May 2016 - This brief summarizes lessons learned from the Novarica team’s involvement in multiple system implementations over the years, drawing on personal experience, conversations with implementation teams, vendor implementation managers, and Novarica clients.

The Checklist

• Write down the strategy and share it
• Don’t expect too much from solution providers and SIs
• Don’t ignore solution provider recommendations
• Don’t create win/lose situations
• Don’t be afraid to create a backlog
• Don’t ask to change the system until you understand it
• Don’t over-engineer your workflows
• Don’t build unnecessary control reports
• Don’t perpetuate legacy master data
• Don’t convert data when you don’t have to
• Don’t treat this as a part- time job for senior leaders
• Don’t skimp on environments
• Don’t be afraid of risks, manage them instead
• Don’t expect the organization to change on its own