School ERP implementation readiness guide.
A signed contract is not the same as a ready institution. Use seven checks to agree responsibilities, data preparation, staff authority, training, acceptance tests and a backup way of working before implementation pressure begins.
- Bring
- The rollout lead, process owners and current data responsibilities.
- Check
- An owner, supporting evidence and decision date for all seven checks.
- Decide
- Who may approve launch and when a return to the previous setup is needed.
Rate every check: ready, at risk or unresolved.
A ready implementation has a responsible person, proof that agreed tests have passed and a decision date for anything important it depends on. “We will sort it out during training” is an unresolved item, not a plan.
Operating ownership
Name the sponsor, rollout owner and day-to-day process owner. Document who decides when policy, product behaviour and local practice disagree.
- One accountable sponsor
- Named owners for each part of the work
- Who takes over if an issue is unresolved, and by when
Data and terminology
List the current systems, their owners, data-quality gaps and rules about how long records must be kept. Confirm the institution vocabulary—classes and sections, batches and timings, programmes and cohorts—before the data-transfer templates are finalised.
- Approved list of data to move
- Data-cleaning responsibility
- Context-specific terminology
Roles and authority
Give each job only the access it needs. Include the people who approve, reverse, export or support high-impact work—not only the people who enter records.
- A list of who may do what
- Access limits between institutions and campuses
- Access when staff join, change jobs or leave
Workflow acceptance
Write practical tests for normal work, unexpected situations, actions that must be refused and recovery after a failure. Use fictional or approved test data during evaluation.
- Most important daily tasks tested first
- A named person to accept each tested task
- Who records test results and prioritises problems
People and adoption
Train by role and operating moment, not by a catalogue of screens. Give users a safe practice route and identify local champions for the first operating cycle.
- Role-based learning plan
- A safe practice system or guided practice instructions
- Records of training attendance and demonstrated understanding
Support and fallback
Agree how to contact support, how urgent each issue is, working hours and who decides the response, in the contract or implementation plan. Define how the institution continues safely during a disruption.
- Contract-backed support terms
- How the institution continues working during disruption
- Who restores the system and checks records afterwards
Go-live decision
Set a decision date, the checks that must pass, who may accept any remaining risks and who is responsible for returning to the previous working setup if needed. Measure adoption and operating outcomes after launch.
- Who decides whether to launch
- When to return to the previous setup, and who decides
- 30-, 60- and 90-day measures