JD Edwards Upgrade Assessment Services
IDENTIFY OPPROTUNITIES TO DO MORE WITH JDE WHILE ACHIEVING OPTIMUM PERFORMANCE AND LONG-TERM SUCCESS.
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CONCEPT
The JD Edwards Upgrade Assessment is a comprehensive analysis of the customer's J.D. Edwards environment and user community resulting in specific courses of action for upgrade with recommendations to enhance functionality, boost performance, and improve the user skill base.
- On-site meeting with the customer's team to review business conditions
- Comprehensive review of J.D. Edwards software applications
- Detailed analysis of the J.D Edwards technical infrastructure
- System management and end-user skill assessments and training paths
- Support structure overview and connections to resources
The investigation focuses on both the effective use of technology, and whether the technology employed is meeting the current and/or future needs of the organization. Several process areas are targeted depending on which JD Edwards modules are in use. Technical implementation issues are also addressed. System software configuration, software limitations, user access, and training issues are used to develop an action plan to close the gap between the current situation and original objectives.
DURATION
The typical high-level JD Edwards Upgrade Assessment can be completed 4-6 week period. two weeks are required at the client site by a senior professional, with two weeks allotted for deliverable preparation. A detailed JD Edwards Upgrade Assessment with development review typically takes twice as long.
METHODOLOGY
Staff Interviews
- Senior Management - Identify important savings that were originally intended from the implementation and their overall feelings on the actual success of the project. In addition, senior management can give an indication of some of the problem areas.
- Supervisors - Supervisory personnel in all the various disciplines—maintenance, inventory, purchasing, accounts payables, etc.—are interviewed. Here the problems that really affect getting the job done will surface and an idea of additional functionality that may be required can be identified.
- Project Team Members - Review system configuration with project team members to understand the decisions made during the implementation and the reasons behind them. Revisit any configuration decisions made based on time or budget constraints.
- End Users - System acceptance, ease of use, level of training, and extent of use of the system can be identified among other issues. (Note that these interviews are usually the most informative and help identify the real problems.)
RESOURCE LOADING STUDY
Perform a high-level resource loading study to determine actual resource availability as it compares to actual workload.
INFORMATION MANAGEMENT AND USE REVIEW
- IS Support/System Administration—system security, response time, level of training, type of support problems, software deficiencies (bugs).
- System Configuration—this is a critical area of the post implementation assessment as it gives an early indication of how well the system is tailored to match the client’s business needs.
- Hardware Design—a review of the existing hardware architecture and actual hardware on site can help resolve some of the frustrations usually experienced by personnel. Review can reveal a lack of printers, printing problems, or slow response, for example.
- Data Quality—a review of the integrity of the actual data in the database will give an indication of any problems with the collection and data entry process.
- Feedback and Action Planning
- Results Documentation and Feedback—based on the above evaluation; a detailed report on findings, conclusions, and recommendations is prepared.
- Identify current gap or potential based on findings and original objectives. Mitchell & Associates experience with best practices and JD Edwards is used to suggest the performance gap.
- Validate the report findings and recommendations with all personnel to ensure that all documentation is both factual and realistic.
- Present the report to management and key personnel and seek agreement on the analysis.
- Develop an action plan based upon approved recommendations, costs, and establish a schedule for implementation. A separate engagement proposal is written and signed for services to be provided.
OPTIONAL SERVICE
Our Business Case Developer identifies the total costs and benefits of any recommended project by linking process change value to cost. You receive formal documents — ready for a board-level presentation — that support the recommended technology investment. Documents include projected cash flow, impacts to the P&L statement and balance sheet, and such ratios as internal rate of return, net present value, and payback period.
