Posts Tagged ‘EPM’

One of the goals of the Cognos Framework Manager modeler is to build a model that makes report authoring easier. To accomplish that, you “build in” business logic” (a loosely defined term here) into your meta model. This business logic can be simple (like simply renaming or hiding a database table column) or quite complex […]

During a recent project of mine, I jumped “head first” into IBM Cognos Framework Manager. Yes, it is an awesome tool, but where exactly does it “fit” into the Cognos environment? Are there similar or alternate tools that can be used? I just had to have a quick look! The Cognos Components       […]

A proven practice for Framework Manager Meta Modeling is to divide your model into a series of layers, each layer having a specific purpose. (Originally IBM recommended the use of two layers (data and modeling), but later added a presentation layer, and (optionally) a separate dimensional layer). The layers should be: The top layer – […]

A metadata model is “a gathering of Meta information that includes both physical information and business information for one or more datasources and is the foundation for both future modelling and report development within an organization”. Meta-model flexibility can be defined as the ability of a (Meta) model to: Easily expand and grow (to support […]

                  I was “lucky” enough to be selected to “go on the road” this year as part of my organizations presence at the IBM business analytics summits, taking pace all over the country. If you haven’t attended one yet, you should as the content presented is both […]

Terie McClintock, Director at Perficient, wrote an interesting blog post about the importance of merging clinical and financial data. Assembling this data requires a robust technical architecture that easily stores the data relationships with contextual integrity along with the ability to resolve patient or person identity. Once the data is assembled, leaders of the organization […]

Assembling data is both a technical and political challenge. I’ve been involved with multiple hospitals where the finance and clinical teams never really collaborate and therefore the lenses put on either domain is not terribly realistic. Truly merging and using the data requires clinical and financial leaders to establish trust and shared goals that promote […]

A former boss of mine, who happened to be the CFO of a large academic medical center, used to say the phrase “no margin, no mission” all the time. I’m not sure I really took the time to understand it at that point in time, but I have since then, “grown up”. My understanding of […]

Healthcare systems must be able to provide timely and accurate financial information for decision making and planning. Many hospitals and health systems are targeting hefty reductions in their operating budgets to maintain financially viable without interrupting investments in facility, information technology and other areas needed to remain competitive. This cost management culture requires organizations to […]

“Never become so much of an expert that you stop gaining expertise.” – Denis Waitley In all professions, and especially information services (IT), success and marketability depends upon an individual’s propensity for continued learning. With Splunk, there exist a number of options for increasing your knowledge and expertise. The following are just a few. We’ll […]

In today’s rapidly evolving healthcare environment, provider organizations must be able to identify financial performance gaps continuously and quickly change course when needed. As we discussed in my blog: Elevating the Role of Finance within the Hospital, this requires a partnership with operations to ensure that the correct metrics are correlated within the budget process, […]

Performance monitoring within the hospital can be accomplished through strategic partnerships between finance and operations. These partnerships serve the organization well and lead to financial steadiness. Let’s examine how this might work. A recent case study within the November issue of HFMA Magazine explores how Mary Lanning Healthcare in Nebraska showcased how data-driven decision making […]