OVERVIEW
Our Standard Professional Implementation Methodology (SPIM) protects the investment our customers make in BRSANALYTICS. It is a proven technique for adopting a repeatable, tried and tested method to implement BRSANALYTICS, hence minimising risk and maximising the possibility of a successful project implementation.
Developed over a number of years and continually drawing on expertise from various implementations, SPIM ensures consistent high levels of service. The SPIM document is deployed by highly trained consultants and made available to all BRSANALYTICS Partners. A guideline for project managers and consultants, the document facilitates adherence to the SPIM approach. The document also acts as a central artefact for the collation of project information and includes all additional document deliverables like Data Definition Document and Solution Design Document which are added as appendices.
Our Partners work closely with customers to ensure the effective implementation of BRSANALYTICS. This way customers derive the full business benefits from BRSANALYTICS for their organisation and their service requirements throughout the lifetime use of the product are addressed.
STEP 1 – HANDOVER FROM SALES TEAM
The handover is the cut-off point. During this time, ownership of the project shifts from the Sales Team to that of the Project Management Team. The signed Terms of Reference (ToR) are reviewed thoroughly and the Project Manager assumes a lead role to determine the final project plan to be proposed to the client during the project kick-off meeting.
STEP 2 – PROJECT INITIALISATION
Following the handover of the Sales Team, the Project Team meet with the customer’s key project stakeholders to discuss the following aspects:
- Clearance regarding confidentiality and use of information
- Review of the BRSANALYTICS Standard Data Sources
- Data Volumes and Hardware/Deployment Specifications
- All items included in scope and out of scope as specified in the ToR
- Proposed project plan and any required fine tuning
STEP 3 – DATA SOURCE REVIEW
The objective of this iterative process is to evaluate and align adherence in terms of format, quality and the integrity of the data prepared against the standard BRSANALYTICS Data Source Definition. Furthermore, this data validation exercise identifies the validation rules that need to be parameterised into the BRSANALYTICS engine in order to ensure data consistency. The end objective is to attain a repeatable data validation cycle that is flawless. Since BRSANALYTICS is at its core a data-centric solution, this step is considered a critical stage gate of the project.
STEP 4 – SOLUTION DESIGN
Once the data upload process is complete, the consultant carries out a thorough examination of the specific raw data manipulation and calculation requirements that need to be computed by the BRSANALYTICS engine to meet the regulatory reporting requirements. This entails the identification of business rules and formulas that need to be configured in BRSANALYTICS so that they are automatically triggered on each data upload process. During this phase of the solution build, additional validation rules and checks that need to be configured in the system are identified to ensure consistency in the consolidated data and calculations prior to the issuing of regulatory reports. All these findings are captured in a standard BRSANALYTICS System Design Document.
STEP 5 – SOLUTION INSTALLATION
Based on the technical requirements captured in previous steps, the solution is physically installed on the client environment. The required resources are mainly dependent on the number of users and data volumes. Configuration and installation options are provided in a detailed step-by-step installation. The solution can be deployed in a multi-tiered environment and also supports a virtualised environment.
STEP 6 – SOLUTION CONFIGURATION
BRSANALYTICS is configured to the customer requirements based on the information gathered and documented in the previous steps. The software is designed with flexibility in mind; hence any configurations and customisations either at the data or reporting layer are carried out through parameterisation of BRSANALYTICS without the need for bespoke programming. This ensures the client benefits from a standard and tested underlying platform and provides transparency on the underlying rules and calculations being applied. It also increases flexibility to address on-going changing requirements and reduces technical pains when upgrading to more recent versions of the platform. Towards the end of this step, a consultant carries out an important solution validation. A set of official regulatory reports issued in previous periods is tested against a full reporting cycle carried out by BRSANALYTICS.
STEP 7 – USER TRAINING
SPIM training manuals are divided into two streams – one addressing the internal IT team and the other the business users. Topics included in the first stream cover technical and administration aspects while the second stream focuses on data management and reporting features training.
STEP 8 – SOLUTION QA
After training, the key business users are in a position to test the solution. This is done by running simulations on past data covering the full reporting cycle, from data validation up to the regulatory reports preparation. The duration of each step in the process is logged. This is considered an important aspect of the process in that it ensures the regular full reporting cycle is repeatable within the stringent deadlines typically imposed by regulators.
STEP 9 – PARALLEL RUN
The methodology suggests a gradual phasing out of the systems or processes previously employed to generate the regulatory reports. Besides from validating the new system, this parallel run gives the end user the confidence that BRSANALYTICS is giving the desired outputs, thus meeting all the regulatory obligations and avoiding any legal complications.
STEP 10 – POST-IMPLEMENTATION REVIEW
Following a three month period, which typically captures a minimum of three reporting cycles, post-implementation reviews are carried out to ensure the solution meets the set expectations of the customer. If necessary, we also identify areas for fine tuning that need to be done prior to official closure of the project.
SPIM – PEACE OF MIND
SPIM delivers consistent and lasting value to organisations from its earliest stages and continues beyond the initial implementation. It includes ongoing monitoring of performance, periodic tuning and a readily available Project Management Team that is always present to coordinate actions, communicate results and manage the expectations of clients at every phase of the project.