“Most people don’t plan to fail, they fail to plan”. This quote is attributed to John L Beckly who also founded the Economics Press, the purveyors of “Bits and Pieces”. You know, those little motivational booklets that have inspiring quotes and stories from all sorts of famous people. One of the famously quoted famous people was Werner Von Braun who said “One test is worth one thousand expert opinions”. Yet unpublished, until now, is my engineer-father’s line “If I thought it would actually work I wouldn’t need to test it”. (He used this often when his customers grimaced about the cost of testing something he was building for them… it generally didn’t make them feel better but his stuff always worked the first time in the field.)
All of this wisdom had already been swirling around in my head for a while when Jeffry, a Kronos Workforce Central guru and colleague of mine chatted me up about test plans for a current Kronos Timekeeper project. He was being asked to create “additional and more thorough scripts and plans”. He said he was assuming the installation vendor was going to do all the fundamentals like overtime with holiday calculations, leave of absence accruals and other ‘bucketizing’ calculations. “What then”, he asked of me, “is out there in the form of test plans and scripts to take Kronos testing to the next level… and the next one”. Call it ‘extreme testing’ if you will.
Like a book of quotes, testing timekeeping and workforce management systems both rely on sorting through history’s little gems. Jeffry and I agreed there probably wasn’t a generic ‘extreme plan’ but that one needed to look through all odd ball scenarios that HR/PR had seen before at that particular company. Get the processing people to scan through old timecard data with you and they will very quickly come up with all the 50, 100 and 500 year storms that happened last week, last month and last year. This will often jog their brain for other scenarios the development team didn’t think of to test during unit testing. I don’t think this is all one can do but it is a great place to start—hence the quote, “Fool me once, shame on – shame on you. Fool me—you can’t get fooled again.” Hmmm perhaps a little rehearsal would have prevented that little prime-time error.
Rehearsal in the TimeKeeping/Payroll/WFM world is the ubiquitous ‘Parallel Test’. The idea being two-fold: 1) It will run enough variation (given sufficient duration) through the new system to find remaining errors and 2) Any errors encountered, no matter how fatal, won’t actually kill you because you have the existing system to fall back on. Some also claim the benefit of letting the staff ‘practice’ during the parallel but in my view that attitude tends to encourage sloppy and incomplete training. Think about it—all the really important, got to work the first time stuff across history is tested but not parallel tested. Moon Shots, Brain Surgery, SkyScrapers… these new endeavors are more critical than payroll but since there is no way to parallel test the new machine or method they must find other ways of ensuring success.
I have a project schedule I am trying to compress down for a client. It is hard not to look at the gobs of time on the current plan dedicated to ‘Parallel Testing’ and think it has the most potential to be compressed. In its place we are thinking about a creating a more intensive integration testing based on a wider sample of historical data earlier in the program. At this point, the customer’s PM and I think it will work… but don’t quote me on that just yet.
One of the things that we're finding in almost every Kronos Timekeeper Implementation Audit we perform is that some, if not all of the default passwords are still in place. This is even the case with hosted systems! I'm not one of those security freaks who suggest locking down systems until they are close to unusable, however, there is no excuse for not managing system passwords during an implementation or upgrade of Kronos software.
So why is this happening? Why do Kronos implementers leave the door wide open? Well, some are rushed and only perform the tasks specifically defined in their work order. Other times we find that people leave them so it's easier to manage the account later. There are 15 usernames that should be changed before going live. Kronos documents how and why to change these in the Workforce Central implementation documentation and in a really good Password Management document you can find on the support site. There is no excuse to not 'deal' with this during implementation. Did you?
There is an old joke about a salesperson, an engineer, and a factory worker all showing up at a photocopier at the same time. Each argues that since their job is the most important that they should be allowed to go first. The salesperson argues "Nothing happens until someone sells something and no one gets paid if there are no sales". The factory worker responds with his own argument "But you would have nothing to sell if I didn't build it so no one gets paid unless I can get my work done". The engineer then jumps in "But you would have nothing to build unless I designed it so I should go first". At this point, a clerk from payroll walks up to the copier and says "Excuse me... I need to make copies so you all can get paid" and the three immediately step aside and clear a path to the copier.
Regardless of one's business model or employee type, it seems everyone maintains a healthy respect for the machinery and people that actually turn hours logged into paychecks (Okay, direct deposits). When employees earn shift and other premium pay it can take a lot of people or a lot of complex machinery (or both) to get everyone paid on time and correctly. Nowhere is this more evident as when a shop with FLSA, State, local and union pay rules goes from manual time keeping and payroll preparation to a completely automated system.
Although many people talk about their timekeeping and payroll systems as being ‘FLSA and multi-state compliant' what software vendors like Kronos or PeopleSoft really claim to do is help you "minimize the risks... and the administrative overhead associated with regulatory compliance".[i] It can be quite impressive to sit down with payroll staff whilst they go thru time cards and watch them apply all the rules that can possibly apply for a non-exempt, union employee during a pay week/pay period... with PTO... and Detail Pay... and Call-In... on a weekend. It is always equally impressive to me to see one of our configuration gurus develop a combination of shift periods, pay codes and rules in Kronos TimeKeeper that consistently duplicate all this human thinking. Quite often, the attempt at doing all this via a rule based electronic system exposes errors or at least inconsistencies in the existing manual process. More noteworthy, however, is the fact that cleaning up and automating your timekeeping processes more often than not can still leave you exposed to FLSA overtime pay rule violations. This is the classic ‘regular rate' vs ‘base rate' definition that every labor attorney loves to cash in on and most time keeping systems love to ignore as ‘not my problem'.
Manually or electronically-if you are merely sending hours and pay codes over to your payroll system you are relying on THEM to calculate the emps regular rate for FLSA mandated overtime pay (1.5x and 2x the FLSA definition of ‘regular rate'). Didn't know there was a difference between FLSA ‘regular rate' and what we typically call ‘base rate'? In simple cases without many pay rate differentials there isn't any effective difference but in the multi-shift, multi-rate, union and public service world it can take an army of people to figure out what rate should be used in overtime calculations. (The army, of course, as with all military personnel have no provision under law for overtime.)
If you are in the process of automating or updating your time keeping and payroll processes I urge you to find out how and where ‘regular rate' is being calculated for FLSA overtime purposes. Quite often I see people on the time keeping side simply throw the hours and the ‘time and a half' pay code over the fence and hope payroll gets it right. It may be, however, more advantageous if not downright necessary to do this rate calculation as part of the time keeping solution and/or the interface depending on payroll's capability. Yes-you very well may find that they have not been calculating overtime properly...for years. You, me, and Hilda both know that doesn't make it right.[ii] It may be painful to fix-requiring a lot more HR and legal involvement-- but I guarantee you will always have a clear path to the photocopier if you make it right!
[i] http://www.kronos.com/AssetInfo.aspx?id=1482
[ii]Hilda Solis is the current Labor Secretary
When the music is over and the Kronos consultants have left the dance. Will your Kronos implementation event leave you with a bad hangover the leaves you reaching out to KGS for relief? Or did the event envigorate your support staff with new self confidence in their support capabilities? The answer will most likely depend on who is paying your consultants and the long term vision of your PM.
Please download my white paper "Kronos Interface Design Strategies" to learn the likley outcome of ongoing Kronos support issues based on who developed your interfaces and passive vs proactive PM.
Eugene
One of the most dangerous comments I hear when analyzing an organization is, "that's not our job". Of course it's one of the most common threads of thought isn't it? What are we really saying with that oft used phrase?
- I don't know how to answer so it isn't my job? (and thus I don't care!)
- I've tried to help 'those people' before and it's just gotten me burned.
- We have enough on our plate and can't consider anything that's not part of our mandate.
- That's not part of my bonus program. Why would I help them?
You get the idea.
I agree that it's most important to take care of our direct responsibilities, however isn't the success of ones organization part of that list? I see it like The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
quadrant system. The two things we look at are 1) is it important? and 2) is it urgent? The urgent stuff is our own personal list of responsibilities and the important stuff is how these responsibilites tie into the greater 
good.
The processes that travel 'over the wall' to another department are some of the most important processes in the organization. Ever hear of organizations that are full of silos? Ever deal with one? You might think you are dealing with brilliance until you need something just outside thier purview. One can't even talk directly to the appropriate person because he's not part of your team.
So, how do you work?
If you are in Benefits and your know that the work that you do affects Payroll, do you care and validate that the changes you make end up paying the employee as you expect and according to the Benefits policies?
If your job is Systems Administrator for Kronos Timekeeper and the Connect developer needs some access setup on the server, does he have to ask his manager to ask your manager to get it done?
We believe...
-
In serious team engagement, throughout the project
- In applying the CANI theory of continuous
improvement to our Best Practices
- In preparing the organization for the CHANGE that is to come
-
In doing
the right thing, every time
So many consulting vendors say "we have a
methodology", "we do this all the time", "we'll hit the ground running", "it's eeeeeeeasy", "We'll
throw a lot of fantastic, experienced people at it and MAKE it happen for you.
Trust me."
Customers deserve a more thoughtful approach
If we could always use Kronos or always use Stromberg, or always use
Workforce AND always pick the right path without fully understanding our goals,
risks and opportunities...
If we could always simply ‘implement' the software without realizing
its role in the achievement of the objective...
But it doesn't work that way does it? The approach we
suggest... One we're working hard at continuously improving... One we're working to
document on this web site...is our client engagement philosophy.
We Listen, We Engage, We Do What We Say
This is a continuation of the Improvizations vision (earlier
blog link). There will be a series of blog articles and updates to the site
over the next few months that explain the thought behind this phrase. Everything
starts and stops with the management of CHANGE. It's the make or break, not
tool, but attitude/approach to a project.
--We LISTEN to everyone
and ask a lot of questions. Add this data to what we already know and we
quickly create a high level outline of what you might call a
"Roadmap" for the project. Some people call this Discovery. It's much
more than that. We kick off the project with the through-line items that are often
simply a project task to check off; Change
Management, Strategic Project Alignment, Training Zen, Risk Avoidance and
Mitigation planning. All start in the beginning and never are put to the
side. Think of a big block map of the country you grew up in. You could use it to get from here to there,
but it might take a while and you'd likely make many expensive mistakes along
the way.
--We ENGAGE not just the
small team who've been working on the project since it was just a thought, but
a wide variety of employees, consultants and vendors. We like BIG TEAMS. We expand
the requirements detail, capture problems and solutions from the field, work
with Vendors and specialty consultants to build a serious roadmap with budgets
and ROI, detailed Change Management and Risk Mitigation Plans, and flesh out
the overall project Plan. To continue the Roadmap analogy, this is that AAA "Triptik"
with some major construction highlighted to avoid and suggested paths to the destination.
With this level of detail we can add in the creation of fit/gaps, vendor
selection, training requirements and more. And depending on the expected timeline,
even create interim solutions.
"And this is where most people stop the process and begin the implementation..."
We disagree with that approach.
--How (what) do we DELIVER?
A unique task we perform is "Strategic Reconciliation"... looking at
all the related opportunities for integration and the creation of other
projects, necessary projects! OR perhaps the termination of some we find that
are now unnecessary. What's so great about this? It's knowledge of the
landscape, the traffic so to speak, and shows the best way to get from HERE to
THERE. Consider this the Web 2.0 version of the Google Maps on your personal
Garmin with options showing the fastest and/or best way to your destination with traffic
and weather avoidance showing up in real time. It of course also shows what
sights to see near the path. Consider these unforeseen opportunities. This plan
will re-route you the best way from wherever you end up for whatever reason.
We welcome you to the Improvizations way. Enjoy the trip.
Jeff Millard has written an introductory white paper on
this subject. Watch this blog over the next few weeks for more.
We've written a few articles over the past year about Change Management and Kronos Workforce Record Manager. I've just posted a white paper and accomanying Slideshare presentation about things to think about during setup and how to troubleshoot issues that commonly arise. I hope this helps some of you out there who are pulling your hair out!
Well, Kronosworks is almost over. One of the topics I've found most interesting is Kronos' new found interest in the optimization of an implementation. This is so important, I believe, for customers to really get the intended benefit from the system.
I LOVE performing these analysis, process improvement, configuration validation, strategic reconciliation, ROI increasing, best practice implementation audits. They are just plain fun to do. There is no other job in which we can arrive on site and provide so much benefit; so great a return on an organizations investment in just a few days or weeks. And best of all, the entire team is so excited, engaged and committed to success. (I want to thank all of my audit team members as you've been a joy to work with.)
Let's face it, most Kronos implementations are not what they could be. In fact, most large software implementations of any kind are not! We've been doing these sorts of mini projects for years under various names;
- Post Implementation Audit
- Pre Implementation Audit
- Business Process Discovery
- Implementation Optimization
- Implementation Assessment
Whatever you call it, I think of it as simply putting all your Scrabble pieces together in a way they generate the most 'points'. This gets the organization the promised, but probably not delivered ROI for the original purchase, and allows continuous improvement to its use and benefits. I highly recommend everyone consider performing this research internally or with a very experienced consultant. Organizations ALWAYS find that the return on this investment is great.
If you choose to wait a year or so before starting to use Workforce Record Manager, 
there
will be a significant backlog of data that has not been copied to the
archive database. To attack this backlog, it is recommended that you
first understand how much data you have over various time periods. A
good approximation of this can be obtained by going to your database's
query tool and running some date relative queries of a key table, the
TIMESHEETITEM table. For example, a query like:
select count(*) from TIMESHEETITEM where EVENTDTM between '1/1/2009' and '1/31/2009'
This
query identifies the number of rows in the table for the month of
January 2009. Run comparable queries over different date ranges and you
will have a reasonable approximation of the density of data over
different time periods.
After you run a copy or two and have
actual processing times, you will be in a position to extrapolate the
performance of subsequent copies and choose date ranges appropriate to
your needs. When you run your first copy, plan on starting small, for
example, copy the data for a single pay period, before trying to copy
larger amounts of data.
Note: You will need
to populate the copy start date value on the Copy Screen for the
initial copy in the same manner as previously described when using
Workforce Record Manager right away.
After copying the
initial pay period, you can experiment with larger date ranges based on
the performance of the initial copy and the TIMESHEETITEM table row
counts you have collected.
Purges should be run in a manner
similar to copies to remove any data for which access is unlikely to be
required. Remember, if you have waited only about a year before
starting to use Workforce Record Manager, there may not be any
significant backlog of data to be purged. After you have dealt with the
backlog of data that has not been copied or purged, you can proceed
with a regular schedule of copies and purges that meets your needs, for
example, doing a copy and purge each pay period. Some other
considerations to keep in mind:
- Data within the copy/purge
time frames must be payroll locked before it can be acted upon by
Workforce Record Manager. It is best to payroll lock data every time
payroll is issued.
- In addition to the routine periodic backups
done of the production database, make sure to backup the archive
database. It is best to do this shortly after data has been copied to
the archive database.
Best Practice Alert: Run Kronos Workforce Record Manager (WRM) on its own application server, not on the production application server. This minimizes the impact WRM has on the performance of the production system. It also allows maintenance of the archive database to be performed outside of the Kronos production system's tight maintenance window.
Keep in mind that after years of data have been archived, the archive database will contain much more data than is stored within the production database, therefore, database maintenance activities on the archive database will take longer than such activities on the production database. Run Workforce Record Manager in your system's maintenance window or, if the maintenance window is too small, during off-peak hours.
Note: Kronos Workforce Record Manager allows pauses and resumes to be scheduled so you can limit its activities to a prescribed timeframe. Pauses and resumes are not instantaneous, so you should allow a window of several minutes (10-15 minutes is a good rule of thumb) to allow in-process work units to complete.
If you choose to start using WRM right away:
- After each pay period, payroll lock the pay period and use the WRM copy option to copy the pay period's data from the production database to the archive database. Note: You will need to populate the copy start date value on the Copy Screen for the initial copy. To ensure all ancillary data gets copied, first go to the Archive Screen or the Purge Screen to see the prepopulated start date value. This value is determined by Workforce Record Manager by examining the dates of key records (usually accrual transactions) within your Kronos Workforce Central database. Populate the copy start date value with this same value.
- At the end of a year (or whatever timeframe your company chooses to keep within the production database), use Workforce Record Manager to purge the data from the oldest pay period within the production database.