Risk Assessment and Prioritization of ERP Implementation Based on BSC

Successful implementation of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system has many benefits for organizations, while its failure can have irreparable damages. Identifying the critical success and failure factors in implementing these systems seems essential. Therefore, evaluating the risk of implementing the organization’s resource planning before starting the project is necessary. Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) should be assessed and analyzed. Then, for each risk, risk management strategies are mentioned and prioritized using the TOPSIS method. After categorizing the organization’s risks in four dimensions of stakeholders, growth and learning, process and finance and ranking them based on FMEA, it was determined that the stakeholder dimension is in the first place, which shows the effectiveness of this dimension in advancing ERP implementation. The second place is given to growth and learning, which can be concluded to what extent education and knowledge management can reveal its effect on the project. The third and fourth ranks are the dimensions of process and finance, respectively, which, although the concern of most organizations to implement ERP is the financial dimension, is in the last rank of the category.


Introduction
The role of information technology in the business activities of companies is expanding rapidly. As the complexity of products, services and customer expectations increases, compelling market pressures drive companies to use advanced software to maintain their performance [1,2]. For organizations to be successful, managers need to have an integrated system of information. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) consists of software packages integrating various functions and simplifying the flow of information. It is equipped with standard methods with the latest information technology tools for effective business management of large, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) [3]. ERP enables the organization to gain a competitive advantage by storing resources and responding quickly to an ever-changing business environment [4]. However, using an ERP system is not just a computer project, but a kind of costly and risky investment that affects the initial processes and support of the company, organizational structure and its processes, existing systems in the organization and personal plans and tasks of employees [5,6]. Therefore, to avoid spending a lot of time and money to implement ERP, which may eventually lead to the implementation of the implementation project and sometimes bankruptcy, it is necessary to provide tools and methods for managers and experts to prepare the banking network for this issue. This study aims to investigate the challenges of operating ERP in the banking network, which is an innovation of the present study. Through this research, it is possible to identify the indicators affecting ERP operation in the banking network and get acquainted with the solutions and challenges facing banks to implement this system [7]. In Section 2, the related articles are reviewed. In the following, the reasons for the ERP failures are investigated. In the next Section, the research methodology is mentioned and then the conclusions are presented.

ERP
The role of ERP in the business activities is expanding rapidly and in line with it, the companies are forced to use sophisticated software to keep up with the complexity of products, services, and customer expectations as well as the market pressures [8]. The term "ERP" essentially refers to the state, by which a large organization is programmed to use the extensive enterprise resources. These systems were used in the past in most types of large industrial companies. However, its use has changed and is extremely comprehensive and pervasive [9]. This term can nowadays be referred to any type of companies; no matter what industry is involved in them. In fact, the ERP systems are used in any types of small and large organizations. The user organization needs to be equipped with two or more systems in order to use an ERP information system in organizations. The modern ERP systems can cover a wide range of functions and integrate them into a single database [8]. For instance, the functions such as human resources, supply chain management and control, customer relationship management and control, as well as financial affairs, production functions, and warehousing control functions are all based on software applications and have databases and internet networks. Today, all of these functions can continue under one system, which is the ERP system.

Risk Assessment
The word risk has been interpreted differently depending on its use in different contexts, and authors have come up with many definitions in this regard. Hence, it is different depending on the point of view, the tendencies and experiences of different people [10,11]. Theoretically, risk indicates the probability of deviating from the desired goal at a given time. The terms such as uncertainty or indefinite conditions, uncertainty about the future, etc. are defined in the risk theory [12]. It should be noted that risks do not always indicate the undesirable outcomes and may also represent opportunities. However, the fact that most risks have undesirable outcomes stimulates this thought in different people. Project Management Body of Knowledge (PBBOK) defines "risk" as follows: Risk is an uncertain situation or event that if it occurs, it will affect at least one of the objectives of the project. Goals can be the range, time, cost and quality.
The failure factor analysis approach and its effects is a systematic approach to identifying and preventing the occurrence of a problem in the product and its process that focuses on the prevention of defects, enhancing safety and enhancing the customer satisfaction [13]. Analysis of failure factors and their effects can be described as a set of targeted activities to identify and evaluate potential failures of products and processes and their effects [14].

ERP and Risk Assessment
ERP projects are the IT projects with a high failure rate. According to reports published in August 2017 by the site of ERPFOCUS, over 60% of the ERP projects fail, and 57% of them are implemented later than the expected time. Based on another study that was done by SGI about the information technology projects, it was found that 34% of these projects were delayed or confronted by budget deficiency, 31% were abandoned or faced changes, and only 24% were finished on time and with the considered budget [3].
The above points indicate that thorough and rigorous studies should be carried out about the ERP projects and the best alternative should be selected, and all the managers, experts, technicians, etc. should be ready to use a new system with standardized processes considering the improvement and modification of the information flow in their most important activities. If the above issues are properly done during the processes ERP implementation, the required developments will be certain, and it is in such a case that the organization can benefit from the advantages of proper information systems in the not too distant future. One of the reasons for the failure of ERP projects is that the relevant managers do not use acceptable criteria to evaluate and manage the risks involved in these projects [15]. Risk management of enterprise resource planning projects is largely recognized as a complicated task by academics and professionals. Interactions often occur between risk factors that would likely have indirect effects on the overall project performance. Unfortunately, the implications of interdependence are usually underestimated by project managers and decision makers because risk assessment is so difficult for them. ERP projects are very sophisticated approaches in business companies and hence, their risk factors include various technological, managerial, psychological and sociological aspects. Risk factors have direct and indirect impact on the projects and play a great role in the success or failure of the projects. Thus, consideration and evaluation of these factors are crucial for achieving the desired results and the purpose of implementing these costly projects. Therefore, considering the organizational consequences and existing risks involved in the ERP projects, it is quite important for companies to find the required ways to maximize the chances of success in focusing the selecting the ERP system [16].
Undoubtedly identifying the risk factors that an organization will face during the execution of these projects and their effects on the success or failure of the project can have a significant impact on enhancing readiness to deal with risk factors and minimize the likelihood of project failure. Therefore, identifying the risks on the one hand and classifying them in a way that is perceivable for the managers is very important [3]. Based on the investigations, there are few studied regarding ERP risk assessment. Moreover, the risks associated with establishment an ERP project under the BSC dimensions are not yet classified in the literature. Research background were presented in Table 1.

The Causes of ERP Failure
Despite the many benefits of implementing ERP, organizations seldom implement it fully [17,18]. Figure 1 lists some ERP project failure factors in the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) category. The BSC is a combination of organizational performance metrics that include current, past and future performance metrics. In a balanced scorecard, non-financial criteria are placed next to financial criteria. The primary purpose of the BSC model is to apply the goals and vision of the organization in practice. These goals and indicators look at the organization's performance in four aspects: financial, customer, growth and learning, and internal processes.

Figure 1. ERP project failure factors based on BSC categorization
Disrupting activities and reducing the response to the customers at the start of the project; Lack of CRM and ERP integration; Incorrect selection and insufficient number of ERP modules; Lack of management in appropriation with changes; Inadequate and inefficient infrastructure of information technology; Low participation of key users of the project; Improper management, selection and control of consultants, ERP vendors and subcontractors; Lack of commitment and support of the senior managers [29][30][31].

Stockholders' Risks
Creating dependency on system providers; Lack of user support and resistance to change; Lack of commitment, motivation and professionalism of ERP support and maintenance team members; Insufficient expert analysers with commercial and technical knowledge; Lack of familiarity with the type of processes and their implementation in the organization and lack of sufficient knowledge of the failures of the existing processes; Improper culturalization about the users; Misunderstanding the needs of the organization; Lack of using effective individuals in executing the project; Inappropriate training on new processes, performance and using the ERP system [29,32,33]

Growth and Learning Risks
Confronting new requirements at the time of implementation; Wrong selection of implementation methodology; Lack of coordination between users in different units associated with a module; Inappropriate prioritization of existing needs for implementation; Lack of identifying the weaknesses of the ERP project; Inconformity and incorrect estimation of the amount of organization processes covered by ERP; Lack of proper testing prior to implementation of ERP system; Long delay in the trend of project implementation; Uncertain and ambiguous changes in structure, goals, mission of the organization and continuous changes in requirements; during deployment; Poor planning and management of the project; Complexity of ERP modules; Lack of investigating the existing system conditions; Inattention to the re-engineering of the processes; Lack of perspective and specific strategies in ERP implementation and inefficient strategic thinking and planning [34][35][36][37][38] .

BSC
Concentration of project managers on financial and technical aspects of ERP implementation project and neglecting nontechnical issues such as individuals; Inadequate and non-realistic budget; High ERP support and maintenance costs [33,39].

Research Methodology
Since this study aims to identify and prioritize ERP implementation risks in the banking industry, the statistical population of the present study is all branches of one of the banks in Iran. A questionnaire was sent to the IT managers of all departments. The questionnaire used in this study was designed based on the research model and FMEA to measure the occurrence, severity, and detection. Solutions are also prioritized using the TOPSIS technique. Figure 2 shows the research methodology.

Research Results and Findings
After extracting the risks faced by the banking industry using the Delphi outputs, the questionnaire was redistributed among the bank experts. They were asked to measure the probability of risk occurrence, the severity of and detection a value ranging from 1 to 10 to obtain the RPNs. Finally, by averaging the obtained RPNs, the risks were ranked using FMEA in the form of BSC, which were obtained according to Table 2. Finally, the average RPNs obtained in each dimension are calculated and then the BSC dimensions ranked according to the below table.  After prioritizing the risks based on the dimensions of the BSC, suggestions will be made to address each risk. After presenting the solutions, it is necessary to prioritize the solutions. Based on this, the TOPSIS method has been selected to prioritize solutions. Experts were first asked to introduce three criteria for prioritizing the solution. The decision matrix is formed after introducing the three criteria of cost, time, and feasibility for multiple solutions. Finally, the solutions are prioritized using the BT TOPSIS SOLVER software program as shown in Table 3.

Conclusion
After categorizing the organization's risks in four dimensions of stakeholders, growth and learning, process, finance and ranking them based on FMEA, it was determined that the stakeholder dimension is in the first place, which shows the effectiveness of this dimension in advancing ERP implementation. The second place is given to growth and learning, which can be concluded to what extent education and knowledge management can reveal its effect on the project. The third and fourth ranks are the dimensions of process and finance, respectively, which, although the concern of most organizations to implement ERP is the financial dimension, is in the last rank of the category. According to the prioritization done to bank managers, it is suggested to define practical corrective actions in the organization and take the necessary follow-ups to create risk or reduce the severity and occurrence and increase the diagnosis. Future researchers are encouraged to explore how to implement the barriers to ERP implementation known in the present study in the banking network.

Data Availability Statement
The data presented in this study are available in article.

Funding
The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests regarding the publication of this manuscript. In addition, the ethical issues, including plagiarism, informed consent, misconduct, data fabrication and/or falsification, double publication and/or submission, and redundancies have been completely observed by the authors.