Resources for implementing ERP and other Enterprise applications? [closed]

Question

When developing an ERP-like software or any other complex business system, what resources do you go to for best practices?

I'm a developer, not an accountant, not a purchaser, not a manager.
I do have project management experience in engineering (non-software related) and I have a fair amount of experience on business processes in Design, Purchasing, Stock management, Sales, Manufacturing, Quality Control, After Sales, etc.

My issue though is that when developing business software you always end-up confronted to areas where you lack expertise and I believe that a good understanding of the processes and how others solved similar issues are absolutely essential for developing competent software.

So, are there any online resources with some best practices or collections of practical experiences on how people solve and implement business rules and processes in ERP systems and the like?

Answer 1

I'll assume that you don't mean best practices for software. You're talking about business practices, right?

Where do you go? It seems obvious, but you have to find domain experts somewhere. They should be inside your company if it's of any size. If you don't know the subject well, and it's unlikely that you'd be an expert developer AND a guru on GAAP, you need to find sources that do know.

I think this is the right place for buy versus build decisions. Why write an accounting package when there are so many available that do it for you? Most people who decide they need to write their own general ledger usually justify it by citing "ridiculous" licensing costs, but they fail to accurately estimate the true cost of designing, implementing, testing, and maintaining their own system. Buying a package means acquiring the distilled expertise of all the people those developers contacted. You assume that they did a good job of it, too.