<p>So many articles focus on getting to Go Live or getting <i>through</i> Go Live, but very few give you any indication of what you are up for <i>after</i> Go Live.</p>
<p>As you lead up to Go Live, you (and possibly a consulting partner) examine, to the best of your abilities, what you need to do to have a successful Go Live. Many define success as "on time, on budget". All customizations are complete, change orders are in the queue for Phase II, Phase III, and infinity. Training of end users is done, the implementation team is ready as they´ll ever be, and a Go Live plan is set up for Go Live weekend.</p>
<p><b>So you think you´re ready?</b></p>
<p>If so, first define what you mean by a "successful" Go Live. You could have a Go Live that easily meets time & budget restrictions, but once it hits the ground and the first batch of users start to log in to the system, the story may be entirely different.</p>
<p><b>So what <i>should</i> you expect? (Translation: What should you plan and prepare for?)</b></p>
<p>If you´ve gotten all of your ducks in order throughout your project, then there are three main sources of post Go Live issues:</p>
<ol start="1" type="1">
<li><b>Technology</b>.
<ol start="1" type="a">
<li>Expect calls about security and users who don´t have enough access or who can´t log in.</li>
<li>Expect your security administrator to work full time.</li>
<li>There may be sudden requirements for technical resources to edit fields, or add customizations that somehow went astray.</li>
<li>New queries and reports need to be created to fill new business requirements.</li>
<li>You may also discover some hardware that simply does not support the new software.</li>
</ol>
</li>
<li><b>People</b>.
<ol start="1" type="a">
<li>"How do I do <i>this?"</i> Never mind that there <i>were</i> training classes.</li>
<li>Use the 80/20 rule: 80% of your users will be prepared but 20% won´t be ready no matter how much preparation they have been given.</li>
<li>You may hear things like "I hate this system!" Frustration is a given, and you should expect it.</li>
</ol>
</li>
<li><b>Process</b>.
<ol start="1" type="a">
<li>If you have done a drastic re-engineering of processes, but if you haven´t involved the users enough or communicated the change effectively, you will hear about it on Day One.</li>
<li>If you have not done a drastic re-engineering of processes, you may still have a bit of fogginess with your user community about what they need to do.</li>
</ol>
</li>
</ol>
<p><b>What could you do to help minimize the confusion & craziness?</b></p>
<ol start="1" type="1">
<li><b>Technology. </b>
<ol start="1" type="a">
<li>Set up a shared email account for <i>all</i> electronic inquiries, and communicate that to all users.</li>
<li>Prepare vendor support phone numbers, just in case you need to make emergency calls.</li>
<li>When you receive urgent requests for improvement, carefully analyze them for timeliness and prioritize them so that they get done at the most appropriate time. </li>
</ol>
</li>
<li><b>People.</b>
<ol start="1" type="a">
<li>Train, train, train<b>.</b> At least 10% of your budget should go toward end user training.</li>
<li>Do not confuse "demonstrations" for training, they are not good enough for those hands-on users!</li>
<li>Make a schedule so that youknow who is absent.</li>
<li>Try not to schedule vacation for key people around Go Live.</li>
<li>Plan for back-ups.</li>
<li>Create role-based Quick Reference Cards for users.</li>
<li>Most importantly, set the expectation that you know things will take longer after Go Live until the learning curve is tackled.</li>
</ol>
</li>
<li><b>Process.</b>
<ol start="1" type="a">
<li>Beforeyou go live, it is imperative that you do a business process review to ensure that users are clear about not only their role, but the handovers that occur between teams and departments.</li>
<li>Assemble a Go Live SWAT team who does nothing during the first few days of Go Live but travel from desk to desk to ensure everything is moving along nicely.</li>
<li>Create an intranet page or wiki to document all process-related pieces of information that everyone should know in the weeks after Go Live. (Email is risky; you could easily leave people out of the loop.) You can review this list after the transition is "over" and update your processes with this information.</li>
<li>Plan Go Live carefully to take advantage of "lulls" in your business cycle, i.e. consider when payday falls, take summer vacations into account, and don´t go live on the eve of a hiring spurt in the fall.</li>
</ol>
</li>
</ol>
<p>Sometimes, we just don´t have a choice but to Go Live during busy, hectic times. Many project managers say "Good, fast or cheap: You can only have two." So, choose your two and do them really well. If you manage the variables well, post Go Live impact will be manageable.</p>
<p>Remember to sit down with your team and review your learnings from Go Live, and keep them at the top of mind for the next one. In the world of ERP and HRIS ... it´s really not that far away!</p>
<hr>
<p>Editors Note: Want to know more about this topic? Join the Technology Trends 2006 ERP · On-Demand · Customization vs. Configurationworkshop at HR.com´s Employers of Excellence National Conference 2006. This exciting four day event will be held at the Red Rock Resort Spa and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada and will feature world-class keynote speakers such as: Patrick Lencioni, David Ulrich, Meg Wheately, Ram Charan, Steven Levitt, Marshall Goldsmith and more. <a href="https://crm.hr.com/events" target="new">Click here</a> for more information for more information.</p>
