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Weekly UpdatesAs the real estate business continues to become more reliant upon technology, the amount of software used for data management has grown to astronomical proportions. Today's latest technology solutions have provided a level of automation and integration that far surpasses what we imagined just five years ago. Because of the complexity of these systems, it is vitally important that organizations approach implementation in a comprehensive manner.
We have found that all successful system implementations generally share common characteristics, regardless of the size of the organization. The following are some best practices critical to success.
EXECUTIVE SPONSORSHIP/COMMITMENT
The amount of change and disruption that comes with any major system implementation can be very unsettling for the employees of a company. People are by nature resistant to change; sometimes they don't have an appreciation for the business drivers behind the decision to implement a new system.
Demonstrating executive leadership's commitment to the project's success is key to getting buy-in and participation from the business users. Senior leadership should actively communicate to the company why the project was undertaken and why the success of the implementation is important. Employees should understand that their help with the implementation is recognized and appreciated by senior management. Executives should demonstrate their commitment to the project through regular participation, steering committee meetings and frequent communications to the company on the project status.
PROJECT PLANNING
The success or failure of any system implementation can often be directly linked to the amount of effort and energy that goes into the initial planning of the project. Successful planning will guide the project team through the steps needed to achieve their objectives. Effective Project Planning should result in the following:
* A clearly understood project objective and project goals against which success can be measured.
* A clearly defined project scope.
* A documented and agreed upon approach to all major project activities, including: training, testing, data conversion, documentation, report design and development, custom programming design and development, issue tracking and resolution, approval of changes in scope, and post implementation support.
* A detailed project plan that indicates project tasks, timing, responsible parties and deliverables.
* A clear understanding of the resources required to complete the project successfully. The plan should document the number of hours of effort by role and by major task. This will give the business users, IT resources, vendor employees and consultants a clear understanding of when and how much of their time is required.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Effective ongoing project management is a critical element to the success of any implementation. It is vital that someone has day-today responsibility for overseeing the execution of the project plan. The project manager is responsible for identifying and communicating to the executive leadership, any risks or issues that may delay the project or jeopardize the project goals or objectives.
PARTICIPATION OF BUSINESS USERS
It is important that business users are active participants in the implementation of a project. Their participation is important not only because they are the people with the most knowledge of how the system can best support the business requirements of the company, but also because their participation will help ensure:
* They feel some ownership of the project and are vested in its success.
* They become advocates of the system in their respective departments.
* They become more knowledgeable of the system earlier on, and can assist with training and change management for the rest of the organization.
BREAK THE IMPLEMENTATION INTO PHASES
The potential benefits of implementing a new system are numerous. However, it is important to resist the temptation to "bite off more than you can chew." Trying to roll out all the potential system and process improvements at one time can put the project at risk. Breaking the project into phases or waves can help ensure success by:
* Enabling a portion of the benefits of the new system to be realized sooner rather than later.
* Demonstrating some early success will help sustain enthusiasm and commitment to the project.
* Eliminating the risk of overwhelming the organization, from a training and change management perspective.
* Enabling subsequent phases or waves to benefit from the lessons learned of the first phase of the project.
* Eliminating the risk of losing employee enthusiasm and commitment to the project.
CONTROL THE PROJECT SCOPE
Failure to manage project scope poses another significant risk to a successful implementation. As mentioned above, it is critical to establish the project scope during Project Planning. During the course of an implementation there may be a valid reason to change the scope of the project. It is essential that a process for evaluating, prioritizing and approving changes be established with executive leadership. They must be involved in any decision to alter the project scope. They should understand the impact, and sign off on project timing, project cost and project resource requirements.
LIMIT CUSTOMIZATIONS
Customization of software adds complexity and expense to a project, and should be limited. A process should again be established to evaluate, prioritize and approve proposed customizations with executive leadership. Where possible, business processes should be changed to conform to the system functionality. Exceptions include cases where the business users believe a particular business process gives them a competitive advantage, or is otherwise critical to their success.
EMPHASIS ON TRAINING
Ultimately the success of any system implementation is dependent on the ability of the end users to use the system effectively. Role-based training, tailored to the functionality required for each user community, is essential to project success.
Fritz Schindelbeck, Vice President of Professional Services
Fritz joined Yardi Systems in 2002 and has been working with our strategic national and international clients to help them realize the maximum value from their investment in Yardi Systems technology. He has over 22 years of experience in the real estate industry, having served as a controller and IT director for a pension fund advisor, and vice president of consulting for a leading provider of technology solutions to the industry. Prior to joining Yardi Systems in his current capacity, Fritz was a senior manager for both KPMG and Deloitte & Touche in their real estate systems and operations consulting practice. Fritz has led project teams in the completion of literally hundreds of successful real estate systems implementations. Fritz has a B.A. in business administration from California State University, Fullerton.
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Brian Masterson, Senior Manager in the Professional Service Group
Masterson has over 22 years combined experience in operations and systems consulting, including over 18 years working exclusively with the real estate industry. He has worked extensively with real estate owners, real estate investment advisors, property managers and developers of all property types on system selections, system implementations, operations and organizational assessments, system strategies, and business process redesign projects.
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About Yardi Systems
Yardi Systems, Inc. is the global leader in the design, development, and support of integrated Asset and Property Management software for organizations of all sizes. Our client-driven software serves more than 15,000 businesses, corporations, and government agencies, representing more than 5 billion square-feet of commercial space and 5 million residential units globally.
For more information about Yardi products and services, visit www.yardi.com.
by Fritz Schindelbeck and Brian Masterson, Yardi Systems
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