Essbase Center-of-Excellence

Managing Essbase & Dodeca Support & Development at KrogerMatthew Holt, CPAODTUG Kaleidoscope 2010Washington, DCJune 30, 2010

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Poll the AudienceBusiness?Technology?Have a Center-of-Excellence today?Considering a CoE?Attended TriNets CoE presentation yesterday?

Intent of this Session

The focus of this session will be to look at one solution for consolidating support and development of Essbase and Dodeca, which is currently spread across multiple lines-of-business, and reorganize it into a single department, or center-of-excellence, using only existing resources. In addition, discuss how we brought Essbase out of the shadows and defined the partnership between the business units and IT, which allows each group to do what they do best. ODTUG Kaleidoscope

AgendaThe Kroger Co.The ProblemThe SolutionThe Journey

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Kroger 2008 Fact BookHeadquartered in CincinnatiFiscal sales of $76.0 billion#22 ranking on Fortune 100326,000 employees2,481 supermarkets781 fuel centers771 convenience stores385 fine jewelry stores40 manufacturing plants

2009 Fact Book was not yet published at time of this writing.

Kroger Banners

The ProblemIts a good problem to have

The ProblemEssbase & Dodeca have been too successfulA 10+ year evolutionStill has a buzzToo many lines-of-business (LoB) continuing, enhancing and/or requesting EssbaseNo internal structure to guide the growth and development

The ProblemA LoB new to Essbase was on a island:Obtain licensesPurchase hardwareStaffing with existing personnel or hire consultantsIf internal, sent them to Essbase BootcampDevelop and support Essbase cubesDevelop and support DodecaManage versionsUser training

Major Development EffortsDivision/Line-of-BusinessInitial Roll-outOriginal PurposeOriginal UISmiths Finance & Labor Mgmt1998Reporting & budgetingExcel VBAFred Meyer Finance1999Reporting & budgetingExcel VBAFred Meyer Labor Mgmt2000Reporting & forecastingExcel VBAConvenience stores2002ReportingExec ViewerQFC Finance & Labor Mgmt2002Reporting & forecastingExcel VBAJewelry Divisions2002Reporting & budgetingExcel VBAKroger Finance2006Reporting, forecasting & budgetingActiveOLAPKroger Retail Operations2006Reporting, forecasting & budgetingActiveOLAPKroger Manufacturing2008Reporting, forecasting & budgetingDodeca

11.0 FTE in 5 states (Utah, Oregon, Kansas, Washington, Ohio)

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Resulting EnvironmentVarious support & development methodsRedundant dataRedundant effortsSilos everywhereMinimal collaborations across business unitsEach LoB did their thing; IS&S did theirsAn unwillingness to share, or seek out, best practicesCollaboration not requiredKnowledge with a 1-2 people in each group

Despite all thatHappy end-usersImplementations & ongoing support have been generally successfulManagement not overly concerned about risks of putting all the eggs in one basket Demand for new Essbase & Dodeca efforts continues to grow

The RealizationEssbase has evolved & grown upMore complexityUsers are demanding moreWe can do moreMaking the same avoidable mistakesSlow to launch new appsPoor design decisionsWe had the same problem 5 years agoGrowing too dependent on too few people

The SolutionChange how the enterprise supports Essbase & Dodeca developmentEstablish a partnership between the lines-of-business and IS&SAgree on a directionAllow each to do what they do bestReassign existing resources within the lines-of-business to create a Center-of-ExcellenceCurrent responsibilities will also transfer to new CoECreate a cross-functional teamDefine roles & responsibilities for both Center-of-Excellence and IS&S

The JourneyA quick look at what weve got and how we got there

Essbase LandscapeEssbase 7.1.6 & 11.12,000+ unique users100+ reporting, budgeting & forecasting cubesMost BSO; some ASOEAS & EISMaxL & some EsscmdExtensive/complex calc scripts for budgeting & forecastingAbout 11.0 FTE for support & dev in 9 lines-of-businessPlus 2.0+ FTE in IS&S

Dodeca Landscape4 Dodeca apps in production today3 more in next 12 months300+ unique templates todayUser baseCorporate & regional offices, manufacturing plants and IS&S managementControllers & analysts in all 18 divisions200+ stores, via CitrixSeveral major roll-outs and/or expansions planned

Essbase & Dodeca UseDivision/Lines-of-BusinessInitial Roll-outCurrent Users(1) Support & Dev FTECurrent UISmiths Finance & Labor Mgmt1998300.5ExcelFred Meyer Finance19991802.0Dodeca(3)Fred Meyer Labor Mgmt20003502.0DodecaConvenience stores20023201.0Exec ViewerQFC Finance & Labor Mgmt20021200.5DodecaJewelry Divisions200235(2) -DodecaKroger Finance20061,4003.0Dodeca(3)Kroger Retail Operations2006100(2)1.0DodecaKroger Manufacturing20081001.0Dodeca

NotesMany users have access to more than one environment.Major expansion pending.Finance groups now using one Dodeca app.

11.0 FTE in 5 states (Utah, Oregon, Kansas, Washington, Ohio)

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In 2007, a group began monthly meetings to manage the long-term direction of Essbase & Dodeca, including:Retail OperationsFinanceIS&SManufacturing

Why? Bring Essbase & Dodeca out of the shadowsControl growthShare ideas and concernsShare more data, quickerLeverage existing data & processesEliminate redundancy of data & effortEstablish best practices

Steering Committee

Asked Ourselves QuestionsWhats the right balance?Lean & flexible vs. structured & rigidElite strike team vs. the whole field armychange it now vs. a formal change control processWho does what?IS&S involvement/oversight?LoB involvement/oversight?Should the org chart change?

Attempt #1Work with counterpartsBest practicesCreateAgree onImplementShare knowledgeBecome each others back-upCollaborate on future projectsShare data & eliminate redundancies

Yeahthat didnt exactly workNo authorityVoluntary complianceSilos continuedAdditional development methods emergedLimited data sharingEven less collaboration

Attempt #2Steering Committee became more assertivegave itself authorityAsked questionsWhats working?Whats not working?What are the risks?How much risk can we tolerate?If starting from scratch, how would we be organized?What have we learned?

Top 5 Things LearnedBusiness users love the functionality, autonomy and control of Essbase & Dodeca, butNew resources dont understand Essbase, Dodeca and/or the business practicesKnowledge & skill set with a few peopleInconsistent development & maintenanceRedundant data & effortsEveryone has unique business requirements

New resources are inexperienced with Essbase & DodecaKnowledge and skill set are with a few people in each group, which is not easily transferredInconsistent development and maintenance methodsRedundant data & effortsUnique business requirements everywhere

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Committee RequirementsKeep control with business usersIncrease IS&Ss involvementEliminate redundant dataUse existing resourcesDevelop cross-functional resourcesDefine roles & responsibilities

Last 2 most complicated

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Cross-Functional ResourcesTo develop cross-functional resources:Need authority to:manage/shift workset prioritiesBuild a common languageLearn togetherSet & enforce best practicesTruly collaborate

Top RecommendationReassign existing resources to the new Center-of-ExcellenceResources remain embedded with their current LoBRoles & responsibilities could be aligned across multiple groupsReports to Finance, but collaborates with IS&S

Simple framework

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Example of Org ChartFinanceManagerDeveloper/ArchitectBusiness AnalystLOB #2LOB #3Business AnalystLOB #4Business AnalystLOB #1Business AnalystNotesExpand current Finance group, adding dotted-lined accountability to lines-of-business (LOB).Primary and back-up responsibilities based on skill set, experience and/or physical location.Provide more career path options.

Finally, Roles & Responsibilitieswhich are not completely finalized yet

Proposed Roles & ResponsibilitiesCenter-of-ExcellenceCube design, calc scripts, etcFilters, groups and securityCube extensionMaxL automationBuild & deploy Dodeca viewsUser trainingPrioritize data requests to IS&S and validate resultsCoordinate with LoB and/or IS&S on new effortsIS&SPull data from host systems and load cubesSupport software & hardwareManage vendor negotiationsProvide surge resources for project executionFacilitate software upgrades, testing, certification and enterprise deploymentsProvide stable environmentMaintain architectural integrity

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Update June 2010Numerous staffing changes in past 6-monthsRecent actions will modify this proposalBasic intent remains unchangedIncrease IS&Ss development responsibilitiesDefine all existing Essbase cubes in production as either:Core to be supported by IS&SBusiness Use to be supported by the CoE or trained power users

Responsibility by Cube TypeBusiness UseHighly dependent on business logic & calc scripts.Frequent changes or customizations.Quick turnaround times.May pull and load subsets of data from Core cubes.May have a very targeted user base.Examples include budgeting & forecasting cubes.CoreOutlines built entirely from upstream sources.Extensive ETL requirements.Few customizations.A locked-down, controlled environment is desired.Examples include standard load and calc cubes, usually for reporting only, which mirrors the system of record.

Thank you!Matthew Holtmatthew.holt@kroger.com

Feel free to e-mail me questions, comments or thoughts.