Abstract
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is a complex software. We use information flow metrics to quantify complexity of ERP software. The information flow metrics is defined in terms of flow of information within and among module/function/process. We compute complexity of sales and order process of a popular ERP package (SAP) using information flow metrics. We conclude that the complexity of the ERP package is due to the underlying business process. We then quantitatively show that configuration process of an ERP system is also complex. The complexity figures can be used to make the management commit appropriate resources to an ERP project. If an organization has used transaction processing systems, followed by management information systems and decision support systems in a networked environment, the organization may implement ERP using big bang approach. Otherwise, a phased approach is much safer and it will give organization time to mature.
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Bansal, V., Negi, T. (2008). A Metric for ERP Complexity. In: Abramowicz, W., Fensel, D. (eds) Business Information Systems. BIS 2008. Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing, vol 7. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-79396-0_32
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-79396-0_32
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-79395-3
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