How Project Managers Take Control of Delivery in an ERP Project

Control in an ERP project comes down to two things: knowing what is supposed to be delivered and being able to prove that it actually has been. It is possible to manage this manually, but without a direct link between requirements and verified test cases, maintaining control becomes increasingly difficult as the project grows. With a tool that keeps requirements, testing and status in one place, you can use data to answer the question “has this been delivered?”

Why project managers lose control

Two thirds of all ERP projects exceed budget and schedule. Behind that number rarely lies a single mistake, but rather a loss of control that develops gradually when the complete picture is missing. Requirements end up in email threads and scattered files, scope creep sneaks in through additions that are never formalised, and status reports are built on estimates rather than facts. When the overall picture is missing, there is no way to determine what has been verified — and by the time it becomes clear, it is usually too late to do anything about it.

What a project manager needs to have control over

Control means having a consolidated picture of what is supposed to be delivered and ensuring it is delivered as intended. It starts with clear requirements that reflect the organisation’s business needs; each requirement is then linked to test cases that verify it is met. For the IT project manager, this means having an ongoing overview of delivery progress: which requirements have been verified and approved by the business, and what remains before Go-Live. That foundation makes it possible to make decisions based on facts rather than estimates. Control can be achieved manually, but it is made significantly easier by a tool that brings requirements, test cases and status together in one place.

Why the tool matters and what to consider when choosing one

Maintaining control in an ERP project is difficult to do manually. The more requirements, test cases and stakeholders involved, the harder it becomes to keep the picture coherent without a shared system. It is in the gap between what has been ordered and what has been verified that most projects lose their grip. A tool that bridges those two elements makes it possible to close that gap and give the project manager a fact-based foundation throughout the project.

When choosing a tool, three things matter most: traceability between requirements and test cases, ongoing reporting that shows what has been verified and what remains before Go-Live, and the ability to immediately see which test cases are affected when a requirement changes.

There are many tools on the market, but what differentiates them is how well they keep those three elements together in a single system. A detailed comparison can be found in the article Comparison of the most common tools for requirements and test management.

Manual management versus tool-based management

The result when control is in place

When the project manager has control over the project, time and resources can be directed to the right things. Instead of chasing status updates and resolving interpretation issues, the focus can shift to steering the project, identifying risks early and giving the steering committee a fact-based foundation. It also means Go-Live decisions can be made with confidence, and the project is no longer dependent on the right person being available to answer questions about the current state. When status and progress are documented and accessible, the project becomes more robust and easier to manage.

Read more and go deeper

• How BICO Group launched the pilot of Microsoft Dynamics 365 in 9 months, despite a global group structure, a change of implementation partner and an aggressive timeline.
• How Portsmouth City Council migrated to Oracle Fusion Cloud and went live on schedule — with a system critical to finance, payroll and HR.
• Read our white paper on key factors for a successful business system and what determines whether an ERP implementation succeeds.
• How to involve the organization in your IT-project by utilizing management

Frequently asked questions

How do I manage scope creep in an ERP project?

Requirement changes are inevitable in an ERP project, but every change needs to be handled formally to avoid losing control. As an IT project manager, you need to be able to immediately see which test cases are affected when a requirement changes — otherwise you risk testing against the wrong things and missing the fact that the delivery does not match what was agreed. A tool with requirements traceability makes it possible to handle changes in a structured way and keep the picture coherent throughout the project.

How do I report project status to the steering committee in a fact-based way?

Fact-based reporting requires that status is grounded in actual work, not in estimates. That means being able to show exactly which requirements have been tested and approved, which have unresolved defects and what remains before Go-Live. When that information is gathered in a tool with requirements traceability, you can walk into every steering committee meeting with a foundation that is actually accurate, rather than presenting a picture built on what the team believes to be true.

Do you need a tool to maintain control in an ERP project?

It is possible to work without a dedicated tool, but experience shows that manual management quickly becomes unsustainable as the project grows and more parties become involved. As an IT project manager, you need to be able to answer the question “has this been delivered?” at any point during the project — not just ahead of a steering committee meeting. Without a tool that keeps requirements, test cases and status together, that answer is always an estimate, never a fact.