Phil Simon - ERP.com Guest Blogger

Rather than regurgitate my resume, I figured that I'd do this as a Q&A. I put myself in the shoes of someone who's considering reading my rants, thoughts, and observations for the first time. What would that person ask me? ********************* Q: Who are you and why should I read what you write? A: My name is Phil Simon and I will be contributing my thoughts on enterprise systems, project management, and other “organizational” topics to erp.com. By way of background, I have been working with enterprise systems for over thirteen years in different capacities. These days, I am an independent systems consultant, a job that I first started in 2002. Q: What does an independent systems consultant do, anyway? A: I assist organizations in all phases of systems consulting including erp vendor selection, project management, business needs analysis, gap analysis, system testing and design, end-user training, interface and custom report development, and documentation. I attempt to provide my clients with superior systems, increased ROI, and a healthier bottom line. I have cultivated over thirty clients from a wide variety of industries, including healthcare, manufacturing, retail, and the public sector. Q: What kinds of systems have you implemented? A: I have worked with many well-known systems, such as Lawson, PeopleSoft, Oracle, Abra, and a few other obscure ones. I have also seen my fair share of homegrown applications, some more sophisticated than others. In general, I am a very technical functional consultant, if that makes any sense. For my clients, I create many Microsoft Access and Excel applications, Crystal Reports, and know enough SQL to be very dangerous. Q: I’m still not convinced. Tell me more. A: I wrote a book. Ergo, I must know something. In 2009, I published “Why New Systems Fail: Theory and Practice Collide.” It’s about the alarming rate of IT Project failures and what organizations can do to minimize their chances of falling behind schedule, going over budget, and/or providing end-users with less functionality than promised. Q: Sounds like you’re really technical. I’m more of a functional user. Will I understand what you’re writing about? A: I like to think so. “Why New Systems Fail” is more of a management text than a technical one. What’s more, the reviews for my book have been very positive and many have remarked that you need not be a technical person to understand why so many projects fail.