💣 Big Bang
or Small Steps What is the most effective Project Approach?

There is a long To-do List when modernizing your Business Processes

Implementing a new ERP/CRM solution requires a lot of effort. You have to clean up the data and of course train and motivate your end users so that they can actually do more with the available functions than in the current system. In addition to a product roadmap as a guide, it is particularly important that all team members know and understand your holistic project goals - even across departmental boundaries.

With the long-awaited modernization of your processes, a wealth of innovative new technologies such as artificial intelligence and Internet of Things are also within reach. Surely you don’t want to miss the boat at this point, do you?

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Now the question arises, in which steps do you want to realize your implementation. Should it be a “big bang project”, in which a very extensive change is planned at one go? Or do you tend to proceed in many small steps?

Risks of a Big Bang Project

Companies have often neglected updates and digitalization issues in the past. If you are investing in a new ERP/CRM system, you may also have the urge to go all the way. Especially if you haven’t updated anything at all for decades.

Unfortunately, this is exactly what often goes wrong. The changes in the processes and working methods of your employees are too big and they often no longer play along because too much has changed for them. Basically, it can be said that companies are often too optimistic when assessing their available time, their skills, their focus and their motivation before projects.

You should also bear this in Mind

• “Big bang implementations” are prone to disruption and carry the risk of sometimes even temporarily “paralyzing” entire organizations.
• In our fast-moving times, the original principles of a project can quickly become outdated.
• During implementation, it is not easy to consistently follow through on the original planning of the ERP implementation.
• Implementation projects tend to take longer than expected.

Large Projects: less Efficiency?!

What can we conclude from this? Large and lengthy implementations with a broad and flexible project scope are often ineffective and in many cases the problems are greater than the benefits, for example, disruptions to day-to-day business can affect the loyalty of your customers. A good alternative to a “big bang approach” is to split the project into several smaller steps.

Do not do Everything at once - but little by little

A project process in “small steps” has numerous advantages. These include:

• It motivates your team members to celebrate smaller successes more often.
• A shorter “time-to-value” span. Time-to-value means the time it takes for your product idea to deliver initial added value for your customers.
• The ability to adapt more quickly to changing circumstances.

Think in Small Steps: constant Change serves as an Opportunity for Growth

If you implement your ERP/CRM solution as part of a “big bang project”, this usually leads to a quick result, but involves greater risks. All in all, it should be clear to your management that smaller steps are more pleasant for everyone involved in the project. You should also plan a fixed permanent budget for IT and digitalization, which is more efficient than investing once on a grand scale and then not at all for the next ten years.

The implementation of new software, the adaptation and modernization of your business processes and the creation of a fresh, new corporate culture are require huge investments and they demand a lot from your teams.

These days, a lot can change very quickly. You have to get used to this permanent change and learn to work with it. Even better: use this circumstance to your advantage. Change is ultimately your only constant.

But this also means that you don’t have to implement the one perfect ERP/CRM solution that you are then tied to for 5 or even 10 years. It’s much more effective to think of your digital transformation as a process rather than a project. As a process that is probably never quite finished. Which is about completely digitizing your processes, the way you work and the way you think.

Approaching your next ERP/CRM project with this mindset is a big step in the right direction, because even if it sounds like a standard calendar saying, there is a lot of truth to it: growth only comes from change - whether in small steps or with the big bang.