Measures Required to Achieve Objectives

Organization of the Initiative as a Project

The essential difference between EnjoySAP and previous usability initiatives was that it was set up as a project with a cross-sectional structure and that, for example, the controlling team was comprised of people from different functional areas of the company. Usability experts, experts from marketing, product managers and representatives from the application development departments, among others, were all involved.

It was particularly important to include people who had project management expertise and experience in or an affinity with the subject of usability. These people had to be excused from their normal activities for a time, equipped with the appropriate authority and backing. In detail, the project team was made up as follows:

• A project manager, whose role was that of a "usability evangelist". The project manager was also the head of the UEC.
• An eight-strong project management team. This consisted of project managers representing, for example, large application areas such as R/3 Basis, Accounting, Logistics or Human Resources. This team controlled the project -- generating visions and taking strategic project decisions affecting the whole company.
• An extended core project team, consisting of a further 50 people. This included, in particular, all the members of the UEC, with product management and marketing also represented. At this level, tactical decisions were taken on the basis of the strategic project decisions taken by the project management team.
• A network of usability coordinators. Across a large area of application, usability coordinators initiated all usability measures and served as an information channel -- in particular, for the transfer of expertise between the project and the line organization.
• Software engineers, who were responsible for the specification, design, implementation and testing of the user interfaces and application systems.

The project was accompanied by a steering committee comprising the managing board and a number of heads of department.

Source:  EnjoySAP - Success Factors