1 Introduction

Wellington Management has recognized the need to create a Global Office Knowledge Repository to: 1) Track and Maintain Equipment and Services information and 2) Assist in the deployment of new Global Offices as the company expands it’s business around the world. In particular, the Knowledge Repository would service not only those users in the company responsible for maintaining and tracking inventory but also those responsible for managing Global Office logistics and supporting end-user business applications.

The goal is to provide a comprehensive and easy to maintain database application. When complete, there will be a single database system, which can be integrated to eliminate the problems associated with redundant data and the inefficiency of redundant data entry. Client server architecture will be used providing a more cost effective system to maintain and one that can be modified in a timely manner to respond to changing business needs. The new system will also eliminate unnecessary manual effort and provide a more efficient processing environment.

This application will facilitate data entry, updating and maintenance of that information, tracking the information for the company and providing reporting on that information. The new system will provide easy access to information via queries; capability to create ad-hoc reports as needed and provide a more efficient information environment for the IT department.

1.1 Phased Approach

This application will be developed using a two-phased approach. The first phase will provide users with the functionality necessary to enter data into the Knowledge Repository and modify data as needed. The second phase will provide reporting functions to allow the users to report from the information stored in the Repository. This document will detail only Phase 1 of this project.

2 Company Background

Wellington Management Company (WMC) is an independent investment management firm focusing on the investment management of portfolios for mutual funds, variable annuities, corporate and public retirement plans, insurance entities, endowments, and investment partnerships around the world. WMC serves as investment adviser to more than 400 institutional clients and over 100 mutual fund portfolios covering a wide range of investment styles. In addition to asset management, WMC provides investment-counseling services to clients. These services include setting of investment objectives, strategic asset allocation, performance and risk analysis and economic research. The firm is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, and serves the varied needs of clients located on six continents through offices and affiliates around the world.

Currently, WMC has seven Global Offices located in Singapore, Tokyo, Sydney, London, Atlanta, San Francisco, and Radnor. The establishment of the WMC global offices was to promote business development efforts and enhance client service activities for clients and prospects throughout Asia, Australia, Continental Europe, the UK, Africa, Middle East, and Japan. My role in the firm is that of an information technology professional responsible for managing the technology and support staff for each WMC global office.

2.1 Current System

Currently, there is no electronic system in place to track this type of information within the Company. All information and data for equipment, services and global office configuration is either in hardcopy form or in the heads of several individuals.

3 Business Requirements

3.1 Business Scope

The basic concepts and relative components of a Global Office Knowledge Repository (GOKR) and will be a comprehensive collection of data that will contain the entire infrastructure and application information pertinent to each specific international office. It will cover the entire infrastructure including: network (LAN/WAN) & server topology, equipment inventory and asset data repository, vendor managed service provider information, business application information (“How To”), as well as answers to frequently asked questions.

Because the design and implementation of the core infrastructure for each of the international offices is the same, this database of information will be scalable and portable as we seek to open new offices throughout the world.

Each end user group shares a commonality in the business applications they use. Answers to questions asked by one particular user benefit users from the other offices who may have similar questions.

This will be accomplished by developing ACCESS databases to store the information for these systems. ACCESS databases will provide Wellington with the ability to manage the administrative responsibilities connected with the system. The new systems will encapsulate the information into databases with the possibility of expansion in anticipation of the growth needs of the company.

The new system will allow for simplified backups of information, better information retention, and quicker and easier access to data and simpler report generation. By simplifying the ability to enter and maintain records, the Information Services business unit will realize both cost and timesaving. The information will be of better quality, easier to maintain and in one central location. With the current demands of the Information Services business unit and the projected growth of the data, the application will allow for the Information Services staff to keep pace with the dramatically increasing demands of the environment while increasing the efficiency of the knowledge storage process.

3.2 Business Description

Defining the data elements will be critical to the success of this system. In spite of the importance of this information, it can be difficult to obtain quality and reliable data definitions from the technical staff. However, by performing due diligence to define the data elements and the business processes, this will make our Knowledge Repository a valuable and easy-to-use tool.

These data elements will provide key descriptive information about the content, characteristics, and attributes of the data stored in the Knowledge Repository. The practice of capturing, propagating, integrating and synchronizing this data can be very complex. But its role and importance in the decision making for this company are much too significant to be ignored. It will provide the Information Services managers with the information necessary to make their most critical decisions. A knowledge repository built with the business user in mind and created on a technologically sound architecture is the difference between a stovepipe application and a strategic business intelligence tool. The Knowledge Repository will be designed to support the storage, use, and retrieval of data collected from technical staff and system applications, and to make that information available in an appropriate format to the end users. The more detailed and accessible this data, the easier for the end users to browse the repository and to evaluate the quality and consistency of data used in developing reports. With a knowledge repository, all the data will be stored and organized in one place, thus eliminating the risk of inconsistencies that can occur when the data is manually stored or passed from user to user.

3.3 Organizations and Functional Activities

3.3.1 Information Services

Information Services is responsible for:

· Maintaining the application and future enhancements required by the company.

· Maintaining the repository information in an ACCESS database.

· Design and development of ACCESS database(s) and the user front-end interface.

· Installation of the application at each of the Global offices.

· Documentation of the application.

· Training the staff on the new automated system.

3.3.2 Logistics

Logistics is responsible for:

· Entering Supplier information transactions as required for each supplier the company does business with.

· Entering Equipment information transactions as required for each type of equipment the company owns.

3.3.3 Network Services

Network Services is responsible for:

· Enter Network LAN/WAN equipment and topology information for each global office.

· Enter Network provider company information.

3.4 Cost Benefits

By implementing a Knowledge Repository system the company will realize the following:

· Improve end user productivity by providing an easier to use system, reduce manual processes, eliminate duplicate entry of data, and include new functionality.

· Reduced errors that result from manual processes.

· Improved reporting and tracking of equipment information for each of the Global Offices within the company.

· Integration of key information between all of the Global Offices.

3.5 Critical Success Factors

The criteria, which will determine the success of the system, are defined as follows:

· Maintain and improve the functionality of the data information.

· Improve user productivity by reducing manual data tracking and providing ease of use.

· Decrease errors by replacing many of the manual tasks currently performed.

· Implement more productive software tools using the information from the repository.

· Implement an architecture with greater scalability (easier to expand).

3.6 Business Risk Factors

The factors identified as risks to the business without a current system are:

· Difficulty maintaining information and history for the growing number of records.

· Redundant data entry increases the probability of disparate information being stored for unique records, i.e., multiple records for a Global Office with information different than that stored in documents throughout the company.

· Manual process increases the possibility of errors.

· Lost and inaccurate information. Inability to maintain accurate or timely history of data.

4 Business Functions

4.1 Data Items

The following are some of the data items have been identified as those needed to be stored within the repository:

Data Item	Qualification	Comment
Supplier Name	Name of the Vendor of hardware or Provider of services.	Retrieved from hard copy documentation and Excel spreadsheets
Supplier Address1	Address Line 1 of the Vendor or Provider	123 Main Street
Supplier Address2	Address Line 2 of the Vendor or Provider	Suite 123
Supplier Address3	Address Line 3 of the Vendor or Provider	Additional information if needed
Supplier City	City where the Vendor or Provider is located	These have values such as Sydney, Tokyo, London, etc.
Supplier Country	Country where the Vendor or Provider is located	These have values such as Australia, Japan, Singapore, etc.
Supplier Phone Number	The main phone number of the Vendor or Provider	The phone numbers will include country code, city code, and main office number for the Vendor or Provider. For example, these have values such as 011-65-534-5000 for a Vendor in Singapore.
Supplier Contact Name	The name of the primary contact at the Vendor or Provider site
Application Name	Name of a particular application used in the Global Offices.	These types of applications track financial information, human resource information, etc.
Global Office Site Name	Name identifying the Global Office.	These have values such as Sydney, Australia; Tokyo, Japan; etc.
Global Office Site Address1	Address Line 1 of the Global Office	456 Main Street
Global Office Site Address2	Address Line 2 of the Global Office	Suite 456
Global Office Site Address3	Address Line 3 of the Global Office	Additional information if needed
Global Office Site City	City where the Global Office is located	These have values such as Sydney, Tokyo, London, etc.
Global Office Site Country	Country where the Global Office is located	These have values such as Australia, Japan, Singapore, etc.
Global Office Site Manager	Name of the office manager that resides locally in each Global Office	This user is a contact for the IS staff and for the local vendor providers.
Global Office Site Phone	Main phone number for each Global Office	The phone number will include country code, city code, and main office number for Global Office.
Global Office Site Fax Number	Main fax number for each Global Office	The fax number will include country code, city code, and main office number for Global Office.
WMC IS Contact Name	Name of a particular WMC IS person responsible for supporting and maintaining each of the applications used in the Global Offices.	Retrieved from hard copy Excel spreadsheets.
WMC IS Contact Phone Number	Home phone number of the WMC IS person responsible for each application.
WMC IS Contact Pager Number	Pager number of the WMC IS person responsible for each application.
Network Router Equipment	Type of Network Router installed at each site	Selected from the Equipment Table
Network Router Manufacturers Information	Serial Number & Model Number of Network Router installed at each site
Network Switch	Type of Network Switch installed at each site	Selected from the Equipment Table
Network Switch Manufacturers Information	Serial Number & Model Number of Network Switch installed at each site
Desktop Computer	Type of desktop computer available	Selected from the Equipment Table
CRT Screen	Type of CRT screen available	Selected from the Equipment Table

Table 1 –Data Items

4.2 Repository Tables

The following tables have been identified as those needed to store the data elements for the repository.

4.2.1 Global Office Table

This table will store information relative to Global Offices.

4.2.2 Supplier Table

This table will store information relating to the Vendors and Providers of equipment, software and services used in each of the Global Offices.

4.2.3 Equipment Table

This table will store information relative to equipment used in the Global Offices.

4.2.4 Software Application Table

This table will store information about the Software Applications used in the Global Offices.

4.2.5 Service Vendor Table

This table will store information relative to the Service Vendors that are employed when a Global Office is being opened or needs to be serviced.

5 System Functionality

5.1 Global Office Account Maintenance

This function will allow the user to add/modify/delete a Global Office Account information for all of the Global Offices that need to be outfitted with equipment.

5.1.1 Add Global Office Account

This function of the application will allow the user to enter data elements necessary to define each of the companies’ Global Offices. The user will enter information such as the Global Office Site Name, Global Office Site Address, etc.

5.1.2 Modify Global Office Account

This function of the application will allow the user to modify data elements associated to a previously defined Global Office.

5.1.3 Assign Equipment Items to Global Office

Through this function the user can associate Equipment entries from the repository to a Global Office. A new entry can only be created if there is a corresponding Vendor or Provider in the Supplier database. The application will provide the user with the ability to query the Supplier database to validate and confirm data about a Vendor or Provider. If the Vendor or Provider data entered is valid, the application will display the Vendor Number, Name, Address, Contact Name, etc., from the Supplier database.

The user will have the ability to query the Supplier database if they are not certain of a particular Vendor or Provider’s information. If the user is not certain of a Vendor or Provider’s number, the user will be able to query by VENDOR NUMBER, NAME, EQUIPMENT TYPE or a combination of these values against the Supplier database. The user will then be presented with a listing of Vendors and Providers on the screen. The user will then select the correct Vendor. The amount of information the user enters will determine the number of records returned from the Vendor database. If information for more than one Vendor or Provider is returned from the Supplier database the user will be allowed to highlight and select the correct vendor. Equipment associated for that particular Supplier will be presented to the user.

5.1.4 De-Assign Equipment Items from Global Office

This process will allow the user to de-assign existing equipment already associated to a global office in the repository. The data items are removed from the Global Office Account entry only and not from the Equipment database.

5.1.5 Delete Global Office Account

This function of the application will allow the user to delete a previously defined Global Office. Only those Global Offices with no data items referencing the office can be deleted. For example, if there are any equipment entries associated with the Sydney, Australia office this Global Office account can not be deleted until all corresponding equipment associated with this office have been de-assigned.

5.2 Equipment Supplier Account maintenance

This process will allow the user to create a new account entry for Equipment Suppliers that will be used to outfit the Global Offices.

5.2.1 Add Equipment Supplier Account

This process will allow the user to add information for Equipment Suppliers into the repository that are used by the company. The user will enter information such as the Equipment Suppliers Name, Equipment Suppliers Address, etc.

5.2.2 Modify Equipment Supplier Account

This function of the application will allow the user to modify data elements associated to a previously defined Equipment Supplier.

The following data items will be non-editable for an existing Supplier Account and therefore unavailable for updating by the user.

Data Item

Supplier Account Number

Account Type

Last Activity Date

5.2.3 Delete Equipment Supplier Account

This function of the application will allow the user to delete a previously defined Equipment Supplier. Only those Equipment Suppliers with no data items associated to them can be deleted. For example, if there are any equipment entries associated with the “Acme Printer Co.” Equipment Supplier account, the entry for this company cannot be deleted until all corresponding equipment entries in the repository associated with this company have been deleted.

5.2.4 Query Equipment Supplier Account

This process will allow the user to search for Equipment Suppliers in the system by means of certain user-defined criteria.

The user will have the ability to query the Supplier database even if they do not have specific information of a certain Supplier. The user will be able to query by Supplier Number or Supplier Name or a combination of these values against the Supplier database. The user will then be presented with a listing of Suppliers on the screen matching the criteria entered. The user will then select the correct Supplier. The amount of information the user enters will determine the number of records returned from the Supplier database. If information for more than one Supplier is returned, the user will be allowed to highlight and select the correct record. A range of values can also be entered for the Supplier Number.

The user should be able to provide values for any combination of these criteria. Once the user has entered the criteria on which they wish to search and has indicated this to the system, the system will then search for any Supplier Accounts matching the criteria entered by the user. Wild cards are permissible and will conform to standard SQL syntax as detailed in external references.

The user will then be presented with a listing of the Supplier Accounts that match the criteria that the user has entered. The user will then select the correct Supplier Account. If information for more than one Supplier is returned from the Equipment Supplier database the user will be allowed to highlight and select the correct record.

Once the user has selected a Supplier Account, they will then be able to view all of the equipment entries for the Supplier they have chosen. While viewing the transactions for a particular Supplier Account, the user will have the opportunity to modify equipment entries if so desired. Please refer to Section 5.4.2 for a further explanation pertaining to modifying equipment entries.

5.3 Software Application Maintenance

This process will allow the user to enter information regarding the Software Applications used in each of the Global Offices. When a new Global Office is opened there are certain Software Applications that must be installed. This function will identify these requisite Software Applications as well as additional Applications that can also be used within a Global Office.

5.3.1 Add Software Application Information

This process will allow the user to add information for Software Applications into the repository that are used at each of the companies’ Global Offices. The user will enter information such as the Software Application Name, Software Application Version, Software Application Vendor Number, etc.

5.3.2 Modify Software Application Information

This function of the application will allow the user to modify data elements associated to a previously defined Software Application. However, those applications, which are already associated with a Global Office, cannot be modified. Allowing users to modify this type of information would not provide referential integrity. For example, if a new version of software is purchased, a new entry should be input to the repository so as not to affect those offices that are running a prior version.

5.3.3 Delete Software Application Information

This function of the application will allow the user to delete a previously defined Software Application. Only those Software Applications with no data items associated to them can be deleted. For example, if there are any Global Office Account entries associated with the Software Application that a user is attempting to delete, the application will not allow the delete. In order to delete the Software Application from the repository, all Global Office Accounts in the repository must not have the particular Software Application associated to the Global Office.

5.3.4 Query Software Application Information

This process will allow the user to search for Software Applications in the system by means of certain user-defined criteria.

The user will have the ability to query the Software Application database even if they do not have the specific information for a certain application. The user will be able to query by Software Application Name, Vendor Name, Operating System or a combination of these values against the Software Application database. The user will then be presented with a listing of Software Applications on the screen matching the criteria entered. The user will then select the correct application.

The user should be able to provide values for any combination of these criteria. Once the user has entered the criteria on which they wish to search and has indicated this to the system, the system will then search for any Software Applications that match the criteria entered by the user. Wild cards are permissible and will conform to standard SQL syntax as detailed in external references.

Once the user has selected a Software Application, they will then be able to view all of the information for this application. While viewing the information for a particular Software Application, the user will have the opportunity to modify this information if so desired. Please refer to Section 5.3.2 for a further explanation pertaining to modifying Software Application entries.

5.4 Equipment Maintenance

5.4.1 Add Equipment Items

Through this function the user can enter equipment information into the repository for a Equipment Items. A new entry can only be created if there is a corresponding Vendor or Provider in the Supplier database. The application will provide the user with the ability to query the Supplier database to validate and confirm data about a Vendor or Provider. If the Vendor or Provider data entered is valid, the application will display the Supplier Number, Supplier Name, Supplier Address, Supplier Contact Name, etc., from the Supplier database.

The user will have the ability to query the Supplier database if they are not certain of a particular Vendor or Provider’s information. If the user is not certain of a Vendor or Provider’s number, the user will be able to query by SUPPLIER NUMBER or SUPPLIER NAME. The user will then be presented with a listing of Vendors and Providers on the screen. The user will then select the correct Vendor. The amount of information the user enters will determine the number of records returned from the Vendor database. If information for more than one Vendor or Provider is returned from the Supplier database the user will be allowed to highlight and select the correct record.

Once the user has selected the correct Vendor or Provider, they can then proceed to enter equipment information for that particular Supplier.

5.4.2 Modify Equipment Items

Allows the user to change certain information relative to equipment previously created. The user can access the equipment information by querying on either Supplier Name, Supplier Number, Equipment Item Number, Equipment Item Type, etc.

5.4.3 Delete Equipment Items

This process will allow the user to delete existing equipment already associated to a Supplier in the repository. The user can access the Supplier information by querying on either Supplier Number or Supplier Name.

This process will allow the user to search for Software Applications in the system by means of certain user-defined criteria.

The user should be able to provide values for any combination of these criteria. Once the user has entered the criteria on which they wish to search and has indicated this to the system, the system will then search for any Software Applications that match the criteria entered by the user. Wild cards are permissible and will conform to standard SQL syntax as detailed in external references.

5.5 Service Vendor Maintenance

This process will allow the user to enter information regarding the Service Vendors used in each of the Global Offices. When a new Global Office is opened there are certain vendors that can be utilized in the home country of the Global Office for their particular area of expertise. This function will identify these requisite Service Vendors as well as provide the user with a Level of Expertise rating within the particular service area the vendor specializes in.

5.5.1 Add Service Vendor Information

This process will allow the user to add information for Service Vendors into the repository that are used at each of the companies’ Global Offices. The user will enter information such as the name of the Service Vendor, the Service Vendors area of expertise, their contact information, Level of Expertise, etc.

5.5.2 Modify Service Vendor Information

This function of the application will allow the user to modify data elements associated to a previously defined Service Vendor. However, for those vendors who are already associated with a service provided to a current Global Office, users will be limited to the type of information that can be modified. For example, user can modify the Contact Name or Address information for a Service Vendor but not the Service Vendor Number.

5.5.3 Delete Service Vendor Information

This function of the application will allow the user to delete a previously defined Service Vendor. Only those Service Vendors with no data items associated to them can be deleted. For example, if there are any Global Office Account entries associated with the Service Vendor that a user is attempting to delete, the application will not allow the delete. In order to delete the Service Vendor from the repository, all Global Office Accounts in the repository must not have the particular Service Vendor associated to the Global Office.

5.5.4 Query Service Vendor Information

This process will allow the user to search for Service Vendors in the system by means of certain user-defined criteria.

The user will have the ability to query the Service Vendor database even if they do not have the specific information for a certain application. The user will be able to query by Service Vendor Name, City, Country, Service Offering or a combination of these values against the Service Vendor database. The user will then be presented with a listing of Service Vendors on the screen matching the criteria entered.

The user should be able to provide values for any combination of these criteria. Once the user has entered the criteria on which they wish to search and has indicated this to the system, the system will then search for any Service Vendors that match the criteria entered by the user. Wild cards are permissible and will conform to standard SQL syntax as detailed in external references.

Once the user has selected a Service Vendor, they will then be able to view all of the information for that particular vendor. While viewing this information they will have the opportunity to modify it if so desired. Please refer to Section 5.5.2 for a further explanation pertaining to modifying Service Vendor entries.

6 reporting Business Functionality

This function of the application will be available as part of Phase 2 of the GOKR application. It will allow users to run pre-defined reports from a menu screen. Following are examples of some of the reports that may be included in Phase 2:

· Global Office Listing (a listing of all Global Offices);

· Global Office Equipment Listing (a listing of all equipment within a specific Global Office);

· Global Office Software Listing (a listing of all software within a specific Global Office);

· Equipment Supplier Report (a listing of suppliers for all Global Offices);

· Global Office Equipment Supplier Report (a listing of suppliers for a specific Global Office);

Date:	September 21, 2000
Revision Date:	February 17, 2002
Prepared by:	Patricia Stack