Communicating Language Strategies for SAP Projects

Language strategy is an SAP OCM communication issue in many ways. Naturally, native language menus help end-users to do their jobs in a “language-friendly” environment. However, it is also important to communicate to all end-users what the language strategy is, why it is, and how it will affect their jobs.

OCM communications about language strategy should take place at the appropriate time, which is generally sometime during ASAP Blueprint. This timing is important so that all project stakeholders are clear on the strategy and can weigh in on their language issues and needs.

There are basically two ways to implement an SAP Language Strategy.

1. One language Worldwide for Menus and data entry.
2. Local language Menus and one language for Worldwide data entry.

Both implementations may need to allow local language data entry for legal, statutory or compelling business requirements of the operating country.

Take for an example an America company may deploy a worldwide SAP system allowing it's end-users to have local language menus, but specifying that all data is to be entered into the system in English. Its Chinese subsidiary is allowed to enter postal addresses in Simplified Chinese for business reasons.

Most often, a decision will be made to limit data from being captured in multiple languages on SAP. The driver for this decision is the resulting complex business and technical issues. Implementing multiple languages for data entry may affect low-level system functions such as data consolidation from software providers or third party service providers. Alternatively, it may affect administrators’ ability to make changes to the SAP database tables and profile files.

In summary, menus and data entry are the two main areas to explain when communicating a language strategy for your SAP project.

Exceed Recommended Classroom Size and Last Minute Registration

Over the years it has never ceases to amaze me how managers continually try and exceed the number of students in classroom training recommended and add the students at the very last moment, who are unprepared and do not even know why they are there.

I know. the adage some training is better than none.

It is just so strange. Nobody ever says, “Wait a minute. We trained fifty people last time and only six people are using the software tool. The other forty-four, if they even needed training in the first place, will need retraining.” On each project, the same mistake is repeated.

It's a no win situation for the Instructor. In fact you will be viewed as unhelpful if you do not accommodate the request and then by accommodating the request you are going to potentially be evaluated poorly by the students who are in training, who are unprepared, not sure why they are there and cannot get answers to questions because the instructor is helping too many people get set-up.

What can a change manager do? Keep records and evidence, and show the customer.

Try to do the following:

1. Uphold maximum Class size limitations.
2. Uphold class enrollment deadline requirements.
3. Require on-time attendance by students in order for their business unit to receive credit for the training. Students who cannot begin their participation in training along with the class should reschedule and train at a time more convenient for them.

Bottom line, by breaking your own processes, you allow students to enter a frustrating and less than effective training environment. Many of them will have to be retrained.

On the other hand, while a few people may be frustrated at not being accommodated at the last minute, the students who are prepared and enroll in a timely fashion (who followed process) will be saved entering into the frustration of the late joiners.

As you know, training is not just about providing people with information; it’s about allowing them the opportunity to get the hands on practice that is required. Critical to that is that training is in an environment that fosters learning. This will not be the case if the class is not in a positive frame of mind – either because they didn’t have the software, didn’t know why they were there or had to wait for others to catch-up.

Dear Dr. Changelove - The executive on my project keeps asking me to cut the length of training in half.

I have only just finished the writing the course description. This makes no sense I have not even run a pilot class yet, the time I put in the Course description was just a placeholder. I think my manager is crazy!

Dear Overwhelmed

This is a common problem of change management specialists. It’s like there’s a “half off gene” that kicks in once the project gets underway and managers see the training design. I’m’ not sure what stirs the impulse, but I do have some suggestions for dealing with it.

Suggested Approach: Agree with your manager. Say your training design is “a placeholder”. Review with your manager what the tasks you are teaching to verify if she or he agrees with your design. Then ask your manager how much time he or she thinks it will take to deliver the theory associated with each task. Demo the task. Allow the student to practice each task and master the skill.

You will often find that by doing this your manager will revise his or her opinion of the time required. He or she may even want to run a pilot to time the actual class.It is generally easy to convey this point using this approach because most executives are people who have attended training and they know from personal experience that once the class is over they need to practice the task taught to achieve mastery. Together you and your manager will probably put a better guess at the length of class.

Setting Up Change Agent Networks (CAN)

On very large projects, it’s important to setup a network. To ensure that communication gets the remote parts of an organization.

To accomplish a successful implementation, it is important that change agents from different groups discuss, meet and understand the various hand-off points between their groups. Of course, some groups will participate more than others will.

The takeaway is that you have to get everybody involved. Make sure you document the activity and don’t make the mistake of holding a meeting every time it happens only when something needs to be done.

To Certify or Not to Certify

You’re working on a project. Somebody in the meeting says, “We need to certify everybody.”

The question is how do you practically turn that statement into reality and does it make sense.

Each person on the room may have a view of what certification means.

• The basic consultant may think certification will be granted when a student completes class.
• The business analyst thinks that we need to have a quiz.
• The business process expert wants to see the student actually perform the task in live SAP.

The answer of course is any of the three could be correct. So what is a practical take away? The takeaway is that if the task being performed is extremely important such as Revenue Recognition and the risk is high at Go-live, then the business process expert is probably right.
However, if the task were trivial such as an additional check box that had been added to an order process input screen, a quiz would be sufficient and the business analyst would be right.

Bottom line it really depends on what you’re teaching. So to avoid enormous amounts of lost time discussing theory. Ask meeting attendees to reserve judgement based on what the learning objectives of the class are and specific detail. Click here for link to "How to do Certify" on jTask web site.

Branding an SAP Project

Managers of successful IT projects are often those who bring brand recognition to their project. Successful IT projects have managers that understand the value of communicating regularly to business stakeholders.

The science of brand management brings many marketing communication skills to the arena of project management in order to establish and keep at the forefront the value of the SAP project being engaged in.

Branding has been around for ages. To see branding, we simply have to look at the logos on our favorite products or the slogans, names and colors that are associated our favorite sports teams. These images, colors and phrases are all ways of branding. The purpose is to impress components of your brand – certain colors, key phrases, shapes, images and sounds —into your audience’s mind repeatedly.

SAP Project Branding is to imbue the project with certain qualities or characteristics that make it special or unique. A brand image may be developed by attributing a "personality" to or associating an "image" with a project, whereby the personality or image can be "branded" into the consciousness of End-users.

Not all projects will benefit from branding. If your SAP project is very short-lived or will not have a significant impact on a large number of people, the time and thought spent on branding may be wasted. In order for a brand to be effective, it must have a target upon which to land and the value of the project must merit the effort to brand. In addition, value can be a primary concept conveyed by the brand.

Your SAP project brand will require words, color, and design upon which your communication team will agree. You may require senior management buy in for your brand, to ensure it is in keeping with overarching corporate goals and standards. An ideal brand name or slogan will convey some of the project benefits, thereby reinforcing the project value whenever the brand is used.

As communication experts, your team should be fully competent in the skills required to do so. They’ll include developing style guidelines for your various project communications as well as planning the frequency and scope of such communications so that they are correctly targeted and memorable to those who receive them. Project newsletters, websites, logos, stylized graphics and icons are all vehicles for reinforcing your SAP project brand.

If you think the ideal brand name is SAP ERP Implementation. You should develop your brand around that. Many companies develop a obscure name for example "Vision 2020" and put it on T-shirts the problem is the first question everybody asks is what is "vision 2020" and you have to tell them it's an SAP ERP Implementation. Remember you are not marketing a new car you are marketing an internal IT project. Keep it simple.