Development of a Change Request Template for ERP Systems to Increase Time-Efficiency

Sep 11, 2026

Uploaded by Jasmine

Market volatility driven by technological breakthroughs, the internet, globalization, and competitive pressures increases complexity in managing enterprises. Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems must therefore continuously adapt to new or changed requirements, especially during change requests. Practice in two German manufacturing firms shows that ERP change requests are time-consuming and inefficient due to complex system changes and incomplete requirement descriptions, causing clarification loops, assessment difficulties, and misunderstandings that lead to costly rework. Using design science research with expert interviews and qualitative analysis, the study develops and validates an artefact in the form of a new change request template that improves transparency of required information and supports rejecting under-specified requests.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryPresentations

FormatPDF

Pages9

Reading Time3 min

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Abstract

Introduction and research problem

Research approach

Literature review

Development of a Change Request Template for ERP Systems to Increase Time-Efficiency Hannah Thiel, Claudia Hess and Carsten Skerra IU International University of Applied Sciences, Erfurt, Germany [thielhannah@outlook.de](thielhannah@outlook.de) [claudia.hess@iu.org](claudia.hess@iu.org) [carsten.skerra@iu.org](carsten.skerra@iu.org) Abstract: Market environments are changing at an increasingly exponential rate. Technological breakthroughs, the internet, globalization, and the consequential emergence of highly volatile and competitive markets have made managing a company more and more complex. Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems support the successful management of businesses in such conditions. As the needs and expectations of markets are changing, so are the requirements for ERP systems; new or altered requirements are implemented continuously. This paper explores how companies can become more time-efficient in their specification of change requests and whether methods from requirements engineering can be applied. In the practice of two sizeable German manufacturing companies, we observed that specifying change requests is time-consuming and inefficient. Sophisticated ERP systems are complex; thus, changes require a detailed description of requirements. In practice, the description often lacks information. This leads to reclarifications with the requestor, difficulties when assessing the expected benefits of change requests, and uncertainties concerning prioritization. Moreover, there is a risk of approval and development of changes that are not fully understood. Therefore, unwanted side effects harm the ERP system and require even more costly corrections later. The methods and procedures are taken from the design science research; we intended to develop an artefact that supports companies to become more time-efficient in the process of describing, evaluating and prioritizing change requests. We interviewed experts from a large automotive supplier and analyzed the data through content analysis. The research concluded that some methods from requirements engineering can be applied to this context, such as the usage of requirements specification templates, quality criteria, and categorization of requirements. The primary results of this research are an artefact in the form of a new change request template for the use case of changing ERP systems. This template was applied in the automotive supplier's change request practice, where we also gathered feedback on the artefact. The conclusions from data and results of the involved parties reported that the new template increases transparency on what information is required and serves as a foundation for rejecting change requests lacking descriptions. Implications for further research are to increase transparency and additional guidance that already has successfully brought the intended benefit of saving time in this process. Keywords: Change management, change requests, enterprise system, ERP system, requirements specification 1. Introduction and research problem ERP systems are still relatively new IT systems continuously adapting to the company's and its management's needs. Therefore, the excellent support for company management as an advantage becomes the disadvantage of constant adaptations to processes and business models. In other words, in order not to limit the function of ERP systems, highly effective change processes are required. Two sizeable German manufacturing companies with integrated ERP systems and established change management processes report similar problems in specifying requirements for change requests (CRs); in both companies, the requirements specification is not formally defined. Therefore, the format and quality of described requirements vary a lot. Often, requirements lack necessary information or are not fully understood, which leads to time-consuming rounds of clarification. In some cases, incomplete requirements are approved fo

FAQs

Why are ERP change requests often time-consuming and inefficient in practice?

Sophisticated ERP systems require detailed requirement descriptions, but in practice the descriptions frequently lack essential information or clarity. This triggers multiple clarification rounds and can result in incomplete approvals and later-stage discoveries.

What research approach is used to develop the proposed template?

The study follows the design science research approach, combining expert interviews for data collection and qualitative content analysis for data analysis, aligned with established methodology references.

How does the new change request template improve outcomes?

Applied in an automotive supplier’s change request practice, it increases transparency about what information is required and provides a basis for rejecting change requests that lack sufficient descriptions, thereby saving time.

Sep 11, 2026

Uploaded by Jasmine