For the purposes of convenience we will describe the mode that essentially looks at the manufacturing model. This model will vary slightly with those within specific service industries but it gives a good example of the progression of the business performance management project.

It assumes that there are several major activities in the organization which include designing new products, creating models of the potential products, the actual manufacture of those products, and a review of the processes and finally optimizing the benefits of the product line.

At the design stage a concept will be created to resolve a problem. Performance management is there to ensure that that concept adequately meets the needs that have been expressed and is a viable proposition. This process will require quite extension consultation and managers should not be surprised if they have to go back to the drawing board over and over again. Logic suggests that it is better to take time planning than to have an inappropriate product.

The next stage is to translate that concept into a model. Performance management will have a role to play here in terms of ensuring that the prototypes accurately match the agreed conception so that any problems can be resolved at this stage. The model can then be tested against various stringent criteria to ascertain whether it can truly cope with any variables that are expected. Where the prototype is not accurate, the problems with the design will be lost in translation.

At the execution stage, the prototype will be turned into an actual product. Hopefully by this stage any problems will have been resolved and it will be an accurate reflection of the concept. If the work is done in batch stages, it is the role of performance management to check the final product against both the concept and the prototype. Any problems should then be dealt with either on a practical basis or through strategic management action.

The review stage is a continuous testing process against the agreed performance indicators. The product will be reviewed by clients and they will give feedback. Improvements can then be suggested to be implemented at a later stage. The role of performance management here is to check the product against all the standards that have been set and highlight any problems as well as suggesting ways of dealing with them.

The final stage is the optimization stage where feedback from both the users and technicians will be used to suggest and implement improvements. The optimization stage can continue throughout the life time of the product. The role of performance management is to ensure that the optimization actually occurs and that it occurs according to the agreed patterns at the design stage. Therefore business performance management is consequently active throughout the lifetime of the product.

Implement an enterprise resource planning software has lots of ups and downs. The anticipation that a company expects might differ. It is very essential for the ERP vendors to make sure that the anticipations of the staffs who are going to use the tool is met successfully.

Some of the essential points and challenges that should be noted during the implementation of the ERP software are as follows:
1. Effective planning and implementation :
As with any other software installation, enterprise resource planning software also requires high level of planning for the successful ERP System implementation. The requirements from the company which opts for installation should be taken and customizations should be done accordingly. The customers should also ask for more templates based on the skills of the staff.

Templates are better used to reduce the time involved in customizing the tool manually. Before implementing a template, the impact which the template poses on the work flow should also be well determined. The changes to the template should also be done proactively. Instead of dwelling on the changes, templates which have customizable feature can be readily used.

2. Training :
Similar to the customization in the implementation, the vendor of enterprise resource planning software should also decide on customizing the training needs. It is always better to choose the vendor who has lots of experience in implementing the ERP to similar companies. These types of vendors will have more knowledge and they have better understanding of the business and try to fit in the ERP’s smartly and easily.

Based on their experience, they also know the right path of training to be provided. Most vendors would have a general session for explaining the whole ERP system architecture on user level. Then, separate trainings will held based on the nature of work they are going to do using ERP.

3. Mock live experience :
Mock live experience is a live training before starting operations. For performing this mock live experience, ERP would be implemented on some of the systems and trainings are given to the staff so that they can get an idea about what they are going to work. They can better understand the platform.

The hands-on experience will definitely throw some light on their understanding of ERP. Mock live experience also helps the staffs for providing valuable points on customization before enterprise resource planning software gets fully implemented in their company.

4. Anticipation management :
Anticipation management is one of the essential keys for an effective ERP implementation. Staff should have a clear understanding of the daily routine work with the ERP.

5. Follow up and support :
Experts of ERP should always be present in the site where ERP is used to handle problematic situations.

To successfully implement an enterprise resource planning software, the company should clearly mention its requirements to the vendor and there should also be sufficient software managing staffs employed by the company solely for operating and maintaining the ERP applications.

Studying enterprise resource planning requires studying different areas. This is not as simple as to learn single software. There are many areas involved in its study which varies from the implementation of the software, outsourcing of ERP, studying impact which it can cause to the international business economy, job opportunities, etc.

The main for the development of ERP is ultimately to increase the productivity and value of a company by assisting the company in fine tuning the manufacturing process. The first software which was implemented for a similar kind of management was named as ‘Material resource planning’ (MRP) in 1975. And later by incorporating many new technologies MRP got evolved into enterprise resource planning (ERP).

The enterprise resource planning systems will collect the data related to the company and stores into a single repository. It also takes into account the several processes and the data sources pertaining to the company. For implementing these data and product services, various software and hardware modules will be used. These hardware and software modules are integrated to form a single enterprise resource planning system.

If the ERP system is planned and implemented successfully then it is undoubtedly going to serve the company is raising its productivity. But there are many challenges involved in planning, implementing and integrating the ERP system.

The challenges involved starts from the point of selecting the right vendor. Failure of enterprise resource planning can never be analyzed or traced back. So, before implementing the software, lots of planning should be done. Also, the requirements posed by the vendor should be fulfilled completely. The vendor also should be in a position to provide successful implementation within time and the quality should also be good.

Some of the other challenges are lack in knowledge level of the employees. The management should thoroughly understand the process and should choose the right vendor. Lack in expertise might cause huge loss. Some companies limit the budget of implementing ERP software to a very minimal level. This in turn will result in less customization and templates.

The real usage of ERP software might be in a toss. Sufficient information can’t be managed and leading to very minimal information to be available. The other major challenge which every organization faces is the lack of support staffs. For a successful ERP implementation, there should be sufficient number of employees assigned by the company to work on the tools. If the companies are able to overcome these challenges, then certainly ERP is going to yield them a lot of profit.

Whereas some organizations can see this as an unwelcome intrusion into the normal working day, the project manager has a role to play to get people to buy into the IT project and use their collegiate working protocols to ensure that all the targets are met.

Some approaches take the view that team building exercises have to be independently planned and implemented to ensure consistency and monitoring. However team building at its best is derived from the willingness of colleagues to resolve a problem by using their different skills and experiences.

The first task is always to make people feel valued. A person will never be able to fully participate in any team work unless they feel that they are genuinely valued and that their contribution makes a significant difference to the outcome of that task. When managing InfoTech projects, there is often a tendency to invite external consultants who will not know a lot about the employees they are expected to work with.

Apart from the normal introductions and the basic orientation, they will move straight to the work. Some of their tasks may involve asking people questions which can be intimidating. Sometimes they will also ask people to change the way that they are working and this can increase the level of resentment across the board.

The frustrations of trying to get people to buy into the project will further increase its lifespan thus creating a culture of skepticism and disbelief. Where managers are not directly involved in the implementation of the project the consultants will struggle to get any cooperation and will often make mistakes.

How then can team work develop from such a scenario ? The first challenge is always to ensure that different workers are given the opportunity to take ownership of the project by contributing to the key performance indicators and also marking the milestones of each piece of work.

It is not enough to be aware what you need from a member of a team, you also need to understand that they will have their own view about the value of their work and how it can be progressed. Personalities are the drivers of any team building exercise. Therefore it is advisable to only select people who are able to work within a team. This is more difficult than it actually sounds. No matter how well trained or skilled an IT technician is, if they cannot effectively communicate with the people in the organization, then all their work will be lost.

Business IT projects should be seen as an opportune moment to foster joint partnerships between different employees and different departments. Once ownership is established it is then much easier for people to buy into the project and contribute ideas. Managers who implement new business IT projects are then tasked with valuing each person’s contribution.