How do you ensure your Enterprise Performance Management (EPM), Business Planning & Consolidation (BPC) or Business Intelligence (BI) project will start out positioned for success? You've gone through the RFP process, completed the vendor evaluation, and have decided on the technology. But before diving into requirements and design, you also need to spend time in the project initiation phase--ensuring the project's critical success factors (CSFs) are defined and socialized, and that a plan for implementation is developed. Be sure there is a common understanding of the importance of the CSFs and how they differ from project objectives and success criteria.
Topics:
Best Practices,
Enterprise Performance Management (EPM),
Project Management,
Performance,
BPC (Business Planning & Consolidation)
As with most specialized software programs, it is usually not suggested to implement SAP BPC without the assistance of a consulting partner. Many projects require expertise that most EPM administrators do not have, and so it is recommended to find a partner that can ensure success. Choosing this partner is an important decision. Here are a few of the top things a company should look at when deciding on an appropriate organization.
Topics:
Best Practices,
Thought Leadership,
Enterprise Performance Management (EPM),
Project Management,
Training,
Implementation,
BPC (Business Planning & Consolidation)
A risk is the possibility of an event or a condition that could negatively impact a project. There are many events or conditions in any EPM BPC implementation that can derail the project, because BPC is a complex tool that touches many areas of your organization. This article is intended to help mitigate risk.
Topics:
Process Improvement,
Thought Leadership,
Enterprise Performance Management (EPM),
Project Management,
BPC (Business Planning & Consolidation)
Successful projects, delivering real results, are a must in today’s competitive environment. Setting projects up for success can occur by following a proven methodology. Optimally, organizational processes, behaviors, and results are directly correlated to, and as a result of, the creation and cascade of an overall organizational vision. From the vision, a strategy is born. However, your strategy may never become a star if it remains relative obscure to the larger organization. One of the key challenges many companies face is operationalizing, or making the strategy a reality. Projects are the vehicle to move strategy from the boardroom to the back offices and ultimately a core plank in delivering your overall strategy.
Topics:
Enterprise Performance Management (EPM),
Project Management,
EPM ROI,
Executive,
EPM
Since its early OutlookSoft days, BPC has always been touted as a tool that enables finance teams to become independent from IT so they can wield control of the system during crunch time. Fast forward to SAP acquiring BPC, many SAP shops pride themselves on have the internal capabilities to own their systems, period. It isn’t shocking that many of our clients have come ready to meet the challenge of proper care and usage with an internal team. Column5 applauds this approach and has created numerous tools to help your team succeed:
Topics:
Center of Excellence,
Project Management,
Training,
Innovation,
best
When upgrading to BPC 10.x, many companies are curious about what new features will become available to them. Besides being quicker, more stable, etc., there are three new features that Column5 believes are worth the upgrade.
Topics:
Best Practices,
Thought Leadership,
Enterprise Performance Management (EPM),
Project Management,
EPM 10,
BPC (Business Planning & Consolidation)
Column5 CEO David Den Boer once told me, “Behind every checklist there is a dead body. “ As a military veteran, he knew that safety procedures were often put in place in the aftermath of a tragic accident that unfortunately involved the loss of life. The military is well known for their rigor, strict definition of procedures, and processes that deliver consistent and repeatable results. Isn’t that what we all strive for in delivery of our EPM projects? You can accomplish this result without enduring fatalities along the way.
Topics:
Best Practices,
Enterprise Performance Management (EPM),
Project Management,
BPC (Business Planning & Consolidation)
Sprinkled throughout many books, project kick-off decks, and lists of project success criteria, is the notion that your program or project needs Visible Executive Sponsorship. If you Google the topic you will see that there is widespread agreement that this is “important”. You will also see that there are various studies that show that project success is tied to visible Executive Sponsorship and that very high percentages of failed projects list the lack of Executive Sponsorship as a key reason. However, I rarely see the more practical aspects of recruiting Executive Sponsors, what visibility really means, and tangible advice on how to make the sponsors visible. Whether you are planning your EPM Strategic Roadmap, or just upgrading from BPC v7.5 to 10.0, getting the right Executive Sponsor on board is essential.
Topics:
Best Practices,
Thought Leadership,
Enterprise Performance Management (EPM),
Project Management,
Performance,
BPC (Business Planning & Consolidation)
Why OCM is Critical to the Success of Your EPM Transformation.
According to analysts and customer feedback, EPM projects, as a subset of Analytics projects, are among the most challenging to achieve positive business value results. The reasons are many, including not having appropriate expectations laid out in a business plan, ill-advised technical designs, poor technical execution, not having internal skills to properly manage the solution, and not including a beneficial process change while implementing the technology.
Topics:
Best Practices,
Enterprise Performance Management (EPM),
Project Management,
BPC (Business Planning & Consolidation)
The nature of projects and project management is change. Often times, the change brought about by commissioning a project is overlooked, as the focus is placed on the technology. Just as frequently, the need to assess and address the people-side of the project is initiated separately and often too late in the project lifecycle. Most projects are managed using a methodology based on the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), which focuses on management of scope change and the potential impact to budget, timeline, or resource allocation. However, PMBOK does not address the human aspects delivered through the project, or how to successfully identify, plan for, and mitigate resistance to the change.
Topics:
Best Practices,
Enterprise Performance Management (EPM),
Project Management
Connie Folk
Jonathon Pause
