Question

1. Select one project from the working or educational environment of your choice and specify the main work process (for example, suppliers and customers involved, work flow, et cetera) of the project that you have selected.
2. Next, suggest at least two actions that a manager can take in order to improve the work process of the project in question.
3. Provide a rationale for your response.

Answer 1

The project selected is the Creation of a new Enterprise Resource Planning(ERP) system. I was a part of this project when I was working in a Renewable Energy company. The company was involved in the execution of Renewable Energy projects. For maintaining project progress status, material status, stock, etc , employees in the company used MS Excel. When the number of projects increased, it became difficult to manage all the data manually in MS Excel files. It was then decided by the management to create a new ERP system to carry out all data entry, data monitoring work, etc.

The main work process for the project involved the following:

• Defining all aspects, features, data which was required in the ERP system. This involved inputs from employees who were supposed to use the ERP system.
• Creating a sample dashboard that would be implemented in the ERP system.
• Selection of vendors who could create the ERP system as per company's requirements.
• Providing inputs to the vendor for finalizing the ERP system design.
• Co-ordinating with the vendor during the ERP system creation process.
• Performing test run for the newly created ERP system.
• Taking employee feedback and accordingly suggesting any changes in the system to the vendor.
• Providing training to all stakeholders regarding the ERP system and its features.
• Implementing the final ERP system.

Two actions that the manager could have taken in order to improve the work process of the project are as follows:

• Employee inputs were limited to those employees who were supposed to use the ERP system. However, the work process could have been improved if inputs from employees managing stores, employees at the project sites, etc were also taken. These employees were well aware of the ground level job execution issues and could have provided critical inputs to be monitored in the ERP system.
• Vendor selection was done in a week's time. The manager could have used some more time in the process. The extra time would have helped to get more vendors and to get better designs at a lower price. With more vendors, the manager would have got multiple options to explore and more negotiation opportunities so as to get a better deal.