Back to the beginning

After a long period of waiting, it has been decided by the powers that be that I have to be returned to the beginning of the DBA process. Obviously I don't have to resit exams, but I do have to submit a research proposal, have it accepted, then submit an intermediate submission etc. I am not very happy about this although I can understand the reasons for this decision. 

As I've already done a fair amount of the work required for the intermediate submission in April, it wasn't too difficult to sit down for a few hours and take what is needed in order to create a research proposal. I went over it very closely a few times today, deleting material which is irrelevant and rearranging what is not. I imagine that I will be assigned a new mentor for the research proposal (my previous mentor is probably sick and tired of me) and then hopefully I can submit the proposal within a few weeks.

One used to be able to see when the research committee meetings are, but the university's website appears to have been redesigned and I can't find that information. It will be my luck to have the proposal in a form ready for submission only to discover that I have to wait another six weeks. Actually, that isn't very likely to happen as the mentor will tell me when the next committee will be.

Just to recap, here is the abstract. Existing literature shows that there are gaps between the standard functionality provided by Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems and the specific functionality required by implementing organisations. These gaps, known as misfits, are closed by means of enhancements – changes enabled in the system beyond the initial implementation configuration. As business is dynamic, the longer a company is in the post-implementation phase, the greater the need for further enhancements which were not envisaged during the initial implementation. These enhancements can vary in complexity from innovative uses of existing functionality through to the addition of complete, bespoke, modules. Each enhancement should produce a benefit which can ultimately be translated into monetary savings. This research is aimed at Small/Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and is restricted to those using the Priority ERP system. This research utilises the case study approach, being based on interviews with managers and users from multiple companies.