G&G Implementation Strategy

Software implementations fail for a number of reasons; lack of Executive Leadership involvement or commitment, unrealistic or undefined expectations, poor requirements definition, gaps between business process definitions and software configuration, inadequate resources, unrealistic budgets and schedules, lack of a valid project management methodology, underestimating change management, non-existent formalized training and education, and to summarize all of the above -- poor communication.

G&G offers a tested and best practice oriented six step implementation methodology. Derived from the Agile methodology, our process has been highly tailored towards our expertise in implementation of Infor applications and technologies. While others may think they offer a similar approach to management of this process, G&G has created a variety of algorithms and automated management applications to help facilitate this process and reduce the risk of failure points. We provide you with a full management portal that allows you real-time communication within your team as well as with our resources so that the literal instance a barrier is recognized, that information is fully communicated at the appropriate levels and you don't wait a week until the next project team meeting to react.

LAUNCH

  • Focus on the overall organization of the project
  • Defines project scope and business objectives
  • Identifies project leaders and participants and engages the entire project team from the beginning
  • Sets realistic project expectations and communication methodologies
  • Delivery of project questionnaires related to all business processes and technical requirements

We understand that to maintain critical control of the project, you need to manage the confluence of overly optimistic go-live dates against outside influences and inter-dependencies, such as available resources and realistic expectations. We help you set those expectations up front and keep expectations current in the minds of project team members throughout the duration of the project so that they don't lose sight of the forest while maneuvering around a tree.

At the leadership level we develop an executive dialog that defines business and organizational issues that are analyzed with clarity and without emotion. We continue this dialog throughout the implementation. Our process removes organizational barriers so that all parties are aligned with the common goal of project success. We also set up a project infrastructure that fully and constantly measures success. This proprietary method allows our team and yours to react in real time to organizational situations quickly and efficiently so that project success is assured.

We understand that to maintain critical control of the project, you need to manage the confluence of overly optimistic go-live dates against outside influences and inter-dependencies, such as available resources and realistic expectations. We help you set those expectations up front and keep expectations current in the minds of project team members throughout the duration of the project so that they don't lose sight of the forest while maneuvering around a tree.

At the leadership level we develop an executive dialog that defines business and organizational issues that are analyzed with clarity and without emotion. We continue this dialog throughout the implementation. Our process removes organizational barriers so that all parties are aligned with the common goal of project success. We also set up a project infrastructure that fully and constantly measures success. This proprietary method allows our team and yours to react in real time to organizational situations quickly and efficiently so that project success is assured.

We understand that to maintain critical control of the project, you need to manage the confluence of overly optimistic go-live dates against outside influences and inter-dependencies, such as available resources and realistic expectations. We help you set those expectations up front and keep expectations current in the minds of project team members throughout the duration of the project so that they don't lose sight of the forest while maneuvering around a tree.

At the leadership level we develop an executive dialog that defines business and organizational issues that are analyzed with clarity and without emotion. We continue this dialog throughout the implementation. Our process removes organizational barriers so that all parties are aligned with the common goal of project success. We also set up a project infrastructure that fully and constantly measures success. This proprietary method allows our team and yours to react in real time to organizational situations quickly and efficiently so that project success is assured.

We help you identify and get the business process experts and the functional leads together and work out the specific business processes to be considered in running the software. During this process the operational team determines which processes should be retained, made more efficient, manage how processes affect other parts of the business, assess which ones have the most potential for adding value or improvement to the organization and making customers (internal and external) satisfied.

Too many projects get bogged down focusing on the scope, quality, cost and timeline associated with their projects and ignore the people who are actually engaged in the project. Mismanagement or micromanaging of team members can cause delays, impact quality and result in cost overruns. Our processes don't simply manage the tasks - they help to make sure everyone understands how and why their role is important to the success of the project. This includes sponsors, team members, executives, suppliers and other stakeholders. This way you can make sure everyone shares the same vision for the project.

Beyond miscommunication and under communication, scope creep is the most prevalent detriment to an implementation project. With new software many executives, managers and team members can become enamored with new functionality. Therefore questions need to addressed; Do new feature requests align with the project vision? Do the proposed changes add value to the end user and the organization? Are they critical or nice to have? Clearly defining goals and identifying success factors can help ensure that change requests and added features that aren’t aligned to objectives don’t threaten timelines.

We help you identify and get the business process experts and the functional leads together and work out the specific business processes to be considered in running the software. During this process the operational team determines which processes should be retained, made more efficient, manage how processes affect other parts of the business, assess which ones have the most potential for adding value or improvement to the organization and making customers (internal and external) satisfied.

Too many projects get bogged down focusing on the scope, quality, cost and timeline associated with their projects and ignore the people who are actually engaged in the project. Mismanagement or micromanaging of team members can cause delays, impact quality and result in cost overruns. Our processes don't simply manage the tasks - they help to make sure everyone understands how and why their role is important to the success of the project. This includes sponsors, team members, executives, suppliers and other stakeholders. This way you can make sure everyone shares the same vision for the project.

Beyond miscommunication and under communication, scope creep is the most prevalent detriment to an implementation project. With new software many executives, managers and team members can become enamored with new functionality. Therefore questions need to addressed; Do new feature requests align with the project vision? Do the proposed changes add value to the end user and the organization? Are they critical or nice to have? Clearly defining goals and identifying success factors can help ensure that change requests and added features that aren’t aligned to objectives don’t threaten timelines.

We help you identify and get the business process experts and the functional leads together and work out the specific business processes to be considered in running the software. During this process the operational team determines which processes should be retained, made more efficient, manage how processes affect other parts of the business, assess which ones have the most potential for adding value or improvement to the organization and making customers (internal and external) satisfied.

Too many projects get bogged down focusing on the scope, quality, cost and timeline associated with their projects and ignore the people who are actually engaged in the project. Mismanagement or micromanaging of team members can cause delays, impact quality and result in cost overruns. Our processes don't simply manage the tasks - they help to make sure everyone understands how and why their role is important to the success of the project. This includes sponsors, team members, executives, suppliers and other stakeholders. This way you can make sure everyone shares the same vision for the project.

Beyond miscommunication and under communication, scope creep is the most prevalent detriment to an implementation project. With new software many executives, managers and team members can become enamored with new functionality. Therefore questions need to addressed; Do new feature requests align with the project vision? Do the proposed changes add value to the end user and the organization? Are they critical or nice to have? Clearly defining goals and identifying success factors can help ensure that change requests and added features that aren’t aligned to objectives don’t threaten timelines.

INITIATE

  • Focus on the detailed business and technical requirements
  • Traditional Conference Room Pilot
  • Conduct project team overview training, and initial application configurations, validations and documentation
  • Review of current business processes to define those that are mandated, optional and unnecessary
  • Breaks the overall project into different sub projects and tasks and defines priorities
  • Identify all third party integration points and all reporting requirements

INTEGRATE

  • Focus on detailed system designs and all third party inbound and outbound interfaces
  • Defines all reporting requirements at all levels, including any executive dashboard and metrics
  • Develop all technical design documents
  • Document all vendor requirements and develop partnership dialogues
  • Development of all technical testing plans to include all pathways

We help you establish consistency among systems and subsequent continuous updates. The word ‘continuous’ should be stressed here as the data synchronization should not be considered as a one-time task. We help you understand, map and document the processes so that once implementation is complete you own fully control these integrations. Expectations from users are that systems are real time. We not only work with you to provide real time integrations but also to understand the expectations from dependent systems to know the expectations of data availability from your Infor applications.

Our process makes sure to compile a comprehensive list of data scenarios, evaluate data integrity throughout their life cycles, and make maintenance as easy as possible. Usually, testing becomes very centrically focused on validating functional requirements, and not necessarily other data management aspects. Granted, functional testing will require looking at many data scenarios, which are sure to test many of the aspects pertaining to data. But how the integrity of the information will be validated, how data will stay consistent over time, and how data quality is maintained are critical to the overall and long term success of your project.

In order to implement a new technology and create the perfect blueprint for a proper software implementation plan, it’s vital to consider existing and future integrations within the entire ecosystem. There is nothing worse than creating a software implementation plan to roll out a new platform or schedule a major company-wide upgrade just to find out that new system is not working properly across your other enterprise platforms. This issue might lead to very high costs due to additional software customization or modification of process to fit an inadequate solution.

We help you establish consistency among systems and subsequent continuous updates. The word ‘continuous’ should be stressed here as the data synchronization should not be considered as a one-time task. We help you understand, map and document the processes so that once implementation is complete you own fully control these integrations. Expectations from users are that systems are real time. We not only work with you to provide real time integrations but also to understand the expectations from dependent systems to know the expectations of data availability from your Infor applications.

Our process makes sure to compile a comprehensive list of data scenarios, evaluate data integrity throughout their life cycles, and make maintenance as easy as possible. Usually, testing becomes very centrically focused on validating functional requirements, and not necessarily other data management aspects. Granted, functional testing will require looking at many data scenarios, which are sure to test many of the aspects pertaining to data. But how the integrity of the information will be validated, how data will stay consistent over time, and how data quality is maintained are critical to the overall and long term success of your project.

In order to implement a new technology and create the perfect blueprint for a proper software implementation plan, it’s vital to consider existing and future integrations within the entire ecosystem. There is nothing worse than creating a software implementation plan to roll out a new platform or schedule a major company-wide upgrade just to find out that new system is not working properly across your other enterprise platforms. This issue might lead to very high costs due to additional software customization or modification of process to fit an inadequate solution.

We help you establish consistency among systems and subsequent continuous updates. The word ‘continuous’ should be stressed here as the data synchronization should not be considered as a one-time task. We help you understand, map and document the processes so that once implementation is complete you own fully control these integrations. Expectations from users are that systems are real time. We not only work with you to provide real time integrations but also to understand the expectations from dependent systems to know the expectations of data availability from your Infor applications.

Our process makes sure to compile a comprehensive list of data scenarios, evaluate data integrity throughout their life cycles, and make maintenance as easy as possible. Usually, testing becomes very centrically focused on validating functional requirements, and not necessarily other data management aspects. Granted, functional testing will require looking at many data scenarios, which are sure to test many of the aspects pertaining to data. But how the integrity of the information will be validated, how data will stay consistent over time, and how data quality is maintained are critical to the overall and long term success of your project.

In order to implement a new technology and create the perfect blueprint for a proper software implementation plan, it’s vital to consider existing and future integrations within the entire ecosystem. There is nothing worse than creating a software implementation plan to roll out a new platform or schedule a major company-wide upgrade just to find out that new system is not working properly across your other enterprise platforms. This issue might lead to very high costs due to additional software customization or modification of process to fit an inadequate solution.

Underutilization of the application has caused many companies to scale back their plans for technological development because the software doesn't yield favorable ROI without a loyal and engaged user base. Successful software implementation coincides with a strong adoption wave. Employees are change-adverse because changes require the integration of new tools, new people, and new processes. We help you to encourage users to completely abandon old processes to make room for a new technological ecosystem. Innovation is not enough.

The fear of failure can sometimes lead to an exercise of futility in trying to salvage a deadline. It is essential that the methodology is always transparent and truthful in reporting throughout the duration of the project. This provides executive stakeholders with information that allows for accurate and timely decision making. If the project is strategically important and something goes wrong, the organization can change course and become successful by adjusting budget, resources and/or delivery expectations.

No matter how great and intuitive you believe Infor's applications to be, implementation doesn’t equal adoption. We help you put strategies in place to garner user acceptance and adoption of the new system. Without positive engagement around the product, you risk adoption falling flat and ruining the software implementation plan. We have found that it’s best to personalize messaging at the team level. Each team will likely have different goals that the new system will help them achieve. You’ll want to hone in on those team-specific goals when communicating with individual teams. This sense of personalization will go a long way in drive adoption.

Underutilization of the application has caused many companies to scale back their plans for technological development because the software doesn't yield favorable ROI without a loyal and engaged user base. Successful software implementation coincides with a strong adoption wave. Employees are change-adverse because changes require the integration of new tools, new people, and new processes. We help you to encourage users to completely abandon old processes to make room for a new technological ecosystem. Innovation is not enough.

The fear of failure can sometimes lead to an exercise of futility in trying to salvage a deadline. It is essential that the methodology is always transparent and truthful in reporting throughout the duration of the project. This provides executive stakeholders with information that allows for accurate and timely decision making. If the project is strategically important and something goes wrong, the organization can change course and become successful by adjusting budget, resources and/or delivery expectations.

No matter how great and intuitive you believe Infor's applications to be, implementation doesn’t equal adoption. We help you put strategies in place to garner user acceptance and adoption of the new system. Without positive engagement around the product, you risk adoption falling flat and ruining the software implementation plan. We have found that it’s best to personalize messaging at the team level. Each team will likely have different goals that the new system will help them achieve. You’ll want to hone in on those team-specific goals when communicating with individual teams. This sense of personalization will go a long way in drive adoption.

Underutilization of the application has caused many companies to scale back their plans for technological development because the software doesn't yield favorable ROI without a loyal and engaged user base. Successful software implementation coincides with a strong adoption wave. Employees are change-adverse because changes require the integration of new tools, new people, and new processes. We help you to encourage users to completely abandon old processes to make room for a new technological ecosystem. Innovation is not enough.

The fear of failure can sometimes lead to an exercise of futility in trying to salvage a deadline. It is essential that the methodology is always transparent and truthful in reporting throughout the duration of the project. This provides executive stakeholders with information that allows for accurate and timely decision making. If the project is strategically important and something goes wrong, the organization can change course and become successful by adjusting budget, resources and/or delivery expectations.

No matter how great and intuitive you believe Infor's applications to be, implementation doesn’t equal adoption. We help you put strategies in place to garner user acceptance and adoption of the new system. Without positive engagement around the product, you risk adoption falling flat and ruining the software implementation plan. We have found that it’s best to personalize messaging at the team level. Each team will likely have different goals that the new system will help them achieve. You’ll want to hone in on those team-specific goals when communicating with individual teams. This sense of personalization will go a long way in drive adoption.

VALIDATE

  • Focus on detailed system designs, development, and testing of the new system
  • Analysis and development of training plans
  • Detailed scripts that contain all happy pathways as well as all exception handling situations
  • Data conversions scripts are validated and reconciled to existing reports and queries
  • User Acceptance Testing metrics and parameters are developed and approved

EDUCATE

  • Focus on final preparations for go-live
  • Final testing and in-depth training
  • Assessment of end user training
  • Verify all aspects are ready for go-live
  • Communication strategies and execution are put in place and championed by senior executives

We help you build a scalable training program. We do not only consider the initial implementation process that usually encompasses mass user training, we also help you identify and build plans to accommodate when new employees join the company and needs to be trained. We also focus on minimizing any productivity losses associated with the software transition. Our goal is, as quickly as possible, to get your employees up to the skill level required to do their jobs at least as quickly and accurately as they were doing with your previous systems and processes. This goes beyond understanding the new functionality in the new software, this extends to how new processes are being implemented.

Our process helps develop a communication requirements analysis. We've all heard that you cannot over communicate. However that communication needs to not overwhelm stakeholders and but be effective, valuable and timely. Our proprietary project portal helps manage all communication that will happen through status reports, informal and formal team meetings, scheduled emails and change or risk events that occur. Our process help minimize miscommunication as well as archives critical decisions and make that information readily available throughout the entire project.

Many implementation strategies call for the execution of end user training whether that is a "train the trainer" approach or a more mass end user training strategy. However we take this a step further. Anyone can execute a training plan. But if that plan is ineffective then that can lead to poor execution and adoption. We work with you to also build a training assessment plan to validate the level of knowledge transfer. We help you identify user that might need follow on training as well as how well users understand how their new Infor applications apply to their existing processes.

We help you build a scalable training program. We do not only consider the initial implementation process that usually encompasses mass user training, we also help you identify and build plans to accommodate when new employees join the company and needs to be trained. We also focus on minimizing any productivity losses associated with the software transition. Our goal is, as quickly as possible, to get your employees up to the skill level required to do their jobs at least as quickly and accurately as they were doing with your previous systems and processes. This goes beyond understanding the new functionality in the new software, this extends to how new processes are being implemented.

Our process helps develop a communication requirements analysis. We've all heard that you cannot over communicate. However that communication needs to not overwhelm stakeholders and but be effective, valuable and timely. Our proprietary project portal helps manage all communication that will happen through status reports, informal and formal team meetings, scheduled emails and change or risk events that occur. Our process help minimize miscommunication as well as archives critical decisions and make that information readily available throughout the entire project.

Many implementation strategies call for the execution of end user training whether that is a "train the trainer" approach or a more mass end user training strategy. However we take this a step further. Anyone can execute a training plan. But if that plan is ineffective then that can lead to poor execution and adoption. We work with you to also build a training assessment plan to validate the level of knowledge transfer. We help you identify user that might need follow on training as well as how well users understand how their new Infor applications apply to their existing processes.

We help you build a scalable training program. We do not only consider the initial implementation process that usually encompasses mass user training, we also help you identify and build plans to accommodate when new employees join the company and needs to be trained. We also focus on minimizing any productivity losses associated with the software transition. Our goal is, as quickly as possible, to get your employees up to the skill level required to do their jobs at least as quickly and accurately as they were doing with your previous systems and processes. This goes beyond understanding the new functionality in the new software, this extends to how new processes are being implemented.

Our process helps develop a communication requirements analysis. We've all heard that you cannot over communicate. However that communication needs to not overwhelm stakeholders and but be effective, valuable and timely. Our proprietary project portal helps manage all communication that will happen through status reports, informal and formal team meetings, scheduled emails and change or risk events that occur. Our process help minimize miscommunication as well as archives critical decisions and make that information readily available throughout the entire project.

Many implementation strategies call for the execution of end user training whether that is a "train the trainer" approach or a more mass end user training strategy. However we take this a step further. Anyone can execute a training plan. But if that plan is ineffective then that can lead to poor execution and adoption. We work with you to also build a training assessment plan to validate the level of knowledge transfer. We help you identify user that might need follow on training as well as how well users understand how their new Infor applications apply to their existing processes.

Our effort does not end at the point of go live. Our methodology includes a succession plan. There are many processes, procedures, and validations that need to be completed during the first few critical weeks. However, delivery and ownership of all of this in a "big bang" approach can put undue stress on your employees and organization. Rather, we work with you to help transition the ownership to various stakeholders and teams so that they will remain productive. Our process includes audit functions that help assess your teams and the levels of success they are achieving as well as areas of concern where there may need to be retraining or focus on specific topics.

The go-live process and the execution of the applications throughout the first few weeks of the implementation are the culmination of the marathon that has just been completed. Our process also helps you celebrate the success of the hard work of all of your resources. We provide methods for measurement of achievements that help you understand the expected value returned from the project and what that value will look like over time.

Along with the systems checking the readiness of people is equally important. Our readiness assessment includes all aspects to insure that the users are set for success. Many users will not be involved in the actual go live process but we need to make sure they are considered and valued as much during the transition. We help you focus on keeping up the excitement level among the entire organization as their readiness to accept the new change is very crucial for the success of the overall process. We also help transition the communication process from the project team to the standard organizational process so that it is assimilated as quick and seamless as possible.

Our effort does not end at the point of go live. Our methodology includes a succession plan. There are many processes, procedures, and validations that need to be completed during the first few critical weeks. However, delivery and ownership of all of this in a "big bang" approach can put undue stress on your employees and organization. Rather, we work with you to help transition the ownership to various stakeholders and teams so that they will remain productive. Our process includes audit functions that help assess your teams and the levels of success they are achieving as well as areas of concern where there may need to be retraining or focus on specific topics.

The go-live process and the execution of the applications throughout the first few weeks of the implementation are the culmination of the marathon that has just been completed. Our process also helps you celebrate the success of the hard work of all of your resources. We provide methods for measurement of achievements that help you understand the expected value returned from the project and what that value will look like over time.

Along with the systems checking the readiness of people is equally important. Our readiness assessment includes all aspects to insure that the users are set for success. Many users will not be involved in the actual go live process but we need to make sure they are considered and valued as much during the transition. We help you focus on keeping up the excitement level among the entire organization as their readiness to accept the new change is very crucial for the success of the overall process. We also help transition the communication process from the project team to the standard organizational process so that it is assimilated as quick and seamless as possible.

Our effort does not end at the point of go live. Our methodology includes a succession plan. There are many processes, procedures, and validations that need to be completed during the first few critical weeks. However, delivery and ownership of all of this in a "big bang" approach can put undue stress on your employees and organization. Rather, we work with you to help transition the ownership to various stakeholders and teams so that they will remain productive. Our process includes audit functions that help assess your teams and the levels of success they are achieving as well as areas of concern where there may need to be retraining or focus on specific topics.

The go-live process and the execution of the applications throughout the first few weeks of the implementation are the culmination of the marathon that has just been completed. Our process also helps you celebrate the success of the hard work of all of your resources. We provide methods for measurement of achievements that help you understand the expected value returned from the project and what that value will look like over time.

Along with the systems checking the readiness of people is equally important. Our readiness assessment includes all aspects to insure that the users are set for success. Many users will not be involved in the actual go live process but we need to make sure they are considered and valued as much during the transition. We help you focus on keeping up the excitement level among the entire organization as their readiness to accept the new change is very crucial for the success of the overall process. We also help transition the communication process from the project team to the standard organizational process so that it is assimilated as quick and seamless as possible.

EXECUTE

  • Focus on going live!
  • Review of readiness assessment plan
  • Post go-live support and ensuring knowledge transfer and system functionality.
  • Development and execution of a plan for measurement of success through various metrics and milestones
  • Review and acceptance of all contingency plans
  • Perform post go-live reviews to help identify change process requirements