So what should you have completed at the end of the Workshop on the first day.  A Goal of the workshop has been established and there is a solid understanding of how to implement or upgrade “right the first time”.

A template with a rough draft of some of the Charter information will be complete with time for review.  It is also important that team members understand they may have homework such as reading through draft documents and making comments or edits.

So what do you think should be included in a project charter?  I would suggest the following:

1. A mission statement for the project

2. Project Objectives and measuresments to establish when those objectives have been met.

3. A strategy for the project

4. A critical element is the Scope statement.  More projects fail from scope creep than probably any other factor.

5. An Issue Resolution methodology with initial issues identified

6. A Risk Resolution methodology with initial risks and level of risk identified.

7. The resource plan with roles, responsibilities and rules.

8. Constraints, Assumptions and a plan for next steps

9. An initial project plan at a high level which identifies critical milestones.

So at the end of the first day the team has started to develop the deliverables and resolve some of the issues that are open.  This is the time when the Project Manager should schedule a time for a presentation to the steering committee or management team.

Communication with the team and leadership is critical and the fourth day should be used for that communication with a sold presentation in place.  We have discussed the first day and what will be addressed. The timeline for the workshops may vary depending on how extensive in terms of modules and functionality the implementation or upgrade is determined to encompass.

Please make additional suggestions or comments to enhance this program.

The leadership and participation of a project manager or workshop facilitator is critical in the first week of the project.  It is important that every team member contribute with all the knowledge and creativity they can bring to the project.  Every person MUST contribute as this is truly a team effort.

To be successful it is important to:

1. Create a baseline for the project that includes scope, schedule and resources as well as resource changes throughout the project.

2. Validate the team is working toward a common goal on the project.

3. Ensure everyone develops an attitude of responsibility and focus.

4. Ensure the client provides insight into the organization’s objectives, requirements and operations.

Organizations would be wise to bring in an outside facilitator for the first week of the project to lead the implementation or upgrade workshops.  As an outside expert with optimal skills in training, facilitation and presentation, the team can focus on generating the project charter documents.   The facilitator can also act as a resource and provide expertise as appropriate.

The team should have significant “buy-in” and “ownership” of the project.  This means not only being willing to make decisions but to take responsibility for those decisions as well.  Take some time to share experiences with the team and ensure the time in sessions is well spent.

What are some key points to remember in project implementations?

1. Projects will always be a challenge and it will take full participation of the team along with understanding, problem solving, working together and assuming responsibility for decisions that are mutual.

2. Projects have very long term impacts and the results of what a team does or does not accomplish will impact an organization for many years to come.

3. It is critical to have a cohesive team, and a strong leader driving the project.

4. Communicate to management on a regular basis and communicate results not all the details.  They will want to know what is happening on a project but on a high level.  Bring issues and risks to their attention immediately.

5. Projects are typically very visible in organizations and the team will success will result in awareness throughout the organization of the quality and performance of the team members in achieving their goals.

6. Keep the project on track.  Scope tends to creep and it is the responsibility of the team and the Project Manager to monitor very carefully the deliverables expected and the scope as identified in the Charter document which was signed by all of the executive management and presented to all the stakeholders.

What kind of things do you need to plan for in an implementation of PeopleSoft when working with the client and your team?  It is important to communicate to your team before they come on site to inform them of the client expectations and your expectations as a Project Manager.  Send a letter to the members of the client team as well and explain what the first week will entail.  Explain that the first week will be a planning week to ensure that you “Get it Right the First Time.”  What do you mean by that?  Most projects fail not because of lack of technical or functional knowledge, but due to lack of planning.

So what are some of the questions that must be asked in the first week of team meetings?

1. Is there a direct correlation between the project manager’s leadership and the team’s productivity, effort?

2. Are the project objectives clearly defined and accepted?

3. Is the scope clearly defined and does it match the number of resources necessary and the initial timeline that has been identified?

4. Has a formal issue resolution processand tracking mechanism been established?

5. Has the client assumed ownership and demonstrated a vested interest in the project?

6. Have project performance criteria been established?  What are the milestones?

It is important to assist a client in launching their implementation and a process must be in place to build on the initial charter.  The charter is a roadmap and a reference for scope.  The strategy and overall planning direction should be in the charter document.

One of the deliverables for the first week of planning will be a Charter signed by and agreed to by the client management or executive team for approval.

The first day it is important to communicate to the team the importance of their role and how critical this first planning week is to the ongoing success of the project.  This is just the beginning of a discussion on implementation or upgrade planning that I will continue to add to as we go along.  Please feel free to comment and suggest additional ideas for the Implementation Planning week for a PeopleSoft Project.

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Our team has been working diligently to complete training for EmpoHR 9.0 for the NFC. It is the NFC’s version of PeopleSoft 9.0 for Human Resources. It is a challenging project in that we so not have access to a training database which makes the development with UPK more difficult. The User Productivity Kit is a great tool though and produces nice training manuals, online training, instructor manuals and job aids. I have enjoyed learning the development side of this application and look forward to more development of training materials and programs.

I am always amazed when I hear someone say, we don’t have time to plan we just want to get to the results.  I think clients are often frustrated with planning because consultants have used planning to use reams of paper and loads of time developing documents that are never used after the initial stage of the project.  The heavier the document, the more successful the project right?  Planning doesn’t always entail documentation to max.  However, if you aim at nothing….you will definately hit it.  You must aim at the result you are seeking to achieve and planning helps identify that result.  What many clients don’t realize is something can be done quickly if it is well planned.  Training programs are often part of an implementation that are developed quickly, some are effective, some are not.  The ones that are successful are those that are well planned and meet the needs of the client.  They can also be completed quickly if you have a method to follow.  We think of methodology in terms of implementations, but methodology has the root method which applies to every aspect of a project we undertake be it implementation, testing, training, or development.  There is an old Japanese proverb that I think of whenever I hear that planning is not important: ” When you’re dying of thirst, it is too late to think of digging a well.”  Don’t get to where you are dying of thirst in any aspect of your undertakings.  Plan and you can achieve results quickly.  Eliminate the reams of paper but don’t eliminate the planning.

Consultantshave called this week with questions regarding how to respond to RFP’s when they ask for specifics about conversion.  At a high level, the critical data elements are determined, mapped, converison scripts written, conversion run and tested.  So what would be each individual step?  Next time you run through conversion document the steps and post them as a comment for all of us.

The second question was around variable comp and formulas.  If you have any standard formulas that you may be using on an implementation, I know a consultant who would appreciate some help.

So what projects are back in play and what old standards continue.  I’ve heard DIMHRS is into testing and continues to continue.  Lot’s of organizations looking at upgrades to 9.0 but making a decision to move forward is often a slow process.

Please feel free to comment and watch as we add eBooks and other interesting information to the blog. 

This may not be a complete list but I thought it might be a valuable list for those of you working on 8.9 to 9 upgrades.  It is a nice summary of some of the enhancements to PeopleSoft.  I am trying to keep the blog posts on this site simple, with simple functional information that may be valuable for consultants working on upgrades or implementations.

Human Resources Enhancements

Talent Management Enhancements

Self-Service Enhancements