a continuous DevOps style pipeline of updates to the organisation at a frequent, regular cadence. Anything less and you are accumulating technical debt and denying your organisation the opportunity to benefit from the latest AI and productivity features.

There is no point doing an upgrade for the sake of of bumping up the version, there needs to be an audit identifying significant improvements via an upgrade that nullify existing pain points. Start off with a thorough "Risk - Reward" Trade off evaluation, make sure to assess both financial and non financial implications of the upgrade. Upgrade will not only incur additional costs but will utilize inhouse as well as external expertise via consultants over a period of time. Hence, top management buy in has to be there by ensuring that upgrade aligns with the "corporate IT strategy". Strategic and Operational Goals and Objectives needs to be set with respective time lines, towards which Project team will drive their efforts.

In my experience as an Odoo ERP expert, meticulous preparation and planning are crucial. Clear objectives and a dedicated team are key. Backing up critical data is a safety net. Evaluating existing infrastructure is vital. Thoroughly reviewing documentation and community insights is invaluable. A testing environment mirroring production enables comprehensive testing. Testing covers unit, integration, user acceptance, performance, security, and regression. Customizations and configurations, along with user training, ensure a smooth transition. Scheduling downtime during off-peak hours and close monitoring are essential during execution. Post-upgrade, data integrity verification and live environment checks are non-negotiable.

Conduct a risk assessment to identify potential risks such as system downtime, data loss, or compatibility issues, and devise proactive measures to mitigate these risks effectively.

I create a process flow diagram which show all the processes used by the business, this can help with evaluating ERP systems being demonstrated and you will be able to create a Fit/Gap analysis, you can then get a cost for providing a solution to each of the gaps

Specify the project scope, goals, and budget limitations. - Evaluate system requirements and potential dangers. - Create a precise project plan that outlines activities, dates, and resource allocation. - Prioritise key updates and distribute resources accordingly. - Execute upgrades in a systematic manner, thoroughly testing each process. - Monitor progress against the plan and make appropriate adjustments. After implementation, perform reviews to confirm that objectives were completed within scope and budget.

Beyond direct costs, consider the long-term benefits such as improved productivity, enhanced decision-making capabilities, and competitive advantage. This analysis enables informed decision-making and ensures that investments align with strategic objectives.

When planning an ERP upgrade or maintenance, it’s essential to clearly define the scope and budget upfront. Start by outlining what areas of the system will be affected and the specific improvements or fixes needed. This will help you avoid scope creep and keep the project focused. Then, set a realistic budget that covers not only the technical upgrades but also any potential downtime or training required. A well-defined scope and budget keep the process smooth and ensure you don’t run into unexpected costs along the way.

Planning - 1. Draft an upgrade plan with a clear outline of the steps, timeline, resources, and responsibilities. 2. Develop a comprehensive backup plan to ensure data integrity and recoverability in case of failure. 3. Communicate the upgrade plan to all stakeholders Execution - 1. Set up a testing environment to simulate the upgrade process and identify potential issues. 2. Perform a full backup of the current system, including all data, configurations, and customizations. 3. Schedule the upgrade during off-peak hours to minimize business disruption. 4. Monitor the upgrade process closely to address any issues that arise promptly.

Implement a holistic risk management framework that encompasses both technical and organizational risks associated with the ERP system upgrade or maintenance project.

To be able to select a partner effectively create a list comprising "Must haves" and "Nice to haves" this will allow you to compare each system against this list.

Also make sure you understand exactly what the contract with the supplier covers to avoid unexpected costs in the future, make sure you understand the difference between a bug fix and a request for change

In a real-world scenario, let's consider a manufacturing company that has been using an ERP system for several years. Over time, they have encountered performance issues and outdated functionalities in their current system, hindering their ability to meet growing customer demands efficiently. For example, the company chooses to work with XYZ Consulting, a firm specializing in ERP solutions for the manufacturing sector. XYZ Consulting conducts an in-depth assessment of the company's current ERP system, identifies pain points, and collaborates with the company's stakeholders to define clear objectives for the upgrade project.

First thing you should take up is finding the impact of upgrade from all dimensions such as business processes, developments, integrations, data, infrastructure. Once you have the results of this impact analysis, everything else will fall in place. You will have data about everything including communicating upgrade‘s objectives, and setting up the right expectations. You should also evaluate the new features available with the new release and plan for adopting the same resulting in business efficiency. Leverage upgrade as an opportunity to evaluate and move to standard to minimise operational costs and leaner future upgrades.

Die Vorbereitung von Daten und Mitarbeitern ist entscheidend für den Erfolg eines ERP-Upgrade- oder Wartungsprojekts. Besonders der Fokus auf umfassende Schulungen und klare Kommunikation kann wirklich den Unterschied ausmachen. Ein ausgezeichneter Ansatz!

Create a steering group for the project, remember ... This is a business project not an IT project, you need buy in from all departments, the group should include a representative from each department or discipline

As early as possible, expose your functional team to the new software so that they can identify changed, missing or problem areas to investigate and test. Allow key users early access to the new version under the supervision of your functional team so that they can start to build familiarity and expose usability issues.

ERP system upgrades require meticulous planning, especially in preparing your staff. Utilise digital adoption platforms like tts performance suite to ensure that the team receives role-specific training for each upgrade or highlight the new features being rolled out. This includes step-by-step guides, multimedia tutorials, and real-time support directly integrated into their workflow, ensuring seamless adaptation to changes without disruption. This approach maximises the efficiency of ERP system upgrades and maintenance, empowering our team to leverage new functionalities to their fullest potential and reduce the need for traditional training.

There are several key areas to consider when testing and validating ERP system upgrades and maintenance: 1. Test Early: Adopt the agile "shift-left" approach by testing as early as possible and continuously 2. Collaboration: Foster collaboration between testers and technical teams to ensure a shared understanding of quality objectives. 3. Coverage: Ensure that testing includes evaluating system performance, security measures, user-friendliness, and end-to-end processes. 4. Automation: Leverage the advancements in AI and automation functionalities. It offers significant benefits in terms of increased test coverage and accelerated testing cycles in the long run. 5. Risk-Based: Prioritize testing efforts based on risk assessment.

Covering key processes with integration tests during the implementation phase always seems more expensive than quick and dirty manual testing, but in the end it may be a key factor for your fast and cheap upgrade and allowing you to perform upgrades more often . Additionally Investing in IAAC ( infrastructure as a code ) approach may enable you to create test systems within minutes. Tolls like Nuve allow to do this, or if you have your own tech platform, Terraform or AWS Cloud Formation can be a game changer for creating new systems quickly on demand

In a real-world scenario, let's consider a company that is upgrading its ERP system to a newer version to take advantage of enhanced features and improved performance. Once the upgrade is completed, the QA team conducts thorough testing and validation to ensure the system is functioning correctly. During testing, they discover a discrepancy in the way inventory levels are being calculated after the upgrade. By diligently testing and validating the results of the ERP system upgrade, the company ensures that their system operates smoothly and continues to support their business processes effectively.

in most cases - this is the biggest effort in any Upgrade. we can follow the approach of - let's test everything...but this is quite a challenge... from my experience to define what to test is the key mission in the upgrade project. Using tools like Panaya, ICCM etc. to define the code changes helps to focus on the critical areas. creating a test strategy and a heat map related to impacted functionality ( combination of critical business functions and number of changes identified ) will allow to focus the tests. Upgrades are part of the SW lifecycle so any investment on testing automation will be a win.

Most of the planning, and most of the timescale, for an ERP upgrade should be for testing. You usually cannot simply execute the upgrade and then test to see if it's OK; you will need at least two "trial upgrades" before the real event. One of these will be for technical completion and integrity and the other will be for timing, since your production system will typically have to be offline for the upgrade and you need to be sure that it will be back up again within an acceptable time-window. In my experience, despite supplier assurances, the first "time trial upgrade" takes much longer than expected and the process has to be refined.

many things can impact the system performance after upgrades. don't assume!!! that just because the functional test results are the same, the system performance is the same. in fact, very high portion of identified remediation code ( for example Panaya or ICCM in SAP ) is related to performance. additional validations, even "simple"activities or missing SORT statements can dramatically impact performance. table structure , types of Joins, tables that are deprecated and a compatibility view that was created can impact the system perfromance. if there is a TPS KPI that should be met - it needs to be tested.

Like any implementation project, the "live" date is just a step on the way to completion. From the point of initial upgrade, you will need enhanced user and technical support in order to field the large number of trivial issues ("It didn't look like this before") and to identify anything critical. In case of fatal issues, you should have estimated and defined a "Go / No Go" point, at which you decide to keep the implementation or revert back to the previous version.

You will probably need to update your procedures as well. Allow enough time to carry out this task as it may take longer than you imagine