The world doesn’t need another post on how to set goals. If you’re looking for one, try Google. I found several hundred thousand of them. I’ve read a few of them, and extrapolating, I think that at least 300,000 of them are good.
Instead of writing about how to set goals, I want to spend a minute on why. At the start of a project, everyone will have ideas about what the system should do. What information will it give them? How much time will it save? How much will it improve customer service?
Sharing those goals and creating a common understanding, understanding improved by specific and measurable goals creates a guide for measuring the project’s success.
There will likely be more than one goal for the system. I once worked on a project that had nine. And yet, a year after that system went live, the CFO called me to explain something that concerned him. He explained that a year after the system went live, they could not reduce their headcount. Why not? More information was available, there was better customer service, and more controls were in place. Reducing headcount wasn’t a goal of the system. When I explained this, the CFO said that he thought it went without saying. It didn’t go without saying for me.
ERP goals may fall into some general categories, such as:
- Improved operational efficiency,
- Enhanced collaboration,
- Provide better information,
- Reduce costs,
- Increase customer satisfaction,
- Meet compliance requirements.
When should they be achieved?
Goals are most effective when they are specific, time-boxed, and measurable. There are three questions to ask when you have recorded and untangled the system’s goals:
- Are these goals clear enough that we will know when we have reached them?
- By when?
- And finally, will the system be considered a success if we reach these goals?
