SAP & ERP Consulting from the Customer Point of View

SAP Program Management

Many may be unaware that SAP provides a broad set of tools and resources for Program Management and Competency Maturity Management (or CMM). Very few are familiar with SAP’s broad set of supports for this purpose such as the “new” ASAP Methodology Phase 6 “Run” enhancement. It is loaded with key information which aligns with Program Management responsibilities and CMMI.

So, what is CMM (or CMMI as it is more properly referred to)?

“CMMI (Capability Maturity Model Integration) is a process improvement approach that provides organizations with the essential elements of effective processes, which will improve their performance… CMMI models are collections of best practices that help organizations to dramatically improve effectiveness, efficiency, and quality” [FN1].

The entire CMMI methodology and development is maintained at Carnegie Mellon’s Software Engineering Institute. These CMMI standards have been applied in a vast number of organizations together with various methodologies. The CMMI approach is well suited to engineering and software development, design, or implementation. SAP’s entire ASAP methodology, and especially the “new” Run methodology incorporates a number of CMMI principles.

SAP Program Management is all about Competency Maturity Management (or CMM)

The contract SAP program manager is accountable for providing the key tools, templates, techniques, and resources to ensure projects are properly managed and delivered for business benefit. If they are not providing this type of methodology guidance, including key templates and techniques to deliver business benefit, what are you paying them for?

SAP Program Management or Project Management Gaps

After all these years one of my biggest frustrations is the lack of SAP contract program or project managers use of the ASAP Methodology. They all talk about it, and during sales presentations they use lots of SAP’s material, but as soon as the project begins you never see it. They seem to have absolutely no idea what they are doing.

As I have often said, I never believe that a client / customer of project management or program management services has the primary responsibility for this knowledge. If they did why bother hiring outside help and paying the rates for this service except for that contract “expertise?”

Contract SAP program management or SAP project management that is not able to deliver on clearly understandable methodology development are fakes. Anyone can call themselves a program manager, but what does that mean? What is the contract SAP Program Manager accountable for? What are they on the hook to deliver and how is their performance measured?

Using SAP ASAP and CMMI to Mature the SAP Enabled Enterprise

The SAP ASAP Methodology, in particular the Phase 6 Run section, should be studied by every SAP program manager before they start doing project or program work. Even though it is in the last ASAP Methodology phase, its greatest effectiveness is realized when you begin your internal SAP delivery maturity planning from the beginning of your SAP project.

One of the critical benefits of starting your CMMI related planning right from the beginning is your SAP project can be structured to support business integration at the outset. Using this type of maturity model integration as part of your project guidance can have significant benefits to the enterprise:

“Many CMMI using businesses have beneficial results to their bottom line… including improvements in schedule and cost performance, product and service quality, forecasting accuracy, productivity, customer satisfaction, return on investment, and other measures of performance” [FN2].

SAP has already done a significant amount of the work for you. All your program manager has to do is adjust the plans, alter the templates, follow the ASAP Methodology instructions, and build the resources to support this transition. You really must question SAP program manager service providers who do not keep up with the ASAP tools and delivery methodology that SAP provides and supports.

SAP’s Competency Maturity Model Starting Point

The following maturity model is just one small example of a powerful tool that is critical for long term technology and business integration [FN3]:

This model, provided freely by SAP as part of their standard ASAP methodology is a great starting point. Your contract SAP program manager should be able to use this as it is, or adjust it to fit your particular organizational needs. This is just one very small component of the Run Phase and an even smaller component of the entire ASAP Methodology toolset.

In many cases you would be better off sending your own internal employees to SAP ASAP certification courses and Microsoft Project classes and making use of their new found knowledge. At least then you would have a knowledgeable employee who could help keep an integrator who claims to use ASAP honest. And if they claim to use ASAP in their sales materials or sales pitches GET THAT CLAIM IN YOUR STATEMENT OF WORK AND YOUR CONTRACT WITH THEM!

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For more information on related topics please see:

• SAP Project Manager – SAP Program Manager, Lessons from the Trenches
• Effective Results from SAP Project Managers – SAP Program Managers
• SAP IT Convergence Beyond Business to IT Alignment
• Create SAP Convergence Instead of Business to IT Alignment
• Integrating Business Stakeholders as Part of SAP IT Convergence
• Steps to Achieve SAP IT Convergence
• SAP IT Convergence is About Business Focused Integration
• Steering Committee Governance for an SAP Center of Excellence
• Using Your SAP Steering Committee for Business Transformation

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[FN1] CMMI Overview: Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, retrieved November 5, 2011. http://www.sei.cmu.edu/cmmi/

[FN2] Why CMMI: Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, retrieved November 5, 2011. http://www.sei.cmu.edu/cmmi/why/

[FN3] SAP ASAP Methodology version 7.1, WBS 6.2.1 – Table 1: Maturity Level Characteristics. For more information on the SAP ASAP Methodology please go to http://www.sap.com/services/more/servsuptech/asap.epx

Related Posts:

• Steps to Achieve SAP IT Convergence
• Steering Committee Governance for an SAP Center of Excellence
• ERP and SAP Business Case for ROI, Business Benefit, and Success
• Why Use the SAP ASAP Methodology?
• SAP IT Governance, SAP Program Management, SAP PMO Metrics

Business Systems

The day after I released my last post (SAP IT Governance – Achieve Business IT Engagement) techrepublic.com published a review of the CIO future direction. While I do not agree with all of the Gartner conclusions they published I certainly agree with the “new CIO manifesto” (TechRepublic: Get drastic: 15 IT best practices to kill). Reading through the comments left on the TechRepublic post was enlightening, most of the comments focused on the details of one or two points of disagreement while missing the focus of the entire message.

Denial of the purpose of any IT initiative, especially SAP business solutions, will only lead to significant levels of outsourcing. IT areas and functions that become more like “commodities,” or, as one commentator calls these functions “taxes” on the enterprise are quick to be outsourced. While these “taxes” are necessary infrastructure components (such as e-mail, phone, wide area networks, and even PCs or laptops), other areas are starting to be seen as commodities subject to significant cuts.

SAP Consultants Must Get Serious About Customer Focused Value (or find another career)

Unless more functional SAP application consultants get serious about understanding business and helping stop the fakes then enterprise applications will become a commodity as well. This isn’t just idle speculation. Those of us who have been around SAP for 10 years or more (and some of us approaching 20 years or more) remember the days when ABAP skills were sky high–, now they are a commodity which is frequently outsourced to India, Malaysia, or China. The same commodity status is true of SAP Basis–, it is outsourced overseas or to hosting providers. Without real value SAP (or Oracle, MS Dynamics, etc.) are soon to follow.

The Coming SAP Business Technology Revolution

The TechRepublic post hit on a key theme which is the focus of this site–, helping business realize (and recognize) value from their SAP projects. Under the subtitle “New CIO manifesto” TechRepublic notes:

“information [may be] more important than information technology” and the majority of IT spend will be used to “measurably improve… financial conditions of an enterprise” by supporting “revenue generating rather than expense related business processes.”

This manifesto is more aligned to sales, marketing, and innovation. These areas of the enterprise are in line with CEO priorities (see e.g. What is the Proper Relationship for the CIO, CEO, and CFO?). The TechRepublic post then goes on to note that:

“IT has to stop thinking of itself as a business utility and start seeing itself as a business catalyst. In order to do that, it’s going to have to think in business terms and economic impact for everything it does…”

What Can Skilled SAP Consultants Do to Prevent Becoming Commodities?

FIRST do what you can to educate clients around consultant screening (for details see Protecting Yourself from SAP Consulting Fraud). For example, if you find out a client is looking for consultants ask them if they have received that candidate’s references from their last three projects and whether they directly asked for confirmation of experience from those references?

As clients continue to see marginal or substandard results from so many of these frauds they will consider you the same and rate pressure will quickly move you to commodity status. Worse still, you may be on a project where you have to do so much clean up and correction behind an incompetent consultant just to get your own area working that you do not have the time to deliver on real value that will set you apart.

SECOND make sure you focus your consulting efforts on delivering value to your clients. When I say value I mean in terms of business benefit and return on what you are being paid for. Don’t just do some configuration because that is what you are being told, or because that is what is in scope. Do it in such a way that it helps the client long term. For example, just because SAP supports a particular type of functionality the ongoing maintenance after go live may not be in the client’s best interests. Carefully consider the short and long term effects on your customer of what you do. If you take this approach you may lose out on a little extra billable time in the short term, BUT you will stand out to them as someone who looks out for their interests. When it comes time to upgrade or add on additional functionality a call from you could land you a direct client without the middle man staffing firm. You can avoid competing with so many of the frauds the staffing companies try to place which may destroy a client project and damage the value you can add.

The choice is yours. You can start working to be more client and customer focused to generate value or you can watch the marketplace move you to commodity status. In the end no matter how good you are as the marketplace erodes your value in it does as well. It’s time to start acting like a consultant, a paid advisor to give your client the best possible direction you can and in doing so you also help to protect your own future as well. For more insight on delivering SAP enterprise value focus on the components of ERP II or ERP III (see ERP vs. ERP II vs. ERP III Future Enterprise Applications).

Related Posts:

• Tactics, Strategy, ROI, TCO and Realizing Business Benefit from SAP
• Competitive Pressures and Value Propositions, Is Lean the Answer?
• The Real Reason Executive Participation Creates IT Project Success
• Using SAP to Improve Revenue and Profitability
• SAP IT Convergence Beyond Business to IT Alignment

Many organizations that have SAP periodically need experienced consultants to help with specialized requests, requirements, new functionality, or to occasionally backfill employees.  Because contract staffing is not a key portion of their business they turn to staffing firms or recruiters.  Unfortunately too many of the staffing firms and recruiters have only one interest–, to collect a paycheck.  Very few of these recruiters care about how they get that payday so it is up to you as the customer to ensure you are not getting ripped off.  There is no incentive for them to carefully screen candidates–, no background checks, no former project verifications, nothing.  A recruiter’s goal is to get them through the interview and have your organization hand over the cash.  The cheaper the resource they can find (i.e. read “fake”) the fatter their margin if they can convince you to use them.

The consulting fraud in the SAP arena (and ALL of the business application space) is widespread and out of control.  For more background and information on some of my experiences with this you may wish to see some of the following posts:

• Screening and Interview Methods to Find the Right SAP Consultant
• Screening and Interview Methods to Find the Right Consultant – Part 2
• A Cautionary Tale About SAP Knowledge Transfer
• Corporate and Personal Liability for Fake Consultants
• SAP Technicians or Experts
• ERP Consultants: Is the Promise of Knowledge Transfer just part of the Sales Pitch?
• Successful SAP Project Team Composition – Technicians or Experts?
• The Consultant Certification Ruckus

Just in case you think this is just complaining, take a look at an actual timeline of consulting at a real company where an internal employee periodically posts some of the horror stories they are dealing with; http://sapmesideways.blogspot.com/.  Although the employee at that company does not come out and say they are dealing with frauds, con artists, fakes or “SAP freshers,” I’ve seen this so many times that if that company checked these “con”sultant’s backgrounds I could guarantee a very high percentage of SAP fakes or “freshers.”

Protecting Your Organization from the SAP Fakes and SAP Frauds

If your organization would like something different you can do at least one small thing to protect yourself.  AFTER a staffing or recruiting firm has submitted a candidate demand they include references, from the last 3 projects listed on that consultant’s resume.  The ONLY references I accept are client resources, still at those organizations, and on an e-mail address that is clearly at that organization.  If they cannot provide these then my immediate assumption is they are a fake.  If the staffing firm doesn’t get the message you will not accept fakes then do not do business with them EVER!

The ONLY references I accept are client resources, still at those organizations, and on an e-mail address that is clearly at the organization.

Think about that a minute, even if you miss out on someone who has the actual experience you are looking for, do you really want to pay those kinds of rates for someone who was so uninspiring that no one even remembers them?  What about their consulting skills?  Were they a bump on a log that hid in the background and made little or no contribution to the direction or success of the SAP project?

Step by Step to Find the Real SAP Consultants

If you decide to use a staffing or recruiting firm, make it a hard requirement that they provide ONLY candidates who can provide an e-mail reference STILL EMPLOYED at each of that consultant’s last 3 clients.  This is basic employment verification stuff but few if any of the staffing firms do this unless you insist it is a requirement.  And nothing less than a direct verification from someone who is still at that organization will work because I have seen many “stories” about how they have some other reference or the person left and are now working at “XYZ” company instead.  Would you accept that from a permanent employee candidate?

The next step, AFTER the 3 prior project references still at those companies (on the company e-mail address / domain) is copy that portion of the resume listing that consultant’s experience at that company into an e-mail message to their reference.  Send the message with a notice they used this information on their resume to indicate their experience and you would like to know if they can verify that the candidate’s experience is consistent with what is listed.  If that cannot, or will not, then that is the end of the screen for that person.  I do not bother to waste any time with a phone screen until that verification step is complete.

What are some of your thoughts or suggestions for screening out the fakes, frauds, charlatans and con artists?

Related Posts:

• How the SAP Consulting Peter Principle Works
• Reduce SAP, ERP, or Technology Project Stress: Part 2
• Screening and Interview Methods to Find the Right Consultant – Part 2
• Some Reasons SAP Projects are Over Budget and Over Time
• SAP System Vendor Project Success Criteria 1