| 4. In which ways is the initiative creative and innovative?
|
|
Adopting a rigorous methodology i.e. Ernst & Young/Navigator System SeriesSM - Release 2.1 (E&Y/NSS).
Extensive study of the system also knows as As-is-Analysis (Baseline) was made. An Agreement called charter was signed between the user Ministry and implementer. The solution was proposed through a designed document “Conceptual Design”. A detailed Implementation plan was given with each minute detail of the system implementation approach. Each stage deliverable was reviewed and approved by the FID Quality Assurance Committee.
The chronology of the events follows:
• Baseline study review and final approval by user community
• Implementation Project Charter to be jointly signed off by MoF & User Ministry.
• Physical System Design & Set-up report.
• Site Implementation Plan jointly approved by the MoF and User Ministry.
• Setting of User Environment.
• Extensive Training of Users.
• Production System Go Live.
• Post implementation Support.
• Review of the system by User Ministries.
The following modules were implemented:
General Ledger, Account Payable, Purchasing, Inventory, Order Management, Fixed Assets and Cash Management.
|
|
| 5. Who implemented the initiative and what is the size of the population affected by this initiative?
|
|
The core management and control structure of the CFS Project implementation is based on 4 teams:
• CFS Steering Committee
• FID Quality Assurance Committee
• Project Management Group
• Implementation Team
The structures, roles and responsibilities of these 4 teams are described in the following sections.
CFS Steering Committee: The CFS Steering Committee is the group whose primary function is to provide overall direction to the project and to review and approve the results of the project teams' work. Composed of Financial Affairs at the MOF, the CFS Steering Committee coordinates the utilization of the resources supporting the project. It works to ensure that the resulting information systems meet the business requirements and are developed according to acceptable standards. Working with the project management group, the CFS Steering Committee has the additional responsibility to ensure that all major issues of significant risk which impact the project are resolved promptly and efficiently.
FID Quality Assurance Committee: All documents are reviewed and approved by FID Quality Assurance Committee.
Project Management Group: The CFS Project Manager is responsible for delivering the project to the User Ministry but at the same time is responsible for the CFS budget and resources which belong to the MOF. The role also involves balancing the demands of the User with the available resources which MOF is prepared to commit.
Implementation Team: The role of the Implementation Team is to implement the systems under the direction of the CFS Project Manager. The implementation team co-ordinates with the User Ministry’s coordinator.
|
| 6. How was the strategy implemented and what resources were mobilized?
|
|
The Ministry of Finance sponsored the Project and it has funded the project from the Project Budget. USD 20 million was spent by the MOF over the past 15+ years for buying the hardware, software, licensing costs and manpower costs. Approximately 20 member team was formed who gathered the requirements of the Ministries, designed the pilot system, trained the Users and supported the users over the life cycle of the project.
The implementation team comprises of Oracle consultants, MOF key Users and Key Users from the Ministries.
|
|
| 7. Who were the stakeholders involved in the design of the initiative and in its implementation?
|
|
Implementation of an effective Central Financial System enabled the Government to overcome the major financial and inventory related problems. The most successful outputs can be summarized as follows:
- The ministries belonging to the Government of Bahrain have a very effective centralized online system which can provide accurate information on time. The authorized users are able to generate the required reports on their own and they do not have to depend on the EDP/IT department for generating reports.
- Budgeting and Funds Control are effectively in place and overspending is totally eliminated. This enables the Government to manage the funds very effectively.
- The critical ‘Procure to Pay’ related processes have been streamlined and the Ministries are able to procure the materials and services on time and are in a position to make payments to the suppliers on time. This has improved the Ministry-Supplier relationship to a great extent.
- The ministries are in a position to monitor and track the Stock items and Fixed Assets whose value is more than billions of dollars. A very effective inventory planning system is also in place which enables the Stores to procure & issue the items on time and this has improved the Ministry-End User relationship. Since the material is available on time, the end users are in a position to complete their work on time.
- Since the reports can be generated and transmitted on line, usage of paper has been reduced to a great extent and the Government has made a step towards Go Green policy
|
|
| 8. What were the most successful outputs and why was the initiative effective?
|
|
Regular meetings were held between the Ministries and the Project Management team at Ministry of Finance.
All the activities were monitored by a detailed Project Plan with milestones. All problems and issues were logged and resolved by Project Leaders or by support from the Oracle Corporation.
A monthly Project Status Report was prepared and sent to the Steering Committee and the Ministries Management.
A Newsletter was produced quarterly to inform the users about any new features and inform about any new Ministry being implemented.
Surveys are conducted regularly to obtain the User feedback which facilitated introduction of new features or services to the Ministries.
Yearly audits were conducted for the successful implementation of the strategy.
|
|
| 9. What were the main obstacles encountered and how were they overcome?
|
|
The implementation of Oracle E-Business Suite may require some changes to current working practices (workflows). Experience shows that users and middle managers will generally resist these changes and attempt to "bend" the system design to preserve their old practices. Resistance of this nature becomes a drag on the progress of the implementation and is morale sapping.
The main obstacles encountered were;
Acceptance of new system by top management: In the new system approving an invoice for payment is done online, but some managers want their signatures on hard copy papers rather than online and they refuse the new system. Fear of technology “technophobia” creeping into their offices leads to this resistance. The MOF designed and implemented the system that will minimize the changes in their existing system and maximize the benefits of the new system. CFS adopted evolutionary change that is gradual, incremental and specifically focused. CFS recommended the CFS to be implemented in phases which will gradually remove the old system.
Fear of redundancy by lower staff: Biggest resistance from user was mainly due to fear of losing jobs as result of CFs implementation. Adequate training, workshops, and one to one meetings with ministry staff removed this false concept. Staff was motivated by rewarding for being part of successful change effort. Before any technical training the CFS staff gave a comprehensive introduction to the CFS system, its objectives and reasons for change which helped in positive understanding of the users.
Lack of qualified staff: CFS launched massive training program for end users. Courses were customized for users based on their jobs and responsibilities. Programs such as train the trainer were introduced to provide effective training to local staff for each ministry. Around 5000 users across the government of Bahrain were trained to use the system in effective way. With each new implementation Onsite support was given to provide required comfort levels for each user.
|