Managing Enterprise Resource Planning Projects

The main objective of this paper is to help managers to successfully plan, implement and operate enterprise resource planning (ERP) projects using a risk management framework. The study adopts a combined literature review and case study method. Using the literature review the study first identifies major issues of managing ERP projects and develops a risk management framework for managing those issues. The proposed risk management framework is then applied to an ERP implementation project of a UK-based energy services group and its effectiveness for managing ERP projects implementation has been demonstrated. Additionally, the risk factors as identified from the case application are compared with the risk factors from the previous researches so as to suggest mitigating measures. All the risk factors are categorized into planning, implementation and operations phases along with project processes, organizational transformation and information technology perspectives. The project implementation phase is the most vulnerable to failure. The case study results reveal that the effect of other projects on on-going ERP project, management of overall IT architecture and non-availability of resources for organizational transformation were most critical from likelihood and impact perspectives. Managing risk across various phases of project and equal emphasis on effective project management, organizational transformation and information technology adoption are the key to success in ERP implementation. The risk factors, which were identified using literature review and the case study, have great significance because mitigating measures for those risks can result in successful implementation of ERP projects in industry. Additionally, the proposed risk management framework could be customized for implementation of ERP projects elsewhere. ERP projects are risky as they are capital intensive, technically complex and call for organizational transformation. There are both success and failure stories. However, both researchers and practitioners agree that if they can be implemented and operated successfully then benefits should be achievable. Although there are many studies on ERP implementation, little has been discussed on managing risks of ERP projects. Therefore, this study bridges that gap