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It’s official now, and it’s time I announce it here: after two years at Microsoft I’ve decided to take the helm of my career and venture into the realm of independent consulting. Two days into it, and all I can say about it is: what have I been waiting for this long?
While at Microsoft, I [...] Read...
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I’m not sure about you, but I’ve missed last week’s update to this free download from Microsoft Download Center: Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 Developer and IT Pro Help.
Published in December 2008, this set of help files and guidelines contains valuable information for developers and IT professionals about...
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One of the biggest absurdities about ERP systems springs from the very word we use so often when describing ERP: integrated.
ERP is an integrated system: it integrates all data and processes into a single application. Different modules look over different aspects of data and processes, but a change in...
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Navigate Into Success
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Mar 23, 2009
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Filed under: Implementation, ERP, Best practices, Add-on, Customization, Cost, Agile, Value, Integration, Interface, Standalone
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You can’t avoid customizations. Vanilla ERP is a great first step, and a valuable tool for establishing common language between the customer and the consultant. But in the long run? Probably not. Pristine uncustomized ERP won’t be sufficient, because of the gaps between your way and ERP’s way. Sooner...
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Navigate Into Success
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Mar 20, 2009
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Filed under: Implementation, ERP, Best practices, Customization, Software, Regression, Agile, Value, Return, Development, Gap
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- “We need a report which groups our sales by product components.”
- “And we need it broken down by cost centers.”
- “And it must show comparison with last month, quarter and year, and with budget and forecast, with indexes and trends. In linear regression.”
- “And it must let you choose if it is by...
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How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. Swallowing it all at once might be tempting as it has all the potential you need to get into the next edition of Guinness World Records. Likewise, trying it with an ERP implementation has all the potential you need to get into to the [...] Read More...
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Navigate Into Success
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Mar 18, 2009
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Filed under: Implementation, ERP, Best practices, Benefits, CHAOS, Agile, Waterfall, Value, Change, Goals, Deployment, Elephant, Guinness World Records
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“Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of valuable software.” That’s the very first principle of the Agile Manifesto.
The problem with ERP is that the first deliveries are all but early: they typically occur only after about twenty months.
Twenty months...
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Navigate Into Success
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Mar 17, 2009
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Filed under: Implementation, ERP, Best practices, Degree of Fit, Customization, Success, SAP, Agile, Value, Old software
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In my previous post I’ve (what, again?) shared some statistics about success and failure rates of software projects in general and ERP projects specifically. It seems that ERP projects fare somewhat worse than generic software projects, which I stated might have a lot to do with how requirements are...
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Navigate Into Success
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Mar 16, 2009
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Filed under: Implementation, ERP, Sure Step, Best practices, Requirements, Customization, Success, Project, Agile, Waterfall, Value
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Last week I delivered the C/SIDE Development course for partner community in Zagreb. As always, questions abound afterwards. Today, I’ve got a question from an attendee: “What’s the best way to print a report in multiple languages?”.
Up front: this is NOT a technical post. It IS about technical solution...
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Navigate Into Success
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Mar 6, 2009
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Filed under: Dynamics NAV, Technology, Best practices, Tips & Tricks, C/SIDE, Reports, Klingon, United Nations General Assembly, Request Options, Printing, C/AL, Language
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According to Standish Group, top causes of failed IT project are these: lack of end-user engagement,
unclear specification,
changes in scope,
lack of management support,
lack of planning,
unrealistic and unclear goals. I haven’t seen too many failed Microsoft Dynamics NAV implementation projects, but...
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Navigate Into Success
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Feb 26, 2009
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Filed under: Implementation, Best practices, Project management, Microsoft Dynamics NAV, Risk, Success, Failure, Project scope, Project, Planning, Standish Group
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Implementing a new Microsoft Dynamics solution doesn’t merely introduce a new piece of software into your environment. Yes, the software is an important part, you need to deploy it successfully, configure it as necessary, probably even customize it and change the business logic under the hood.
One component...
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Navigate Into Success
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Navigate Into Success
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Jan 29, 2009
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Filed under: ERP, Sure Step, Best practices, Microsoft Dynamics NAV, Architecture Assessment, Microsoft Dynamics, NAV, Infrastructure, Microsoft Services, BSA, AX, Premier Support, GP, CRM, SL, Architecture
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(Three compelling reasons to reshape your business processes, not your software) Has your computer ever crashed while you were doing something important, causing you to lose all your work? A natural first reaction to this situation is frustration: your work is gone, your effort went in vain, you’ll never...
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Navigate Into Success
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Jan 19, 2009
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Filed under: Implementation, ERP, Best practices, Improvement, Success, Process improvement, Upgradeability, Experience, Software, TCO, Maintenance, Support, Monkey policy, Costs, Business processes
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(A short rant about eye-contact-based specifications.) In short, there is no such things as an eye-contact-based specification. And for a reason.
While kicking-off of a project, we had a discussion with the customer about the change management approach, and specification detail. I was insisting on documenting...
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Last Friday, while enjoying a not-at-all healthy Salisbury steak with cheese, I had an interesting discussion with a partner: should NAV consultancies create default databases?
A default database (in this context) is a packaged solution built upon standard Microsoft Dynamics NAV, where a consultancy...
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Some time back, as I was riding a taxi from Prague airport to Holiday Inn hotel, I wondered about the fixed price I was about to pay for the ride.
- “Airport to city is 700 flat.” - said the driver when I asked how much approximately will it cost.
Common wisdom goes that flat rates mean ...