spreadsheets in finance and forecasting lecture 2: introduction to the project
TRANSCRIPT
Spreadsheets in Finance and Forecasting
Lecture 2:Introduction to the Project
Session ObjectivesThe purpose of this session is to: Ensure that you understand what is
required; Discuss the project timescale, and
indicate some of the milestones; Offer some examples of what might be
the end-product; Explore some of the methods by which
you might investigate the context.
The Project Brief Within a realistic context of application,
identify a range of sources and targets of data both external and internal to the context, which are generated or supplied as part of the normal business working
Formulate a range of spreadsheet models and applications which can be used to work with the data.
Evaluate the usefulness of these models and applications.
Breakdown of the taskThe task has five parts:1. Finding and
investigating a context
2. Discussing Initial Ideas
3. Development Work4. Presentation of
proposals5. Creation and
Submission of a report
The TimescaleWeeks 2-5: Find context, collect data, create draft
systems analysisWeeks 5-7: Attend Formative Tutorial and discuss contextWeeks 8-9: Create project outline proposalsWeek 10: Submit draft proposals as a presentationWeeks 11,12: Develop spreadsheet solutionsWeek after Easter Break Submit full project proposals
The Formative Tutorial In Weeks 5, 6 or 7 you
will attend an individual formative tutorial.
Before this you will have submitted an A4 sheet with details of your context and what you have been doing
Attendance at the tutorial is compulsory and is worth 5% of the marks
The Formative Tutorial The purpose of the
tutorial is to ensure that you are going along the right lines,
and that: you have found a
suitable context your data is suitable your analysis is
effective you have good ideas
The Presentation By the end of week
10, you will submit a Powerpoint presentation.
In this presentation you will describe the context and outline your proposals.
You will only produce the slides, but will not be required to give an oral presentation.
The Presentation should be designed to last about 10 minutes, use PowerPoint and is worth 10%
The Presentation The purpose of the
presentation is to cause you to summarise your ideas thus far.
It is likely that you will receive suggestions as to how you might improve, or what else you could do.
Development Work This is the hard graft of the
project You will need to devise
spreadsheet models, and produce story boards and mock-ups.
You are not required to produce fully working spreadsheets, but you do need to have realistic and fully developed ideas, which are capable of being subjected to critical analysis.
Submission of the Report About 1000 words Fully structured To include full
descriptions of the proposed spreadsheet solutions
Analysis and Justification
Sources, Bibliography etc.
In this session We now consider the project brief,
and some of the issues which you should be addressing over the next few weeks.
There will be further lectures on the content of each of the other aspects.
Finding and Investigating a Context
What do we mean by a “context of application” ?
Any organisation or situation which deals with money or information.
The Context The context would
normally be a small business enterprise, or a similar set-up which involves data and/or financial matters.
One of the criteria here is that you should be thoroughly familiar with the context.
Some Ideas (1)
A small retail outlet: a newsagents a greengrocer a charity shopor possibly: a single small
outlet of a large retail chain
Some Ideas (2)A small organisation
offering a service: a doctor’s or dentist’s
surgery a travel or estate
agent a branch of a building
society or bank a hairdresser A Citizen’s Advice
Bureau
Some ideas (3)
Trades people: a window cleaning
firm a small builder a decorating firm an electrical
contractor
Some ideas (4)
Other organisations: A Club A school A Charity A local action
group
Can I invent a context? Yes, but only do
this as a last resort.
You are unlikely to be able to invent the depth and complexity of data relationships without a real focus.
Your Own Ideas Spend 2 minutes
now, jotting down your ideas of some of the contexts you might use.
Then spend 5 minutes discussing this with another person.
Sharing Ideas We will spend a
few minutes “thinking aloud”, where each person will describe a context they think they may be able to use.
Criteria for selecting the context: You will be assessed on the quality of your
product and on the relevance and “fit” of the product to the context.
This means that you must have a thorough insight into the context, for example if you have worked there, or you have a friend or relative who has worked there.
In addition, the context must provide a variety of different types of problem, and you need to have insights into the way things are currently done.
What will I do in the context?
The project models a scenario in which you are a consultant brought in to suggest improvements
The ScenarioIdeally this should improve service to
customers improve the flow of
data improve the
presentation of data
improve ways of using the data
improve ways of managing data
You are an employee of CSTSB: Computer Solutions for Today’s Small Business
Your brief is to provide the manager of your context with computer solutions to their problems
Be Selective The scenario is
deliberately open. This means you
are able to choose any aspect which has potential for improvement .
Using Spreadsheets It is crucial that you develop spreadsheet
solutions as the major element in your project.
This means carefully selecting those elements from the context where spreadsheet solutions are relevant and applicable.
You do not have to cover everything!
What should I investigate?
You should observe, interview and interact with the people, systems and documents
Observing Watch what
happens See what people
do See how people
react
Participating It is not strictly
necessary that you involve yourself in the day-to-day organisation
However, this may help to give you insights, and to find out how systems work
Interviewing Find out about
systems, policies , procedures
Find out what is important
Find out what people would like
Use multiple perspectives
Looking at Documents It will be very helpful
to obtain access to current files, in both paper-based and electronic forms.
If you are not allowed to do this, perhaps you could get them described to you.
Resources In Week 2 Resources
you will find a document called Investigating Your Context.
This document offers detailed suggestions as to how to carry out investigations.
What sort of data is required?
Any kind of data (financial or other) which is collected, used, transmitted or stored by the organisation.
The Data The data you use does not have to be
real, but it does have to be “realistic”. One consequence of this is that you
should know how the data is produced, who it is for, what happens to it, and how it is used within the system.
The formats of the data that you use for your project should have all the features of the real thing.
Data Protection Act Considerations You should take
care in your project not to uses real names, nor actual data which is traceable to a particular source.
The Flow of Data It is important that you model the whole flow of data,
and include processes as well as produce products. You need to consider all the aspects of the Input –
Process- Output chain Also, consider whether there is any feedback from
the output back to input which helps to modify the process
Data Sources Who or what
generates the data?
How is it generated?
What form does it take?
How often?
Processes What happens to the
data along the way? Is it summarised,
averaged, filtered or consolidated?
Is it used in scenarios, “what if” situations or other forecasting tools?
Data Destinations Who is the data
for? What form does
the final data take?
What use will it be put to?
The Feedback Loop Does the person or
organisation receiving the data inform the person producing it or modifying it whether the data is of sufficient quality or value?
Data Flow Diagrams As part of the project, you will need
to construct diagrams which describe the current data flow, and your proposed amendments to it.
These diagrams should give an overview of the sources and destinations of data.
Data Flow DiagramsSales
Representative
Invoice Clerk
Bill Customer Customer
Record Sale Data Flow Diagrams will be crucial in helping you understand and explain the systems
You will need to use these diagrams to explain both the current systems and your proposals
What sort of things am I looking to do in the
project?
These might cover a whole range of activities but which offer potential for using a spreadsheet.
A Systems Approach The approach
adopted in this module attempts to model how a project would be tackled in a real context.
This normally occurs as a cycle of analysis-proposal-
development-testing-evaluation..
Project Development
Problem Specification
Problem Analysis
Design Proposal
Product Development
Product Testing
Product Evaluation
Project Development
Problem Specification
Problem Analysis
Design Proposal
Product Development
Product Testing
Product Evaluation
Remember, you do not have to actually create the spreadsheets, only think through the process to the design proposal stage.
Remember, you do not have to actually create the spreadsheets, only think through the process to the design proposal stage.
Ideas and Examples
Annual Budget for a Small Business
This might consist of: Opening Balance
Sheet Profit & Loss Account Cash Flow Statement Closing Balance
Sheet
Expenses Claims and Records
Travel Claims System to include:
Journey details Tables to summarise
data Claims tracking Summaries, e.g.
claims per employee, totals, averages
Charts and comparisons
Making PredictionsLooking at Sales Figures
and/or profitability of investments
Measures of profitability
Forecasting using a range of statistical and graphical techniques
Keeping AccountsAn accounting
system for a charity:
Subscriptions Expenses Purchases Cash Ledger Bank Account Transactions
Providing a Quotation or an Estimate
Production of a quotation using standard forms:
Job details sheet Calculation of
costings Printed quotation
Automating TasksA range of tasks,
including: Standard Invoices and
Receipts at billing and payment
Month-end summaries Customer information
updates Automated reports
Other Suggestions Think about your
contexts that you described earlier in the session.
Which of the previous suggestions are relevant to your context?
What other suggestions can you offer?
The Scope of the Project As you can see, some of these are
major undertakings, taking many hours and you will probably only be able to develop one or possibly two of these
Some are “one off” sheets which could take you a few minutes to do.
What should you do now? Spend some time now
thinking about what you might do.
Note down: A brief description of a possible context A short list of potential data sources there:
o Financial datao Other data
You should discuss this with the tutor before the end of the session.