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Smart Data Diagnostics -

Key to Information Accuracy for Utilities


Jignesh G Thakkar
Consultant, Wipro Technologies

WIPRO TECHNOLOGIES
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction ................................................................................................3

Key Challenges for Utilities..........................................................................3

Solution to Data diagnostics .......................................................................4

Conclusion ..................................................................................................7

Appendix ....................................................................................................8

References ................................................................................................. 8

About the Author ...................................................................................... 8


Smart data diagnostics - Key to Information accuracy for Utilities

Information accuracy is one of the topmost concerns for the Distribution Utilities in today’s ever changing & dynamic
environment. Accuracy in the information helps Utilities to judge their own performance on the set of defined standards &
benchmark themselves against the competitors. Moreover, one of the key requirements from the regulator is to accurately
report the information on the set of standards specified on an annual basis. This whitepaper presents an approach to help
Utilities to follow a structured methodology to improve the data accuracy & get better prepared to face the challenges on this
front.

Introduction
Importance of the quality of the data which is reported within an organization cannot be undermined as it provides the yardstick
to measure, manage & benchmark performance. Distribution utilities however have an additional challenge of ensuring the
confidence of the data quality which is reported to the regulatory bodies. This Whitepaper addresses key challenges involved in
this space, critical factors and methodologies that can help utilities to succeed in overcoming the challenges in an efficient way.
The methodology will inculcate the awareness, understanding and process centric culture in the organization which serves as a
foundation of data quality.

Key Challenges for Utilities


Deregulation in any industry tends to promote new
The rules set by regulator needs clear understanding of
combinations of products and services, intense competition
compliance aspects and the data requirements in adequate
and a long stream of mergers and consolidations as major
details, failing which might result into financial penalties
players position themselves for the future.
and loss of reputation for the utilities. There is an increased
emphasis on consistent reporting on year-on-year basis
Deregulation in the utility industry also seems to be
with clear explanation of plan vs. actual targets, in order to
producing its own unique challenges as one of the key
be better positioned for price negotiation with the
requirement from the regulator is to accurately report the
regulator.
information on the set of specified standards Distribution
Price Control Review (DPCR) set by the regulator is based
on financial and non-financial reporting data submitted by
Distribution Networks.

Build single source of truth from vari Scale of confidence in accuracy of d Organization wide clarity in underst
ous reporting systems across Enterp ata reported to Regulatory bodies anding of data definitions
rise wide applications

Meet internal targets for performan Capability to meet challenges in aud Year on year consistency in data und
ce improvement & prepare for price iting erstanding & reporting
review with regulator

Figure: Key Challenges for the Utilities in Reporting Accurate Data

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Smart data diagnostics - Key to Information accuracy for Utilities

Solution to Data diagnostics


The presented solution is driven by an in-deppth understanding of the Business Processes of utilities & related Management
Information needs which are important for the internal performance measurement as well as regulatory compliance. A four
phrase business value driven engagement model, summarised below, will help utilities to meet the objectives of meeting the
data quality standards for reporting.

Figure: Four-phase Business Value driven Engagement Model

Phase 1: Define & Prepare


The first step is to identify the area of scope and boundary within thee entire reporting regime of the organisation. This is a
crucial steep and demands the involvement of the business leaders to finalise it considering the business criticality and
importance.

This phase consists of identification of the areas of assessment, preparing the data level definitions & aligning with the
organisation's view of reporting requirements. One off the important activities in this phase is to identify the critical factors
which are important for the evaluation of data accuracy & give appropriate weight age to each of them based on the criticality
and importance. A target setting for each report is carried out based on thee requirements of the business for each report.
The parameters which are important for data accuracy are presented below. Each parameter will be allocated a specific weight
age and the target score will be defined based on the needs of the business.

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Smart data diagnostics - Key to Information accuracy for Utilities

Figure: Data Accuracy Parameters

In this phase, a questionnaire template is also designed and given to the client. This helps to capture the existing process of
reporting and key data quality issues in the reporting regime. It provides inputs to carry out detailed assessment of each process
step involved in preparation of report.

Phase 2: Assess & Analyze Gaps

• Data quality issues can be created at each of these touch points.


• At the Source Systems, user can create bad data due to improper validation & business rules.
• During the ETL process, data issues would be created due to improper extraction and transformation rules.
• During data consolidation at the BW, data issues would be created due to granularity & consolidation.
• At report design & creation, incorrect data display can be resulted due to improper metadata & queries.

Figure: Data Touch Points

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Smart data diagnostics - Key to Information accuracy for Utilities

Wipro’s assessment methodology is designed for an end-to-end assessment of data flow at various touch points in the reporting
process. For all the data touch points, issues are highlighted and consequences of data quality corruption are identified. This
helps in identification of gaps, preparation of a solution plan to overcome these gaps and achieve targets.

The assessment process is carried out by closely working with the Business Process Owners and the Report Owners. The
outcome of this process is documenting the gaps in the data flow across all the layers of the data generation. The industry will
be most at risk when the experienced employees retire, shifting the small middle group into leadership with support from a
large group of inexperienced employees.

The assessment at each layer will consist of:


• Source Layer: Potential chance of creation of bad data by the users, due to improper validations and business rules.
• Extract, Transform & Load (ETL) Layer: Potential quality issues due to improper extraction and transformation rules.
• Business Warehouse (BW) Layer: Potential quality issues due to data granularity and consolidation.
• Reporting Layer: Incorrect data display due to improper metadata and queries.

Based on the gap analysis, the as-is score for each report is determined. This helps to identify the areas of improvement to
bridge the gap between the Target State & the As-Is State.

Phase 3: Prioritize & Agree


The areas of improvement are further analysed to prioritize the issues in order to address and overcome the gaps and achieve
the target levels of data accuracy. The prioritisation process depends on number of factors such as gap band, business criticality,
ease of implementation and so on.

Figure: Prioritizing Quadrant

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Smart data diagnostics - Key to Information accuracy for Utilities

Phase 4: Road Map


A road map is prepared which consists of an action plan to address the data quality issues with the appropriate solution. The
road map clearly defines action plan for the gaps identified, the proposed solution, benefits to the business in data accuracy
levels of the reports against each scoring factor.

The approach to implement the data accuracy improvement initiatives can be developed on case to case basis, within the overall
framework depending on the vision of the utilities in this area. Utilities can adopt a big bang or a phase wise approach which is
best suited. This depends on the findings of the assessment phase, its vision of data accuracy and most importantly
benchmarking against the industry best performances.

Conclusion
Utilities which have made significant investments in the areas of Enterprise Resource Planning (like SAP) and Business
Intelligence Systems (& tools) need to analyze and assess the efficacy of the reporting suite, which is critical to the performance
of business operations and compliance to regulations. Moreover, the accuracy on the reporting will help the utilities to track and
monitor their performance on set of standards and provide an area of improvement by benchmarking the data against the
competitors.

Given the end-to-end assessment of the data diagnostic process, utilities can expect increase of data accuracy and improved
confidence of data reporting. The attributes of data diagnostics and the weight age can be customized depending on the
business criticality and needs. Considering the impact of penalties of incorrect data and lower position to negotiate for price
review in absence of measured performance, it becomes vital for the utilities to emphasize on the data quality and its accuracy.

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Smart data diagnostics - Key to Information accuracy for Utilities

Appendix
References
• Utility Data Integration – SISG report 2009
• “Meeting the Data Quality Challenge” by Tony Fisher , 2005 , Computer World

About the Author


Jignesh Thakkar is a Senior Consultant working with Wipro’s Energy & Utilities division for Solution Architecture group .He has
extensive experience working in Utilities domain & SAP Practice both as a business user as well as Consultant. He has involved in
various implementations, consulting & support assignments & is well aware of the processes & the best practices involved. He
can be reached as Jignesh.thakkar@wipro.com

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Smart data diagnostics - Key to Information accuracy for Utilities

About Wipro Technologies


Wipro is the first PCMM Level 5 and SEI CMMi Level 5 certified IT Services Company globally. Wipro provides comprehensive IT
solutions and services (including Systems Integration, IS Outsourcing, Package Implementation, Software Application
Development and Maintenance) and Research & Development Services (hardware and software design, development and
implementation) to corporations globally.

Wipro’s unique value proposition is further delivered through our pioneering offshore Outsourcing Model and stringent quality
processes of SEI and Six Sigma.

Wipro in Energy & Utilites


The Energy and Utility division of Wipro Technologies is one among the Top 10 IT solution providers to the E & U industry across
the globe. The Energy & Utilities business unit has worked with over 75 top Energy and Utility companies across North America
and Europe in regulated as well as deregulated markets providing solutions in areas such as Customer Care, Billing and
Settlement, Work and Asset Management and Grid Operations covering all industry sectors --- Electricity, Gas, Oil and Water.

The cumulative experience of over 5,500 person years spans IT Consulting, Systems Integration, Business Process Outsourcing,
Application Development and Application Management services.

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