ERP rollout: better the second time around

Here's some encouraging news. Two years ago, I wrote regarding problems in the City of Los Angeles in the initial implementation of a $22M PeopleSoft procurement and ERP implementation.

Now, two years later the city is doing a major upgrade to PeopleSoft v8.8, and it appears that everyone has taken to heart some lessons learned two years ago.

"Change is a lot easier when people trust that you are not doing anything that will hurt them," said Robert Jensen, assistant general manager in the L.A. municipal government's department of general services.
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One of the keys to success that the general services department will be applying is that it will spend money upfront for change management -- a hard lesson learned from the initial rollout. Good change management requires a communication plan that identifies everyone whose role will change during the implementation.

"The plan needs to identify champions, owners, stakeholders and users and what and when you will communicate with them and the media used for that communication," Jensen explained. "The other part is how to self-motivate these folks to want to spread the word that the change is good and should be supported."

Change is possible. Computerworld has more on the story.

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