billing Software of NetSuite

NetSuite software is being introduced to Contana hotels and resorts. Because of the growing number of customers at Contana hotels and resorts, there is a strong need for a change in the billing system to ensure that all customer orders, bookings, services, and accounting are completed correctly while avoiding delays. NetSuite is a billing software that also handles enterprise resource planning and customer relationship management; it is the ideal package for chain hotels. Similarly, NetSuite software may interact with the back office, sales, and service functions of a company. Furthermore, NetSuite software is intended to execute the following tasks in Contana hotels and resorts: financial accounting, financial reports and analysis, order and billing management, supply chain management and inventory management (Kelly, Huffman & Braud, 2013). The best advantage of NetSuite software is that all the financial report entered can be accessed through a web browser and mobile devices and the system upgrades automatically without losing any contents. In addition, the software supports data exports into IIF or CSV files as well as the data is highly secured through NetSuite security center and the built-in-controls of the Suite.

Project scope

The project will comprise of creating awareness on how to use the NetSuite software in Contana hotels and resorts through training in order to launch the project product in May 2018. The module of the project will include free trials to the first ten customers in all the hotel branches and two staff members across the branches to determine if NetSuite software will fulfill its mandate to Contana hotels and resorts. Free trails will not only enable the management to comprehend how effective the software performs but also find ways to troubleshoot whenever a technical hitch occurs. For example, when the software is infected with a virus, when the internet is slow and when the software hangs.

Project stakeholders

Stakeholders are the individuals involved in project progress. The stakeholders can give ideas, engage in the process or finance the project. Contana hotels and resorts stakeholders include the following (Beringer, Jonas & Kock, 2013).

The ownership- this are the stakeholders that came up with the idea of Contana hotels and resorts and provided finance among other resources for the hotels and resorts development, they are the primary stakeholders in the business.

The shareholders- they are the stakeholders that have invested part of their assets in Contana hotels and resorts so that they gain the profit generated from the sales made.

Suppliers- this includes the companies that are responsible for the distribution of the products used in Contana hotels and resources which include: furniture, raw products and equipment used in the kitchen, accounting departments and accommodation department.

The hotel staff- this includes the catering personnel, cleaning personnel, receptionist, accountants, head of different departments and security officers who are in charge of daily activities in Contana hotels and resorts.

The customers- they are the stakeholders that make a lot of impact to the progress of the hotels due to the bookings and orders that they pay for during holidays, weekends, business trips and family treats. They contribute to the hotels’ profit and success for each payment they make for the services and products received, they help the hotels and resort to achieve their target, without the customers, the business will fail.

During meetings of the project, the following stakeholders need to be present: the owners of Contana hotels and resorts, the shareholders, the accounting personnel, suppliers and long-term clients. The above stakeholders need to be present during the project meetings so that they can be aware of the project goals, deliverables, the risk associated with the launch of the NetSuite software and procedures that will involve the implementation of NetSuite software to the company billing system. Similarly, attending meetings will resolve any disagreement that may exist among the stakeholders concerning the billing software and the project can proceed without withdrawal of critical stakeholders of the project.

Impacted departments

The IT department, inventory and the accounting department which include the sales and billing departments are the major areas that will be highly impacted. A change in technology will have an impact in the skills and ways of operations since every personnel in the departments mentioned will be required to possess the knowledge and skills to operate the implemented NetSuite software in order to carry out daily activities of the company effectively. Similarly, the sales department will be affected due to the software uncertainty; both the personnel in charge and the customer are not well conversant with the use and effectiveness of NetSuite software. In addition, the use of NetSuite needs an IT expert or a consultant since some of its characteristics requires customization, thus, at some point may fail to serve the purpose if the staff and the management are not well equipped with the skills on how to operate the software.

Training

Training is very important for any product implementation. Through training, the employees and the management will gain an understanding of the purpose of NetSuite software and how it operates (Philips, 2016). Providing the right training to the management and the team in-charge will highly improve adoption of the system and acceptance to change which has been a difficult part of the implementation process. Moreover, follow up training is essential after then system set up since it instills the people in charge with the appropriate skills to operate the system introduced into the company.

NetSuite software training can be done by a consultant or an IT expert since they are aware of what is to be done, they have the knowledge and skills about the software, and they have experience that has been enhanced through various training they have done. Besides, the consultant or the IT expert possess the knowledge on different characteristics of the people. Thus, they can have a variety of strategies to use depending on the trainee's behavior and attitudes. Hence the training can be done effectively without undergoing various challenges as a result of people behaviors that lead to split off groups paralyzing training efforts (Philips, 2016). However, training can be done in the following ways to avoid interference with current performance:

Evening training through the following eLearning training strategies; (a) computer based training whereby the management, stakeholders and the responsible departments’ personnel can access training modules through the website that is set up for the training. The trainees can obtain the standardized training materials on their own whereby the trainee's engagement is tracked through a learning management system for recordkeeping. Thus, the consultant can identify who is training and who is not, therefore, making a follow-up and (b) webinars, whereby the trainees receive audio and visual lessons in the form of power point presentations on computer screens. At the end of the lessons, there are questions and answer session where the trainee seeks clarification and in-depth understanding of the NetSuite software use.

Weekend training seminars

Having seminars over the weekend whereby the trainees can be trained will a very efficient in that work will not be interrupted since the only activity going on is training. The trainees will be settled compared to business days which involves a lot of activities. The trainees will meet in a specified place and learn on the software usage through demonstrations shown by the IT expert or the consultant conducting the training.

Email training whereby the trainees receive an email with detailed lesson materials, audios, and videos to demonstrate how the NetSuite operate. This model of training is convenient since, in a free time the trainee can have time to study and practice all the lessons read, watch and listen to at his or her convenient time without affecting the daily operation of the company.

The project kick off

The project kick offsets the pace of the whole project. A good project kicks off will keep the stakeholders motivated, energized and focused (Gido and Clements, 2014). The project kicks off will entail the following: Kick off activities, the kick-off meeting agenda and the communication plan for stakeholders and the group involved.

(a) Kick-off activities

The activities that need to be addressed are the project charter, project funding, and identification of the team including assigning roles and determining their availability to complete tasks during the training and identifying the available resources if it will be sufficient for the project completion. Similarly, determining the stakeholders that will attend the kick-off meeting is part of the kick off activities as well as developing a communication strategy on how to get in contact with the stakeholders identified for the kick-off meeting.

Moreover, other activities such as setting a time frame for the kick-off meeting, finding a training place and materials for the training including the technology software is requirement activity at the kick-off activity level.

(b) Kick off meeting agenda

As part of the kick-off project, the kick-off meeting agenda is very significant since it creates awareness on what the project is all about through the briefings and the presentation. The agenda consisted of the introduction whereby the members present come to know each other including their roles in the project. The overview of the project which is the problem the NetSuite software is trying to resolve, the scope, objectives and the vision of the project, the roles and responsibilities of the users and the project team, the timeframe set to complete the project and how communications will be done after that.

(c) Communication strategy for the stakeholder and the team

Project success is basically determined by the communication laid for the kickoff. An effective communication strategy will enhance the smooth operation of the activities among the team and stakeholders task with the project responsibilities. Thus, various communication formats need to be developed both by the management, stakeholders and the team involved. The communication may be through the emails, face to face, reports, and meetings in order to keep track of the progress made.

Work structure break down

Refers to the schedule of activities that the project will undertake including the personnel, their roles and duration for the completion of the task.

Task

Responsible Person

Description of task

Duration

Initiate

Defining project charter

Project Kick Off

Train Project Team

The manager

Manager

Consultant

Describing what the project charter entails.

Giving a briefing on how the project kicks off to stakeholders involved.

Training the project team on how to engage during the training sessions.

2 days

1 day

2 days

Analyze

Analyze Business processes

Identify Business Processes Gaps

Document Business Requirements

Define Data Migration Strategy

Define Integration Strategy

Define User Adoption Strategy

Finalize project plan

The manager

The manager and the Team

The Team

IT expert

IT expert

IT expert

The manager and stakeholders

Development of the business daily processes

Development of the list of gaps that occurs during daily activities

Documenting all the resources and material needed in the business

Defining data migration strategy to be used by the team and stakeholders during the training

Brief definition of the integration strategy for the training purposes.

Description of the User Adoption Strategy to the team and the stakeholders.

Completion of the expected project plan inclusive of all the aspects of the project.

3 days

7 days

4 days

3 days

3 days

3 days

3 days

Design

Define Solution design

Design Customization

Design Integration

Formulate Training Plan

IT expert

IT expert

IT expert

IT expert

Brief explanation of what solution design entails.

Development of the basic elements of customization.

Development of integration strategies.

Development of a training schedule and technology to be used during the training.

3 days

6 days

6 days

4 days

Configure

Configure application

Improve Customization

Improve

Integration

Improve Data Migration

Establish Training Material

IT expert

IT expert

IT expert

IT expert

IT expert

Configuration of the application to suite its function.

Develop customization features.

Develop data integration process.

Strategize how data can be transferred from one software to another.

Prepare resources and techniques to be used during the training.

3 days

5 days

6 days

5 days

7 days

Validate

Prepare Test Plan

Execute Test

IT expert

IT expert

Formulate a plan on how the software functionality is to be tested.

Involve the team and stakeholders in step to step of the software testing.

3 days

5 days

Deploy

Prepare and Train Users

Migrate Source Data

Cutover Business Processes

IT expert

Team and stakeholders

Manager and the team

Involve the team and the stakeholders in software usage.

Actual demonstration of software usage in data transfer.

Implementation and merging of the software to the business processes.

14 days

8 days

21 days

Optimize

Review Project Success

Transition to Support

Plan Ongoing Improvement

IT expert

Manager

Manager

Monitoring of the processes

Full operation of the software

Outsourcing strategies to improve effectiveness for example upgrading the software for new features.

7 days

Not Applicable

Success

Success refers to the accomplishment of a goal or a project. However, the success of any project depends on how it is monitored and techniques used in the monitoring progress. Similarly, tracking the progress of a project will enable the project manager to make adjustments if the roles and responsibilities initially assigned seem to progress slower than anticipated (Gido and Clements, 2014). The progress of a project can be monitored as discussed:

Note down the project goals and timeframe set for the completion. In this aspect, the project goals is to implement the use of the NetSuite software in the billing system of Contana hotels and resorts. Thus, benchmarks should be set on when the invoices from the clients should be delivered and paid for, and any follow up through mailing and customer service platform offered by NetSuite software.

Make a list of the staff and the roles assigned to each one of them. The idea is to determine who is underperforming, what changes needs to be made, for example, an underperforming personnel may be assigned a new role to gauge if they can do better in comparison to the previous roles assigned.

Divide the project into parts. Division of the project into parts will make it easy and simple in monitoring project process since one part will be dealt with at a time and every detail is carefully recorded compared to monitoring the whole project at a go which is tiresome, and one will end up missing some aspects. For example, some personnel will be left out due to assumptions that are mostly made due to general inclusion.

Organize regular meetings with the team and stakeholders involved in the project. Having frequent meeting is the best strategy to monitor project progress since the team and stakeholders can communicate on the challenges they face. Therefore, corrective measures will be implemented. Similarly, regular meetings after completion of each segment will provide the project manager with sufficient time to adjust, formulating plans that will correct any error that might have an impact to project completion.

Update records for every part of the project completed. Updating the record performance will enable the project manager to identify if they are on track or late in delivering the results. Hence, in cases where the elements of the project are completed late changes will be effected in order to meet the timeframe set for the project completion.

Apply changes to major areas of responsibilities that lag behind through roles reassignment, goals reassessment and modification of the schedules. This monitoring strategy will enable successful completion of the projects since the project will troubleshoot the challenges at an early stage.

Moreover, monitoring tools and techniques can be put in place to measure both the quantitative metrics and qualitative metrics. Quantitative metrics can be measured through the use of the spreadsheets and project applications and qualitative parameters through the use of surveys, focused group, and interviews (Dybå, Dingsøyr, & Moe, 2014).

References

Beringer, C., Jonas, D., & Kock, A. (2013). Behavior of internal stakeholders in project portfolio management and its impact on success. International Journal of Project Management, 31(6), 830-846.

Dybå, T., Dingsøyr, T., & Moe, N. B. (2014). Agile project management. In Software project management in a changing world (pp. 277-300). Springer Berlin Heidelberg.

Gido, J., Clements, J., & Clements, J. (2014). Successful project management. Nelson Education.

Kelly, J., Huffman, M., & Braud, L. (2013). Netsuite for dummies. Hoboken, N.J: John Wiley & Sons.

Phillips, J. J., & Phillips, P. P. (2016). Handbook of training evaluation and measurement methods. Routledge.