I have always agreed with this point of view: "The project manager did it, not learned it; it did it, not taught it. A person who wants to grow into a qualified project manager does not rely on learning, but on doing it. Of course, learning is also very important. You can leave the project manager. However, if you do not rely on learning, you are absolutely dedicated to the project manager. If you do not learn it, you may be able to become a big project manager. But now you may only be able to be one or more small project managers, because you have no theoretical guidance, some problems may not be well handled." During the implementation of the ERP project of medium-sized Iron and Steel Group, the implementation team has summarized a lot of practical experience. Of course, these experiences cannot be used as the implementation principles of the Project Manager, there may also be personal misunderstandings, but they are provided for your reference.
1. truly understand the role of a Project Manager
To understand the role of a Project Manager, we must avoid two extremes. One is to emphasize the technical competence of the project manager too much and think that the project manager should be the most skilled person in the team, any difficult problems in the project implementation are eventually returned to the project manager. The project manager must say "yes" or "no", otherwise it will not be able to serve the public. On the other hand, the project manager's leadership skills are over-emphasized, and the project manager's primary task is to serve his team members with coffee and coordinate the relationship among others. In my opinion, the project manager should first have experience in implementing projects similar to this project, have a clear understanding of the ERP project, and have a solid foundation for the related knowledge of this industry; make a scientific and practical implementation plan for the ERP project, and help the team members solve the problem when necessary, it does not mean that the project manager must be proficient in any technical issues. For example, for the network architecture of the project, the project manager can consult relevant professionals. However, in any case, the project manager should be familiar with and understand every technology in the project. Only in this way can the project be fully grasped. Secondly, the project manager should have the ability to coordinate and organize, be able to adjust the atmosphere of the entire project team, "warm up" when encountering setbacks, and "Drop Down" when being overly optimistic "; at the same time, they should have the ability to communicate and coordinate with the project unit, and prepare the environment for the project implementation of their team members; in the case of critical or difficult problems, you can find answers to questions in various ways.
A project manager is different from a general professional manager. It has a strong professionalism. A person without technical knowledge cannot be a project manager. A project manager should be a combination of technology and management.
2. Pay attention to the management of the project team, with clear rewards and punishments.
In the implementation of ERP projects, a feasible project management system must be established, especially for project teams composed of multiple parties. Only in this way can we ensure the orderly implementation of the entire project. Standardized and feasible project management systems must vary with enterprises and projects. Generally, it should be the product of a combination of various factors, such as project management principles, enterprise/industry characteristics, project scale/nature, and enterprise development culture/quality. At the same time, the system should be strictly enforced to ensure timely and clear rewards and punishments. In terms of system construction, we must avoid two situations: first, project management is implemented without a project management system based on personal experience; second, the system of the scholar, copy the dogma, and talk about it on paper.
The core of project management is 'triangular balance', which balances specifications, costs, and progress. In most projects, indicators, assessment, and control of project costs cannot be established and implemented. The right to allocate funds is usually not determined by the Project Manager, this leads to unclear responsibilities between the company and the Project Manager. Some systems cannot be implemented and the Project Manager responsibility system cannot be well implemented.
In order to build a harmonious team, the project manager must act as the incentive, Coach, active atmosphere, peacekeeping personnel and conflict vertiser for the team members.
In addition, the project manager must focus on the development of reserve personnel in different positions. Once the team members resign during the implementation of the project, the project manager can reasonably arrange personnel transfer and replacement. Meanwhile, the team members can compete in the work process, and arrange reasonable periods of vacation.
3. plan, plan, and Plan
Almost everyone knows that a plan is required for project implementation. However, there are still the following phenomena in the specific operation process: first, the project plan is not strictly developed, its randomness is large, and its operability is poor, so it cannot be followed during implementation (for example, the project plan is too rough, implementation is insufficient), and task, progress, and resource are not implemented. Second, there is a lack of detailed project plans throughout the entire project process, and even a weekly project plan is adopted to formulate the work plan for the next week every week. The essence is "The project is out of control ". Third, check the project progress (compared with the progress plan) and lack of control, and do not maintain the seriousness of the project plan.
A perfect plan will also often encounter unexpected events, but it does not mean that we do not need to make a plan. If there is no plan, we will lose the reference. The project manager should be able to predict changes and adapt to changes. We often make "if-then" assumptions to avoid the current situation of the project and make timely adjustments when the project changes. The plan is always changing, and the plan is not changing fast. The key is that the plan can keep up with the changes.
During the project implementation process, the entire project is often divided into several small projects. The project manager should make good use of the time effectively to achieve effective and reasonable connection between various projects, maintain the rationality and consistency of the overall plan.
The project plan width is a problem that requires careful balance. The more detailed rules are controlled, the higher the project management cost. The opposite is true. Based on the current situation in China, in my personal opinion, projects with less than three months should be subdivided into man-days, at least 2 ~ 3 person-days; projects with more than half a year should be at least one person-week.
4. truly understand the "top projects"
The implementation of ERP projects is a top-notch Project, which is a widely accepted principle. Many projects emphasize "top-notch Projects" in the early stage of implementation and are well applied, such as holding a meeting by the General Manager and setting up a project team, however, after implementation, it is often impossible to take full advantage of the role of the "top leaders", making the top-leaders project a zombie project. The project manager should give full play to the role of "top leaders" from beginning to end. The project manager should submit the summary of the phase to the "top leaders" on a regular (generally one month) or at the end of a small project ", in addition, we will have a brief discussion, listen to the opinions of the "top leaders" on the project, and propose to hold a meeting as necessary. At the same time, the "leaders" of the company where the project manager is located should also be reported and communicated on a regular basis to obtain support, understanding and resource allocation.
5. Do not hesitate for the time spent on training. Secondary or third trainings are not acceptable.
Training is an important part of project implementation. At present, the quality of domestic units (especially large state-owned units) is relatively low, and the understanding of informatization is almost equal to zero. Therefore, during the training, we should conduct training in different levels and stages. If we do not expect a training, the personnel of the organization can understand and master the software operations. The training should be conducted throughout the project, and an operation manual suitable for the user level should be prepared. If necessary, "FAQ" should be provided on the Internal webpage of the Organization. We must avoid the appearance of ideas and behaviors such as "the customer understands too slowly and is too stupid to help him. The ERP project is a project of its own unit, which cannot be replaced by anyone.
6. Conduct a prototype test and make a feasible implementation scheme in both theory and practice.
Both training and planning must be based on a feasible implementation scheme. Otherwise, even if your approach is good, it will not be able to achieve good results. Therefore, prior to implementation, full system analysis and research should be conducted to fully listen to the opinions of personnel at all levels, collect data from multiple parties, and perform prototype tests from multiple angles, implementation, training, and other plans should be developed and implemented only with the consent of the project team (including the ERP unit. Avoid program changes during implementation.
7. Reasonably reduce customer needs
No software is omnipotent, and it is impossible to solve all problems of the customer. In the implementation process of the project, users should be told in a realistic and clear manner that the software cannot do. Some software companies and implementers are reluctant and afraid to tell users the truth. They just want to change the company's original correct business process to the business process specified by the company's software. As a result, the two sides are deadlocked. In particular, some software program faults are reluctant to accept users' criticism. In fact, this is completely unnecessary. When talking to users about problems that cannot be solved, the result can only be misunderstandings and distrust of the company.
For various reasons, there will always be something unique in the business management of enterprises. However, it is difficult for enterprises to change their existing practices in a short time, this requires software flexibility and implementation flexibility. Of course, it is best to make the behaviors of an enterprise conform to relevant regulations and practices.
In terms of customer requirements, we should also adhere to the 80/20 principle. We should not blindly reduce customer requirements. Imagine how to ask customers to give up their own requirements even if 80% of the customer's requirements cannot be met by software. Our reasonable reduction of customer requirements should be based on solving more than 80% of the customer's requirements or solving the main needs of the enterprise. Some special requirements of the customer are not pre-satisfied or solved. In the implementation process of the project, we cannot promise to be able to solve all the customer's needs. If a software can solve all the customer's needs, then our implementation will not be laborious, so there is no need for so many implementation methods, and enterprises do not need to consult for ERP implementation.
The above is just a description of your understanding of the project manager from different aspects. Of course, the most important thing in the project implementation process is the implementation success, no matter what method you take. The project manager should determine the appropriate solution and implementation strategy based on the project's own situation.