How do you quietly kill an ERP project?
Step 1: Make the director the project manager.
Step 2: Wait until daily operations take over.
Step 3: Delegate to someone without experience or authority.
Step 4: Wonder why workshops produce no decisions.
Step 5: Conclude that “ERP is not for us.”
We had exactly that project.
Initially, the director was ideal: clear vision, fast decisions and a responsive team. The first 60 days were exemplary.
Then daily operations took over.
First he arrived late, then skipped workshops, and finally delegated to someone who could listen but not decide. They lacked authority and sufficient knowledge of the company.
I told him directly: we cannot meet our goals this way. You need to get involved.
It did not help.
Workshops repeated the same issues and questions without resolving processes. My frustration grew as both teams wasted time going round in circles.
We eventually finished. The system works. “Finished” is enough for some, but not for me: we only partly achieved our goals. Some advanced options were never considered because decisions could not be made.
Client-side project management is not an honorary title. The person must be able to make decisions. When they disappear, decisions have no owner. Delegation without authority merely postpones the problem, with interest.
Literally.
Marko Carević
Uvid d.o.o.