To get at the data that most executives feel they need to make accurate decisions, many turn to the manual modification of existing reports, or the creation of their own “Pet” spreadsheet they use almost daily, or certainly many times a week. 

 In an update to a report cited last spring on this site, a September, 2009 Dartmouth University study suggests that the error rates in formulas on spreadsheets in their study were only .087% of all formulas they audited.  HOWEVER, these were in cases where the formula produced the WRONG RESULT, and actually resulted in 87% OF THE SPREADSHEETS REVIEWED having errors in which the spreadsheet then produced the wrong result. 

How good is good enough?  What if you could reproduce the “Pet” spreadsheet in a true Business Intelligence solution which would ensure that the data and results in the sheet were as solid as the data in your transactional systems in the first place?  How much does the wrong data or the wrong decision cost you, or your company?  I would argue that “good enough” might just be good enough, if you could ensure that the data was accurate, and mitigated the possibility of error, while increasing the timeliness of the information to the decision maker.  We have deployed such systems in a couple weeks’ time leveraging tools like SharePoint, Excel, and other software products that our customers already owned, and quickly delivered a system to our customer where we dramatically increased the accuracy of their information.  These solutions form the basis of our iterative approach to Business Intelligence.

Overview:
This position will be responsible for performing complex requirements development and coverage analysis. For assigned projects, leads the efforts for defining and documenting statistical requirements for new systems using moderately complex technical skills. Ensures that all statistical requirements are met by working with business and technology partners. Works with minimal supervision and is responsible to make an established range of decisions to drive and support initiatives.

Responsibilities:
• Researches, interprets and documents statistical requirements and procedures for systems including Underwriter’s Desktop, Claims Center, Enterprise Data Warehouse, and Financial Data Warehouse projects.
• Defines and resolves complex problems with reporting and the quality of the data. Considers new technologies as a part of proposed solutions.
• Assigns and/or performs projects tasks including development of test plans, updating of tables or databases, and review of test data resulting new systems.
• Locates and retrieves company statistical information.
• Develops and/or evaluates procedures and processes and makes recommendations regarding improvements.
• Analyzes and initiates actions to correct statistical errors.
• Assists business units with their data needs.
• Completes reporting of statistical data as required by regulatory agencies or bureaus.
• Trains and mentors department staff. Provides direction to individuals assisting with projects. Provides high level guidance and leadership.

Qualifications:
Qualifications:
• Bachelor’s Degree or 5 years experience with statistical reporting, business analysis, data analysis, or information technology.

Specific Knowledge:
• Broad knowledge of Microsoft products, especially, Excel, Access, and relational database tools (e.g. SQL, Impromptu). Working knowledge of MS Project and/or Visio would be a plus.
• Thorough knowledge of statistical plans, insurance coverages, and policy issuance or entry procedures.
• Strong analytical skills.
• Ability to extract and express ideas in individual or group communications.
• Ability to clearly express ideas in writing.
• Ability to convert information from technical documents or other sources into appropriate business terms.
• Knowledge of specialty insurance products and/or Great American systems a definite plus

Please be advised that we are currently seeking a Load Test Analyst on a six months right-to-hire basis. Please make candidates aware that even though this is right-to-hire, we may not have headcount for this position for quite some time. Personality and communication skills are very important to this manager. He needs candidates who can and will speak up in meetings with the users. The manager plans to review and interview candidates until he finds the right fit!
When submitting candidates to us, please include the following:
• Updated resume
• Percentage of the candidate’s day that was spent on Load testing (we only want candidates who can honestly say the percentage is 75% or higher for the past several years!)
• Completed Job Requirements Worksheet
• Hourly bill rate
• Salary requirements
If you have any questions, please let me know.
* All candidates must be U.S. citizens or Permanent Resident card holders.

Job Title: Load & Performance Test Analyst
Location: Cincinnati OH
12 month contract position
Green Card or US Citizen

Qualifications:
The Load and Performance Test Analyst role is to plan, script, execute and analyze test results based upon the system requirements and identify and document areas where application performance can be improved as well as to find errors/defects that may occur when the application is under stress. A qualified candidate will possess over two years experience exclusively dedicated to only load and performance testing for a client-server testing environment with HP’s LoadRunner tool. An ideal candidate would have experience in setting up, monitoring, and analyzing Windows and Unix servers.

Requirement Checklist:
Demonstrate knowledge of the Software Testing Methodology.
Demonstrate knowledge of the Application Development Life Cycle.
2+ years load and performance testing experience (do not include time where load testing was only part of your job).
This role requires verbal and written interaction with people from various backgrounds in the projects under test. Due to the visibility of this role, very clear and complete communication is required.
Knowledge of Use Cases.
Experience load testing against a variety of protocols (SAP, WebServices, web http/html, etc.). Please list.
Experience setting up server monitors for CPU, Memory, etc. Please list which servers (AIX, SUSE Linux, RedHat Linux, etc.)
Demonstrate experience in developing complex load test scripts for a variety of protocols (do not include click and script).
Demonstrate experience in load test requirements gathering and test planning in collaboration with Project Teams.

The ideal candidate is someone whose experience includes the technologies we’re using in the department. Please check those technologies in which you are competent from the following table.
Development Server Host Tools
C++
.NET
COM+
TCP-IP
Visual Basic
Windows
XML
Microsoft IIS – Internet Information Server
Microsoft Transaction Server (MTS)
Microsoft® SQL Server
Windows 2000 Professional
Windows 2000 Server
Windows 2000,COM+ Application Server N/A 0 DOORS
LoadRunner
Microsoft Office
MKS
TestDirector

JOB TITLE: .NET Developer
Location: Cincinnati, OH
3 month contract to hire

Junior candidates ok (if they are ‘rising star’ type)
System/Software Developer Position Description
Developer needed to support one of the nation’s largest buyers of distressed assets. Candidates will work closely with users, a team lead, and management to support both business and IT needs. Ideal candidates will posses strong application development skills and the ability to mine, interpret, analyze, and present data.

QUALIFICATIONS
BS or MS in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering or equivalent experience.

RESPONSIBILITIES
• Designs, develops, tests, debugs, maintains, and documents software components.
• Collaborates with end users (internal / external) on development of requirements and design of applications (including testing).
• Provides expert technical advice and counsel to management and defines the technical direction to be followed.
• Demonstrates leadership skills.
• Adheres to standards for software development.
• Employs software engineering techniques to perform software development work.
• Develops time estimates for project deliverables.
• Designs and builds elements of integrated systems.
• Maintains and enhances existing systems.
• Develops reports for business and external customers as requested.

EXPERIENCE
• 1-3 years programming experience with .NET (C# or VB).
• 1-3 years experience with SQL Server 2000/2005 including data modeling and stored procedures.
• 1-3 years working with Internet technologies (HTML/HTTP/HTTPS, TCP/IP, ASP)
• Firm understanding of Web Service concepts (WSDL, XSD, XML, XSLT), SOA, and Multi-tiered application development experience a must.
• Proficient with Microsoft Visual Studio.
• Experience with SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services.
• Experience with ETL services and support functions.
SKILLS
• Excellent written and communications skills (technical documentation).
• Proven ability to handle multiple tasks and projects simultaneously and be adaptable to change priorities quickly.
• Excellent analytical skills, attention to detail and problem-solving skills.
• Must be self-motivated and take initiative.
• Customer-service oriented and able to work in a fast-paced, collaborative team environment with across IT, business units, and partners.
• Strong organizational skills, ability to meet deadlines.
• Must be able to effectively work with, interpret, and respond to the needs of business partners and customers.

JOB TITLE: Project Manager (Agile Methodology Experience required)
Location: Cincinnati, OH
12 month contract

Project Manager
Client Processing, a mid-sized, Cincinnati based company, is looking for a high energy, detailed and goal oriented Project Manager to join our talented team. Client Processing actively leverages technology and processes to achieve world class business performance! The project manager will be responsible for working closely with stakeholders, groups within IT and upper management to ensure the continued successful delivery of a corporate wide rollout of a new process management system.
Client Processing’s Information Technology department’s core values include Focus on the Customer, Continuous Improvement, Respecting People, Being Present and Making the Next Person’s Job Easier. If you share these values and are interested in learning more, we would like to hear from you.
Specific Responsibilities –
• Work with project teams to define, coordinate and monitor project schedule
• Facilitate communication between project teams and key stakeholders
• Identify and monitor project risks
• Keep key stakeholders aware of project status and communicate delivery schedule
Additional Requirements –
• A high degree of attention to detail and organizational skills.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills
• Strong interpersonal skills
• A solid understanding of agile methodologies
• A PMP certification is a plus
Education –
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Project Management or Information Systems.
• 5+ years experience in project management.

JOB TITLE: Business Objects Developer/Architect
Location: Cincinnati, OH
3-6 month contract

“roll your sleeves up, get the work done kind of position” – some ability to architect the solution is required

Plan is to design in February, available to users by end of March, refine during April.
Start immediately

Need is to develop and build financial reports

Currently this is a collection of old reports used by field sales and their leadership, given the nature of Client (13 different affiliates), they all use the reports differently – and essentially the manager believes they are mostly “unconsumable” – it’s a stack of paper – 3 inches tall!

Wants to build a dashboard and revamp the reports – essentially combine data from Treasury Mgmt and Finance
They want this to be sales and not product oriented, and include information on data segmentation and reporting
Types of information in the reports includes:
? Forecast #’s
? Leading indicators
? Depository Activity
? Net new accounts
? Sales pipeline
? Average revenue per TMO (salesperson)
• Must have Business Objects Web Intelligence XI knowledge
• Nice to have SAS, and Siebel CRM (and understanding of “Answers” – the Siebel Analytic Interface)
• Senior level candidates only, must be able to hit the ground running, and be self directed

• Finance background is nice, but doesn’t have to be in banking
• Admits their DW is “not the easiest to navigate”
• This candidate should understand data marts and schemas
• His folks can tell the consultant where the data is – but he/she needs to figure out how to use BO to get to it
• Solution may involve pushing data back into DW(?)
• This person has to:
o Lead the charge
o Know how to “productionalize”
o Document the solution
• Open to solution involving datamarts if that makes sense – hence the need for someone with some architecture skills – they need the reports ASAP, but also need someone who can look at what they are trying to do, get the data into a more usable format, and recommend the best way to accomplish that.

That’s the last Tweet from Jonathan Schwartz, Sun’s former CEO.  It was preceeded by his final blog just 1 week earlier.  http://blogs.sun.com/jonathan/entry/where_life_takes_me_next

In the time of Social Media, how we get the news is not nearly as riveting as how FAST we get news.  Via Facebook you get birth announcements, wedding invitations, divorce annoucements…via LinkedIn yo usee job changes and now via Twitter – resignations.  All real time.  Faster than you can spill the announcement to your immediate family, you can notify hundreds/thousands (or in Jonathan Schwartz’s 9107 people).

If you are a company, how do you manage this flow of communication?  More importantly how do you exploit this communication and how do you track the effectiveness?  I think that the next generation of BI will track social media impact to financial results and/or to customer satisfaction.  Imagine if you could track the ROI of your marketing efforts!  If a Marketer’s MBO could include # of tweets per day and % increase of profit and truly be tied together!!  Ah…dreamy

CEO Dashboard of the future

Good luck Jonathan!

- Jodie

 - Writers note:  when I started writing this at 4:51PM, @openJonathan had 9107 followers.  22 minutes later (5:13PM, he now has 9,151).  A quirky, unexpected message gets a following…quickly!

If your organization is using manually created spreadsheets to manage important company data or if you are having trouble getting accurate, actionable, complete and timely information, you should contact LÛCRUM.  We specialize in helping our Clients to maximize the value of their data, and we would be delighted to help you.

Does this seem like a familiar scenario?  Do you ever have difficulty getting the important information you need in time to meet your needs?  Do you find yourself having to request and schedule reports, which take days or even weeks to actually arrive? Do you wish that you could immediately generate the information you need from your data without the “help” of others?  If so, you should think about contacting LÛCRUM.   In the time it takes to get those reports the current way, we could build you a data mart with dashboards, alerts, reports, and more – enabling you to make fact based decisions about the future of your business.  At LÛCRUM, we help customers to maximize the value of their data – and sometimes we even make silly cartoons to show people how we do it.

Information such as this might likely drive decisions as to how you would manage the future of your business. Information such as this would help you identify the most important problems facing your business, and then to solve them accordingly.

The source of  information like this probably exists within your company right now, most like in the raw state known as data. Like to a vein of gold lurking underneath the grassy surface of the earth, you could be siting on top of a mountain of wealth and not even know it. That wealth is not always readily apparent, and often, like ore, requires some refinement before value can be realized.  Sometimes it must be cleansed.  Sometimes external elements must be added.  At the end of the process, you have something whose value to the world is obvious.

Why doesn’t everyone have great information?  First you just need to know what to look for. Next you need to know where to look for it. Finally you need to know what to do once you find it. Once all of this is accomplished you can ply this asset for tremendous and previously unrealized value.

Data can live in file folders, spread sheets, data bases, email messages, web sites, etc… It surrounds us. This abundant natural resource, if mined properly, refined thoughtfully, and shaped intentionally can yield information and knowledge whose value is literally as good as gold.

This information could be the difference from having an effective service recovery problem that addresses customer concerns in real time or having countless unhappy customers telling 3,000 of their closest friends on the web how you failed to deliver.  Information and action could make the difference.

This information could be the difference between pulling the plug on that seemingly unpopular product line, or realizing that the unprofitable product actually helps to sell the profitable one because it is bought in tandem.  Information and action could make the difference.

This information could be the difference between guessing as to the financial health of your business or knowing with certainty if some cancer exists within your business – if not caught early will result in the death of your firm.  Information and action could make the difference.

Good information, and what you choose to do with it, can make all the difference in the world.

One of the first lessons I learned during my career at P&G was “You get what you measure!” In other words, unless you’re tracking the activities that drive your business, you won’t know how you’re doing. Is the business healthy or not? In LÛCRUM’s Delivery Organization we’ve been focused on measuring a several key areas of our business over the last year. I’ll focus on 2 key measures – consultant utilization and engagement health.

Consultant utilization is key to our business health since our revenue is dependent on billable hours with a client. If we’re not billing hours, we’re simply not making money. Like any business, if we’re not making money, we won’t be in business very long. Not surprising, our goal is for all hours spent with a client to be billable. While there are times it’s necessary to provide ‘free’ effort, we obviously want to monitor that and ensure it’s in check. We also measure how many hours our consultants spend ‘selling.’ While selling is primarily a Business Development role, a consultant’s technical and business experience can be valuable in making a successful sales call.

Another area where consultant’s time will be spent is “developing the practice”. It’s important for us as a company to develop as individuals and to contribute to the development of the organization. Our contribution to the company might be working on an internal project or serving on a company committee. But one of coolest things I found when I joined LÛCRUM was the concept of “Geek Speak” and “Brain Brews” – technical and business training offered several times a month at lunch or after the business day. We’re each encouraged to attend as well as present to the organization. Yes, I’ve digressed from the topic of measures, but these sessions are really great!

So back to topic….On a weekly basis, the Senior Management team and the Delivery leadership spend time reviewing the overall utilization as well as drilling down to the portfolio and individual. We’ve learned a lot about how our time is spent and it’s helping drive business decision!

The other key area where I spend my time as the Quality Manager is tracking our engagement health. Key is to monitor the next ‘deliverable’ and through the use of conditional formatted ‘traffic lights’, monitor for those yellow and red light! It’s not rocket science, we’re currently doing this through an excel dashboard but it’s allowing us to see the current engagements in one view and ask ourselves questions about what’s going well or what needs attention.

While I’ve mentioned Senior Management and the Delivery leaders regarding the review of our measures, it important everyone knows and understands our Delivery measures. We recently made the information available to everyone through our Delivery Sharepoint site. This site provides weekly or monthly measure in dashboard format. In addition to utilization and engagement health, we also provide visibility to the revenue vs goal, bench, training, recruiting and years of service.

We’ve come a long way in the last year and the journey of Quality Management continues. Stay tuned…….