Breaking out the specific tasks and deadlines of your project can be key to a successful implementation. An ERP scope of work helps get your entire team, both inside and outside of your company, on the same page and keeps everyone working toward the same goal in the same time frame. But there is a difference between an ERP scope of work and an excellent ERP scope of work that will truly help your project become the success you meant it to be.

• Scope statement: this is the overview of the project as a whole, when will it be complete, cost, strategy, end goal, etc.
• Objectives: the objectives outline the actions to be taken, steps really, to complete the project. These would be something like, “convert data” it would not get into the knitty gritty details on how that would happen.
• Potential project risks and mitigation: what could potentially bring the project crashing down? are you prepared to handle them?
• Roles and responsibilities: having these written down, distributed, and made available to everyone involved in the project it crucial to ensure everyone is on the same page.
• Assumptions: more like…lack of assumptions. Sometimes you assume something that the consultant may or may not be doing and vice versa. Even if you think it is a point that does not need discussion, be sure to discuss it!
• Deliverables: make sure all things pertaining to the project are in writing and all written tools are available to everyone involved. Examples include the scope of work itself, project plans, training manuals, etc.
• A list of functional requirements: go through each functional area and list all requirements and associated details, the more thorough, the better.
• Project change management: it’s a software project…something will more than likely need to change over the course of the project, how will you handle it? Be sure to get in writing who has the authority to make changes and who needs to approve them. Make sure change request forms are ready to go and available.
• Issue Escalation procedures: who will handle issues if/when they come up? Is the team aware of who that person is? That way issues can be dealt with quickly and effectively.

A building is only as strong as the foundation on which it was built; by including the aforementioned categories in your ERP scope of work, you will be setting yourself up for a solid ERP implementation.If there is ever a time when employees need to be included in conversations it is when a big change is coming to the company, like an ERP implementation. Here are the 4 ways to have effective ERP communication for an easy and painless transition.