Many approaches to ERP focus on "requirements" which are not connected to the business strategy. If you're familiar with balanced scorecard, the connection of project indicators of success with business indicators of success starts here.
This business centric approach assures that the "capabilities" are traceable to the technical and operational requirements of the software and work processes. Both are needed. So "done" for the technical components does have an element of testing, but their "capability enabling" assessment is also needed.
One question - a "test question" in ERP is "if this system was free and it worked next Monday as required at the technical level, what would you do with it?"
If there is no answer in units of effectiveness and performance? Since it's not free and isn't going to work next Monday, those answers need to be found.
The Capabilities Based Planning paradigm has emerged in defense and space. Where BTW many ERP systems live. The Federal Major Agency budget for IT in FY 2011 is ~$86B.
Capabilities Based Planning ... involves a functional analysis of operational requirements.
Capabilities are identified based on the tasks required … Once the required capability inventory is defined, the most cost effective and efficient options to satisfy the requirements are sought.”
The advantages of CBP in an agile paradigm include Planning, under uncertainty, to provide capabilities suitable for a wide range of modern-day challenges and circumstances while working within an economic framework that necessitates choice.
This is more than just requirements management and testing of those requirements. It comes back to "why do I need this requirement?" "When will I be able to put this requirement to work?" and "When will I earn back my investment in the cost to implement the requirement?"
The rollout of ERP systems is usually phased, since the deployment of capabilities impacts many other parts of the organization. The chart below shows an actual roll out of capabilities for an ERP system.
One Open Question?
Did the Affordable Care Act web site design, develop, and deploy the software using some form of Capabilities Based Planning paradigm mandated in US DOD for ACAT1 (>$5B) programs?
For Capabilities Based Planning to work we need to know several things:
- What capabilities will be needed by the business to fulfill its strategic objectives. If the IT system is not strategic and is tactical then another approach is needed.
- With the capabilities in hand, what trade offs are possible between cost, schedule, capabilty, and the technical and operational requirements that must be implemented.
- What is the seqeuence for the deployment of the capabilities?
- What is the budget for each capability?
- What is the expected business value once this capability is in place and operational?
- What is the confidence intervals for all variables in the project - cost, schedule, technical performance and value? If these are not know, you're likely going to be over budget, behind schedule, have disappointed stakeholders before you start. If they are known, apply some modeling processes to determine the all in benefical outcome of the project. That is we're good on cost, schedule, technical performance, and capability delivery - all together not just individually.
