Think Big, Act Small

In his book, Think Big Act Small, Jason Jennings concludes that acting small is the way that many large companies deliver top financial performance by "keeping the start-up spirit alive". Implementing EPM controls into an organization is like entering a new start-up phase. It changes the way your people work so you must approach it with a steady focus on how it impacts your people, and with the knowledge that their experience and resulting attitudes toward it will largely determine your EPM success.

We've recognized the importance of end-user acceptance from our earliest experiences implementing Project Central and continue to refine our implementation approach with a steady focus on the end user. We begin our professional service engagements with organizational maturity assessments and process evaluations to ensure that these do not become obstacles to a thriving implementation. Your end users must fully embrace the technology in order for your organization to fully benefit from it.

Our implementation approach engages the end user at every phase of the project, particularly in the early stages where simply giving people the opportunity to be heard in the process defuses potential opposition. We carry this philosophy through a staged and steady rollout process from a carefully managed pilot deployment to an even more carefully staged general audience rollout always including the best training and mentoring programs available to bolster success.

The true measure of your EPM deployment success is the degree to which your end users can't live without it. When an EPM deployment delivers performance advantages that end users value, it delivers ROI exceeding stakeholder expectations.