The document outlines 10 key elements that should be included in an ERP project blueprint to help ensure project success. The blueprint should define: 1) the program management process; 2) current business issues; 3) overall project scope; 4) project organization and standards; 5) strategy development; 6) business case and roadmap; 7) benefits realization and strategy management; 8) benefits realization measurement; 9) IT transformation; and 10) data definitions, integration, and user testing. Defining these elements upfront in a blueprint can help proactively address questions and keep the project on track.

1. Steps to blueprint successful ERP projects
Some of the best Blue Prints that I have seen will have several parts that define key elements of a
successful ERP project in advance and provide answers to difficult questions that are proactively
defined and available to the team as they progress through the project.
Here are what I consider the top ten examples of what I am talking about when defining a Blue
Print.
1. Get a clear picture of the overall Program Management process
The overall focus of the Program Management process is to provide a definition of Project
Planning and Control, Integration, Change, and Technology Management.
2. Be sure your Blue Print properly defines (and you agree upon) your company’s current
business issues
Make a list of all business issues that are being considered for change throughout the project.
This information should go into its own section of the Blue Print. Following that should be a
Business Assessment sub-phase.
This sub-phase is designed to consistently monitor current vision and the enterprise strategy is
understood and the current state is determined. Using business process analysis and current
financial and operational metrics, the company is evaluated for potential performance
improvements. These improvements are identified and a preliminary prioritization of the
opportunities prepared in the vision and strategy objectives section of the Blueprint.
3. The Blue Print should define the overall Project Scope Start with the proper project
preparation definition.
The process for creating this definition will involve several interviews with key business process
owners and will be conducted as part of the Blueprint phase of this project. We propose the
interviews be conducted with focus groups of individuals directly associated with each of the
work streams outlined in the “Deliverables” section of the Blueprint SOW to ensure compliance
with stated business improvement objectives. During these interviews, each of the business
requirements identified in the SOW will be considered as topics for discussion. Interviews will
be grouped by a (priority based) combination of revenue stream improvement potential and other
general requirements and will be divided into As-Is process interviews and To-Be process
discussions, thereby enabling a clear definition of the business requirements.
4. Project Organization, Standards and Initial Project Planning
This section of the Blue Print will assist in defining the following areas listed below.
 Business Assessment
 Strategy Development and Design

2.  Business Case & Roadmap Development
 Benefits Realization & Strategy Management
 Benefits Realization Measurement & Management
5. Strategy Development and Design
This phase established to develop strategies that reflect the organization’s revised vision and new
strategic initiatives. The next step is to develop a future state concept of operations including
people, process and technology changes aligned with the organization’s vision & strategy.
Responsibilities for the Strategy Development and Design Phase
The following activities are performed in the strategy development and design sub-hase:
 Develop vision and strategy
 Develop future state design
6. Business Case & Roadmap Development
This phase develops the foundation that defines financial impact and risk. This phase is intended
to engage the company’s executive management and requires an Executive Kickoff meeting. In
the kick off meeting the initiatives are documented with a priorities list that is sequenced based
on both economic returns based upon the company’s strategy & objectives. These documents are
also used to support funding requests.
The following activities are performed in the business case and roadmap development sub-phase:
 Quantify financial impact and prioritize initiatives
 Mobilize and align organization
 Request and secure funding
7. Benefits Realization & Strategy Management
The focus of this phase is to ensure that targeted benefits are driven into the Design, Build and
Deploy phases and to establish the performance measurement process and platform.
Accountability and responsibility is established for the project by mapping targeted benefits and
performance metrics to business units, departments, and employees responsible for delivering
results. This phase can also be used to establish incentive bonus targets for meeting or exceeding
performance targets for the project.
The following activities are performed in the benefits realization and strategy management sub-
phase:
 Drive benefits into design and implementation
 Establish accountability and measurement plan
 Develop and execute communication plan

3.  Develop and conduct training
 Support workforce transitions
8. Benefits Realization Measurement & Management
This phase is where the continuous process of measuring and tracking results occurs. These
results are compared against expected results and conclusions with defined recommendations are
measured, monitored and reported to management.
The major deliverables of the benefits realization measurement and management sub-phase are
as follows:
 Enterprise value scorecard
 Improvement opportunity report
9. IT Transformation
This section should define the role and governance of IT as the IT team attempts to transform
business operations. While profound changes are being made to the overall core business
operations, IT operations must likewise be transformed in order to meet future business needs
and objectives
IT Transformation includes the delivery of a Technical Requirements Plan that enables
Anderson’s IT leadership team to accelerate the transformation from a reactive cost center
environment to an organization with world-class service delivery capability and maximum value
impact on the business.
 .
10. Data Definitions, Integration, System Configuration and User Testing
This section should include data conversions, integration planning, master data setup, data
quality testing and any other data definitions in an effort to identify potential improvements. This
effort involves all team members, including both functional and technical resources, in order to
refine all definitions and control the development effort. Optimizing the definitions described
above and using object-oriented guidelines for reusability of code eliminates unnecessary
development effort, thereby reducing the time taken to develop a high quality deliverable.
Following these ten steps will help company’s properly define, execute and manage changes that
if not considered properly in advance of an ERP project could ultimately throw a project
hopelessly off track.