Information Systems Infrastructure (IS3314) 3 rd year BIS 2006 / 2007 Fergal Carton Business Information Systems

Last week Types of integration –H/w –S/w –Data Downsides of integration –Manufacturing / distribution views –Difference virtual picture (ERP) and reality (shop floor) Integration examples

What does integration mean? Hardware –iPhone (PDA + phone + media player) –Car engine (self diagnostics, GPS, …) –Printer + scanner + photocopiers + fax –VLSI: inetgration of different circuits onto one chip Software –Outlook ( + Calendar + Contacts) –MS.net development suite (front-end tools, programming, connectivity wizards) –Google (browser + content management) –Adobe (document and workflow) Data –Inventory and Sales need access to Product file –Engineering and planning need access to BOM

Integration downsides Response times Vulnerability: single point of failure Limitations on expansion Dependence on single vendor Flexibility to change system … Access to basic information is complicated

This week Integration examples ERP project resources –Business process –Project –Technical (data and IT) Topps Case study (handout)

Integration example: Bank branch Look at design and setup of bank branch –What does integration mean in a bank perspective? Customer services Customer data Transaction processing Data model

Deliver CustomerMakeSupplier Integration example: inventory Raw materials Finished goods Plan, buy Bill of materials

ERP projects: resources required Users / power users User management Steering Committee Functional analysts Application expert DBA’s / Sys Admin Project team Process leads Project Managers Technical Project Business process

ERP projects: resources required Software vendor Hardware vendor Users / power users User management Steering Committee Functional analysts Application expert DBA’s / Sys Admin Project team Process leads Project Managers Systems Integrator Technical Project Business process

Resources : Financial Controller Having seconded the AP manager to the project for 18 months … –Just after go-live, lost the AP manager –Basic functionality missing Statutory reports for countries Unmatched receiver report arguments over Break-Fix vs. Enhancement –Lost understanding of why things were done in a certain way Knowledge of application Knowledge of business processes in the US –Worse: lost ability to get things fixed! Prioritisation of SIRs (System Investigation Requests) Reports written by end-users (eg. AP Manager) Local IS or global IS now working to gobal requirements Can’t customise the application

Resources : process Process lead Functional analyst Power users Application specialist Users …

Process issues … Ensuring key process issues are resolved Do we invoice customers on shipment or on delivery? Who should open the new accounting period for Purchasing? Receivables are coming through from a legacy system, but it’s impossible to identify the country of origin Sales orders being received in Euros are giving “Unrecognised currency” errors and halting the interface job Currency exchange rates updated during month and skewing month-end results, who should troubleshoot? Revenue from Professional Services is having to be manually shipped at month-end : no legacy system …

Resources : project Project Team Lead Process Leads Project Managers Functional Co-ordinators Steering Committee …

Project issues Availability of team members / users Decision making processes Developing workarounds Timeline too tight to allow resolution of issues Massive learning curve for team Expectation management Retaining ownership of process related decisions

Resources : Technical (data) Data clean-up team Data conversion team Data conversion programmer Legacy data team Data quality testing and maintenance …

PPARS project Governance Complexity –Job title –Responsibilities –No payscale –Bonuses –Overtime –Link roster to payroll? Resources Business process change, not system issue

Data issues … Getting and maintaining clean data –When creating a new customer, who has control? –42 occurrences of Siemens in your customer database, what do you do? –Customers exist in ERP core database, but also in several legacy systems. How do you make sure they are in synch? –…

Resources : Technical (IT ops) Database administrator Systems administrator Operators : core apps Server operators Storage technicians HelpDesk …

Database issues … Guaranteeing “high availability” How often should Test be refreshed? How many environments should I have –Test –Production –Development –Training –Business Simulation –… If I implement a change to Production, do I need to implement the same change across all environments? 20 programmers developing / testing new code every day: how do I track releases to production? …

Systems admin issues … Ensuring system access for users New users Changes to existing profiles System downtime for maintenance Forcing users out of system Tracking source of corrupt data to user profile …

HelpDesk issues … Calls arriving at HelpDesk are either : Forgotten password New user Changes to user profile Printing problems Connectivity problems Response time problems System crashes System error messages PC problems I need more training …

HelpDesk issues … …or : Functionality questions (how do I transact an invoice?) Process questions (when should I post to GL?) Reporting (I need a revenue report)

Project handover to HelpDesk Prior to go-live, implement procedures for : –Logging calls such that it will be routed to the right person and tracked, reported on and escalated –Training for HelpDesk to be able to ask the right questions concering an application issue –Troubleshooting application issues to be able to deal with simple “fixes” –Ongoing consultation with application team regarding new functionality being rolled out, common errors, planned outages, …