To stay linked with the entities that drive or
create changes, you must integrate a “change management” organization
into your SAP processes and day-to-day life supporting SAP. Doing so
also promotes the need for maintaining, testing, documenting, and
otherwise managing change throughout the company. To accomplish this, I
recommend constructing an SAP support team focused on creating the best
end-user experience achievable. Such an organization should have timely
or “always on” access to an online change management system; authority
on behalf, and cooperation of, the end-user community; access to the
SAP TSO and other resources as required, and more, as you will see.
In
my experience, there is no single best answer when it comes to building
a change management organization, much less simply naming it. Placing
them within the larger structure of the SAP Technical Support
Organization or another group is also subject to a variety of things.
As is evident from the following list, the teams tasked with managing
change can be found across many different organizations, both in and
out of traditional technology-focused and business-focused
organizations. Some of the “homes” that SAP change management
organizations find themselves a part of include
Obvious organizations, like Change Support, Change Management Team, Change Control Group, and so on
An
organization focused on change within a business-management context,
including Business Applications Services, Business and Change
Integration, Organizational Effectiveness/BPR Management and Business
Services, or Business Systems
Groups tasked with knowledge management, like SAP Knowledge Management or the Knowledge Transfer Team
A
group within the general IT organization, like Information Resource
Management team, Information Technology, Technology Integration Group,
or the plain ol’ IT Department
Part of a
larger functional area or business-oriented team, like Finance &
Accounting, Global Supply Chain, or SAP Cost Management and
Controlling, Operational Accounting, and Financial Information Support
Team
Part of a training group, including
MIS Global Learning Solutions, Training Services, Learning Center, IT
Training and Documentation, Change Management & Training, ERP
Training/Information Technology, Training and Process Group, or
Technology Education
A group affiliated
with customer service or help desk organizations, like Client Services,
Information Support, SAP User Support, or simply SAP Support
A
member of the general SAP Technical Support Organization, with perhaps
a title that reflects “Change Management Analyst” or something similar
Given this, however, an organization like the one illustrated in Figure 1 is deployed most often in my experience.
Change Management Review Board
Although the change management team might be focused on managing and implementing changes, a change oversight committee or Change Management Review Board
tends to play a key strategic role in larger or more complex SAP
implementations, staying connected with the project well after Go-Live.
The Review Board ultimately serves as the gatekeeper for the release or
change wave strategy, refining and enhancing the process as the
business or relevant IT organizations require. In this role, the Review
Board actively communicates and coordinates functionally,
cross-functionally, and across regions or geographies—their scope is as
large as the circle of project stakeholders. Traditional Review Board
responsibilities include
Driving
standardization of common, global change management processes, and
pushing these down into the functional and SAP TSO organizations
Identifying
activities and practices that must exist to effectively achieve the
benefits expected from each change/enhancement to the SAP Solution Stack
Coordinating
and prioritizing changes/tasks to achieve improved productivity from
the SAP system’s end users, including pushing organizations in getting
timely decisions made
Measuring improvements in SAP by identifying and publishing Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), provided from each of the business organizations
The
Review Board also often acts as the facilitator for coordinating and
communicating resource allocation needs, like training materials in
support of changes, updated workflow/process-flows and similar
documentation, access to testing resources, and access to super users
or power users identified as such within their functional areas.
Manager of Change Management
The
Manager of Change Management (a generic title) is a key member of the
Change Management Review Board, tasked with building/maintaining the
change management team as well as maintaining and refining the change
processes adopted by the Review Board. Because of this, the CM Manager
must possess not only excellent communication and facilitation skills,
but also exceptional business acumen. With these core competencies, the
CM Manager is equipped to address a number of key responsibilities
during the initial stages of the SAP implementation, including
Securing executive sponsorship in support of a formal change management organization
Assessing the critical implementation challenges specific to the project
Developing or embracing/refining an existing change management organization
Communicating
the real or perceived impact that changes will have in different
organizations to all stakeholders, and then working to either expedite
resolutions or mitigate risks
Caution
Don’t
be tempted to outsource the “CM Manager” position to a third-party
contractor or consultant house. Such a role is best served by a
long-time employee of the company, intimately familiar with the
informal and formal power structures within the organization.
An
ability to align business operations and work processes with new
technology is key as well, as is an ability to negotiate with the
various stakeholder and agents of change in the company. And it must be
noted that the biggest opportunity for failure, according to more than
a few of my SAP customers, is not gaining the executive sponsorship
needed up front. Without this, the Change Management Manager has less
perceived authority, and therefore less ability to enforce change
control processes vital to the stability of the system.
Senior SAP Change Management Analyst
This
senior position is critical to fill as early in the deployment as
possible, as the best candidates will play a significant role in
supporting changes even as soon as the data center is completed and the
development system is put in place. I have seen anywhere from one to
eight change management analysts included in my clients’ overall SAP
implementation project plans. Two to four seems to be average. Key
skills and experience in the following areas are of the utmost concern:
Change management experience with SAP systems or other large ERP/enterprise solution environments
Organization and change strategy consulting or related hands-on experience
Familiarity with the specific releases and versions of SAP to be deployed
Both outstanding written and oral communication and presentation skills
Ability to work with all levels of the organization, from executives to “single contributor” employees and contractors
Ability
to keep a small team focused on working through changes that may prove
difficult to implement, including maintaining a high level of resolve
on the part of the entire team
Additionally,
because the senior change management analyst will probably help the
change manager develop the SAP change management team over time, as
well as address day-to-day and other tactical issues, the following qualifications are also important:
Change analysis experience in support of implementing and managing SAP enhancements (functional change releases or waves)
Experience with automated testing, and building test case models
Leading and educating the business through readiness activities
Ability to draft and maintain clearly written documentation
Training logistics
Change metrics (how to measure success)
Other
typical activities might include participating in the design or
redesign of the team, documenting the various business process design
sessions or the technology update projects in which he participates,
and so on. Assistance with developing and deploying training curriculum
is a common use of this member’s time, too, as is helping to
continually refine the SAP communication plan. Finally, the senior
change management analyst should also be focused on how to plan for,
manage, and implement the emergency changes that crop up periodically.
