Question #3: Who needs to buy in to the process?

Question #3: Who needs to buy into the process?

You have identified the problems that need to be solved; now you need to ask who should be involved in finding the solution. Decision Makers come to mind first since they usually control the budget. Business Process Owners (BPO’s) are next on the list. These are senior management executives or department heads that have responsibility for managing part of the company – such as finance, operations, shipping, manufacturing, front office, sales and marketing. 

Last is a group that is often not engaged in the process until after the purchase is made. Subject Matter Experts (SME’s) - are the people dealing with the modules on a daily basis. They are A/R and A/P clerks, administrative assistants, shift supervisors, purchasing agents, salesmen and so on. Their input needs to be part of the process because their level of commitment to the selected product will impact its effectiveness.

Answer these questions to identify the multiple stakeholders involved in your system application:

• Who is the System Sponsor?
• Who is on the Project Steering Team?
• Who are the BPO’S?
• Who are the SME’S?
• Who are your external customers?

Why is it important to identify your external customers for this internal exercise? Stop and consider the information this group requires from you, such as invoicing, bills of lading, inventory reports, etc. All of this information should be coming from where? That’s right…your system. Your customer’s voice must have a seat at the table as well.

Join us next week for - Question #4: What is your “As-Is” status?