The BI Roadmap Project: The Path to Better Analysis and Reporting
In October 2010, the University's IT Governance Council authorized the creation of the Business Intelligence (BI) Roadmap Project, the purpose of which is to upgrade tools and technology to support business intelligence needs throughout the University, and lay the foundation to provide more robust reporting and data analysis solutions to the community.
Project Background
What is "Business Intelligence"? Though a walk through business literature provides many definitions, the origin of the term can be drawn back to 1996, when a Gartner Report stated the following:
Making sound business decisions based on accurate and current information takes more than intuition. Data analysis, reporting, and query tools can help business users wade through a sea of data to synthesize valuable information from it - today these tools collectively fall into a category called "Business Intelligence".
Harvard's current reporting and data analysis environment demonstrates a dynamic commitment and effort:
- The University staff make use of over 1,500,000 report requests per year in support of Financial, Human Resources, Alumni and Development operations
- ~3,000 staff make these requests
- The central staff builds and maintains a broad library of pre-defined reports and queries
Harvard's current state Analysis and Reporting is a collection of various tools and databases across the University's administrative functional areas, including:
CREW Standard Reports
- Human Resources
- Financials
- Sponsored Research
- CAPS
- Student Financial Reporting
Ad Hoc Reporting tools (BRIO and the Hyperion Performance Suite (AHE) serving
- Alumni Affairs community
- Human Resources
Initial Goals of the Project
The initial work of the BI Roadmap Project is to upgrade the reporting tools, the current versions of which are currently no longer supported by the vendor; an upgraded, re-branded version of the product has been acquired by the University and will be made available to users in the near future.
CREW
While the tools are being upgraded, the Project Team is working to convert all of the existing reports into supported formats. This conversion work will have no impact on the CREW end user; all existing reports are expected to work normally.
Interactive Reporting (BRIO and Hyperion)
For those working with Brio or Hyperion 8, ad hoc queries will need minor work, in fact, users will be able to open an existing query in the new tool, save it, and work as usual. Some minor changes in how some reports are published may need to be employed by the user; job aids will be available to affected users. For users using other tools that connect directly to the reporting databases, no changes will be required.
This project will provide a supported platform to support future consideration of advanced reporting needs.
Anticipated Project Timeline
The project is moving along a System Development Life Cycle:
Project Updates and Questions
Users of the current reporting and analytics will be kept up to date with periodic updates in e-News. A project iSite will soon be made available, and documents, training aids and other information will be available on Eureka. When you land at the Eureka page, click on the drop down arrow next to PeopleSoft and select Analysis and Reporting.
Questions about the BI Roadmap Project can be sent to the UIS Helpdesk at (617) 496-2001 or via email . Ask the attendant to log a Remedy support ticket with the Assigned to Group = Harvard Data Warehouse. A member from the HDW team will get back to you to assist.
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Human Resources Reporting News
Expired Appointments
- To pull a list of employees who have upcoming expiring appointments, you can run in CREW the HRTRMDP038 (Departmental-Term Appointments) report or in PeopleSoft run the Term Appointment Extract/Upload.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the UIS Help Desk at 496-2001 or via email.
Tag; CREW
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HCOM Marketplace Outage March 25-27
The HCOM Markeplace will be unavailable to users on Friday, March 25, 10:00 pm-Sunday, March 27, 12:00 pm. Please note that this outage affects only the Marketplace; users will still be able to login to HCOM and create Non-Catalog and Payment Requests. Approvers will be able to approve, edit, reject and forward Requisitions awaiting their review.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding the Marketplace outage, please contact the UIS Help Desk at 496-2001 or via email.
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Human Resources Reporting News
CREW Report Spotlight - HRACCDP229 Departmental - HU Confidentiality Agreements
- A new sub report has been added to HRACCDP229 which displays only the most recent signed confidentiality agreement by employee within a department
- You can now easily see who by department has an outstanding confidentiality agreement, as well plan for those whose agreements have upcoming renewals
CREW Report listing on Eureka
- A PDF containing a listing with details of HR CREW Reports (as of 1/28/2011) can be found at: Eureka > Peoplesoft > Job Aids > HR Reporting > Additional Resources
CREW HR Report Changes
| Category | Production Date | Report Name | Description |
| Human Resources | Rel 7.2 (2/22/11) | HRACCDP229 - Departmental - HU Confidentiality Agreements | Added new sub report which returns only the most recent signed Confidentiality Agreement by employee within a department. Security Roles: HDW^PUB^TUB^Reports User, HDW^HR^TUB^Reports User |
| Human Resources | Rel 6.12 (12/20/10) |
HRJOBDP233 - Departmental Job Profile with Costing | Business Purpose and Detailed Description updated in the report catalog: click on the report code (HRJOBDP233) to open the metadata for the report. Security Roles: HDW^PUB^TUB^Reports User, HDW^HR^TUB^Reports User |
CREW HR REL 28.0 Database Changes
Production Date: 12/4/2010
| Database Objects | Change Type | Notes | Zone |
| SHR_PS_DISABILITY_V | Update | Added three fields: aps_dsb_nds_aus, lastupddttm, lastupdoprid |
HDW^BEN^CTR^Reports User |
| DEPT_R_V | Update | REMOVED two obsolete fields deleted from PS as of HR28: bud_rep_id, loc_spa_rep_id | HDW^PUB^TUB^Reports User |
| SHR_PS_DEPT_TBL_V | Update | Added four new fields: hu_dean_rollup_id, hu_dept_funcdir_id, hu_dept_adm_id2, hu_manager_id2; REMOVED two obsolete fields deleted from PS as of HR28: hu_bud_rep_id, hu_loc_spa_rep_id |
HDW^PUB^TUB^Reports User |
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the UIS Helpdesk at 496-2001 or via email.
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Electronic Check Deposit Procedures and Guidelines
The Cash Receipts Office has been depositing U.S. checks electronically since September. This has resulted in some process changes and the office would like to update departments on new and existing guidelines on the preparation and submission of deposits.
- There are different processing requirements for currency categories and each should be put on a separate credit voucher. The office will be revamping the credit voucher within the next couple of months to match the categories below. If you are unsure which category an item falls into, put the deposit on a separate credit voucher and the Cash Receipts Office will determine how to process it.
There are 7 categories of deposit:
U.S. cash
U.S. checks
Canadian checks in U.S. dollars
Canadian checks in Canadian currency
"Note Checks" - foreign currency drawn on a U.S. bank but check has no account or routing number
Foreign checks in U.S. dollars
Foreign checks in foreign currency
- Handwritten credit vouchers are often difficult to read. The preference is for users to type the data; this will help to insure that your data is correctly recorded in the general ledger. You can download an Excel version of the current credit voucher from Able/Forms.
- Populating the "Explanation of Credit" box or recording on separate lines checks that all have the same GL coding is not a requirement of the Cash Receipts Office. If you need to have an explanation in the GL for your own internal purposes, please keep it short. If you have multiple checks with the same GL coding, the preference is that you add them up and put the total on one line. This will save data entry time for the Cash Receipts staff and space in the GL.
- Please do not send backup with your deposit (i.e. check stub, invoice, letters, envelope that the check came in); this information is not needed by Cash Receipts. It should be kept in your facility. All that is needed by Cash Receipts with the credit voucher is the tape.
- Please do not staple or tape checks or currency. Attach your check(s) to the credit voucher with a paper clip.
- Cash Receipts prefers to receive your credit vouchers as soon as you receive the checks/currency. The office often receives an uptick in vouchers on the last day of the month and Cash Receipts cannot guarantee that those end of month deposits will be processed for that same month. If you meet the closing dates below, barring any snow day closures, the office will process your deposit within the same month. If your deposit is received after the guarantee date, the office will try to process it within the same month but cannot guarantee that it will happen.
- For regular deposits - the guarantee date is 5:00 p.m. 2 business days before the last business day of the month (i.e., 5 p.m. Wednesday if Friday is the last business day of the month).
- For Departmentals or Taxable Sales deposits - the guarantee date is 5:00 p.m. on the last business day of the month.
If you have any questions, please contact the Cash Receipts Office at 6-8332.
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Sponsored System Updates
GMAS
The next GMAS release (1_28) is scheduled for Saturday, March 12, 2011. Highlights of the release include:
- A new dashboard on the GMAS homepage displays all sponsor notices received by the central, sponsored offices that have yet to be awarded.
- Ability to search Grants.gov opportunities from the GMAS homepage and see if they are supported via system-to-system.
- Rename <Initiate internal review> button to <Lock & route for signatures>. This new title clarifies the workflow of proposals from departments to approvers.
As always, details on the enhancements and bug fixes within the release will be available in the Release Notes posted on the FSS GMAS webpage.
HIRBERT
HIRBERT has a release (1.0.14) scheduled for Saturday, March 19, 2011. Details about the release will be made available in the Release Notes on the FSS HIRBERT webpage.
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Upcoming Releases
FINDINI Release Schedule
A software release to the Oracle Financial Applications, known as a "FINDINI release", is done every two to four months. Each upgrade introduces needed bug fixes, enhancements, and technical upgrades into Harvard's financial systems. Generally, releases are performed on weekends to assure maximum availability during the business week. Most outages occur from 6 pm Friday evening-6 am Monday morning.
The next FINDINI release, 3.2.14, is tentatively scheduled for the June 2011. Details will be available in an upcoming e-News.
The Oracle Financial Applications are:
CREW FIN Releases
The Common Reporting Environment for the Warehouse (CREW) is a reporting system that draws data from a variety of sources which are updated on a nightly basis. Users can submit report requests for immediate processing or schedule reports to automatically run on a recurring basis. Types of CREW reports include financial, budget, receivables, HR management, benefits, costing, payroll, pension, security, grants management, and sponsored reports.
The next CREW FIN release, 3.2.14, is tenatively scheduled for June 2011. Details will be available in an upcoming e-News.
HR (PeopleSoft) and CREW HR Release 29
The next PeopleSoft Release (HR 29) is scheduled for May 20-23, 2011. Details will be available in an upcoming e-News.
The CREW HR 29.0 Release is scheduled for May 20-23, 2011. Details will be available in an upcoming e-News.
CREW Reports
In addition to the CREW Financial and CREW HR releases which correspond with the FINDINI and HR releases listed above, changes and enhancements to new and existing CREW reports are also released the 3rd weekend of each month.
| Release Number | Dates | Notes |
| 7.3 | 3/18/11 | |
| 7.4 | 4/15/11 | |
| 7.5 | 5/20/11 | |
| 7.6 | 6/17/11 | |
| 7.7 | 7/15/11 | |
| 7.8 | 8/19/11 | |
| 7.9 | 9/16/11 | |
| 7.10 | 10/14/11 | |
| 7.11 | 11/18/11 | |
| 7.12 | 12/16/11 |
Sponsored Systems Releases
The GMAS release (1_28) was deployed on Saturday, March 12, 2011. As always see the Release Notes about releases to date.
The next HIRBERT release was deployed on Saturday, March 19, 2011. As usual, please see the Release Notes for details about releases to date.
HUBS Releases
The Harvard University Budgeting Sytems (HUBS) is a set of web-based Oracle Hyperion Planning applications used for budget data entry, estimates, annotations, reporting, and submission associated with the annual budget and planning cycles.
The next major HUBS release, Release 1.0.10, is tenatively scheduled for June 2011. Details will be available in an upcoming e-News.
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About the e-News
The Center for Workplace Development publishes this electronic newsletter for users of Harvard University's financial, HR, and reporting systems, policies, and procedures. The e-News is generally published on or around the 15th of each month.
It contains:
- updates on projects underway to build or improve University administrative systems;
- information about new University policies, procedures, and forms;
- reminders about upcoming deadlines and cut-over dates;
- tips and tricks for working more easily or productively.
We welcome questions and suggestions for improvement from readers. If your questions are of general interest, we will answer them in future issues.
Please send comments, questions, or suggestions for improvement by email to us at: admin_systems_enews@harvard.edu.
For information about subscribing or unsubscribing to the eNews notifications, visit our who gets the eNews page.
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