What Will I Get Out of a “Go-Live” Readiness Assessment from Cherry Bekaert?When you decide to implement new business systems software or make a major update to what you already have, your “go-live” is the first day your new system will actually be used in production mode by one or more users. Conducting a “Go-Live” Readiness Assessment (”GLRA”) is a great way to determine if your organization is ready to use the new system to process business transactions and capture, transmit and maintain live data. Your GLRA is an objective assessment that identifies the resources and procedures that must be in place and operable in order to effectively launch software into production. It also identifies exposures, risks, and shortcomings that must be considered (and, in most cases, rectified) before your new software can be successfully promoted from the test bench to the production environment.

Working with Cherry Bekaert’s Technology Solutions Group (“TSG”) to execute a GLRA will help your organization understand its readiness to transition to a new system. Using a highly collaborative approach, we work with you to:

` Assess your implementation plan and resources.

` Conduct an on-site review of the system integrator’s or implementer’s detailed project plan.

` Compare and contrast this project plan with best practices distilled from our experience with many successful system launches and deployments.

“Go-Live” Readiness Assessment (GLRA)

Advisory Services: Technology Solutions

What Does a GLRA Include?A GLRA engagement is a broad assessment of your project plan to implement new business system software. Your full GLRA includes:

` On-site reviews and interviews ` Off-site data assimilation and analysis ` A comprehensive report to provide prescriptive guidance relative to elements of the plan that need to be revisited and refined

` Supporting resources as needed to maximize the opportunity for a successful system or software launch

The primary activities and objectives of this engagement are to:

` Understand the objectives and scope of your system or software project.

` Compare the overarching requirements to the project plan created by the designated integrator.

` Perform a detailed review of the project plan with internal and external project management to understand the type and breadth of resources required and that have been assigned to complete each project task within the specified time frame.

` Interview key participants in the project. Review with them the content they contributed to the plan and the corresponding responsibilities they will need to lead and/or execute. Gather evidence that project tasks have been completed as appropriate.

` Solicit candid feedback regarding the quality of project management, as well as the ability of users to absorb, adopt, retain, and apply the key knowledge needed for success.

` Ensure that the impact of implementing your project has been accurately estimated and communicated to stakeholders and that user-readiness has been properly addressed and executed before the project enters the active operational use phase.

` Meet with key stakeholders to share the findings of the GLRA and communicate areas of concern that may disrupt the normal order of business or otherwise negatively impact business performance.

` System Acceptance Testing (“SAT”) plan

` System Integration Testing (“SIT”) plan

` User Acceptance Testing (“UAT”) plan

` List of key systems’ interfaces and a sample of management testing and acceptance criteria for legacy business systems A, B, C, etc.

` Data conversion testing plans and results of conversion testing

` Core team (“super user”) training plans, materials and results

` End User Training (“EUT”) plan, materials, and knowledge transfer plans

` Catalog of system reports important to financial reporting objectives

` Software project team’s self-assessment procedures

` Post-production support plan

Some representative elements of the project plan that we review during a GLRA are:

What Will Cherry Bekaert Deliver to Me?These are the comprehensive reports you’ll receive as part of your GLRA from Cherry Bekaert’s Technology Solutions Group.

Written AssessmentThe assessment includes verification or evidence of project plan details and current status in order to clearly identify and remediate gaps or shortcomings that could hinder execution and completion of project tasks. The intended scope of the project is compared to the project plan to make sure no critical, unmitigated functional gaps are evident from day one.

Readiness Assessment Matrix (“RAM”) The RAM is not a simple “Go/No-Go” checklist. It’s a comprehensive document combining:

` All relevant activities, checkpoints, and milestones from source project planning and management material (e.g., “Did your team fully complete all the tasks assigned to them in the project plan?”)

` Best practice considerations relative to the specified implementation methodology (e.g., “Were you asked to perform tasks appropriate for the successful implementation of software technology for your organization?”)

` The identification and documentation of all material risks to the business that would be elevated if one or more elements of the implementation plan were to fall short of expectations by a significant margin

Cutover AnalysisA detailed analysis of the cutover plan and calendar for the weekend or date when the new solution will be promoted into production as the live business solution. This analysis includes specific information related to vendor and business partner notification, financial acceptance reporting, open transaction synchronization, electronic data interchange (“EDI”) and e-commerce conversion, integrator participation requirements and schedule, custom software integrations, document management, messaging, and other key resources and activities that project management has identified as being central to the “Go-Live” process.

Final ReportThe in-person presentation and discussion of the final report will offer you the chance to explore and formalize remediation steps for identified gaps in the plan. Contingency discussions may include the consideration of options or consequences, such as:

` The potential for a phased project launch if some software applications or modules will not be ready for production by the official “Go-Live” date

` The cost and disruption to the business of a delayed “Go-Live” versus going live as originally or currently scheduled

` The sourcing and application of additional implementation resources to augment services provided by your integrator to provide ancillary services or support such as:

` Training and support services

` Data conversion planning, execution and/or verification

` Report writing and business intelligence object creation

What Will Happen During My GLRA?Visit Primary FacilitiesDuring single or multi-day visits to your primary facilities, our consultants will gather data relative to your business system software project plan in order to understand the primary goals and objectives that were defined during the planning phase of the project. We will identify any ancillary or legacy systems that will continue to be used and review how they will interface or integrate with the new software applications or systems being deployed.

Meet with Key StakeholdersWe will meet with key stakeholders, department heads, and process owners within the organization to understand the goals and objectives relative to their areas of responsibility within the enterprise. These sessions help us ascertain the role each key stakeholder must play in the implementation outside their normal, day-to-day responsibilities. We will also meet with the internal project manager to vet his or her project management methodology and the comprehensive project plan that has been devised to guide all project activities and achieve the desired project objectives.

Meet with Key Users We will meet with key users who are materially participating in the implementation process in order to discover and document each participant’s progress with assigned activities and tasks. We will ask for their feedback in order to gauge the effectiveness of their participation. Then, we’ll gather their input regarding the need for plan adjustments, additional resources, or more attention on a particular aspect of the implementation.

Meet with IntegratorWe will meet with the system/software integrator to assess:

` The strength of the team assigned to your project

` The individual and collective technical and application expertise inherent on the team

` The team’s progress within the scope of the project plan

` The integrator’s plans to address any unresolved issues currently existing in the project

` All “Go-Live” preparatory documentation that the integrator or project team has created for the project

Let us be your guide forward

cbh.com

Toby Stansell Managing Director, Technology Solutions

tstansell@cbh.com

Additional Services

Legacy ERP System Management/DecommissioningConsider a post-Go-Live assessment if you have a need to maintain specific elements or components of your legacy ERP system, but you would like to do so in a way that minimizes the footprint and total cost of ownership of the legacy system. We will help you rationalize your license fees and maintain access to critical legacy data in the most secure and cost-effective way. If our recommendation is for you to virtualize the infrastructure upon which your legacy ERP system resides or to move your legacy system to a hosted model for easy and secure remote access, we can help you plan for that, too.

Customization Rationalization We can work with your implementation team to review customizations to your business system or ERP software to make sure that the customizations:

` Meet existing and future business requirements

` Are rationally scoped and designed

` Are fully documented and that their impact on core functionality is determined, documented, and acknowledged

` Do not contain functionality that is otherwise available in more cost-effective Commercial Off-The-Shelf (“COTS”) software

` Meet generally accepted standards for source code validation and retention

“Lessons Learned” ExerciseReview and catalog effective and ineffective procedures planned and executed during your ERP or business systems project from a post-Go-Live vantage point. New systems, software and upgrades are being released at an accelerated pace. A lesson learned exercise with TSG can help make sure your “lessons learned” do not reappear as “mistakes repeated” in subsequent projects.

IT Infrastructure ConsultingGet an assessment of your existing IT infrastructure, plus recommendations for changes to your network, server, cloud, storage, and/or communications infrastructure that could improve systems and data availability, applicability, security, speed of access/operation, and cost-effectiveness.

Vendor Selection ConsultingBefore you lock yourself into a vendor choice, receive due diligence guidance and objective evaluation mechanisms to help you make a better, more informed decision for your organization. From identifying and selecting a software supplier, data center partner, reseller or integrator to choosing among all your options, such as a hosted or co-located solution, this service can help you avoid buyer’s remorse.

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