One advantage (among many, really) of being in the SAP HR consulting industry for a long time is that I have seen what works well and what fails. I've seen really good SAP HR implementations, and unfortunately far more that were done poorly. I've seen technical configuration done well and within the standard SAP customizing framework, but more often I've seen it done poorly without standards or any sort of thought for maintenance. Why is there still, more than 15 years and hundreds of implementations since SAP HR was released for the US, such poor implementation practices?
I've often compared the process of implementing SAP HR to that of building a house. You select a general contractor, who brings in specialists to build your house. Hopefully, you are working with that general contractor to oversee things and help resolve questions and issues as they arise. Sometimes changes are made to the initial plan - and change orders are created to handle that. It's a lot of hard work and a bundle of money - and in the end most everyone gets the house they expected.
There are a lot of parallels from that to the SAP HR implementation process. You get a consulting firm that serves as the general contractor, who in turn brings in all sorts of specialists to get the work done. There are changes and change orders. Issues surface and are resolved by you and the consulting firm. This has been done hundreds if not thousands of times - so why do customers often end up overbudget, with unstable and incomplete systems? That does happen often - it just doesn't make the news.
When a house is built, it has to pass a series of inspections along the way. If the independent inspector doesn't approve the work, the project doesn't go on to the next phase. This is done to protect the homeowner. How many times has that been done in SAP HR implementation projects? Although I've done that independent-inspection role for some clients of mine, it is rare to see that happen in projects.
There are several other parallels that come to mind - and that is for another day, another blog. This is enough to ponder now: What value can be gained from having independent inspections at critical points in my major SAP HR projects?