PH4 - Final Reflections

 This project has been an interesting experience. It helped me dive deeper into company processes and understand how large systems are put in place in the workplace, giving me a bird's-eye view of how businesses operate rather than a restricted, small-scale perspective. It forced me to step out of my comfort zone, engage with different professionals, and learn from their experiences and expectations.

At the same time, it helped me find connections between the digital and the humanities in places I least expected. When I first chose this topic as my Applied Digital Humanities final project, I had concerns. My first concern was that the project wouldn't satisfy the requirements for the class, that it would either fail to be considered "digital" or fail to be categorized within the humanities. But I took that shot in the dark to uncover how systems hidden behind corporate jargon actually have a real, ground-level impact on the lives and everyday processes of individuals. An ERP system is one of many business transformation projects that change how businesses operate, and by extension, how people operate in the workplace. Most of the time, we neglect the human side of corporate work, but if we look closely, we find that people spend more time at their jobs than they do outside of them. If that reality is true, then everything that affects people during those work hours has a quantifiable and immense impact on their overall quality of life.

Another challenge I faced when starting this project was that I didn't fully understand what ERP systems were, even though I had recently started a job working on a project related to this very transformation. I didn't quite grasp what ERP systems do. This project pushed me to sit down with individuals, hear their perspectives, and conduct my own research so that I could genuinely equip myself with the knowledge I needed before entering this career. I am very grateful for this class and for this entire process.

Going into the project, I had a preconceived notion that ERP systems aren't always what they're made out to be. That skepticism came from hearing exclusively positive things from peers and from management, praise that felt one-sided. However, through my research, I found that ERP systems can genuinely solve many modern problems faced by large enterprise businesses, while also having significant shortcomings depending on how they are implemented and how well they fit within a specific company's context.

What worked in this project was the cooperative and open nature of the individuals involved in the ERP project at Avista. People both within and outside of the ERP project took time out of their day to sit with me and share their sentiments, feelings, expectations, and professional expertise. Those conversations became the backbone of this project. Hearing from multiple work streams was equally valuable, as each perspective revealed what different parts of the organization think and believe about ERP systems, and together, they uncovered a difficult truth: that ERP systems sometimes fail in organizations that don't implement them well.

As shown in my presentation, some business streams are more skeptical in their outlook toward ERP systems, while others see only the positives. What I found is that centralizing data and providing a single point of data entry brings significant benefits, but also unintended consequences. These include disrupting existing workflows, undermining the responsibilities of employees who previously worked across multiple platforms, introducing heavy change management requirements, and placing a considerable burden on HR managers in terms of training and onboarding. Because of this, I can confidently say that while ERP systems offer real and necessary benefits, thorough research must be done before committing to implementation, because it is not always the optimal choice for every organization.

What didn't work was the scope of my original plan, which included a phase involving interviews with individuals from other companies for comparative analysis. Given the interview-driven nature of this project, the majority of findings required one-on-one interaction with people. Unfortunately, that phase never came together due to scheduling conflicts. This was by far my busiest semester, balancing multiple tournaments, work, graduation, and coursework made it extremely difficult to consolidate everyone's time and ensure all perspectives were captured, and it was also tough with people not responding to requests However with what I had, I did my best to bring the strongest evidence and analysis I could find. I hope this work log reflects that effort. It has truly been a pleasure.