So among my responsibilities is to interface with our ERP system. It's a three-tier system that uses COM-based business objects and a SQL Server database. What seems to happen pretty frequently is that one user or another will report a bug or request a new report but upon further research I find that the bug is actually a misunderstanding of what the report is showing, or that a report already exists that provides exactly the information that the user needs.

One problem, I think, is that the ERP software is quite complex. The documentation is pretty good but the implementation consultants added a bunch of custom modifications that are not documented. Adding fuel to this fire is the fact that the ERP system is a conversion of a midrange ERP system that used to run on AS/400s and the like. Many aspects of the UI seem out of place and difficult to use because they carry over the green screen terminal paradigm. Moreover the interface for the ERP system has recently been "modernized" (last version) so that some old functions are accessed in new ways.

I think the solution to this problem might be to anoint a few power users from each department as "ERP Angels" then have them trained extensively in the ERP system features that are commonly used by their department. These "Angels" will be resources for their departments as well as a common point of contact the IT department when enhancement requests are made.