BP1 - Week 6 - XBRL

Three reasons why we should use XBRL:

1. Rapid expansion and growth throughout the world means that the majority of business and financial data for reporting will likely utilize this open standard (being free of license fees and operated by a non-profit consortium raises the likelihood of this happening). Therefore, it could be of great benefit to begin using it, in order to learn and utilize the different tags for each individual item of data.
   
   
2. We can lower expenditures by streamlining how we collect and report financial information. XBRL is arguably the most efficient and versatile (it can handle data in different languages and accounting standards) program language available. We can eliminate streamlining costs of bringing in separate formatters (manual processes, data re-entry) for our financial information. Faster and more efficient analysis will decrease the amount of man hours we spent sorting through numbers.
   
   
3. Part of the appeal for XBRL is that - while slowly emerging as a universal standard - it has a certain level of flexibility and does not imply a required standardisation of financial reporting. Language and industry jargon are both flexible parts of XBRL; the language can be morphed and adapted to meet particular business requirements.

How Can XBRL Be Used?

As we mentioned earlier, the versatility of the program means it can be used in a variety of methods by a variety of businesses. Generally speaking, however, there are two major functions:

1. Data Collection & Reporting
2. Data Consumption and Analysis

XBRL essentially allows businesses to automate the data collection process. Sorting, filing and compressing divisions within accounting systems can be a long and arduous task; XBRL not only sorts the information to meet your specific needs, but also churns out a series of reports from varying subsets of the newly collected data. This is a great innovation for those in charge of duties like tax filings and financial statements - the automated process removes the chance of human error and also gives all collected data a thorough accuracy check once completed.

The analysis component of XBRL will also be of great use and is one of the most compelling ways to use the language. The ability for the program to highlight errors and gaps will greatly reduce the former standard of having a set of human eyes scour through numbers looking for discrepancies. The ability to obtain more rapid and reliable data on company financial performance is of great benefit to those in Accounting; therefore, it would seem as though anything designed to simplify and automate the tasks of gathering and analysis would be smart to use.

What Steps Are Needed To Start Using XBRL?

Because the group is a NPC and dedicated to the growth of its product, XBRL is relatively easy to join and a most welcoming community. XBRL International is comprised of local jurisdictions that focus on the progress in their particular region (note: Canada is one of them). If your organization or company is based in a country that already has XBRL jurisdiction, you must join that jurisdiction to participate. If there is no jurisdiction in your country, then you must join as a Direct Participant until one is formed. Both pay annual fees for their memberships, with each going to the respective jurisdiction or XBRL International.

How To Stay Abreast of XBRL Developments & Standards

There are several online sites that can aid and assist you:

• XBRL International has a "Latest News" section that highlights the latest Project and Technical News,
  
  
• XBRL Canada - closer to home, this jurisdiction page shares news and notes unique to businesses and organizations within Canada,
  
  
• The International Accounting Standards Committee Foundation website has a thorough rundown of the XBRL basics and provides handy links to a variety of sites dealing with XBRL innovations and news.

BP 1 - Week 2 - Business Process Reengineering

Business Process Reengineering

BPR deals with the analysis of current and future processes of a business with the goal of improving current processes. The key to BPR is for organizations to look at their business processes from a "clean slate" perspective and determine how they can best construct these processes to improve how they conduct business.

BPR can be an overwhelming task given that the goal is to improve an entire business structure and, to a certain degree, an organizational philosophy. The implementation of information technology to not just automate rote tasks and valueless work but to obliterate them entirely - this can be a difficult sell given that most organizations often cling to old philosophies and fear the notion of radical change.

In order to "sell" someone on the benefits of BPR, they must be able to see the results. Businesses and organizations are bottom-line industries where measures of performance (such as cost, quality, service, and speed) are the norm. Therefore, the measures of BPR must be displayed in a similar fashion.

Using Performance Measures

To figure out an efficient, accurate and appropriate performance measure, we must first understand the purpose of BPR. One of the key concepts to BPR is radical change; therefore, we must measure key shifts, noted improvements and observable differences in two major areas - organizational performance and customer satisfaction.

As with any measurement tool, we must start with a basic standard by which all changes are compared. These benchmarks are important building blocks for any performance measure. These will have to be defined the implementation of BPR, so we can create the basis for a before-and-after effect early in the process.

The following model is known as the "Balanced Scorecard" (image courtesy of Balancedscorecard.org) :

According to Balancedscorecard.org, the balanced scorecard is "is a management system (not only a measurement system) that enables organizations to clarify their vision and strategy and translate them into action. It provides feedback around both the internal business processes and external outcomes in order to continuously improve strategic performance and results."

In short, the Balanced Scorecard is thorough and investigative report involving a series of measures that will chart out the success of a particular organization. By associating each measure with one or more expected values/targets, managers of the organization can be alerted when organizational performance is failing to meet their expectations.

Perhaps the most compelling feature of the Balanced Scorecard is that it shows a vision that goes beyond the black-and-red world of finance; it looks at how businesses rates in the fields of investment in customers, suppliers, employees, processes, technology, and innovation.

These performance measures are just a few of the reasons why the balanced scorecard has become an oft-copied blueprint for measuring a company's visions and objectives. Some of these measures include:


Financial - Cash flow, ROI, Financial Result, Return on capital employed, Return on equity

Customer - Delivery Performance to Customer, Customer satisfaction rate, Customer retention

Internal Business Processes - Number of Activities, Opportunity Success Rate, Learning & Growth, Investment Rate, Illness rate.

PM 1 - Week 2 - Models and Methodologies

Life Cycles

Question: Why do you think people resist following certain methodologies even when they are mandated by the organization?

The most obvious answer is this: improvements and innovation are rarely spawned from mandates and formalized methodologies. In Investigating Determinants of Software Developers’ Intentions to Follow Methodologies, Bill Hardgrave writes that "Results from a field study within a large organization indicate that developers’ intentions are directly influenced by their perceptions of usefulness, social pressure, compatibility, and organizational mandate."

In a sense, the individual becomes a product of their surroundings. This can be a most stifling environment for employees looking to exert a sense of individualism or creativity, especially if the practices needed to achieve such goals fall outside the methodology set forth by the employer. While Systems Development Life Cycles are beneficial to those involved in the sense they provide a detailed outline and map for phase creation and modification, they can be viewed as rigid and unflinching.

An SDLC calls for a series of comprehensive management controls. This means that an overseer must maintain a sense of authority and direction over every project, once again taking away from the possibility of creative or innovative thought from the individual employee. The Pros and Cons here are obvious; while the SDLC maintains a high level of organizational structure and ensures timely work flow, it lacks the innate freedom of thought and expression from which most new and revolutionary ideas and concepts are born from. This differs greatly from a set of rules and regulations for the workplace laid down by, say, Human Resources. Those guidelines are there to establish a level of conduct appropriate for the workplace, not affecting the actual work and/or product itself. The SDLC could create a sense of monotony or repetition in the workplace, a dangerous precedent to set in aggressive markets such as information technology, where staying ahead of the competition is far more valuable than keeping up with them.

As quoted in Chapter 2 (2.5, Life Cycles and Management Reviews):

"If the project, product and systems development life cycles are not integrated, the information technology cannot be kept up to date as advancements are made at a rapid pace. What is current today is obsolete tomorrow."

I would think that the fear of becoming obsolete moves many people to resist certain organizational methodologies. It becomes a type of man vs. machine argument where the vision of one can predict what a SDLC cannot. And with a dizzying array of options available in the current market, who is to say that the methodology currently being used is the correct one for that particular organization?

All of these are just some of the many reasons why people will often resist certain methodologies even when they are mandated by the organization.

BP 1 - Week 1 - The Constantly Evolving World of Systems Integration

The CIO Blog I chose was "Candid CIO", the site where Will Weider (CIO of Ministry Health Care and Affinity Health System) speaks at length - with frequent site updates - about the state of systems integration and the day-to-day activities of a Chief Information Officer.

One of the more interesting posts I read was entitled "How much does email cost?" which looks at how Weider's company reduced internal email costs by eliminating a series of redundancies in the email platforms. He streamlines the process by integrating everything under the Exchange-based email platform (as well as integrating a series of upgrades along with the email platform: servers, OS, system software, network upgrades and Microsoft Client Access Licenses) all at the same time. While the initial costs might be high ($1.5 million) he works it out so that he will have cut costs to $3.14 per user per month when all is said and done.

Arguably the biggest task that a firm of this nature has to undertake is integrating disparate systems and implementing an enterprise system. This is commonly known as enterprise resource planning, or an enterprise system (henceforth referred to as ES). These systems allow for a free-flowing share of information across entire organizations.


I am of the opinion that more organizations today will try to connect existing disparate systems as opposed to going to single ES package installations. Generally speaking, a company's aim should be to strive higher than the status quo. This would often mean pulling together a series of "best of breed systems" or something internally that fits their specific needs, as opposed to going with a packaged ES that is used by competitors. If the goal/objective is to get the right information to the right person as fast as possible, it would seem as though each case should be treated on an individual basis, not with a blanket solution.


This method of thinking will allow systems to become better connected down the road. By thinking outside the box, we can encourage innovation rather than packaged solutions that do not meet the specifications of individual companies. Organizations measure how well they are attaining their overall objectives through the use of a balanced scorecard and a dashboard of measures - therefore, it would seem logical that people would be constantly striving to reach new heights and/or scores. The only way this can happen is through a dedication and desire for steady improvement.

PM 1 - Week 1 - Do I Want A Career In Project Management?

Answer: I could never juggle that many tasks at one time. And having to deal with people's business' problems all the time? I'll leave that to someone who has interest in that area.


Here are a few of the predominant skills required for several of the project management positions I researched on Monster:

• Communication skills


• Organizational and time management


• Ability to work in a team environment


• Motivated professional individual; desire to grow within company


• Excellent problem solving and critical thinking skills


• Prior experience with full project life cycle


• Strong promoter of team work


• Ability to provide leadership and management expertise to project staff
  

The predominant skills required of a successful project manager seem to depend largely on an ability to both work with and lead individual employees.

For most of the positions I researched on the Monster.ca job board, communication skills were listed as critical for the potential hire. It would seem as though the ability to relay information, thoughts, ideas and concepts to a variety of people is a desirable skill for potential employers.

This would make sense – given the diverse workplaces employed by so many companies today, it is crucial that someone “in charge” of a project would be competent to deliver information to people of varying age categories, ethnicities, linguistic backgrounds (it is important to note that none of them required bilingual candidates) and various educational levels.

Speaking of education, many of the positions required a certain level of post-secondary education from the potential hire. The predominant educational requirements were Degrees in the following fields: Marketing, Business and Economics. For jobs in technical and industrial fields specific job training (Engineering, Drafting) was required. It would seem that most companies would like someone with a certain degree or certificate of completion; if nothing else, it shows a level of commitment to advancing one’s level of knowledge and their desire to challenge themselves mentally. Project management entails many of the same skills that post-secondary institutions aim to instill in their students - working in groups, establishing leaders and leadership skills, etc. For industry-specific jobs, technical requirements were often part of the educational experience (read: technical schooling, industry-specific programs).

Another frequently appearing requisite for project management hires is organizational/time management. Since most project managers will acts as overseers as opposed to hands-on workers, it is important that they relish the role of chief organizer and stay on top of several levels of activity. A project manager must be able to juggle several tasks and deal with people’s business’ problems all at the same time; therefore, the ability to manage all of these scenarios simultaneously and in a timely matter is of the utmost importance.

* it should be noted that, for several intermediat positions, companies required prior work experience as a project manager. having the requisite educational background was not enough. *

Job Titles Researched:

1. Project Manager, Construction (Edmonton, Alberta)


2. Project Manager, Transcore Link Logistics (Mississauga, Ontario)


3. Project Manager, Mining and Trades (Vancouver, British Columbia)


4. Senior Project Manager, Critical Mass (Calgary, Alberta)


5. Project Manager, Datalist (Brampton, Ontario)