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Session Descriptions
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Best practices and principles for building world-class SAP training and support organizations
SAP transitions: Managing stakeholder expectations
The games people (can) play: Creative ways to keep your SAP team engaged and motivated
The Art of the start: Your first project steps can make (or break) you
New options and best practices for building a world class SAP Center of Excellence (COE)
How Novartis built an SAP Center of Excellence (COE) to deliver quantifiable value
Tips and tricks for keeping super users “super”
How much do companies spend on SAP operational activities?
Best practices and principles for building world-class SAP training and support organizations
Research shows that end user training and support are two critical yet often overlooked and underestimated components of every SAP project plan. Examine the critical questions that must be answered for you to build and maintain a strong training and support program that fits your SAP strategy. Watch this session to:
- Examine the primary components of a comprehensive training plan, and evaluate the different types of training delivery options — including online, classroom (instructor-led) and one-on-one — and the factors to consider when making your training decisions
- Step through actual training strategies to gain an understanding of how to estimate resources, costs, and timelines
- Examine the differences in the design and delivery of end-user training for a first-time go-live versus refresher and new employee training, and get advice for tailoring your training to meet the specific needs of each
- Identify the factors to include in your post-go-live (maintenance) strategy to ensure that training remains up-to-date long after your project concludes
- Explore various support and training delivery options, including in-house and outsourced, and weigh the related benefits and challenges of each option
- Examine a three-tiered end user support model that utilizes the most appropriate resources, including super users, help desk, and business specialists
- Explore the critical elements to include for a super user program that meets both immediate and long-term support needs
- Take a look at the use of Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and Operating Level Agreements (OLAs) to ensure service delivery that balances resource realities with end user expectations
- Identify ways to measure support effectiveness as part of a continuous improvement effort
SAP transitions: Managing stakeholder expectations
Every SAP implementation is a series of events and milestones that move us from the current state (as is) to the desired state (to be). In most cases, organizations do a great job of figuring out why they're moving to SAP and what it will look like. But the period of waiting and wondering that lies in between these two areas can cause your project team, your business leaders, and your end users anxiety and frustration. Watch this session to:
- Discover ways to identify and manage the frequently diverse expectations of your stakeholders
- Examine a change curve model that can be used to monitor the journey of your stakeholders throughout the project lifecycle
- Learn why the emphasis is placed on the period of “transition”—what it looks and feels like in a typical SAP implementation; what can happen to the organization if you don’t manage this period well; and ways to keep communication and stakeholder engagement alive and healthy in anticipation of go-live.
The games people (can) play: Creative ways to keep your SAP team engaged and motivated
SAP implementations are often highly stressful, lengthy, and challenging projects that require a great deal of time and energy from the project team members. This session provides you with creative ideas for keeping project team members engaged and productive. Watch this session to:
- Get examples of activities, games, and fun events that can be used in your SAP implementation to keep everyone motivated, engaged, and working together as a team
- Experience what it’s like to actually participate in some of these games after which you’ll learn how to facilitate these activities with your own project team
- Hear how other SAP teams have incorporated these activities into their implementation plans
- Discover how the inclusion of creative and fun events and activities can keep everyone on track and loving every moment of the experience!
The Art of the start: Your first project steps can make (or break) you
When SAP projects begin, organizations have great intentions, lofty goals, and high energy. The key to making those SAP goals and visions a reality requires a successful start and kickoff. The rush for a quick start frequently results in having to slam on the brakes as you move down the project path, with a need to rethink your approach or even start over at times. This session will emphasize the importance of taking the Ready-Aim-Fire (versus Ready-Fire-Aim) approach to planning and starting a project. Watch this session to:
- Get ideas and strategies for facilitating the vision and planning stages adequately to ensure that once you reach kick-off time — be it a new project or an upgrade — your chances of success will be greatly improved
- Take an in-depth look at areas such as creativity, facilitation, and stakeholder engagement and learn how these can be used to effectively charter your initiative, sell it throughout the organization, and maintain interest for the entire project cycle.
Transform your SAP training program into a performance program to better align with and meet your business goals
Learn how to take your training programs to the next level with tips for creating a performance program that not only trains SAP users, but also prepares them to achieve the organization’s business goals and objectives. Watch this session to:
- Understand how to create and roll out a performance program that will help you identify and overcome roadblocks to an employee’s ability to efficiently operate in a post implementation environment
- Get best practices for coordinating with change management, business readiness, and human resources teams to establish a comprehensive program that represents business goals across your organization
- Evaluate best practices for working with project sponsors and project management to determine the right overall business goals for your SAP project and learn how to translate goals into Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
- Discuss key activities during the ASAP methodology phases of your implementation that will address potential performance gaps in your future employee base.
Achieving a culture of continuous improvement through centers of excellence, communities of practice, user groups and social networks
To reap the highest ROI and to reduce the total cost of ownership in SAP investments, high-performing organizations embrace the concept of continuous improvement. What do you need to put into place that keeps your key SAP stakeholders engaged and supported — from executives to your end users? This session will explore the model of social networks that is already prevalent in society today and apply these same principles and practices to an SAP environment. Watch this session to:
- Receive guidelines and a process for leading a group through identification and agreement on a continuous improvement vision and strategy that provides ongoing SAP growth, executive leadership, and end-user competency
- Examine the formal networks that can be developed including senior-governance groups, super-user groups, and centers of excellence, and explore informal ways to keep your critical stakeholder groups connected and engaged.
New options and best practices for building a world class SAP Center of Excellence (COE)
This session explores critical components, success factors, and standards you need to understand to establish a world-class SAP Center of Excellence (COE) in your organization. Watch this session to:
- Examine the key components of a COE, and get tips for establishing its functions and goals, securing executive-level support and funding, and setting up governance standards and performance metrics
- Understand the benefits a COE brings to an organization, including better operational support, a centralized governance structure, and streamlined management of SAP initiatives
- Explore the challenges associated with the introduction of a COE, including staffing the right skills and determining the optimal size and structure, and learn how to overcome these obstacles
- Learn how to leverage industry standards such as Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) to build a more successful COE
- Find out why it is now mandatory for organizations implementing SAP to establish an SAP COE and to obtain COE certification.
How Novartis built an SAP Center of Excellence (COE) to deliver quantifiable value
Learn how Novartis developed an SAP Center of Excellence (COE) across multiple sites. Watch this session to:
- Examine how the company measures the success and value of the COE model, providing transparency around the costs of maintaining, enhancing, and growing its SAP system post implementation
- Explore Novartis’ best practices for defining the existing SAP system support burden, resource utilization, incident management, training, enhancements, and projects
- Understand how to utilize this information to clearly identify support trends and opportunities for improvements and cost savings
- Gain insight into how Novartis creates and maintains key metrics, performance indicators, and benchmarks to plan and justify the necessary budget for a growing SAP environment, which includes SAP NetWeaver
- Learn how to develop a sourcing strategy to grow key internal capabilities, and leverage external offshore providers in areas where they can provide the greatest value
- See how Novartis maps its SAP investments to its strategic business objectives.
Tips and tricks for keeping super users “super”
Explore the results of five years of research on super user programs to understand how to leverage super users to reduce support costs, improve timeliness of support, generate system functionality that accurately reflects the needs of the business, improve user adoption, and reduce consulting costs. Watch this session to:
- Identify best practices S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc. has uncovered for creating a best-in-class super-user program, and walk through a number of commonly encountered pitfalls like managing expectations successfully, accommodating expectations in communications planning, and making the super-user role attractive
- Learn how to integrate and sustain super users within project teams, as well as after a project goes live
- Explore how to ensure your super users contribute value to the business and the IT organization by including them in governance structures, clearly defining their roles, developing their skill sets, and accurately measuring their performance
- Identify the three key areas in which super users must participate, including blueprinting, change management, and end-user training
- Walk away from this session with best practices for creating, managing, and maintaining a super user program in your organization.
How much do companies spend on SAP operational activities?
How much do companies with a similar SAP environment to yours spend on operational activities, such as their own SAP COE and data center or external support from their strategic outsourcing or hosting partner? This session provides you with benchmarks for the costs associated with running an SAP data center and support organization, as well as the costs related to paying an external service provider for support services. Watch this session to:
- Get a clear picture of post-implementation costs, as well as services delivered, tied to key service-level agreements (SLAs)
- Explore various benchmark methodologies, including the consensus cost model and price benchmark contract comparison, and take a look at actual KPIs which allow you to run your support organization in a more efficient and effective way
- Learn how to measure the operational costs of your own or your outsourced environments, and identify the skill sets your competency center should have.