Developing a Strategic

Roadmap
Why you need it & how to do it right

Session ID# 12509

Juan Porter
TopDown Consulting
Juan Porter – Experience Overview
•  President & Founder of Representative Sample of Clients
TopDown Consulting •  Adecco

•  Over 25 years experience •  AT&T

delivering EPM solutions to •  CoBank
numerous Fortune 1000 •  DirecTV
clients across more than 20 •  E*Trade
industry verticals •  Estee Lauder
•  Specializations include •  Franklin Templeton
enterprise performance •  Group 1 Automotive
management, business •  HSBC
intelligence, data warehousing,
technical architecture, and
•  Iron Mountain

master data management

•  QAD
• 
•  Regular blogger, frequent
• 
Pella
Shutterfly
speaker, and contributor to
various industry publications •  Take-Two Interactive
• 
•  Chairman, OAUG Hyperion
• 
Wachovia
Washington University
SIG School of Medicine
What is a Strategic Roadmap?
A Strategic Roadmap is a comprehensive framework
envisioning, developing, guiding, and measuring project
initiatives—
•  Establish Strategic (End State) Vision
•  Identify Project Goals & Objectives
•  Current State Assessment & Architecture
•  Recommended Implementation Approach and Scope
•  Preliminary Design
•  High-Level Project Timelines
•  Resource Requirements
•  Preliminary Cost Estimates
•  Identification of Risks and Challenges
•  Definition and Measurement of Success Factors
Success Factors
Audience Tangibles Experience Realize

§ Ability to perform “what-if” § Confidence in reports § Report earnings in ?? days

scenarios quickly § Improved analysis and § Forecast more accurately
Executives
§ Monthly close efficiencies forecasting § Reduce audit fees
§ Shorten planning cycle § Compliance § Execs using Dashboards

§ Go Live on schedule § Deliver project on time and § Set target date and budget
§ Get internal recognition within budget § Reduce maintenance by ??
Project Team § Improve data quality § Become self-sufficient § Reduce errors by ??
§ # of users on solution § Simplify processes § User satisfaction rating
§ Make users happy § Measure ROI

§ Ability to perform “what-if” § Easy of use § Identify amount of time

saved
scenarios quickly § Better access to data
End Users § Improve accuracy
§ More time spent on § More timely reporting
analysis, less on data entry § Less manual input

§ Reduce cost of IT support § Stable environment § Supportable

§ Verify compliance § Integrate security § Achieve internal standards
IT § Ability for internal team to § Measure performance
§ Fits internal standards
support solution § Compliance
Why Do You Need a Roadmap?
•  To create an internal understanding of how your
current solution/process works
•  To identify opportunities for improvement and
recommended future state systems and processes
•  To map out an overall implementation approach with
a series of achievable initiatives and project wins
•  To improve communication by establishing a common
vision and vocabulary
•  To describe the benefits desired from the proposed
solution and identify the measures of success
•  To achieve a measurable return on your investment
Leading Practices

•  Clearly define vision

•  Driven by CFO, supported by CIO
•  Understand that ERP is not the only source of data
•  Use technology for it’s intended purpose
•  Involve the users
•  Know what’s needed and how it will be used
•  Challenge the current state – encourage change
•  Identify risks and how to mitigate
•  Communicate
Change Management

•  Successful Change Management = User Adoption

•  Socialize vision, solution, and new processes
• Leverage Executive support
• Identify thought leaders (cheerleaders and
detractors)
• Get buy-in from users at all levels
• Listen / Empathize
•  Communicate with and involve users throughout
project
•  Capture their concerns and ideas
EXAMPLES
Sample Goals & Objectives
•  To achieve a shared understanding of potential
opportunities & areas of improvement
•  Eliminate redundant repositories of data
•  Improve reporting performance and usability
•  Increase confidence in the numbers
•  Leverage existing investment in ERP and other data
systems
•  Create self-serve reporting environment where users
focus on analysis, not generating reports
•  Reduce administrative complexity by providing
automated solutions where possible
Current State Assessment

•  Evaluate current processes

• How did our current process evolve over time?
• What do we like about the current process?
• What do we dislike about the current process?
•  Determine what information you need to manage, and
how you want to measure it
• What’s important?
• Alignment with corporate goals and objectives
•  How is this maintained / updated
Current State Architecture

Corporate Regions

Bud/
Dept Dept
Fcst

RegA
HFM
GL Oper1 Oper2 Oper3 Oper4

ERP

RegB
ERP DW

ERP
Possible Risks
•  Data availability, cleanliness, comparability, and
integrity
•  Resource availability
•  Change in reporting requirements
•  Change in organization priorities
•  Dimensionality differences among ERP, DW, HFM,
and Essbase
 Project Timeline & Resources
Month 1 Month 2 Month 3 Month 4 Month 5 Month 6 Month 7 Month 8 Month 9 Month 10
5 12 19 26 3 10 17 24 31 7 14 21 28 4 11 18 25 4 11 18 25 1 8 15 22 29 6 13 20 27 3 10 17 24 1 8 15 22 29 5 12 19 26
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43
Project Management
Installation of Servers and Software
Requirements Gathering
Design
HFM
Application Build
-Dimensions
-Rules and Formulas
-Load & Reconcile Data
-Reports
-Security
System Integration Testing
Training, User Testing, and Resolution
Parallel Testing
Go-Live
FDM
Create GL extracts
Create Data mapping
Testing & Resolution
User Training
Essbase
Dimensions
Data Integration
Security
Application Build
-Dimensions
-Calc Scripts
-Load & Reconcile Data
-Reports
-Security
System Integration Testing
Training, User Testing, and Resolution
Parallel Testing
Go-Live
PLANNING THE PROJECT
 Understanding the Project Phases

Strategic Requirements Review &

Build Test Deploy
Roadmap & Design Assess

•  Create strategic vision •  Setup environment •  User training

•  Analyze current solution & •  Build solution •  Go-live
processes •  Develop integrations •  Support
•  Perform gap analysis •  Unit testing
•  Identify risks & challenges •  Validate data

•  Identify requirements •  Integration Testing •  Project review

•  Define scope & objectives •  UAT •  Measure success
•  Obtain executive commitment •  Performance Testing •  Lessons learned
•  Design applications, data
integrations, reports
Requirements

•  Indentify and document requirements

•  Business, Users, and IT
•  Evaluate against business purpose
•  Why is a requirement required?
•  How does it help the process, provide insight, or
improve the ability to manage?
•  Resolve conflicting requirements
•  Develop high-level design and key benefits
•  Socialize
•  Approve
Design the Solution

•  Review Roadmap and Requirements

• Make sure everyone on same page
•  Separate processes
• Identify dependencies and key steps
• Determine accountability and ownership
•  Define solution structure
• Dimensions, Business Rules, Integrations, etc.
•  Develop prototype to visualize solution
• Increase understanding and support
• Mitigate resistance
•  Create Design Document and Project Plan
•  Establish Communication Plan
Build the Solution

•  Implement the established design

•  Follow the project plan
•  Closely monitor project
•  Resources
•  Effort to complete tasks and project
•  Budget
•  Contingencies
•  Communicate any changes to design immediately
•  Review with stakeholders and obtain sign-off
•  Maintain transparency
•  Acknowledge success and milestones
•  Bad news does not get better with time
 Application Development Cycle

Accounts

System
Reports
Entities
Data Entry Standard
Reports
Forms
Training &
Scenarios Load Data Testing
Rollout
Formulas &
Business Rules
Time
Security

Adhoc
Custom Analysis
Testing the Solution
•  Establish testing processes and identify participants
•  Types of testing
• Integration Testing
• Performance Testing
• User Acceptance Testing
• Parallels
•  Process
• Prepare test environment
• Develop test scripts
• Train “testers”
• Perform test
•  Collect results and make changes as needed
•  Approve results
Deploy to Users
•  Prepare the organization for Go Live
•  Transition will demonstrate adoption of solution
•  Preparation:
•  Build sign-off
•  Develop training materials
•  Confirm logistics for training
•  Internal resources are designated for training
•  Process:
•  Constant knowledge sharing with the organization’s
users
•  Create the training plan and documentation
•  Deliver the training
•  Determine post-implementation support plan
Review & Assess – Quantify Success

•  Measure achievement of critical success factors

•  Not all improvements are realized at Go Live
•  Demonstrate predicted benefits of the project to
stakeholders
•  Build momentum within the organization to begin next
phase of the Strategic Vision
•  Capture lessons learned during project
COMMON PITFALLS
Common Pitfalls

•  Effort to reconcile data

•  Data is never as clean as you might expect
•  Internal Audit not engaged
•  Lack of defined roles between
•  Finance and IT
•  Admin and Users
•  New technology, same old process
•  Underestimating change management
Questions?
Comments?
 THANK YOU

Juan Porter
President & Founder, TopDown Consulting
[email protected]