View Case Study PDF→
1,146
hours saved annually
Zero
3rd party updates required. Project teams own their data in 'real' time.
3
Executives receive their reports 3 days earlier.
The Problem
National Leading Utility Company saw an opportunity to synchronize the reports to one set of data instead of 5. Additionally, there was a desire to streamline the approach to variance reporting across business lines. This was a highly sensitive project where failure to report accurately was not an option. The ‘Run IT as a Business’ report is an in-depth analysis of the spending patterns of 150 IT projects in a $600 million annual portfolio. The report and charts are disseminated and discussed with 5 VP’s, 20 directors, 80 project managers, and approximately 80 financial analysts each month. Building the Run IT as a Business report took approximately 4 hours or more each iteration, 5 times per month. The overly complicated process wrought with errors. Each iteration of report creation took over 50 steps—most were manual. Reporting was further complicated by multiple data sources handled by four separate IT Planners. The IT planners were required to draw information from over 40 project teams over multiple days. Often the data was extracted from other systems which caused version control issues and data integrity issues.
The Solution
Partners aligned on the single data source for all reporting. Within 60 days, a functional report that imitated the outputs of prior reports would be built, including an integrated variance analysis section that would import project team-provided explanations. This was approached as an opportunity to apply business intelligence and process improvement methodologies in a streamlined, value driven fashion. Greencastle redesigned the report generation process with complex data modeling that handles all the required calculations. The report is created through a 20-step checklist which is primarily extracting data from the source systems and pasting it into various tabs of a workbook with push-button update functionality. Change management was implemented to lead project teams to embrace the solution as a "simpler, easier" method with a kick-off meeting and reinforcement leading up to the implementation.
The Result
Greencastle's Business Intelligence analysts integrated multiple data streams using Power Query as the modelling tool to present multifaced views of the client's data. These views supplanted the prior functionality with higher fidelity reporting. This upgrade, capable of drilling to individual data points, has improved client analysis as well as source systems defect identification and resolution, and has made a deep impact on their financial reporting and analysis. This client is now capable of easily visualizing the data, discovering what's important, and sharing it with anyone they choose - from VP to Analyst.
