Robust Program Management

We believe in “no-surprises” when it comes to project delivery and the number one way to achieve this is through program management. A collaborative project culture is established that encourages transparency and adherence to the communication protocols outlined in the program management procedures.

Guiding Principles

Success Drivers

  • Transparency along the way
  • Honest with feedback and outcomes ​​
  • Utilization of SME expertise and industry standards along the way
  • No surprises – ensure detailed communication beyond surface-level metric tracking
  • Establishment of a Steering Committee with regular touchpoints 
  • Access to key resources
  • Acceptable level of access to relevant documentation, systems, and reports
  • Strong stakeholder communication throughout the process 

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Training Approach

Training is integrated from inception to the end of the project. We engage the users in training during phases 1 and 2 of the upgrade process. Our team will work side by side with the users to validate the system, and provide informal one-on-one training as well as knowledge-sharing sessions, essentially helping the users “learn by doing”.

Just as testing does not begin with UAT, training does not begin with UATDuring the Upgrade Assessment phase, we establish a collaborative culture with the message, “Endur expertise is on site, feel free to engage with your questions about Endur.” We engage the users during phases 1 and 2 of the upgrade process. In addition to the training embedded in our methodology, formal training at the start of UAT is provided. We edit our training materials to use actual examples to provide a meaningful training experience.  The training experience does not end at go-live. 

The training approach has four elements to execute training. The first element is Training Plan & Documentation. During this, a training plan is developed based on the impact assessment and changes. The second element is testing the training material and identifying individual training needs and deficiencies. The third element focuses on training delivery, where the training participation is tracked. The last element is about refreshing and reinforcing training which details additional training if required.

Our Hyper Care team will ensure that your users are trained in any new functionality or changes to the system. It’s a support phase that follows immediately after the Upgrade Go-Live to ensure seamless adoption. 

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Finding the right CTRM Solution for your business

Choosing the right software for your organization can be a difficult assignment, particularly in regards to CTRM software. The requirements can be different and might be as unique as the business itself. An ideal software should  meet the needs and prepare the organization to take advantage of the opportunities in the complex and ever-changing energy markets.

The solution you carry out should follow a holistic approach and has to be dynamic in nature. It should be able to engage front, middle, and back offices in requirements gathering and should provide end-to-end solutions.

Common misconceptions about CTRM software selection process and how to avoid them

Prior to getting down to the prescribed procedures, It is very important to know what has to be avoided. The following are normal misconceptions about choosing the right CTRM software that is suitable for your business model. 

Misconception #1

What worked for others might work for you as well. 

Each business and business process is unique. This is the actual reason why businesses and management spend more time on “Differentiating their strategy”. Since every business strategy  is unique, system implementation should also be different. It means a lot to maintain the attention on your requirement while assessing CTRM software.

Misconception #2

CTRM software selection is all about evaluating the technical and functional aspects of the software. 

While it is very important to select a solution that meets your technical and functional requirements. It is also critical to look at the flexibility and ease of use that places functionality in the hands of your business users. 

Any solution that that is flexible and can be used for future business requirements offers more prominent long-term value to your business or business users.

Misconception #3

Demos and very nice presentations are proof of good software. 

Generally, demos/presentations are good ways to get introduced to the software. It is when you would need to dive deeper into the evaluation process and analyze what best suits your business needs. Having a good and detailed business scenarios that covers your business is an essential for a good demo.

 

Useful hints to assist you with your software vendor evaluation and RFP Process

Tip #1

It could appear evident yet getting a clear understanding of the business, and how it makes sense to add value for the stakeholders now and in the future, and inside the organization’s related governance structures is basic for choosing the right trading and risk solution(s).

The requirements of an energy marketer that is advancing to consolidate a hedging program and a small bunch of trading methodologies are totally different from a complex trading house looking to venture into new commodities, new business sectors, outlandish instruments, or carefully empowering their trading and risk arrangement system. A tailored solution to the present companies might be rapidly growing without an insightful perspective on needs five to seven years down the line. It needs to be beneficial for your business today, but also  aligned to your business strategy ready to support the future state of your business. 

Tip #2

CTRM applications are niche in the market. Software vendors and software integrators are the ones who have an impeccable source of information about these products from their extensive offerings and experience. Before you start your selection process, you will need to spend time on the latest trends, CTRM market, Options available and so on, to ensure the potential fit for your business.

Ask your vendors “what is important?” 

You might know what is exactly important or required for your company, however, ask for this. It is very important to talk to your vendors ahead of the tender process and build up knowledge before you go for the tender process.

Tip #3

 Any software vendor typically can build and deliver the functionality more than you ask about. It is all about how the functionality is implemented in your software or your process for your future needs too. You just need to challenge your vendors. 

The manner in that you challenge your vendors is to give them tasks. For example: Describe how the functionality is implemented or define your implementation process and scope of your software in the future. Ask them for a guide/document so that you can understand the business model, and whether you can implement this in your organization.

Tip #4

Nowadays, for business and IT pioneers, the event of an extraordinary framework implementation like another ERP, CTRM, or other enterprise solution might be the rare opportunity to step back, look at the innovation, technology landscaping, and, possibly take new steps in building a new architecture. Is the IT department wanting to advance in a cloud or digital native direction in terms of application strategy?  Is the basic postmodern ERP approach that tries to use broad API-based integration among the reasons fabricated, leading tools? This kind of task can give the impulse and resources to digitalize the process. 

 We know that you or the vendors need high-level details while implementing CTRM software, but most of the times stake holders are not really ready to disclose those details. That’s where vendors try to lock the projects in the design phase to fix the design. So, once the design is fixed, you cannot make any changes because they will be building the data warehouse based on the fixed design. 

What we understood is that you’re not ready to give them all the details. Since it will change constantly – Application Management – Strategy Management & Application performance management – is about change. Along these lines, don’t go into this trap of agreeing “I locked the designing phase of the project, I locked the planning stage,” since, in such a case that you do that, they will give a change request constantly, for each time you are changing the scope.

Tip #5

It’s not just about the good demos and nice PowerPoint presentations. What you need is evidence. You will need to ask your vendors about evidence to create and show you the KPI’s and KRI’s of the application or how to create the KPI’s & KRI’s of the process. This gives a comfort that you need. Asking more and more questions to your vendors on their business cases might help you to relate your business process and build up more knowledge.

Tip #6

We think CTRM solution is not just a software or a project, it is an ongoing process. It should continue even after vendor leaves you, need the consultants to work on the application support and manage the application from multiple factors. 

The important questions that should come to your mind are “who will be managing your CTRM while or after implementing your software?” “Has the implementation team delivered you enough documentation?” Have they shared you enough knowledge, so that you are able to operate by yourself on daily basis?”. Also, you need to add these your tender documents.

A brilliant method for separating vendors is to request a POC. In the event that the software is adaptable and simple to use, it ought to be simple for the vendor to set up a POC in light of your prerequisites. Making this solicitation a piece of your merchant determination cycle will help an objective evaluation of the solutions.

Critically, it is very important to think about the traditional CTRM Software selection and procurement process and tailor them to deliver that is best lined up with your plan of action and business model, Software capabilities, technology strategy and needs. digitalization is troublesome commonly and applying to many years old selection, Procurement, and implementation techniques to these sorts of undertakings are probably not going to yield significant advancement.

Value Creed will assist you in choosing the right software, that is a best fit for your resources and capabilities.

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Software Selection Methodology

Through our years of managed services experience, having taken many customers through upgrades and software migrations, we have developed a strong system for gathering and understanding the CTRM customers’ business requirements and how they evolve.  

We believe that a deep understanding of the business processes and precisely aligning your software requirements to your strategic plan are the most important aspects of software selection. During the software selection process, we prepare and guide you through checklists, product labs, demos, and workshops to determine the best fit for your organization. 

 

Process Evaluation Key Activities

Workshops

Conduct workshop sessions with key team members to understand current processes and discuss future considerations

Mapping of Current Processes

Create Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 process maps for all business functions

Optimization Opportunities

Identify areas to optimize current processes and develop and execute a plan to update them

Reevaluation

Establish KPIs and a plan to periodically review and reevaluate current business processes and refine as necessary

Gap Analysis

Identify gaps and opportunities for new processes to be put into place and develop an execution plan to establish them with the business

Future Opportunities

Identify future growth needs and prioritize them in the maturity cycle

Process Evaluation Deliverables

Meeting Schedule & Timeline

Roles & Responsibilities Summary

Process Maps

Documentation (Training Library)

Vendor Evaluation

During the Evaluation Phase, we take a deep dive into each vendor and their solution. We use our Requirements and Selection Criteria to guide our evaluation during product demos.

  • Develop a demo format and demo script for all vendors to follow
  • Ability to showcase the functionality and user interface of the highest priority selection criteria
  • Develop a standard scoring sheet for all participants during the vendor demos
  • Predetermined rankings and scoring criteria keeps all parties unbiased and objective
  • Live demos of the solution demonstrated by a vendor’s team member
  • Demos will follow predetermined use case scenarios

Learn More About Our Software Selection Resources & Outcomes

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Rationale for Performing CTRM Extension Cataloging

Extension cataloging improves CTRM implementation practices throughout the upgrade process. Performed correctly, it is a worthwhile investment. 

Value Creed’s extensive cataloging ensures smooth implementation

Value Creed’s cataloging services retain critical components from the earlier CTRM software version and discards the non-essential ones and those that will be re-installed with the new version. We rigorously test and remediate flaws in application interfaces to ensure perfect data migration and satisfaction of business requirements. Cataloging defines functionalities, making analysis and upgrade more reliable.    

5 Ways Value Creed’s Extension Cataloging Service Adds Value to CTRM Upgrades/Enhancements

Provides overviews of complex extensions

Helps customers differentiate among similar functionalities

Filters irrelevant business process extensions

Visualizes collections for better remediation and testing

Locates similar or related items, even if they exist in separate classes

How Extension Cataloging Fits Into the CTRM Upgrade Process

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Rationale for Performing CTRM Extension Cataloging

As a part of the pre-upgrade process, each of the class events, message events, database views, and stored procedures are analyzed and categorized based on the functional areas and complexities.  Each component is evaluated to determine what is new, what is different, and what has changed.

Value Creed’s Step-by-Step Process

Identifying Purpose:

We determine each extension’s current use and application (integration, functionality, efficiency).

Identifying Business Task:

For better resource allocation, irrelevant extensions are excluded from the upgrade process.

Assessing CTRM Capability:

Custom events included as standard features in the upgraded CTRM version are discarded.

Identifying Functional Group:

Existing extension groups are categorized by business user: back, front, and middle office, administration, etc.

Sorting by Complexity:

Categorization is performed based on the estimated level of effort required to fix the extension.

CTRM Upgrade Successes

At Value Creed, we’ve seen the impact a successful CTRM upgrade can have on service commodity companies. See the results for yourself in the following case studies.

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Optimize Performance with Fast, Accurate Data Extraction, Reconciliation, Calculation, & Reporting

Upgrading and customizing your commodity trading risk management software is a full-time job and often requires more resources than you can spare. It pays to partner with an experienced, knowledgeable RightAngle software consultant to ensure your trading organization reaps the full benefits the platform’s extensions infrastructure can deliver.

Value Creed equips your trading organization with the ability to upgrade RightAngle and address customization requirements to align the platform with your business workflows.

Value Creed's RightAngle Upgrade Engagement Process

Value Creed’s RightAngle experts will conduct interviews with your users and support staff to assess your current implementation across the areas of Transaction Volume, Business Processes, Data Sources, Infrastructure, Customizations, Interfaces, Reports & Security.

CTRM Expertise for Critical Platform Functions

Value Creed can customize your RightAngle to derive value driven data insight and improve business performance such as…

Scheduled
Monitoring

Ensuring always-on platform and external system functionality

Real-Time
Inventory

Track your portfolio throughout the entire lifecycle

Trade
Confirmation

Reconcile trade execution with CTRM, broker, and trader records

End-of-Day
Allocation

P&L changes assigned based on end-of-day runs

Precise
Analytics

Streamlined data entry reduces errors for better decision making

Value Creed’s Cross Functional Expertise Ensures Success

With decades of CTRM expertise, Value Creed’s team applies functional and technical experts to workflow assessment, operational improvements and best practices.
 

Value Creed’s Cross Functional Expertise Ensures Success

With decades of RightAngle expertise, Value Creed’s team applies functional and technical experts to workflow assessment, operational improvements and best practices.