The solution design process begins once the analysis phase has been completed. By now, the project plan is ready, the requirements document has been signed off, the Conference Room Pilot (CRP) has been completed, and the fit-gap exercise has been completed and documented as part of the analysis phase. In the fit-gap activity, if the team has decided on using some Independent Software Vendor (ISV) solution to fill the gaps, then you may need to evaluate the best ISV solution. For any other gaps, the implementation team needs to document the overall solution and produce functional and technical design documents to address the gaps through customization and extension. However, before starting on writing design documents, a functional and technical consultant also needs to know the standard features that can be used to fill the gaps or complement the solution design they are proposing. 

Solution planning and design of your custom feature are very critical for the success of the ERP implementation project. Design documents produced in this phase help to define the baseline for the custom solution and provide clarity to the developer on what to build. Design documents also help to better estimate the cost, timeline, and resources required for the project.

In this chapter, we will cover the following topics:

• Finding the right app for your business needs
• Understanding common product features
• The functional design document 
• The solution design document 
• The TDD