There are generally three major components for improving SAP delivery. These three components can improve SAP and technology delivery in general while impacting corporate business performance and marketplace success.
- Delivery Approach
- Delivery Methodology
- IT Organizational Development
The following content is written with a focus on SAP; however, it can be completely generalized to virtually any IT organization.
- You need a careful focus on the delivery approach. Here there are two key paradigms to focus on: The first paradigm is service delivery vs. value delivery (SAP Service Delivery versus Value Delivery), and the second paradigm is software engineering vs. business process engineering (SAP Implementation Focus: Engineer Software or Business Processes?).
- A formal, structured, internal delivery methodology. This should include a “checklist” of all project requirements, including templates, tools, and resources for project delivery. Because I know SAP, I use it; however, they have a powerful methodology that can be generalized to virtually any IT project. For more information, see Why Use the SAP ASAP Methodology?
- A strong focus on IT organizational development. The current “best practices” around IT Organizational Development include a three-tiered maturity structure: Service provider, Business Partner, and Business Peer (Organizational Change Management Inside the SAP IT Support Organization). The second part of that is a structured approach to creating the premier IT “Center of Excellence,” converged business-IT delivery organization (see SAP Service Provider to Business Peer Through Center of Excellence Maturity). You can use 3 Development Phases for SAP Center of Excellence Maturity as a completely structured organizational outline. It includes key activities and maturity steps.
Adopting these three pillars will create a great foundation for your company or organization for the long term. They will also transform your enterprise in the mid term.
