The iConsortium has developed simple rules related to the fundamentals of upgrading JD Edwards systems.  They have proven valuable for each of our upgrade customer to distill the approach to be taken.  We affectionately refer to them as our “10 commandments of upgrades”.

1. While much implementation of new functionality and BPR may be a part of an upgrade, fundamentally the iConsortium deems all upgrades as technical projects.  Both iConsortium and internal project leads must have a strong technical background.  All proposed team member skills will be co-evaluated during the assessment phase.
2. Project updates for executive presentation will be co-authored by designated project manager of iConsortium and the internal Project leader to quickly agree on, isolate, and alleviate project issues.
3. Resources, money, and timelines for any BPR or functional requirements will be done on demand – task based – each BPR effort budgeted separately.
4. All meetings – technical, BPR, etc. must not exceed 6 hours total without reaching resolution.  Meetings not to exceed 1 hour on a given subject.  Come with all the facts in hand!
5. iConsortium will present possible net changes of expected value or impact on customizations will be provided from assessment as a “menu” with an estimated budget to implement.  Additional training and BPR for net change by request budgeted separately.
6. Customizations - 2 options – Owned by users for straight retrofits, or opened for analysis which is entered into the BSOP process.
7. iConsortium will not recommend Go Live without:
        - At least one simulated month end close, preferably in parallel so numbers can be compared.
        - A complete stress test on the system with maximum (triple) user load.
        - Every interface to 3rd party systems is tested with identical parallel comparisons.  Each system is closed and documented individually.
        - Post go-live system conversion procedures are fully automated and manual procedures are fully documented.
        - 3 full iterative conversion processes of current production snapshots prior to go live.
        -Integrated test procedure have been completed and recorded fully 12 times.
8. iConsortium will retain rights of final approval of assigned resources and remove any consultant from our projects that are deemed insufficient or not 100% focused on the best interest of the client or project. iConsortium will vehemently recommend the removal of any internal team member that proves equally adverse to project goals.
9. Task execution and delivery:
        - No customizations will commence without a technical specification approved by internal project lead.
        - All system QA processes must be executed and documented within 48 hours of assignment.
10. Change orders will be used to rectify a recognized client omission, reengineering, or addition.