Every article on this topic.
11 articles, newest first
Partner selectionSAP partner vs independent consultant: when you need which
An SAP partner delivers the programme. An independent consultant checks it from your side of the table. Here is what each one does, when you need which, and how to run both without blurring accountability.
· 10 min read
SAP testingSAP user acceptance testing: who owns it and how to run it
SAP user acceptance testing is where the business proves the system runs its processes before go-live. Who owns it, how long it takes, and how to run scripts, defect triage and sign-off.
· 10 min read
Project recoverySAP project recovery: rescuing a programme off track
SAP project recovery starts with an honest diagnosis, not a new plan. The three checks I run in week one, how to tell a programme that needs rescue from one that needs a push, and what to do after.
· 10 min read
StrategyHow to avoid scope creep in an SAP implementation
Scope creep is the most common reason SAP projects overrun. The fix is documented exclusions, change control that forces trade-offs, and a scope freeze with executive backing.
· 12 min read
Crisis & RecoverySAP project planning and control: keep projects on track
Most SAP programmes have a plan, but far fewer have control: weekly tracking, live dependencies, real escalation. Here is what active control looks like, with a weekly cadence that keeps programmes on track.
· 11 min read
StrategyHow to create an SAP implementation project charter
A project charter is the document you point to when someone contests a scope decision in month three. What an SAP charter must cover, a section-by-section outline and the mistakes that cost the most.
· 9 min read
Crisis & RecoverySAP project risk assessment: the practical version
Most SAP risk assessments sit in a folder after the first steering committee. This is the practical version: a scored matrix, a register template, three public failures as worked examples, and the risks RISE and clean core add in 2026.
· 10 min read
StrategyCreating an effective SAP project steering committee
I have never seen an SAP project succeed with a weak steering committee. This guide covers what the committee must decide, membership by project size, a go/no-go checklist, and how RISE with SAP and AI change the model.
· 9 min read
StrategyERP implementation KPIs: 30 metrics that actually matter
The 30 ERP implementation KPIs I track, split into delivery and post-go-live, with formulas, thresholds and who reviews them when. A client once added 73 'small' changes and lost five months; scope change KPIs exist to stop that.
· 11 min read
StrategySAP quality gates: how to set them up and where they fail
A quality gate is a checkpoint with the authority to stop a project. How to set gates against SAP Activate phases, write criteria that give yes-or-no answers, and keep them from becoming rubber stamps.
· 10 min read
StrategySAP stakeholder management: stop conflicts before they start
Conflicts on SAP programmes build from unmanaged expectations. Map the roles, write down who decides what, and run a cadence by phase before anyone has a complaint.
· 12 min read
Written by Noel D'Costa
25 years in ERP delivery across SAP, Oracle and Microsoft, now a chief technology officer. I write from the programmes I have run, for the people making these decisions.
Tell me what you're working on.
A 30-minute call. You describe the programme, the decision or the problem. I'll tell you whether I can help, and if I can't, who might.