An Alternative Approach to the Standard Enterprise Resource Planning Life Cycle: Enterprise Reference Metamodeling

The Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems development is based on the initial definition of an enterprise reference model, whose richness and generality will basically determine the flexibility of the resulting software package to accommodate specific requirements. The desired accommodation is rarely accomplished without costly customization processes, which are frequently unaffordable for the small and medium enterprises. In this paper, an alternative ERP development approach, stemming from the implementation of an enterprise reference metamodel, is proposed. We present an analysis of the resulting alternative ERP life cycle, particularly focusing on the metamodel that constitutes the core of the proposal. The results obtained in a complete enterprise software development project, encompassing software package development, tailored implementation and some post-implementation customization, show that the proposed approach facilitates the identification and fulfillment of the customer’s specific requests at a reduced cost, even if they arise after the implementation.