OCM as a Philosophy in ERP ImplementationsIT Toolbox Blog (2006, PM de Kock)

During a recent ERP system implementation a relatively inexperienced project manager asked one of the “old hands” what he would regard as a key success factor for the project. “Well, we have all the technical know how, but that alone will not ensure success. What will make the difference is ownership from the business, trained and committed users and a platform for ongoing learning”.

While such a statement is not unique, few project managers and teams realize that these are the key outcomes of what is generally referred to as organizational change management. (OCM). OCM in essence should facilitate ownership, build capacity (mostly people capacity) and ensure ongoing collaboration and learning. OCM is however not an add on to projects. It is indeed, together with delivery of the technical solution, the other side of the same coin, aimed at delivering a business solution. Projects, like organizations are socio-technical systems and should provide socio-technical solutions.

The implication is that each technical intervention, milestone and deliverable should be matched and supported by OCM, so that the “soft stuff” becomes part of the “hard stuff”. Experience show that if a technical intervention is not supported through OCM, the inevitable result is lack of ownership, capacity and under utilization of the system. However, if OCM is over emphasized at the cost of technical delivery, the result is often a loss of credibility, mistrust between the implementation team members and schedule delays.

A business solution with real benefits is only possible through proper integration of OCM and technical delivery. As such, OCM should deliver the following outcomes:

Ownership with the business, for the new system. In this regard ownership has a stronger connotation than buy in. Buy in implies that the business understand the need and potential benefit, while ownership implies co-responsibility between the team and the business for delivering the envisaged benefit. This can only be achieved through effective communication, sponsorship and change leadership;

Capacity, which refers to the establishment and maintenance of a pool of competent users who understand the need for the system and are willing to drive towards benefit realization. To achieve this, OCM should provide strategies and interventions aimed at contextualizing knowledge, building competence, managing resistance and incentivising desired behaviour;

Ongoing collaboration and learning is aimed at facilitating the establishment of a community that enable the ongoing generation, organizing and dissemination of knowledge to sustain the benefits of the system.

Not least however it should deliver an integrated solution (a technical and people solution). This implies that all involved should be mindful that they have co-responsibility to ensure this integration. Only then will the result be a truly business solution.