ERP & PMO Glossary

Definition

The accumulated waiting, assumptions, workarounds, rework, cost and delivery risk created when a project or transformation program does not receive the decisions it needs in time.

Common misconception

Not every open decision is Decision Debt. Debt begins when teams start moving on assumptions without the decision, while dependencies and the cost of reversal grow.

For executives

Unlike technical debt, which is usually the future maintenance cost of technical choices, Decision Debt is the governance and delivery cost of delayed decisions, whether technical or not.

Review the Decision Debt approach →

Definition

The moment the new system starts being used for real business operations. The exit from testing, the entry into production.

Common misconception

Treated as the finish line. In practice go-live is only the starting point — the real validation happens during the weeks that follow (hypercare).

For executives

Go-live is a business-continuity decision, not a technical one. Do not approve without a written rollback plan.

Definition

The post go-live stabilization period (typically 2–6 weeks) during which the team provides high-intensity support and closes critical defects fast.

Common misconception

Seen as an IT-only task. Business key users and the sponsor must stay actively engaged during hypercare as well.

For executives

Define the hypercare exit criteria up front: open critical count, user acceptance signal, and return-to-normal on business KPIs.

Definition

Documenting the distance between a business requirement and the standard system. Each requirement is tagged as fit (standard covers it) or gap (customization or configuration needed).

Common misconception

Reduced to a spreadsheet. The real value is in writing down acceptance criteria and the decisions to drop requirements.

For executives

If the gap count goes past 100, fit-gap cannot close without a scope conversation. The sponsor should ask “is this really necessary?” for each gap.

Definition

The senior decision body that sets direction and priorities for the program. Attended by sponsors, business leads and the project manager.

Common misconception

Used as a status-reporting meeting. A steering committee exists to take decisions, not to listen to updates.

For executives

Walk into every steering with 2–3 explicit decisions to close. A meeting without decisions is not a steering.

Definition

The function that establishes governance, standards, reporting and delivery discipline across projects. Provides portfolio visibility, decision rhythm and execution quality.

Common misconception

Assumed to collect reports. A good PMO produces decisions, not reports — and makes bottlenecks visible to the sponsor.

For executives

When setting up a PMO, be clear about three things from day one: which decisions it will accelerate, which reports it will standardize, which conflicts it will escalate.

Definition

The effort of one person spending one full working day on a task. The base unit for estimates and cost planning.

Common misconception

Confused with calendar days. 20 man-days is a month for one person, four days for five — but only if the work actually parallelizes.

For executives

Do not accept estimates as a single total. Ask which role is loaded in which week on the critical path.

Definition

The service layer Canias ERP exposes for integrating with external systems, allowing other applications to invoke Canias business logic over HTTP.

Common misconception

Treated as a thin API wrapper. The correct use requires validating and logging business logic on the service side as well.

For executives

On integration projects, lock the service inventory and SLA expectations early. The number of services is a proxy for project complexity.

Definition

The formal project start meeting. Alignment on objectives, scope, roles, timeline and communication rules.

Common misconception

Treated as a morale or introduction meeting. A good kickoff is where the first scope and risk negotiation actually happens.

For executives

Fix the kickoff output on a single summary slide: objective, out-of-scope, decision rhythm, sponsor escalation path.

Definition

The planned and executed window for switching from the old system to the new. Data migration, opening balances, parallel run and downtime management happen here.

Common misconception

Seen as a single weekend effort. Real cutover is rehearsed over weeks before the event.

For executives

Run at least two cutover rehearsals and update go/no-go criteria after each one. A cutover without rehearsals is high risk.

Definition

A single register that tracks risks, assumptions, open issues and dependencies across the project. Core governance artefact.

Common misconception

Treated as just a risk list. The real value sits in the assumptions and dependencies columns — most disruptions come from there.

For executives

Only bring five items from the RAID log into each steering. The agenda is decisions pending, not the full list.

Definition

An approval point with explicit criteria the project must meet before moving from one phase to the next. Opened by the sponsor or steering committee.

Common misconception

Treated as a rubber-stamp signature. A real stage-gate can say “no” or “yes with conditions”. It does not always pass the project through.

For executives

Write the gate criteria at project start. If criteria are being negotiated at the gate, governance is weak.

Definition

A formal request to alter agreed scope, schedule or budget. Goes through impact analysis, cost review and an approval chain.

Common misconception

Seen as bureaucracy and handled verbally. Verbal changes become the biggest post go-live conflict source.

For executives

Fix the CR rule at kickoff: who raises it, within how many days it is assessed, and above which threshold it needs steering approval.