Key Focus Areas For Successful Procure-to-Pay Software Replacement Case: Company X
Långström, John (2021)
Långström, John
2021
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-202105046825
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-202105046825
Tiivistelmä
This thesis focused on finding the key improvement areas for Company X during their Procure-to-Pay software replacement process. The thesis was done as a commissioned thesis for Company X as the author was working for the company while conducting this research. The key focus areas were chosen based on the interviews conducted on Company X’s employees that were working on this specific software replacement.
The theoretical framework was made to better understand the software replacement process as a whole and to study some of the concepts related to the process. This included studying digital financial management, change management, Procure-to-Pay software and outsourcing. These are all key subjects when trying to understand what goes into a software replacement process, what are the main drivers for replacements processes, how outsourcing effects the process and what should be taken into consideration when working on this type of a process.
The research was done using the qualitative method. Thematic analysis was used on the data that was acquired with structured interviews. These interviews were conducted on a focus group that consisted of Company X’s employees that were working on this replacement process. The interview questions were split into themes. The themes were related to the investigative questions that were formed from the subjects that Company X proposed to be studied for this research.
The answers acquired from the interviews were observed and combined with the information gained from the theoretical conclusions. The interviews were focus group interviews where 6 employees of Company X were interviewed. The answers were analysed by thematic analysis. The results pointed out the key focus areas. Areas like change management, preparation of end-users, having clear goals and being prepared for unexpected changes were some of the key focus areas. Acknowledging these could help companies to execute a successful software replacement.
Company X was given recommendations based on the key findings. These recommendations included focusing on change management, organisational differences, end-user preparation and awareness towards unexpected changes. Recommendations for further research were given. These recommendations included more interviewees from different backgrounds and companies. Researching multiple similar software replacements could make the data more general. This would make the data useful for a larger audience
The theoretical framework was made to better understand the software replacement process as a whole and to study some of the concepts related to the process. This included studying digital financial management, change management, Procure-to-Pay software and outsourcing. These are all key subjects when trying to understand what goes into a software replacement process, what are the main drivers for replacements processes, how outsourcing effects the process and what should be taken into consideration when working on this type of a process.
The research was done using the qualitative method. Thematic analysis was used on the data that was acquired with structured interviews. These interviews were conducted on a focus group that consisted of Company X’s employees that were working on this replacement process. The interview questions were split into themes. The themes were related to the investigative questions that were formed from the subjects that Company X proposed to be studied for this research.
The answers acquired from the interviews were observed and combined with the information gained from the theoretical conclusions. The interviews were focus group interviews where 6 employees of Company X were interviewed. The answers were analysed by thematic analysis. The results pointed out the key focus areas. Areas like change management, preparation of end-users, having clear goals and being prepared for unexpected changes were some of the key focus areas. Acknowledging these could help companies to execute a successful software replacement.
Company X was given recommendations based on the key findings. These recommendations included focusing on change management, organisational differences, end-user preparation and awareness towards unexpected changes. Recommendations for further research were given. These recommendations included more interviewees from different backgrounds and companies. Researching multiple similar software replacements could make the data more general. This would make the data useful for a larger audience