Levels of Process Documentation

• Excecutable Process Layer
• Business Services Layer
• Intermediate Services Layer
• Technical Services Layer
• Existing Information System Layer

Process Modeling Rules

Rule #1: Process Models should Provide Aid in Process Understanding

Rule #2: Match Each Split with a Join

Rule #3: Have a Well-Defined Start and End Event

Rule #4: Look Out for Orphan Tasks

Process Simulation Factors

• How are the outcomes of decisions distributed (for example, if process behavior differs from the type of contract)?
• How are these distributed over the day, week, or month?
• How long does it take, on average, to execute a particular activity?
• How many instances of the process are started in a certain period.
• How much cost (other than time) is incurred by the activity?
• Is there any start-up cost or waiting cost for an activity?
• What quantity of which resources are utilized?

Process Modeling Deliverables

·      Process map, which shows the relationship between various business processes and the interactions between these processes

·   Roles and relations structure diagram, which shows the roles involved in business processes, and the relationships between the roles

·   An as-is process model for each individual process. This describes in detail the existing business process, including the process flow, activities, roles, and documents (discussed later in this section). It can also contain the identified optimization points.

Process Design Steps

1.       Identify the roles

2.       Identify  the activities

3.       Connect  activities to roles

4.       Define the order of activities

5.       Add events

6.       Add documents

Business Process Modeling Questions

·   What is the outcome of the business processes?

·   What activities are performed within the business processes?

·   What is the order of activities?

·   Who performs the activities?

·   Which business documents are exchanged within the process?

·   How foolproof is the process, and how can it be extended in the future?

Business Process Modeling Objectives

Specify the exact result of the business process, and to understand the business value of this result.  Understand the activities of the business process, as knowing the exact tasks and activities that have to be performed is crucial to understanding the details of the process.

Understand the order of activities, as activities can be performed in sequence or in parallel, which can help improve the overall time required to fulfill a business process.  Activities can be short-running or long-running.

Understand the responsibilities, to identify (and later supervise) who is responsible for which activities and tasks.

Understand the utilization of resources consumed in the business process, as knowing who uses which resources can help improve the utilization of resources as resource requirements can be planned for and optimized.

Understand the relationship between people involved in the processes, and their communication. Knowing exactly who communicates with whom is important and can help to organize and optimize communications.

Understand the document flow. Business processes produce and consume documents (regardless of whether these are paper or electronic documents). Understanding where the documents are going, and where they are coming from is important. A good overview of the documents also gives us the opportunity to identify whether all of the documents are really necessary.

Identify potential bottlenecks and points of improvements, which can be used later in the process optimization phase.

Introduce quality standards such as ISO 9001 more successfully, and to better pass certification.

Improve the understandability of quality regulations that can be supplemented with process diagrams.

Use business process models as work guidelines for new employees who can introduce themselves to the business processes faster and more efficiently.

Understand business processes, which will enable us to understand and describe the company as a whole.

Simple Keys to Success

• Cultivate connection to others – value every second of every day
• Upgrade your skills—enjoy the moment and give your best in activities
• Look on the bright side—it will spread to others
• Take time to recover – development depends on the recovery you get
• Keep mind focus and stay physical---see if you can do one thing better each day

Fast and Simple Eating Plan

• Drink water like a fish
• Eat vegetables like a rabbit – full color spectrum
• Eat fibrous whole grains like a horse
• Lean cuts of meat like a tiger
• Full color spectrum of fruits like fruit of the loom
• Junk fast food belongs in Recycling Yards

 

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Control Framework from Cobit 3

01 Define a Strategic IT Plan

02 Define the Information Architecture

03 Determine the Technological Direction

04 Define the IT Organization and Relationships

05 Manage the IT Investment

06 Communicate Management Aims and Directions

07 Manage Human Resources for ISD Infrastructure

08 Ensure Compliance with External Requirements

09 Assess Risks

10 Manage Projects

11 Manage Quality

12 Identify Automated Solutions

13 Acquire and Maintain Application Software

14 Acquire and Maintain Technology Infrastructure

15 Develop and Maintain Procedures

16 Install and Accredit Systems

17 Manage Changes

18 Define and Manage Service Levels

19 Manage Third-Party Services

20 Manage Performance and Capacity

21 Ensure Continuous Service

22 Ensure System Security

23 Identify and Allocate Costs

24 Educate and Train Users

25 Assist and Advise Customers

26 Manage the Configuration

27 Manage Problems and Incidents

28 Manage Data

29 Manage Facilities

30 Manage Operations

31 Monitor the Processes

32 Assess Internal Control Adequacy

33 Obtain Independent Assurance

34 Provide for Independent Audit

 

 

Power of Full Engagement

OLD SCHOOL                                                        

• Manage time                                                    
• Avoid stress as it uses energy                                    
• Life is a marathon                                           
• Downtime is wasted time                               
• Rewards fuel performance                            
• Self-discipline rules                                         
• The power of positive thinking                        

NEW APPROACH

• Manage energy as it source of all productivity
• Seek stress to develop extra capacity to handle peaks
• Life is a series of sprints spaced by rests
• Downtime is key to top performance     
• Purpose fuels performance    
• Habitual rituals rule, so start right ones  
• The power of full engagement 

   

The Power of Full Engagement Book

Power Point Presentation

Summary in PDF

Audit Evidence from Interviews and Testimony

Apologimonies: Testimonies that include, "I'm so sorry to anyone I may have offended"

Behindkissomonies: "I love our leadership so much!"

Bragamonies: Much like status-o-monies, but limited to specific events.

Brainwashamonies: Testimonies derived from overexposure to corporate corn

Emotimonies: Testimonies based solely on raw emotion.

Gratimonies: Longwinded testimonies that begin, "I'd like to express my gratitude to..."

Identicrisimonies: Given by people who have no identity without their jobs.

Pausamonies: Testimonies with long periods of silence.

Predictamonies: The same testimony, given by the same person, at every interview.

Promisomonies: Testimonies that begin with "I promise to keep this short.." but the testimony 
goes on for a long time.

Putdownamonies: Testimonies that backhandedly put down others.

Redemptimonies: Given to unburden oneself of needless guilt

Status-o-monies: Testimonies that testify of financial or social status. "When I came to work on time in my new Porsche Boxter. . ." "When I had lunch with the Division VP . . ."

Therapymonies: Testimonies used to spew personal troubles and feelings.

Vacationmonies, Travelmonies: A detailed log of everywhere the person giving the testimony went on vacation.

Understanding in Terms of Previous Experience

IT Strategic Value Considerations

1.   Cost focus: Drawing on the value discipline of operational excellence

            a)  Price products and services at lowest cost

      b)  Drive economies of scale through shared best practices

2.   Value differentiation as perceived by customers: Drawing on the value discipline of customer intimacy

a)  Meet client expectations for quality at reasonable cost 

b)  Make the customers' product selection as easy as possible 

c)  Provide all information needed to service any client from any service point

3.   Flexibility and agility: Drawing on the value discipline of product and service innovation

a)  Grow in cross-selling capabilities 

b)  Develop new products and services rapidly 

c)  Create capacity to manufacture in any location for a particular order

4.  Growth: How the base of the business will expand

a)  Expand aggressively into underdeveloped and emerging markets

b)  Carefully grow internationally to meet the needs of customers that are expanding their business

c)  Target growth through specific product and customer niches

5.  Human resources: Where people policies fit in

a)  Create an environment that maximizes intellectual productivity 

b)  Maintain a high level of professional and technical expertise 

c)  Identify and facilitate the movement of talented people

6.   Management orientation: Different aspects of business governance and decision making

a)  Maximize independence in local operations with a minimum of mandates 

b)  Make management decisions close to the line 

c)  Create a management culture of information sharing (to maintain or generate new business)

IT Financial Value Metrics

Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) 

Although this is a cost-based approach which does not equate to value, it can be useful for measuring IT value because it allows comparison of alternative implementations that will meet the same business need and, presumably, have very similar values to the business. It is also true that by including such considerations as training costs, security costs, scalability costs, and the costs of reliability deficiencies, TCO incorporates perspectives that are not purely financial.  A limitation of TCO is that it involves predicting future costs. This limitation can be minimized over time by tracking actual costs but, by then, the investment decision has been made.

Return on Investment (ROI)

ROI means calculating the revenue that the business generates or the costs that it saves in return for the investment that it is making. For an IT investment to be approved by the business, the IT Providers and the business must work together to demonstrate that the business will get its money back with a nice profit in an acceptable period of time (the payback period). In practice, ROI is typically expressed as a percentage of the investment, either annually or over the duration of the project with the cash flows rendered as net present values.  A practical problem with ROI is that cost savings must be in real money rather than theoretical "efficiencies."

Economic Value Added (EVA)

The Economic Value Added approach starts with the assumption that the organization exists to provide economic value to its shareholders. This may not be entirely true for not-for-profit organizations but the approach still has value. The calculation and comparison of Economic Value Added is very similar to ROI except that the benchmark used for making investment decisions is not the IRR but the opportunity cost of using the money to make other business investments, (e.g., leaving the money in the bank rather than funding projects).

Real Options Valuation (ROV)

ROV is a more complex technique than the methods described so far. It is based upon the financial estimation techniques used in stock option theory. Without going into the detail of the mathematics, ROV is used to modify the ROI calculation by taking into account the value that the current project could contribute to future projects. This approach typically enhances the ROI of projects such as IT infrastructure where the cost of implementing a whole new infrastructure for just one project for one business unit's needs is so burdensome that no one business unit could ever justify starting the new infrastructure.

Return on Assets (ROA)

ROA is calculated by dividing the net income by the value of the assets being used to generate the net income. ROA for IT assets can be calculated by isolating the IT-specific assets from the organizational assets and the net income due to IT assets from the overall net income. This can be hard to do and the accounting systems need to be set up appropriately to provide any chance of achieving this on a repeatable basis.

Return on Infrastructure Employed (ROIE)

ROIE is similar to ROA but it focuses on IT services rather than IT assets. With ROIE, IT service cost (including depreciation) is the basis for computing a return. While ROIE can be used for a single project, it works best when calculated for aggregations of projects. For example, it might be used to compare the performance of different in-house or outsourced IT Providers. ROIE might be improved by providing the same IT service at a lower cost or by containing the cost growth of providing a particular IT service to less than the rate at which the organization's net income is growing.

IT Productivity Methodology

From an external customer's point of view, performance will mean issues of speed (the timely delivery of software), cost (seeking the lowest cost provider), and quality (the right functionality performing efficiently and effectively). From this external perspective, IT Providers should focus their attention on measuring performance relative to speed, cost, and quality.

From an internal customer's point of view, these same measures of IT performance (speed, cost, and quality) are equally important but can take on a different perspective relative to the level of performance that is needed to satisfy the business goals and objectives.

1.      Develop a set of corporate, division, and project business goals with associated measurement goals for productivity and quality

2.      Generate questions (based on models) that define those goals as completely as possible in a quantifiable way

3.      Specify the measures needed to be collected to answer those questions and track process and product conformance to the goals

4.      Develop mechanisms for data collection

5.      Collect, validate, and analyze the data in real-time to provide feedback to projects for corrective action

6.      Analyze the data in a postmortem fashion to assess conformance to the goals and to make recommendations for future improvements

IT Audit Domains

IT ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION

      ·         IT department organization        

·         Company and CIO business plan

·         Budget/costing

·         Management reports

·         Performance monitoring and capacity planning

·         IT service performance management

·         Inventory control

·         Project management

·         Problem management

·         Auditing report

·         IT procurement

·         Customer service agreements

·         Vendor management

·         Computer insurance.

IT STRATEGY

·         Strategy process

·         Strategic management

·         EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) strategy.

IT SECURITY

·         Management of information security issues

·         Information security policy

·         Hardware security

·         Magnetic media control

·         Physical access security

·         Operating system and database management

·         Application systems

·         Networks

·         Personnel ethics (IT, users)

·         Controls over data and files

·         Data protection rules

·         Data classification system.

CONTINGENCY PLANNING

·         Preliminary planning for critical applications

·         Identification of various processing alternatives

·         Contingency plan deliverables

·         Escrow agreement audit

·         Alternate facility review

·         Alternate computer vendors review.

  

SOFTWARE AND COMPUTERIZED DATA – BACK-UP PROCESS

·         Back-up policy review

·         On-site back-up safe vault review

·         Off-site back-up safe vault review

·         Recovery testing plan review

·         Data back-up media archival/recycling review

·         Application software media archival/recycling review

  

SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT AND MAINTENANCE

·         Management review

·         Standards and methodologies review

·         Software specifications review

·         Error correction procedures

·         Software package evaluation

·         Program library maintenance

·         Program and system testing

·         User documentation review

·         System documentation review

·         Emergency procedures review

·         Application data retention policy review

·         Training plans review

·         Audit trail review

·         Conversion review

DATA CENTER OPERATIONS

·         Operations standards review

·         Operations log review

·         Consumables review

·         Massive/sensitive reports printing

·         Media library control

·         Media access control

SYSTEMS SOFTWARE MAINTENANCE

·         Software asset inventory review

·         Maintenance contracts review

·         Program library maintenance

·         Problem fixing

·         Security review

·         System documentation review

·         Segregation of duties assessment

·         Performance monitoring

DATA AND DATABASE MANAGEMENT

·         Scope of data management (identification, classification, ownership, distribution, protection, integrity)

·         Controls review (management, corporate data model, data-driven methodology, normalization of database structure, synchronization)

·         Assessment (data modeling, database procedures, security, DBA personnel, user training, performance monitoring, database integrity)

PERSONAL COMPUTERS

·         Management control and procedures review

·         Security review

·         Technical support audit

·         Software development review

·         Office applications support/review

USER SUPPORT

·         User satisfaction assessment

·         Help desk support

·         Data back-up review

TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND NETWORKING

·         Strategic planning and design review

·         Network security review

·         Maintenance contract review

·         Problem resolution and support

·         Change and performance management

APPLICATION CONTROLS AND TESTING

·         Processing controls assessment

·         Transaction audit trail review

·         Data integrity controls review

·         Application related integrity controls review (data element validity, file validity, audit trail, network transmission, concurrent updating, feasibility, quality)

·         Continuity of application processing

·         Transaction tests (as per worksheets

·         Help desk support

·         Data back-up review