ERP Implementation Project Schedule
This is a practical guide to building a project schedule for an erp implementation project — the planned dates for performing activities and reaching milestones, adapted to the realities of replacing or deploying an enterprise resource planning system across the whole organisation.
What a Project Schedule is
A project schedule is the planned dates for performing activities and reaching milestones. For the full concept and how it works in general, see Project Scheduling. On an erp implementation project it plays the same role, tuned to this kind of work.
Why it matters for an ERP Implementation project
ERP Implementation projects live or die on replacing or deploying an enterprise resource planning system across the whole organisation. A well-built project schedule gives the team a shared, explicit reference for exactly that — reducing ambiguity, aligning stakeholders, and making problems visible early enough to act. Skipping it, or doing it generically, is how erp implementation projects drift into avoidable delay and cost.
What to include
- Activity list
- Durations and dependencies
- Critical path
- Milestones
- Baseline dates
ERP Implementation-specific considerations
Tailor the project schedule to the risks that most often derail erp implementation projects:
- Under-estimated data migration
- Business-process change resistance
- Customisation over-reach
Example
On a real erp implementation project, the project schedule would be shaped by replacing or deploying an enterprise resource planning system across the whole organisation. In particular, it should explicitly account for the project’s biggest risks — under-estimated data migration, business-process change resistance, customisation over-reach — rather than treating them as afterthoughts.