Over the years I have seen possibly hundreds of business software implementations. What makes the good ones stand out is that the system immediately provides such a marked improvement to its users that management is more than just a little bit happy with their investment. What makes the bad ones stand out is how long it takes before the system is useful, how much extra work has to be done to get it there and leaving management afraid to ask for anything more.

What separates the good from the bad implementations has much less to do with the “fit” of the software than the “fit” of the company you choose. An honest salesperson who tells you what it will really take to meet your requirements, a competent project manager who takes the time to write a complete design specification and implementation plan  and technical personnel who are not learning at your expense, this is the right way to get it done.

Implementation of mid-range business software systems is not something you can do just out of trade school. It is more like the hand assembly method of manufacturing than the assembly line. Although many setups can be done mechanically, the way the system is configured for a company is done on a case-by-case basis. Before the automobile industry implemented the assembly line, each team of technicians had to be sufficiently trained to build the entire car.

If software implementation is not well thought out and complete you may end up going back to your old system to get things done or with vital features missing. This is the difference between the good and the bad. You wouldn’t want to be without the steering wheel just because no one was assigned to install it, or asked to pay extra for the tires just because you didn’t ask for them.