Streamlining Knowledge Sharing and Improves Development Practices for ERP Software Team

A company providing ERP solution for manufacturers, distributors, and service providers, built on a leading ERP software platform. While the organization has its own software development teams, their internal documentation had fallen behind. Keiboarder was brought in to address the issue of critical ERP software knowledge being siloed with a recently promoted lead engineer who was resistant to sharing information, causing development delays when he was unavailable.

The company faced significant challenges due to this knowledge hoarding:

• Critical knowledge was concentrated with a single senior engineer, which hindered the productivity of other engineering team members.  
• The company was at risk of being unable to manage its own product if the senior engineer were to leave the team.  
• Changes to the product were being implemented without proper ticketing or cross-team notifications, leading to confusion and frustration across the business.

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Keiboarder took a focused approach to resolve these issues:

• A Keiboarder Product Owner conducted weekly meetings with the lead engineer to extract and document their knowledge of the ERP software, creating a shared knowledge base for all teams.  
• Through these sessions, the Keiboarder Product Owner discovered that the engineer was making changes to the application without creating tickets or notifying other teams.  
• Recognizing the potential for these undocumented changes to cause major issues in future releases, the Keiboarder Product Owner documented the changes and escalated the issue to management before the next release.  

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Keiboarder's intervention led to clear improvements:

• The application knowledge was successfully documented and made accessible to all relevant teams.  
• Management was alerted to the engineer's problematic behavior, which had the potential to negatively impact end-users.  

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Keiboarder's work contributed to important business outcomes for the organization:

• Reduced Risk: By documenting critical knowledge, Keiboarder mitigated the risk of knowledge loss and ensured business continuity. ‍
• Improved Collaboration: Creating a shared knowledge base facilitated better collaboration and communication among development teams. ‍
• Enhanced Stability: Identifying and addressing the issue of undocumented changes helped to improve the stability and reliability of future product releases.

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This case study provides valuable lessons for technology leaders:

• Knowledge Sharing is Essential: Siloed knowledge creates vulnerabilities and hinders team productivity. Implementing processes and tools to promote knowledge sharing is crucial. ‍
• Documentation is Critical: Comprehensive and up-to-date documentation is essential for maintaining a complex software product and enabling effective collaboration. ‍
• Process and Oversight Matter: Establishing clear development processes, including ticketing and change management, and providing appropriate oversight can prevent errors and ensure accountability. ‍
• External Expertise Can Provide Objective Insights: Engaging external experts can bring a fresh perspective and help identify and address underlying issues that may be hindering development efforts.

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