An unwritten order nobody will admit to, a log that is missing an entry, a lawyer who settles everything until he decides to fight, and a colonel who cannot stand to be questioned. A Few Good Men is a courtroom drama, and a very good guide to honesty, audit trails and accountability on a Business Central project.
A Few Good Men is a courtroom drama about an order that was never written down, a record that was never made, and a man who could not stand to be questioned. It ends with the most famous line in the film, shouted from the witness box.
Every ERP project has a courtroom moment. It's usually in a steering group, a few weeks before go-live, when someone finally asks the question everyone has been avoiding. Here's what the film says about getting there sooner.
The whole case turns on a "Code Red": an unofficial order that everyone on the base knows about, that nobody will admit exists, and that isn't in any manual.
For your project: every business has its Code Reds. The credit note that's always raised by hand for one customer. The stock that's moved without a transfer because "that's how we do it on Fridays". The supplier invoice that skips approval because the MD said so in 2019. They're never in the process maps, and they're why a perfect design fails in UAT. Find them in the Analysis workshops by asking the people who do the work, not the people who manage it. (See super users.)
The case breaks open over a missing record: a flight that should have been logged and wasn't. Without the paper trail, nobody can prove what happened, or when.
For your project: Business Central keeps a complete audit trail if you let it. Posted documents can't be edited, every ledger entry traces to a document (Find Entries), and the change log records who changed a setting or a bank account and when. The gaps appear when people work around the system: the spreadsheet adjustment, the direct posting to a control account, the decision made in a corridor and never recorded. If it isn't in the log, it didn't happen, and one day an auditor will ask.
Kaffee has never been to court. He plea-bargains every case because it's quicker and safer. Only when he decides to actually fight does the truth come out.
For your project: partners and project managers can be the same. "Out of scope." "Standard functionality." "We'll pick that up in phase two." Each one is a settlement, and each one is easier than the argument. Someone on your side has to be willing to fight for what the business actually needs: read the solution design line by line, challenge every exclusion, and refuse to sign until it says what you think it says. (See the gatekeeper role.)
The two marines on trial did what they were told. They believed the order was legitimate, and no one had ever taught them to question it.
For your project: users who follow the old process without knowing why it exists will carry it straight into the new system. "We've always done it this way" is the most expensive sentence in an ERP project. Ask why for every step, and keep only the steps with a reason. (See why your old customisations should not come with you.)
The trial comes down to one question: who gave the order? Everyone below the colonel had a reason to say it wasn't them.
For your project: decisions need owners. Who signed off the design? Who decided the stock valuation method? Who accepted UAT? Write it down, with a name and a date, at the time. When something goes wrong in month three, the question won't be "whose fault is it", it'll be "what did we decide and why", and you'll want the answer on paper.
The colonel's outburst is the moment he admits everything, because he's spent so long believing nobody could cope with hearing it.
For your project: the most dangerous status report is the one that's green until the week it goes red. Project managers soften bad news because they think the sponsor can't handle it, or because they don't want to be the one who says it. A good sponsor can handle the truth, and needs it early: the data won't reconcile, the integration isn't ready, the super users haven't had time to test. Tell them in the first five minutes of the steering group, not on go-live Friday. (See why ERP projects fail.)
Write down the unwritten processes. Keep the log complete. Fight for what the business needs instead of settling. Ask why. Put a name on every decision. And tell the truth early, because the sponsor can handle it far better in month two than in month six.
Want someone on your side of the table who will tell you the truth about your project? Book a 30-minute call, or start with a health check.
