A new 10-Phase SAP Project

Phase 1
Project Initialization - Enthusiasm with a party for managers, project managers, and the senior consultants. All professionally dressed for the occasion and singing Negaraku before the ceremony begins.

Phase 2
Blue Print - Disillusionment as users will be bombarded with so many SAP words that they feel "pening" whenever the word SAP comes to mind. That's the idea!

Phase 3
Prototyping - No such thing as Usually customer never see this thing coming as it never happen, until this point nothing of SAP screend are shown to the customer to avoid too many questions. Everything is just talk, talk, talk and some silly flowchart only the consultant understand.

Phase 4
Sign off - Sign in Blood. After a few dinners, and parties the managers signs off the blue prints. Senior consultants who wrote the blue prints say good bye.

Phase 5
Realization - Hibernation and Don't worry, Junior Consultants hibernates at this stage figuring out what the Blue Print means and guessing which configuration did the Senior Consultant meant. (the Senior Consultants already went on to another project to write another Blue Print, usually will never be able to be contacted for any clarifications, in this way the blame is on the Juniors who misinterpret what was written) and thats the idea.

Phase 6
Data Conversion - Excel time. Just fill in the blanks in the spreadsheets provided by the Consultants and see what happens.

Phase 7
UAT - Panicking as lots of Yellow Lights start appearing in the heads of those who attended the UAT. But don't worry, a lot of paper were printed and signed off.

Phase 8
Training - Holland Time What the Consultant say does not matter any more, the Consultant will bring everyone for a train ride to Holland and return safely, don't worry a lot of paper were printed to illustrate nothing. You get a nice printed training material that you can put on your desk that shows you have attended SAP In-House Training. This printed material remain in your desk un-touched until the day you resign.

Phase 9
Go Life - Punishing times of the innocent team lead and users. To show how hardworking are the Consultants, usually it is customary to show case their abilities to work until 2-3am in the morning or even overnight and proudly announce these hard working moments in a email declaring project went life.

Phase 10
After Go Life - Rewards the managers who did not do anything. Project hand-over to the Support teams of the Partner implementer who are in for more surprises. At this time, the Support consultants only "agak agak" what is happening and what was configured in the project.

Don't take it too seriously, it was only a weekend joke. I am sure all SAP projects are successful due to excellent project implementation methodologies and all parties involved have the highest professional integrity.