Welcome to my blog for the Students First Initiative.

 

We are well on our way with this first phase of the project. Thanks to all who have sent in their “Criteria for Success” as well as your Functional Requirements worksheet.

 

In our meetings last September, Geoff Houze explained the importance of this First Phase of the overall process we are undertaking.  Along those same lines, I came across a bit of info the other day that I wanted to share. It concerns “Avoiding Five Common Hurdles in the ERP Selection Process”.  Here it is in capsule form:

“Selecting an enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution is one of the most critical and expensive decisions facing your organization. With so many different solutions on the market, selecting the right solution for your organization can be an extremely time-consuming and even daunting task.

In fact, according to a recent study by The Wall Street Journal, 73 percent of all manufacturers are dissatisfied with their current ERP systems.

However, following a clearly defined selection process and learning from others’ mistakes can drastically improve your chances of success.”

Top 10 Reasons for ERP failure:

- Poor planning or no planning at all- Top Management not involved or did not commit to the project- Lack of training or implementation assistance- Poor selection process- Functionality assumed during the “sales demo” was not quite accurate- Failure to set clear objectives and performance measures- Poor systems testing- Unrealistic budget and implementation schedule- Lack of project management and dedicated resources- ERP project was considered an IT project

 

We have all heard various stories (good and bad) from folks at other institutions who have gone through an ERP installation.  NPCC is the first school in Arkansas to employ the assistance of a team of well-qualified individuals experienced in ERP implementation and project management; I believe this to be the first step to a highly successful migration project! 

 

However, in order to ensure success, our Students First Initiative needs the commitment of more than just a few individuals; this project needs you!  Logically speaking, if you currently use POISE to do your job, then you will need to use the new product to do your job.

 

The new product will only deliver what we expect and demand of it – therefore, knowledge is power!

 

One analogy goes thusly: you wouldn’t buy a house by only looking at the brochure – and this new ERP application will be our new “house” for the next ten years or so.  Therefore, (and because we are using public money) we must ensure we get the best possible materials and workmanship – this means working as a cohesive team.

 

So let’s build our house the way WE want it!  Let’s not make the mistake of buying some prefab configuration based upon demos and a sales pitch.

 

Please consider yourself part of a team and each person (or department) has a unique responsibility and opportunity to ensure their portion of the “house” will work the way that they need it to.

 

Also, the Students First web page is up – it is our central repository for all documentation as well as FAQs, timelines, meeting notes, etc.

 

Thank you so much for your participation and commitment to excellence in this venture.

 

The Students First Initiative will definitely benefit students first — but I believe that it will ultimately benefit all of us - including the entire community.