BusinessProcessSimulationOverviewABusinessProcessSimulation(BPS)isaninteractive,hands-ondesignandtestsessionperformedinacontrolledenvironment.Itisconductedwithpeoplefromvariousfunctionsoftheclient’sbusinesswhowillusethesystemandcustom/packagedsoftwareonadailybasis.DuringtheBusinessProcessSimulation,theprojectteamwilldevelopbusinessprocesses,designthesoftwareconfiguration,trainusers,developdetailsoftwareenhancementsandfreezethedesign.Decisionsmadeinthisphasewillimpactallareasoftheoperationsincludingfinancialreporting,orderprocessing,purchasing,manufacturingandinventorymanagement.TheBPSmethodologylaystheframeworkforconfirmingthattheselectedpackagedsoftwaremeetstheclient’scriticalbusinessrequirements.ThesystemwouldhavebeenselectedthrougheffortsconducteddirectlybytheclientorasaresultofapriorAndersenengagementwhichutilizedthePackagedSystemsSelectionmethodology.Ineithercase,movingforwardwiththeBPSeffortshouldbetheresultofaconsensusopinionamongclientpersonnel.ThekeyperformancephasesoccurringinaBPSinclude:PlanningandOrganization,DesignandPiloting,andImplementationPlanning.TheProjectManagementandtheChangeManagementphasesoccurthroughouttheBPSprocess.ObjectivesTheoverallobjectivesofaBPSprojectareto:-Assisttheclientinensuringthattheselectedsoftwarepackagemeetstheclient’scriticalbusinessrequirements.-Designthefinancial,distributionandmanufacturingsystemsandprocesses-Simplifyandstreamlineprocesses,datacollectionandreportingsothesystemiseasytouseandmaintain.-Assisttheclientinrefiningtheirbusinessprocessesinordertomaximizetheutilityofthesystemandsoftwareinvestmentwhileminimizingchangestothestandardprocessingfeaturesofthechosensoftwarepackage.-Identifyandresolveprocessingissuesbeforethesoftwareisimplemented,inanenvironmentwhereitisrelativelyeasytotrynewthingsthroughatrialanderrorprocess.-Assistinformulatingperformancemeasures,redefiningand/orcreatingprocessesandrefiningand/ordefiningadministrativepoliciesandproceduresrelatedtopackageoperations.-Assisttheclientinmanagingexpectations,workloadsandchangesduringtheBPS.-Trainprojectteampersonnelintheuseofthepackage,newprocessesandprocedures.-Identifyneedsforcustomreports,interfacesandCustomSystemsDevelopment.-PlanfortheimplementationofthePackagedSoftware.TheBPSmethodologyinterfaceswiththePackagedSoftwareSelectionandImplementationmethodologieswhichareusedpriortoandfollowingtheBPSengagement,respectively.ItalsointerfaceswiththeCustomSystemsDevelopmentmethodologyiftheclient’sfullsystemsolutionincludessignificantcustomizationofthepackagedsoftwareorifsystemsinterfacingwiththepackagedsoftwarearebeingdeveloped.TheprojectteamshouldworkcloselywiththePackageSoftwareSelection,ImplementationandCustomSystemsDevelopmentteamsandintegratetheirapproachesandmethodologies.OthermethodologieswhichsupporttheBPSengagementincludeChangeEnablementandtheConsultingProcessFramework.Deliverables-Adesignforanewsystemandbusinessprocessestomeetcurrentandfuturebusinessneedsfortheclient.-Approvaltoproceedwiththeimplementationeffort.-AsuccessfulengagementandasatisfiedclientfortheBusinessConsultingpractice.-Aplantoexecutetheimplementationofthenew,futuresystemandbusinessprocessdesign.Questions-Howdoyoubalancethecost,qualityandscheduleofdesigningandtestingnewsystemsandtechnologywithneedsandavailableresources?-Haveweidentifiedallthecriticalbusinessprocessesoftheclienttosimulate?...
