Creating an intelligence system at the Swedish National Financial Management Authority

✍ Scribed by Urban Pettersson

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2001
• Weight: 173 KB
• Volume: 12
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1058-0247
• DOI: 10.1002/cir.1014

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

Our assignment was to build a system for handling information concerning financial administration systems for the Swedish National Financial Management Authority, known as ESV. Many Swedish organizations have systematized their business intelligence (BI) activities during the 1990s and are continuing to do so (Hedin, 1993). The focus was on market development and the agencies' financial administration systems needs. The development of our system required two parallel processes, one focused on the high‐tech, IT‐solutions and one on the high‐touch (Hedin, 1999; Tyson, 1996), people solutions. The high‐tech solution focused on issues like methodology, systematisation, and IT‐solutions for the overall and the personal environmental analysis. The high‐touch solution focused on soft issues like creating enthusiasm and engagement, as well as putting together expert‐groups and business intelligence teams. The information needs analysis showed that a knowledge base was lacking. Based on the information needs analysis and looking at the internal IT‐system, the department for Financial Administration Systems at ESV needed to build a system for environmental analysis with the following capabilities:

Create a continuous flow of market signals

Monitor news and market information

Possess methods and tools for structuring and analysing market signals

Store profiles on players on the market

Use the Intranet for presenting the information

Create a knowledge base for internal knowledge and experience

Use the available information on the Internet in a more efficient way

Create a web of persons that monitors and reports important market signals

Unique to this project was that everyone in the organisation was engaged in the process—the object was to create a more intelligent organisation and to involve their customers (agencies) in the information needs analysis. This article presents a solution based on needs found in the information needs analysis. The work was conducted during the winter of 1999–2000 by Susanne Lindestam Öktem of the Swedish National Financial Management Authority. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.