If you don't audit, you don't get to complain about your reports!!

[Todd Arnold]

OK, Bob.  I usually just respond to questions as opposed to starting a new post - and this is really more of a rant than a tip, but it's on my mind so I'm putting it out here anyway.

I get a lot of people complaining to me about particular reports not "working right" in TAM.  There are some cases where an actual problem with a report occurs - but 99% of the time, it's got NOTHING to do with the report and EVERYTHING to do with the agency management team.

I felt that my feelings on this were summed up nicley in a recent email exchange with Chris Burand (one of the very few "strategic" agency consultants out there that I really respect) during a discussion about a client who was not happy with reporting in their TAM system.  So, while probably not wise, I would like to share that with the AU community:

".... The problem is that good information doesn't just happen.  It requires solid planning, system setup, and at least some low level auditing to make sure the agency procedures are being followed.  Only then has an agency EARNED THE RIGHT to expect solid, accurate reports out of an agency management system.  Everyone wants to pretend that their lousy reports are some sort of system defect, but really it's just one more reflection of their weak ass management skills."

[Bob]

Well said and true!  I know we were guilty for years but better.   

I've heard too busy or have an average employee doing things there way, dismissed as hard to find help so they tolerate.  Then blame reports.  I think some don't know how to audit and afraid to ask what should I run or look for.   Many reasons but sooner it's taken serious and done regularly, the better the reporting.  I'll give you +2 for showing me pivot tables and how helpful they are for manipulating report quickly. 

[Jeff Zylstra]

Good post, Todd and I agree.  Now that you've presented the problem, here's a forum for you or someone else to present a solution.   Like a way for agents to perform meaningful audits and interpret them.  I'm sure that 90% or more of agents have no clue how to do this.  They just know how to do closeday and night time utilities, and run other routine reports. 

[Billy Welsh]

Count me as one who is not 100% sure now to "audit".  Though I may be doing some of that now and calling it something else.

And if there is a good everyday explanation of how to do Pivot Tables that would be awesome.  I was smart enough in my youth to pass the CPA exam, and I am able to walk & chew gum at the same time, but I have yet to figure out Pivot Tables  I have seen what they can do but I cannot make them do it for me.

[Jeff Zylstra]

I will admit that I still struggle with this subject.  I catch some things with exclusion reports, but other than that I am weak on this subject. 

[Todd Arnold]

Pivot Tables and Autofilter are both great for some basic quality control.  Even better, both are pretty easy to get a handle on in Excel.  I have a "quick and dirty" appendix that we tack onto the end of handouts where the class isn't about excel but where it's still discussed.  It's too big to post out here directly, but I'm going to try to do a sendthisfile link for it.  Let me know if this works.  I have a handout for the class I do on Quality Assurance auditing too.  It's more involved than just the lack of basic reviewing that I was ranting about here, but I'll post it just in case anyone finds it to be of use if someone confirms that the link below works for them. 

todd@absolutionsinc.com has sent you a file that will EXPIRE in 6 DAYS.
Click the following link to retrieve your file:

https://www.sendthisfile.com/mhfhSX4oF1usMAP4YTBLacn5

[Jeff Zylstra]

Thank you, Todd.  Yes, the link to the file does work.  I'm looking forward to your other file as well.  +1, but more to follow.  Thank you! 

[Lance Bateman]

Good comment I recently saw regarding agency management systems:

"An agency management system should never be intended to reduce the details put into a system; agency management systems should be able to produce the information that has been entered quickly".

And this gets back to auditing what was entered - you have to have written procedures first; and then an audit is reviewing to ensure the procedure is followed.  If the information was not entered into the system correctly to start with - you're a dead duck when it goes to court, and will never be able to say that information you pull out by reports has any relationship with reality.

[Todd Arnold]

Thanks for testing it Jeff.  Here's the link to the QA class:

todd@absolutionsinc.com has sent you a file that will EXPIRE in 6 DAYS.
Click the following link to retrieve your file:

https://www.sendthisfile.com/WACqU6xZBoMA2OXBaBlBur4Q

[brinkerdana]

Great comments, Todd & Lance.  Thanks for the links, Todd!

I try but don't always succeed in these areas.

[Jim Jensen]

Don't forget that TAM Reports need to be reindexed regularly, too. I don't do this regularly enough. I can't recall whether reindexing data files in Night Utilities takes care of this or not.

[Andrew Carrick]

Yes, Night Uts does it automatically, one of the things I remember from Steve Booth's TENCON class many years ago...

[Gene Foraker]

Yes, Night Uts does it automatically, one of the things I remember from Steve Booth's TENCON class many years ago...

It does now, but early in the WinTam era it did not.   You would frequently find running a report in DOSTam and the identical parameters in WINTam would give different results.

[Andrew Carrick]

I didn't know that. I think we joined at version 6 or 7.

[GeorgeW]

I think there was a time when the reports reindexing was causing issues during NU and Applied had many users set a flag to stop the reindex and we had to manually reindex each day. but that was many moons ago and long since fixed.