In Avoiding Customization Regret – Part 1 covered the first three critical steps
Train. Justify.Validate.
At this point we will assume those steps are done and we are moving along in the process.
Step 4 – Make Them Part Of The Process
The end user needs to be part of the design process.
The requirements need to be elicited from them.
They need to commit to the testing process.
Most important, they have to be willing to sign their name that the customization is what they want and it will provide benefit.
Step 5 – ROI
Yes, Return On Investment!
You should have at this point a scope of the work and an estimate on what it is going to take to complete it.
Yes, that means time translated to dollars.
Now, go back to Step 2 and bounce the efficiency gains against your cost.
Cost to build, test, migrate, train, upgrade, and maintain!
Yes, all of the costs immediate and future need to be considered.
Now, the dust will settle, and you will have clarity.
The 6K customization the users are screaming about will take 17 years to break even.
But the 300K request that has been put off for 6 years will be saving 2 million in labor every year.
Sound funny?
I promise it is not.
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This is exactly how companies end with thousands of seemingly harmless enhancements, but never see a real benefit from any of them.
Step 6 – Make Them Sign It!
They asked for it, justified it, and tested it!
Now it is time for them to sign off on it.
Furthermore, if someone knows their name will be attached to it, they will help ensure it has benefit.
Accountability Always Works
There is nothing wrong with good old fashion accountability.
The world of customizing out of the box solutions is tricky business.
Over my career I have seen too much attention give to the loudest voice.
Without any process to vet basic need or cost.
It is easy to wake up a few years later with hundreds of customization done and no ones knows what over half of them do.
Having a basic process in place WILL save you tons of time and money on implementing, maintaining, and upgrading your ERP.
Make sure to grab our FREE implementation guide below for more resource saving tips for your implementation.
