Worked Example

Change Impact Assessment Example: An ERP Implementation

This change impact assessment example shows what a completed assessment can look like for an ERP implementation across affected Roles and Teams.

7 affected Roles and Teams

10 example change impacts

ERP procure-to-pay implementation

The fictional example below follows a mid-sized company replacing several disconnected purchasing and accounts-payable practices with an integrated ERP procure-to-pay process.

For the full methodology behind planning, conducting, validating, and analyzing an assessment, see how to do a Change Impact Assessment.

ERP Implementation Scenario

The Business Change

The company is implementing a standardized ERP procure-to-pay process across its U.S. operations.

Project ERP procure-to-pay implementation

Organization Mid-sized multi-site company

Implementation Single implementation across U.S. operations

Primary Functions Finance, Procurement, Operations, and IT

Current State

Purchase requests use inconsistent forms and email.
Managers approve purchases outside the purchasing system.
Supplier data is maintained in several local files.
Accounts Payable manually resolves many invoice exceptions.
Finance reporting depends heavily on spreadsheet consolidation.

Future State

Purchase requests begin and remain in the ERP workflow.
Approval limits and routing are enforced in the system.
Supplier information follows centralized data standards.
Automated matching isolates invoices that require intervention.
ERP dashboards provide shared financial and purchasing information.

ERP implementation showing the transition from disconnected purchasing processes to an integrated procure-to-pay process

Completed Change Impact Assessment Example

Each record below describes a distinct impact experienced by a Role or Team. The table uses a practical subset of the fields maintained in the Change Adaptive assessment template.

Impact ID	Role / Team	Impact Type	Description	Impact Timing	Severity	Business Criticality	Priority Score	Notes
001	Accounts Payable Analysts	Process / Workflow	Resolve unmatched invoice exceptions directly in a new ERP exception queue instead of routing them through email and supervisor review.	When Change Takes Effect	4	5	20	High-volume exception types include price, quantity, and receipt mismatches.
002	Accounts Payable Analysts	Role / Responsibility	Shift from routine invoice matching toward monitoring automated matches and investigating exceptions that require judgment.	When Change Takes Effect	4	5	20	Supervisor escalation remains available for exceptions outside analyst authority.
003	Procurement Specialists	Data / Information	Use centralized supplier and item records governed by common data standards instead of maintaining local reference files.	Before Change Takes Effect	4	4	16	Supplier and item data are currently maintained differently across business units.
004	Department Managers	Decision / Approval	Approve purchases through system-routed workflows using defined approval thresholds instead of replying to email requests.	When Change Takes Effect	3	4	12	Approval thresholds vary by management level and purchase value.
005	Purchase Requesters	System / Technology	Enter required accounting and purchasing information in the ERP request form before a purchase can enter the approval process.	When Change Takes Effect	2	5	10	Required accounting and purchasing fields must be complete before workflow routing begins.
006	Finance Managers	Reporting / Analytics	Use ERP dashboards and standardized reports instead of consolidating weekly purchasing and payment information in spreadsheets.	Early Post-Change	3	4	12	Finance teams currently use different spreadsheet definitions for several purchasing measures.
007	Procurement Specialists	Process / Workflow	Initiate purchase orders through the standardized ERP sourcing workflow rather than using locally managed purchasing steps.	When Change Takes Effect	4	3	12	Some local sourcing exceptions fall outside the standard purchasing workflow.
008	Site Managers	Policy / Procedure	Stop approving purchases after commitment and follow the new requirement that approval must occur before an order is placed.	Before Change Takes Effect	3	4	12	After-the-fact approvals occur most often at selected operating sites.
009	Purchase Requesters	Process / Workflow	Check request status in the ERP rather than contacting Procurement or Finance for routine progress updates.	When Change Takes Effect	2	2	4	ERP status visibility replaces routine email inquiries about request progress.
010	ERP Support Team	Role / Responsibility	Provide first-line support for procure-to-pay workflow issues and distinguish user, data, configuration, and integration problems.	During Transition	4	4	16	The support model covers cutover and stabilization, with escalation for configuration and integration issues.

Priority Score equals Severity × Business Criticality. The score helps compare impacts, but it should be interpreted with the Role or Team, description, timing, and other assessment information.

Why the Change Impact Ratings Differ

Severity reflects how substantial the change is for the affected group. Business Criticality reflects the importance of the work being affected. Three records from the ERP example show why the ratings do not always move together.

4 × 5 = 20

AP Exception Handling

The shift to a new exception queue changes how Accounts Payable Analysts investigate problems and make decisions, supporting a Severity rating of 4.

Because invoice payment and financial processing depend on this work, Business Criticality is 5.

2 × 5 = 10

Purchase Request Entry

Purchase Requesters must provide additional information in a structured ERP form, but the change is relatively limited, supporting a Severity rating of 2.

The information is still essential to downstream purchasing, approval, accounting, and payment, so Business Criticality is 5.

4 × 3 = 12

Procurement Workflow

Procurement Specialists move to a substantially different end-to-end workflow, supporting a Severity rating of 4.

Short-term disruption can be managed through escalation and contingency practices, resulting in a Business Criticality rating of 3.

What the ERP Assessment Reveals

Looking across the records identifies patterns that are difficult to see when each impact is considered separately.

Accounts Payable has the most consequential impacts

Accounts Payable faces substantial changes to responsibilities and exception handling around highly critical financial work. This shows why impact count alone can be misleading when deciding where attention is most needed.

Most of the significant change is not purely technical

The stronger impacts involve workflow, responsibility, data standards, decision rights, and procedures rather than system navigation alone.

Several groups change behavior at the same time

Many impacts are classified as When Change Takes Effect, while the ERP Support Team is already under pressure During Transition. The timing pattern shows where preparation and support need to be coordinated across groups.

How the CIA Findings Translate Into Action

The appropriate response depends on the nature, priority, and timing of the impact.

Accounts Payable

Provide hands-on exception scenarios, clarify decision authority, confirm procedures, and prepare targeted support for the period when the new process takes effect.

Procurement

Prepare specialists for both the standardized purchasing workflow and centralized data standards, including how exceptions will be handled.

Managers

Reinforce approval authority and the requirement to use the ERP workflow before purchases are committed.

Purchase Requesters

Provide concise guidance on required request information and where to check status in the new workflow.

ERP Support

Prepare support staff to distinguish user, workflow, data, configuration, and integration issues during the transition period.

Using This Change Impact Assessment Example for Your Project

The specific impacts and ratings will differ from project to project. What should remain consistent is the level of specificity: identify a distinct change for a particular Role or Team, rate Severity and Business Criticality separately, record when the impact occurs, and capture enough context to support later planning.

If you are preparing for interviews, workshops, or working sessions to identify impacts, the Change Impact Assessment question bank provides prompts for exploring changes to processes, roles, technology, data, decisions, workload, behavior, and other aspects of work.

Build Your Own Change Impact Assessment

Change Adaptive’s Change Impact Assessment templates give you the structure and analysis tools to build your own assessment from the impacts you identify.

View Change Impact Assessment Templates

Change Impact Assessment Example FAQ

How many impacts should a Change Impact Assessment include?

There is no fixed number. The assessment should capture the distinct impacts needed to understand what is changing for affected Roles and Teams. A large project may contain many more impacts than the 10 records shown in this simplified ERP example.

Can the same Role or Team have multiple change impacts?

Yes. A Role or Team may experience several different changes to its workflow, responsibilities, technology, data, decisions, or other aspects of work. When those changes need to be understood or rated separately, they should be captured as separate impact records.

Does a Change Impact Assessment need to be completed all at once?

No. A Change Impact Assessment can be refined as the project becomes clearer. New impacts may be identified, descriptions may become more specific, and ratings may change as project decisions are finalized and additional information becomes available.

Is a Change Impact Assessment the same as an ERP impact assessment?

An ERP impact assessment can be a Change Impact Assessment when it focuses on how the implementation changes the work experienced by affected Roles and Teams. The same approach can also be used for restructures, process changes, operating-model changes, policy changes, and other organizational changes.