ORGANIZACIÓN Y ENTORNO Capítulo 3 Mary Jo Hatch with Ann L. Cunliffe.
Jonathan Cunliffe Group IT Projects Manager United Business Media Group Reporting Project.
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Transcript of Jonathan Cunliffe Group IT Projects Manager United Business Media Group Reporting Project.
Jonathan Cunliffe Group IT Projects Manager
United Business MediaGroup Reporting Project
United Business Media
Who are United Business Media?
United Business Media
A leading provider of business information services to the technology, healthcare, media, automotive, financial services and property industries
Provide services in news distribution, market research, publishing and events to customers across the globe
Brands include: PR Newswire - world’s leading corporate news distribution service NOP World, one of the largest market research groups globally CMP, the B2B media and exhibition group operating in the US, UK, Asia
and Europe.
Major UBM Products
UBM Media Channels
UBM Media Channels
UBM Media Channels
UBM Media Channels
UBM Media Channels
United Business Media
What size of system were we implementing?
United Business Media
For Group Reporting, Divisions report to Head Office
10 Divisional Offices in US 2 Divisional Offices in UK 1 Divisional Office in Asia Head Office operations in Ireland, Luxembourg, NY and London
25 divisional users of the system plus Head Office staff
The Project and its Drivers
When and why did the project start?
The Project and its Drivers
2003 - Decided to replace Group Reporting system Main Drivers were:
End of life of existing application Looking for enhanced analysis and production reporting
capabilities for group management Statutory and Management applications to sit on 1 platform Wanted to automate cash flow Required more real-time validation checks Aiming for improved inter-company reconciliation Wanted integration with local accounting applications such as
Oracle GLs Looking for quicker system operation in general
From beginning considered Project Management methods
Software Selection
What steps did we take to select the vendor and software?
Software Selection
First collected “feature” requirements using Use-Case modelling
Drew up a list of all known vendors 20+ and then using a Gartner survey, narrowed this down to 5
Initial introduction to each of these products and requirements sent to vendors
Utilised scripted scenarios
Cartesis Magnitude was chosen as most suitable product for our requirements on this particular project
Selection of the Vendor and Software
Why did we choose Cartesis?
Selection of the Vendor and Software
Why did we choose Cartesis?
The Magnitude software met our feature requirements
Specifically Intercompany Reconciliation was better
Cartesis showed best understanding our particular requirements
Known quantity as a supplier long relationship with UBM
Selection of the Vendor and Software
What were the challenges?
Selection of the Vendor and Software
Challenges:
Getting stakeholders to buy in to the process
Trying to remove prejudice towards/against certain products
Concentrating on our requirements rather than being impressed by features that were not actually useful to us
Project Management Approach
What project management approach did we take?
Project Management Approach
Used PRINCE2 Project Method, which revolves around:
Management by exception Defining the requirements Having representatives from the users, suppliers and the business Has a project manager and project assurance Actively manages risks and issues Puts in place a clear communications plan Focuses on quality checking Has specific planning techniques
Timing was not ideal
But the Project Method did deliver and is being used on many other projects now
Stakeholders
Stakeholders
DCFO
CFO
Group Head of AccountsAnd Divisional Users
Group FinancialSystems AnalystAnd Cartesis Project Manager from US
HO
Group IT Projects ManagerInternal and external team managers
Results and Benefits
What did we get from the project?
Results and Benefits
Faster consolidation – from hours to seconds
Enhanced usability and interface
Up-to-date software
Running on industry standard databases
Significantly greater detail of data
Many more reporting/analysis options – company/FX simulation
More flexible to update company and account structures than previous application
Platform upon which we can expand our management systems
Key Lessons Learned
What were the key lessons to learn for the future?
Key Lessons Learned
As part of PRINCE2 process an End Project Review
Lessons Learned - 5 main areas Understand the method to be used and treat project roles seriously
Do not under-resource from the start
Do not start project until user requirements agreed and signed
Manage risks - but also give each an owner
Operate a dual-level communication channel with vendor
Future Steps
What are we going to do next?
Future Steps
Launch our Statutory part of the system with IFRS capability for interims, followed by US GAAP capability for year end
Refinement Project – to enhance the applications further to remove some areas where we evolved the system
Roll out Magnitude management system for one of our divisions CMP Medica
Additional 30 Offices Subset of our Group Application so quicker development Possibly explore this model for other group companies
Ensure the applications are SOX compliant for next year
Consider Magnitude for planning, forecasting and budgeting
Summary
In summary…
Summary
Challenging at times and many lessons learned
Overall has been a successful implementation
Project Team now fully understands the benefits of Project Management
You may be able to benefit from our experience
Questions…
Questions…