Higgins plans to take that iterative approach with Michael Baker Corp.'s ERPERP implementation, which is scheduled to be completed by the end of this year. "We will begin to audit the effectiveness of the new system within a couple of months after we finish implementing it," says Higgins. "Then we'll probably start to look at the ROI six to eight months after we go live so that we have enough data to perform a good analysis." Alles zu ERP auf CIO.de

Maintain Meticulous Documentation

Another key to successful PIAs is good documentation, which takes many forms. It includes the business case that outlines the system's expected cost, benefits and ROI; the project's time line, including key metrics and milestones; a breakdown of the system's technical requirements; a record of the security and financial controls that have been put inside the system; and a compendium of all the changes that have been made to the system or project plan. But getting good documentation is one of the biggest challenges CIOs and IT departments face in conducting PIAs, particularly if they're doing one for the first time.

Sharon L. Thompson, director of IT audit for the AARP, says that if an auditor discovers that the implementation team does not have a thorough business case, a detailed project time line or meticulous records of changes and security controls, the auditor should note that discovery in the audit report and include a recommendation for the implementation team to keep better records.

To make life easier for himself and his post-implementation auditors, Higgins uses a Web-based collaboration tool called MPOWR - developed by members of his IT department to do version control and to archive changes made to the project's scope, templates, time line and budget. When it comes time to do a PIA, Higgins sends the auditors a link to the MPOWR site with a user name and password.

Sun Life Financial's IT project office also developed a project portfolio management system in-house that the project manager uses to report on a monthly basis changes to a project's cost, milestones and schedule.