Strategic Considerations in SOM Delivery

[Reggie O]

SOM Project Business Objectives:

SOM projects need to be rooted in clear business objectives.

• What problems are we trying to solve, and how are they measured?
  • Becoming measurably easier to do business with: Be specific on what this means; it can vary by stage and segment
  • Significantly reducing end-to-end (E2E) cycle times and doing more with less
• What capabilities can we enable to solve those problems, and how will they impact desired customer and company outcomes?
• Any requirements, scoping, design approaches, or project plans that don't make this very clear near their beginning should be iterated until they do

Solution design should explicitly describe:

• Pain points/problem statements
  • Why (analysis)?
  • What are the root causes?
  • What problems are we trying to solve?
  • How do we know when we are done?
  • What capabilities are needed?
  • What will/won't be addressed when?
  • How to validate (proposed-to-be KPIs)?

SOM projects are often mission-critical:

• Customers view these as major platform initiatives whose goals include a sustainable step change in a company's performance and health
• Enterprises' products, pricing, promotions, and order capture processes are unique by design to drive differentiation. Adopting the vendor's out-of-the-box process as a best practice just because the vendor said so may not be good enough. Do what is required to make it work for the business within reasonable bounds. These are not IT projects
• A disproportionate focus on technology other than as an enabler usually results in significant disappointment. Strategy, process, and implementation questions need to be addressed front and center. The role of systems integrator and vendor services teams is critical