OF AN

7 Pitfalls

ORACLE E-BUSINESS
SUITE UPGRADE
& HOW TO AVOID THEM

TOP 3 FACTORS
DRIVING ERP
CHANGES

65%

Oracle E-Business Suite is a mission-critical

application that could turn your investment into
revenue in a very short period of time. But,
with any complex application, considerable time
and attention should be devoted to
maintaining, improving, and optimization to
ensure your organization is realizing value.
Lets evaluate the 7 most common pitfalls in an
Oracle E-Business Suite Upgrade and how to
avoid them.

Regulatory
requirements

75%

Reorganization
or restructuring

80%

New/changed
business process

1. POOR DOCUMENTATION
Many skilled internal teams start their
project planning and implementation
process with good documentation
practices, but dont understand the full
scope and the end goals to complete the
documentation in the final stages.

INCOMPLETE
DOCUMENTATION

PROPER
DOCUMENTATION
IS IMPERATIVE FOR
TRACKING:

IS TYPICALLY THE RESULT OF:

LACK OF
UNDERSTANDING
INTO THE FULL
SCOPE OF WORK

The current state of your ERP

Decisions made during an
upgrade & justification
for changes
Changes to scope of work
Successful post-launch usage

LACK OF VISION
TOWARDS
CORPORATE END
GOALS

Opportunities for greater

efficiency

START

FINISH

Create a standard for

documentation at the start of
your project, and hold team
members accountable for
completing documentation
requirements, as well as keeping
them at and above the standards
required.

2. UNREALISTIC BUDGETS OR TIMELINES

Your organization requires a major

Oracle EBS improvement project.
Even if that project has already been
funded, doesnt mean that all
required budgets have been
adequately identified and secured.

TOO OFTEN BUDGETS

DO NOT ACCOUNT FOR:
Full scope of work
Resources allocated
Outside assistance
Realistic deadlines &
time to complete projects

Underfunded budgets could

force you to cut corners (like
shortening or eliminating test
phases) that could increase the
risk of error and unintended
outcomes.

Many project managers

are successful in
estimating hard dollar
costs of their projects,
but they may overlook
identifying the soft
costs, made up primarily
of allocations of internal
resources.

GO OVER ALL
EXPENDITURES

3. LACK OF TRAINING

INADEQUATE TRAINING
IN A PARTICULAR EBS
FEATURE OR FUNCTION
ARE OFTEN THE CAUSE
OF IMPLEMENTATION
ERRORS.
One week of training will not only help users with
new features but will improve overall business
efficiencies. Training may include multi-media
presentations, live demos, and hands-on practice
to get users familiar with the day-to-day and
periodic tasks they will be required to execute
moving forward.
RAMP UP YOUR TEAM AND AVOID ERRORS.

A VARIETY OF TRAINING
METHODS ARE AVAILABLE:

MULTI-MEDIA
PRESENTATIONS

LIVE
DEMOS

HANDS-ON
PRACTICE

USER PRODUCTIVITY
KIT (UPK)

4. THE RIGHT RESOURCES ARENT ASSIGNED

Before the beginning the

project, define what internal
resources are required for
execution. This includes
people, infrastructure,
hardware, and software.

z
66%

BE REALISTIC
WHEN ASSIGNING
PROJECT
RESPONSIBILITIES

OR 2 OF 3 OF U.S.
WORKERS CLAIMED
TO FEEL OVERWORKED

Recognize when external resources

specializing in R12 implementations
and upgrades would be more efficient
even though the cost might be higher.
For example, hiring resources for the
upgrade to R12 may seem more
expensive than having your DBA
perform it internally, but consultants
who manage upgrades day-after-day
develop a variety of lessons-learned
and ways to streamline the process.

5. TRYING TO IMPLEMENT OVERLY COMPLEX

SOLUTIONS

It is tempting in many Oracle EBS

implementations or upgrades to
over-engineer solutions, especially
when unique business needs and
requirements are involved.
One thing to keep in mind is that:

CUSTOMIZATIONS
LESS CORE
FUNCTIONALITY
OF EBS

For example, many companies end up

with multiple instances that are either
separately managed or tied together
through complex, custom bridge systems
and reporting tools.

MORE
COMPLICATED
IMPLEMENTATION

Instead of spending time and

resources implementing third-party
reporting, consider consolidating
multiple instances, moving to a
global chart of accounts (CoA),
and/or standardizing on a
consistent calendar.

6. LACK OF ADEQUATE TESTING

PROBLEMS WILL
ALWAYS OCCUR IF
YOU DIDNT

Define your use cases

TEST

Involve those who will be

using the software
on a regular basis
Adequately test periodic
activities

Be sure to build a test plan that includes

both the day-to-day activities and the
periodic activities financial reporting,
period close; patch application so that
ongoing product support and success
isnt compromised.

Ensure that your testing includes

reports, upstream and downstream
interfaces, customizations,
enhancements, and workflows. Be
sure to budget for testing resources
in your up-front planning and
resource allocations as well.

7. NOT UNDERSTANDING THE BUSINESS

DRIVERS FOR CHANGE
Too often, IT projects become a
standard part of doing business
(especially in large organizations)
without being rooted in business
drivers and objectives.

TAKE THE TIME UP FRONT:

Understand why you are upgrading
Understand what do you hope to achieve
Engage business users

Operational changes often necessitate new

processes for complying with regulatory
requirements, additional procedures for
governance of shared data, and mitigation of
new risk factors.
+
Include governance, risk, and compliance
management as part of the project plan.

LASTLY REMEMBER TO
CELEBRATE THE SUCCESS
OF THE UPGRADE OR
REIMPLEMENTATION!

Dont focus on defects,

failures, or small cost
over-runs without looking
at the big picture and the
ultimate accomplishment.

CONTENT SOURCES: Top 3 Factors Driving ERP changes: (http://cloud.unit4.com/corp/docs/IDC%20%20Cost%20of%20Change%202013.pdf ) Survey: 1 In 3 Employees Are Stressed Out, Underpaid And
Overworkedhttp://jobs.aol.com/articles/2013/03/06/americans-stressed-underpaid-overworked-survey/

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