PeopleSoft 9.1 Upgrade Insights: Got a strategy?
Many may think they have an upgrade strategy and do not. Others may believe they do not need a strategy, just the upgrade scripts.
Perhaps, some believe it is all about tactics. What constitutes a strategy? What is a tactic?
A strategy is a plan of action designed to achieve a particular goal.
Strategy is profoundly different from tactics. In military terms, tactics is concerned with the conduct of an engagement while strategy is concerned with how different engagements are linked. In other words, how a battle is fought is a matter of tactics: whether it should be fought at all is a matter of strategy.
My recommendation is develop an upgrade strategy tailored to your organization AND then shout it out so everyone touched by your project knows what it is.
Identify your true and actual goal(s). Upgrading is not a goal. It is a process. A goal is something like: Improve our operations by leveraging new functionality including HCM 9.1′s new robust time & labor entry approval process.
Portray outcome(s) that leave no real doubt that your goals been achieved: Employees will be able to view and print their paystubs using the HCM 9.1 internet portal.
Define your scope in a way that not only describes what is IN the project but what is to be left OUT: Benefit Administration will NOT be configured and deployed.
Portray your project methodology in a straightforward manner so that everyone involved understands how you plan to get from point A to point Z. The first step on the path to understanding is what I like to call the 25 words or less test. For instance: Install the latest and greatest release, upgrade our current system to the new release, and test exhaustively until all features and functions are working properly. See, 25 words exactly.
Of course, we have always carved up large, comprehensive projects into understandable and manageable phases. An upgrade project is no exception:
- Prepare & Install- You cannot upgrade if you cannot install. And you cannot install unless you have a technical environment that supports the new release.
- Upgrade- Start with the new release and your current system. End up with a version of your system upgraded to the level of the new 9.1 release that can be verified and tested.
- Test- I like to call this the “Make it Work” phase. Keep testing it, keep fixing it until it works.
- Deploy & Support- Some project managers like to start at the beginning and work forward. I like to start at the end and work backwards. What is needed for a successful cutover? If the project plan does not include a realistic answer to this question then failure will be the likely result.
In upcoming postings, PeopleSoft Upgrade Insights, I will discuss how a variety of time tested techniques can be employed to jumpstart, monitor, and control the upgrade process. Stay tuned.
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