Tip for the Week: Always ask the tough question…. ‘Why?’

Starting in Week #2 and continuing this week, we are completing the Current State Assessment interviews.  These are informal sessions with the business owners and IT supporters where BTRG walks through our client’s current processes.  We find it very helpful to review as much as possible about the process before conducting the interviews.  If available, provide access to your current system (our client is on PeopleSoft HCM 8.9) and any documentation you have to your consulting partner.  Gather this information even before the consulting partner starts the project.  It will make the interview process much quicker and less painful.  BTRG also uses the current business process flows from Oracle for the version you are starting with (8.9) and going to (9.1).  By having these as the starting points for each business process, we find it’s easier to look for the customized or unique steps that pertain to our client, instead of “reinventing the wheel” each time.

The documentation for this part of the assessment includes both a Current State Business Process Overview word document that details the flow of each process as well as a Visio representation of the process.  The purpose of these interviews is to help BTRG get familiar with the current state of our client’s business processes.  We find it also provides details for the entire project team (customer and consultant) for those individuals who aren’t always involved in certain aspects of a system.  A great “cross-training” opportunity for our client is being realized during this part of the project.  Current State also highlights areas where legacy decisions are not so apparent anymore.  The tough question is “Why?” -  Many times for a mature customer (our client has been on PeopleSoft HCM for 15 years), the answer to “Why?” is often unknown.  Reevaluation of the business requirement is key to determining the correct future for your business process.  Take this time to understand and fully document the requirements for any and all customizations being considered for migration during your upgrade.

Deliverables: Current State Assessment Detailed Business Process Overview and Visio Diagrams