End User Computing Solutions
Michael Rose
Collins Barrow Durham Consultants Inc.
AGENDA
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1. End User Computing – What is it?
2. Key Problems with EUC
3. Solutions – Long Term (not our thing)
4. Solutions – Short Term (what we do)
5. Case Study – Share of Wallet Report
6. Referrals – who to talk to, what to look for
7. Questions
EUC – WHAT IS IT?
Typically Excel spreadsheets or Access databases
– Developed by End Users, not programmers
Often mission critical
– Fills gaps in company systems or reporting
Examples:
– Manipulate data downloaded from main business
systems, e.g. G/L, product system, ERP
– Financial statements, budgets, forecasts
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EUC – BENEFITS (fast & cheap)
Doesn’t require company IT resources
– No $ required
– No overhead (project plan, business case, business
spec, system spec, …)
Quick to develop new reports or applications
Easy to use; tools are already available
Can be done by staff with low to medium skill
level
Easy to make changes
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EUC – PROBLEMS
Key person risk – Only one person knows how to run
– No documentation
Original author has moved on– Applications now run by people who didn’t design
them, can’t fix them, and don’t know if the results make sense
Very manual– Many steps, easy to make mistakes
Time consuming to run – No time to understand results
– Deadline pressure leads to errors, employee burnout
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EUC – PROBLEMS
Prone to uncaught errors
– Easy to overtype formulas or miss a step
– Material reporting errors possible
Getting data to/from external systems can be
tricky
No management visibility
– Managers unaware of number and scope of mission
critical apps
– Leads to unexpected blow-ups, particularly if key
person leaves
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SOLUTIONS – LONG TERM
Comprehensive inventory of EUCs
Develop EUC policy and controls
Move critical EUCs into traditional IT framework
But …
– Costly, complex, and time consuming
– Difficult to implement
– Impractical in small-medium enterprises
– Doesn’t address immediate risks
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SOLUTIONS – SHORT TERM
Embrace EUCs
– They’re here to stay … make them better
Automate existing applications
– Eliminate most manual steps
– Use VBA to create macros, custom functions
Develop new, automated, easy-to-use applications
Create documentation
– User guide (step-by-step instructions)
– System documentation (how it was done)
– Comments in VBA macros to document programs
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COLLINS BARROW OFFERING
Engage “Super User” – Mike Rose
– Knows client’s business
– Automates processes (new and existing)
– Writes clear documentation
Process
– Review existing processes or new requirements
– Quote a fixed price for the work
– Work interactively with client to develop solution
– Document solution and train users
– Warranty work (fixes as required)
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CASE STUDY – SHARE OF WALLET REPORT
Monthly report tracks sales to each customer
– System generated report shows sales for ALL
customers, broken down by product category
– Downloaded to Excel
Sales support team distributes report to Account
Reps (280+)
– Split into individual spreadsheets so Account Reps
see only their own customers
– Requires 6 hours of tedious work
No documentation
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ORIGINAL SYSTEM
CASE STUDY – SHARE OF WALLET REPORT
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All inputs on a
single form
Go button
Automated Solution
CASE STUDY – SHARE OF WALLET REPORT
Download of monthly report as before
Automated Excel application – One spreadsheet per Account Rep
– New: One spreadsheet per Sales Manager showing all their Account Reps
– New: Flexibility to accommodate new or deleted columns in download report
– New: Automatic filtering and improved formatting and aggregation
Start to finish: 5 minutes– Savings of 6 x 12 = 72 hours/yr. ≈ $3,500 every year
User documentation provided
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AFTER AUTOMATION
WHO COULD USE THIS SERVICE?
Medium sized or larger clients– For profit or not-for-profit
Typically Finance or Operations area
Highly stressed employees (or managers)– Particularly around month/quarter/year end
What you often hear:– “I never have time to understand the reports”
– “Month ends are crazy around here”
Who we can help:– Using a lot of Microsoft Excel or Access
– Want to automate and document critical and time consuming apps
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CONTACT
Contact us today for a free assessment
Mike Rose, Associate Consultant
Collins Barrow Durham Consultants Inc.
1-866-392-5672 ext. 111
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