The Corporate Performance Management Practitioner

Great article from Baseline magazine…..this is written from a generic IT implementation perspective, but could easily apply to everyone of the ERP/CPM projects I have ever been involved with.

If you don’t subscribe to Baseline, either in paper, online, or via email alerts, you should.

http://www.baselinemag.com/c/a/Projects-Enterprise-Planning/8-Ways-To-Save-Your-Next-Project/?kc=EWKNLFIN020408STR2

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http://communities.cognos.com/home

I have always felt that Cognos does a great job with support, but I really think the addition of this new support community is really good news for the Cognos ecosystem.

I posted a question a few minutes ago, and got a response in less than 5 minutes from a Partner in Australia. Way to Go Cognos… 

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http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Business-Intelligence/Cognos-Rob-Ashe-Working-Under-the-IBM-Umbrella/

 Nothing new here….It seems to me that IBM is the right buyer for Cognos…Version 8, with its “built from the ground up” java/J2EE architecture is the right platform for IBM to add to its mix.

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Activity based costing (ABC) and Activity Based Management (ABM) are key tools for any organization struggling to understand the costs of doing business. ABC focuses on assigning costs based on “Activities”. Each product and/or service sold by an organization has its own unique mix of activities.

 An activity is simply a step in the process needed to transform inputs into outputs needed/and or desired by a customer. The challenge in ABC is to capture the various processes, determine what the activity mix for a various product or service is, and then assign relevant costs to them. This is a complex process, which we will explore this week.

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http://panko.shidler.hawaii.edu/SSR/Mypapers/Rant-on-science-in-SS-BPs.pdf

No additional comment needed.

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http://www.aicpa.org/pubs/jofa/feb2004/simkin.htm

 An interesting article from Professor Simkin on using various Excel functions to prevent errors…Much of the top half of the article is pretty standard stuff (use of hash/control totals, limit tests, check calculations of key totals) but there is some neat stuff about using charts to find outlying data values, the use of signature forms (this should be standard procedure!) and especially the “Data Validation”, “Audit Formulas” and “Trace Precedents” features of Excel.

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http://panko.shidler.hawaii.edu/SSR/index.htm

 No discussion of Spreadsheet errors is complete without discussing Dr Panko of the University of Hawaii. The great thing about his research is that he approaches spreadsheet development as being similar to the development of computer programs…which is exactly what they are!

Why should spreadsheets not be tested? Why should they not go through the same governance processes as any other computer program? 

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After another long break, I am going to restart my theme weeks. This week’s topic will be Spreadsheets…and the problems they create in the collection and dissemination of management information.

This site provide links to dozens of examples of organizations lost in Spreadsheet hell… A must read!

http://www.eusprig.org/stories.htm

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http://www.businessweek.com/2000/00_33/b3694015.htm

I found this fascinating article while walking down memory lane (or at least down memory google search). I worked for Baan during the boom times, and actually was there when it crashed. The end of Baan marked the end of my time as a pure-play ERP consultant. It is strange to see coverage of a key event in my career in the pages of Business Week.

In my humble opinion, Jan and Paul Baan meant well but were simply overmatched. Enterprise Software is not a business for informal management. I don’t think they were out to deceive investors like Enron did.

I was at BaanWorld In april 1998 in Denver. The first night was a typical trade show - walk the exhibits and speak with the various firms selling goods and services. It was a pretty surreal experience….it was like the last days of the roman empire…no expenses were spared. Free Beer and Wine everywhere. Prime Rib  and giant shrimp on the exhibit floor. One of the big 6 (at that time) had an operating brewpub on the floor to attract job seekers. Another firm was hosting a private rock concert with the Doobie Brothers. Another firm was sponsoring a private Harlem Globetrotters exhibition game. To attract job seekers, one firm was giving away a new BMW - your resume was your raffle ticket. Other firms were giving away motorcycles and personal electronics. 

I was wearing a presenters badge, and people were stopping me on the floor, asking who I was and making job offers on the spot.  It was simply amazing.

The next morning, Bill Gates was the featured speaker. His background music was the entire Denver Symphony orchestra. Again, what excess! what profit margins!

That same week, Baan announced that they had to restate revenues…It was almost the end of the conference..what a different mood. Job offers were hard to come by. Within a few months, I left to join CSC’s Baan practice. Within weeks, the Baan practice was shut down, and I found myself in the general consulting pool…My time as an ERP consultant ended in a flameout….I soon found myself doing Y2K and data warehousing work.

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According to MSNBC, there is a “quiet revolution” occurring in the American Workplace…Gartner is predicting that 27.5% of the workforce will “telework”, which seems to be defined a working at least 8 hours per week away from the office.  That seems low to me…. I suspect that most “telework” is really communication orientated…returning phone calls, checking email, etc. It stands to reason that as “telework” becomes more common, CPM processes will need to change.   What will the implications of a remote workforce mean for CPM? From a technical standpoint, the importance of BI on wireless devices will increase. When I worked for Brio (now Oracle via the Hyperion merger) we demoed Brio content on the Palm platform. Cognos has Version 8 on the Blackberry.  As I always try to point out, CPM is not just about the technology. There are many process concerns as well.   

• I suspect information provenance will be much more important. Without direct human contact, it will be more necessary to understand where a particular report comes from. What is the audit trail behind this data? 
   

• Maintaining a corporate culture is more difficult with a remote workforce. The importance of Alignment, both tactical and strategic will become more important. 
   

• For CPM processes that require collaboration (financial consolidation, financial planning, forecasting, budgeting, managerial reporting) will be more difficult in a remote environment. Many organizations struggle with these processes anyway, so this could be a real problem. It seems that this is a ripe area for new software development. 
   

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20281475/

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