No, I did not install SAP in my house. But, I do feel like I did a major system install by moving to AT&T’s U-verse package (T.V., phone, internet) a couple months ago. I essentially did a complete overhaul of a major part of my house’s technology infrastructure and “went live” on a new system and a lot of the concepts seem eerily similar to a major system conversion project I am currently working on with a client of mine.
There is a “dark period”: Here at my client we have a 1-week dark period where data entry will be strictly restricted to keep records in-sync. At home my entire communication and entertainment infrastructure was out for a couple hours as we cutover to the new system (shorter timeframe, but same idea).There’s a post implementation cleanup period: Here at my client the customer’s first bill will be off-cycle due to differences in billing periods. There will also be data cleanup for items that aren’t critical forcutover, but that do eventually need to be worked. At home the first U-verse bill seemed way too high and I got a partial bill for my previous service. With one-time charges and other adjustments it tooka couple months to get into a routine (and predictable) cycle.Some data won’t be available or will look different: Here at my client our conversion to a new system won’t allow for certain historical items (like past balances etc.) and things will look different (like line items on an invoice.) At home instead of 2 invoices from different companies I got one invoice with completely different line items. I also got a new account number and new login to keep track of.There will be late hours and unexpected problems: Here at my client, as with any major system change, the team is working long hours to fix unexpected problems as they arise. At home with my U-verse implementation the tech was at my house from 8AM until 11PM. We live in an older house that has been renovated and walls that used to be exterior are now interior, so wireless signals that should reach don’t. Parts of the crawl space under the house that should be accessible aren’t. The data transfer rate is way too slow. And, so on.We have status update meetings: Here at my client we are constantly meeting to discuss status, open items and next steps on the current job. At home, the updates were decidedly less formal (the tech coming into my den to update me while I watched Breaking Bad), but were nonetheless the same: “This is taking longer than expected.” “Hmmm – not sure why that doesn’t work.” “I need to talk to our support team.”
It’s funny how when we work all day and see things through a certain lens we apply that lens to our personal lives. I think I’m going to start a 6-sigma project to make sure my coffee is perfect every morning. Or, maybe implement a purchase-to-pay process governance project so my wife will spend less…
