The introduction of the 'Agresso Business World' ERP system marked a significant investment for the House, and will help it streamline its back-office operations. The House encountered the challenge of not having a dedicated team to manage and monitor the system, and to drive ongoing developments.

 

The solution

We were tasked to present various strategies to the original project board members for the management of the corporate system, using our Service Infrastructure Management (SIM) methodology. Throughout the lifetime of the project, we:

Undertook a options review: We produced an options review document that outlined the key principles of strategically managing large and complex ERP systems to ensure they remain effective, updated, and supportive of the organisation. The document also explored the establishment of a governing body responsible for maintaining ownership of the corporate ERP system and the necessary support structure for its ongoing development. The recommendations put forth in this document were accepted and put into action!

Established a service management board: We assisted the House in establishing a Service Management Board (SMB). During this process, we crafted a formal terms of reference and charter for the Board members, including a long-term budget for continuous system development.

Created a dedicated service centre: We played a key role in establishing a service centre by identifying the necessary roles to proactively manage the ongoing system and creating a development plan. Our responsibilities included crafting detailed role descriptions, conducting interviews with House staff to fill these roles, and ensuring the seamless integration of each role within the service structure. A number of business roles were established to cover all aspects of service support, such as a business analyst.

Logged future developments: We worked with the House's staff to create an initial development log which pulled together all of the potential systems development end users wanted to see implemented. These were catalogued and prioritised according to criteria established by the SMB.

 

The result

The House was presented with a range of innovative ways to manage its newly implemented corporate ERP system.

“The creation of a dedicated Service Centre to manage the core administrative information system was a new departure for the House at the time. It was established on the basis of the approach recommended by Moore Insight and its value was well proven in its first year.

The Service Centre was seen as essential in ensuring we maximise our investment in our integrated administrative information system and is now part of centralised ICT department” - Elizabeth Honer, Former Director of Resources, House of Commons