When you’re millions of light years out in space, trapped on a mining ship with only a sarcastic hologram, a senile computer, and a creature evolved from a cat as your companions, you dream of days like the Financial Management 2007 RQT Summer Event.

Unlike the deep, dark depths of space – or the eerily similar Gerberding basement - it was sunny and hot for the summer event. Everywhere you looked, people were smiling and talking amongst themselves. Birds chirped with glee. Elizabeth Cherry greeted Financial Management employees, while Jeff Follman and others served up the ice cream in plentiful quantities. And clever department posters notified folks of the diverse nature of the work performed by Financial Management departments. In short, it was an idyllic setting for a fun-filled event… and potentially a recipe for disaster.

Every summer, teams throughout Financial Management take part in the annual poster competition. The goal, besides winning, is to show all of us in Financial Management the projects and work that your team is managing.

Excellent posters were everywhere. Mike Fleming made a wonderful 3D model of the maze of the Payroll Office. Banking and Accounting Operations had “all the bases covered” with their baseball-themed poster. Another fascinating poster warned us about the “plastic islands,” an area in the Pacific Ocean twice the size of Texas that is chock full of plastic refuse. While in front of the castle walls of SFS, a mouse takes on the dragon of bad credit.

A handpicked, crack team of poster evaluators weaved silently through the crowd, surreptitiously rating the posters according to several secret criteria. This reporter caught a glimpse of the secret judging sheet, but the blinding Seattle sunshine made it impossible to make out even one of the criteria. I have since made repeated requests for the release of this confidential information, all of which curiously have been denied due to national security.

After what felt like several hours of sweating (it was very hot out there), hand wringing, and a few panic attacks, it was announced that the Decision Support Center (DSC), led by Charles Bennett, was the victor in this intense competition.

The DSC used a movie theme to steal the hearts and minds of the public. Classic movie posters, like the Matrix and Three Amigos, had the celebrities of the DSC "photoshopped" in, with a description of their work underneath providing a movie-like summary. A bowl of microwave popcorn, fume-free thanks to the outdoor setting, provided a backdrop of movie-going comfort.

Other amusing events included the raffle, the pin the tail on the Dawg, and the cupcake walk. With the raffle, every thirty minutes or so, the crowd hushed in anticipation of the announcement of the lucky raffle number. There was joy mingled with sorrow, as the winners went to claim their prize, and the future winners waited for that next jackpot.

Unlike the raffle, the cupcake walk was ongoing. The rules were mysterious -- as a participant, I was never quite sure what I was doing or why -- but the cupcakes kept coming and we all enjoyed the fine singing.

As noted, when people gather for public events, enjoy good company and good food, it is the favorite time for the aliens to strike and, therefore, a recipe for disaster. Aliens love to crash a good party. Remembering what happened in the 1996 event, I glanced nervously at the fountain several times, but not once did a malevolent tripod from the War of the Worlds peek out from the dark waters. The event went off without a hitch, and everyone went back to work happy with more knowledge of the inner workings of Financial Management. Thanks to the efforts of RQT and all who participated in this fun event.

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Entering the courtyard between two structures, I encountered an imposing solid, peanut-shaped structure rising toward the sun. To the left, there was a large banner, “Welcome to Financial Management’s 2007 Summer Event”.   Under the banner, members of the RQT (Recognition Quality Team - Anne Lawson,  Maria Bayya, Susan Powell, Gwen DarDen, Andrea Edmon, Joyce Hawas, Laura Hightower, Susan Malysiak, Elisa Manabat and Sophia Meyering) greeted the crowd.  They spent many hours planning, publicizing and organizing this gathering.

There was a crowd of moving objects milling around a table with a blue poster labeled “The Plastic Islands: The North Pacific Garbage Path” with another sign answering questions about “green” activities.” Behind the table were Elizabeth Cherry and other members of the Greening FM Team (Maire Atienza, Claudia Christensen, Kassy Ellefson, Mickey Galbreth, Erick Winger, and Clarity Wolff).  

A few feet further, a platform appeared full of round objects labeled “muffins”.  There, Sandi Rosko and Jeff Follman, wearing hats, were scooping cold, white stuff from containers for a waiting group. Looking to the right, 7 or 8 of these people were following each other around in a circle until their leader stopped making melodious sounds. This was repeated several times, until only one remained.  They appeared to be having a lot of fun. 

Basking in the sun several feet to the right was another group.  One person had a piece of rag wrapped over what appeared to be eyes and was moving in different directions with a dog tail extended in front of him.  He found a picture of a husky and pinned the tail on its face.  The gathering crowd let out what sounded like laughter.

Exploring the covered pavilion, there were large documents with writing, pictures, castle cut outs with information about the past year’s work and quality improvement projects underway. Members of the Executive Improvement Team (EIT) were studying them carefully and filling in a questionnaire.   The winner poster was from the Decision Support Center who posed as characters in the movie Matrix, and the Financial Desktop group who posed as the Three Amigos.

There was so much going on, that it was hard to bid farewell to this happy and engaged crowd.  But, this chronicle must move on for the benefit of future generations.

Click on photo to view goatshow

They came from outer space?  Not quite!  During one week in September, approximately 100 goats and one hard working Border collie came with Craig Madsen, the owner of “Healing Hooves”, based in Eastern Washington. Their purpose and pleasure was to participate in natural vegetation management at UW Bothell, to rid hilly campus grounds of overgrown blackberry bushes. Watching them munch away is like watching a 100-goat wrecking crew.  What starts as overgrown vegetation ends as a tangle of bare, leafless branches.

According to Tony Guerrero, director of facilities for the Bothell campus, herbicides are no longer used on campus to kill weeds.  Full-time land clearing goat herds have been hired from Rent-a-Ruminant, the Vashon Island based service owned by Tammy Dunakin, to graze away at UW campuses in Seattle and Tacoma.

Why goats?  First, being natural climbers, they can go where machinery and other modes of brush removal are not allowed to go. They love steep slopes and uneven terrain.  They have a low impact on the environment due to their cloven hooves.  They are natural fertilizer factories. Last, but not least, people of all ages love the goats!

These are the voyages of Management Accounting and Analysis (MAA). Its three year mission is to develop and negotiate facilities and administrative (F&A or indirect cost) rates, to explore strange new (and not so new) worlds of space, to seek out more effective methods to recover research overhead, and to boldly go where no other peer has gone before!

This introduction is familiar to many fans of Star Trek and signals the start of another episode of the classic science fiction show. The alternative introduction above also describes the start of a significant process within Financial Management and the University – the development and negotiation of new F&A rates.

Similar to the overhead costs of a business, F&A or indirect costs are basic expenses involved in running the University’s overall research program. These costs are used to maintain the University’s research infrastructure and pay for things such as building maintenance, utility costs, interest, general central administrative costs, and departmental administration.

Because these costs cannot be separately budgeted and charged to sponsored projects, the University adds an additional overhead percentage to most direct costs of sponsored research projects to recover this overhead. The F&A rate is this overhead percentage.

The process to develop and negotiate F&A rates is complex and involves assistance from many different groups on campus. The proposal itself is based on expenditures and space usage during a predetermined fiscal year (FY 2008). The University is required to submit the proposal six months after the end of the current fiscal year (December 31, 2008).

The proposal development process starts well before the beginning of the fiscal year. We begin by creating a project plan, budget, and team. Like many University-wide projects, we form campus advisory teams and an overall steering committee. These groups are instrumental in providing feedback about the process and helping to set overall parameters for negotiations with the Department of Health and Human Services Division of Cost Allocation (DHHS). DHHS serves as the University’s “cognizant agent”, because we receive more federal awards from DHHS than from any other federal agency. As cognizant, DHHS also has responsibility for negotiating the F&A rate with the University.

We also work with academic and central offices during and after the fiscal year to complete a variety of tasks necessary to create the rate proposal. A sample of tasks includes:

• Verifying the accuracy of the University’s on-campus space inventory (9 million+ assignable square feet)
• Functionalizing key space across campus, such as research labs (~6,800 individual labs and support space)
• Reviewing and classifying all University budgets with expenditures in FY 2008 (over 20,000 active budgets at July 1, 2007)
• Ongoing campus training and outreach

MAA then uses the data we gather to create the rate proposal. After we submit the proposal to DHHS, we wait for their review, site visits, and negotiation. A successful proposal assures that the UW research enterprise will live long and prosper.

It has been exciting and rewarding to be working with the Financial Management Executive Improvement (EIT) Team in adopting an “extraordinary approach” to leadership development. The EIT chose to adopt “The Extraordinary Leader” competency framework and 360º feedback assessment process, as a key next step in developing leaders in Financial Management. “This is just one of many ways in which the EIT is learning, growing and striving to continually improve. We are looking forward to this new experience,” said V’Ella Warren, Senior Vice President for Finance and Facilities. Six core principles distinguish The Extraordinary Leader approach from other approaches to leadership development:

• Good Does Not Equal Great: There is a remarkable difference in impact between those leaders who are ‘good’ and those who are truly extraordinary, and we’d like to help leaders become extraordinary.
• You Don’t Have to be a Super-Hero: You don’t have to be extraordinary at everything, but you do need to have at least a few superior strengths to be viewed as an exceptional leader in the eyes of others.
• Build on Your Strengths: When responding to feedback, unless you have a potential fatal flaw, look for ways to build on your strengths and strive for excellence in at least a few key areas.
• Play to Your Passions: When creating your development plan, it’s important to respond to what the organization needs from you. It is also important, whenever possible, to work on areas where you have great passion.
• Perceptions are Powerful: We want to get the power of perception working for us rather than against us.
• You Need to Know Where You Are Before You Strike Out on a Journey: Receiving feedback, so you know where you stand in the eyes of others, is essential to developing an effective plan for achieving your leadership development goals.

Financial Management EIT leaders received 360 degree feedback from peers, from their manager, their staff and from customers in 16 different leadership competencies areas. Their feedback was then compared with feedback received by several thousand leaders in this country and around the world. Each FM leader was asked to consider developing an improvement plan based on this feedback, and the EIT will evaluate whether to extend the Extraordinary Leader opportunity to other leaders within Financial Management. The Extraordinary Leader competency framework was adopted by the University of Washington Medical Center in 2005 and has been used extensively there as a core element of their leadership development efforts. The assessment is also available through the UW Professional and Organization Development Consultants. If you have questions about this assessment, the competency framework, or potential future application of this instrument, please don’t hesitate to email or call Cheryl Hawley chehaw@u.washington.edu 206.685.6889 or Ruth Johnston ruthj@u.washington.edu 206.685.9838.

The EIT (Executive Improvement Team) traveled to a galaxy far away (Pack Forest) September 13th - 15th for three days of discussion centered on evaluation of the results of a 360º review tool called Extraordinary Leaders. Each EIT member sent the survey to a group of peers, staff, customers, leaders and supervisors (ranging in size from 15 to 60) to obtain feedback about their leadership skills. At the retreat, we reviewed the aggregated results on both an individual and group level.

This tool is unusual in that it attempts to identify individual strengths as opposed to weaknesses, and to build on and leverage strengths. The premise is that unless you have a “fatal flaw” which prevents you from being successful, the focus should be on your strengths instead. The challenge we found was a tendency to want to focus on our weaknesses (individual and collective); however, that is not the intent of this tool. From a personal perspective, I found the survey informative about my individual style. There were positive areas, but also some areas to work on. With this model, it is really important to step back and remember that honest feedback from others is truly a gift!

Among the next steps identified were to share our results with supervisor, peers, managers, direct reports and customers who gave us the feedback. A decision still needs to be made about whether this method of evaluation is useful and should be rolled out to the next level of leaders in Financial Management.

While we worked hard, this gathering also provided opportunities to get to know each other better. We even surprised our fearless leader, V’Ella Warren, with a “20-years at the UW” celebration. Some former EIT members, including Harlan Patterson, Susan Ball, Marli Bennett, Frank Montgomery, and Jennifer Johnston, joined us on Thursday evening for dinner and storytelling. Doug Breckel took this opportunity to present V’Ella with framed poster of one of his famous doodles. Doug is known for the elaborate doodles created during EIT meetings.

As a first-time attendee, I really enjoyed Pack Forest. It is a peaceful and beautiful place. Away from the lights of the city, the night sky is very dark, and the stars seem really close. In a way, it does seem like a galaxy far away.

Imagine that the year is 2020. We all wear bright, white jumpsuits. The zero emissions flying car is finally a reality. Dogs and cats can tell us how they really feel, thanks to miniature translation chips implanted in their vocal cords. And the University of Washington offers a Business Intelligence reporting toolset that puts the information and analytics we need at our fingertips.

Hard to believe? While it may feel like pigs will fly or dogs will talk before we have a new reporting tool, Financial Management is leading a project that will revolutionize how we get our information and analytics. And the best news is it won’t take 13 years to get there. Microsoft Reporting Services is coming soon.

Where We Have Been

Back in the early 1960s, we could access a tremendous volume of data simply by speaking to our computer. Say something like, “Computer, locate the nearest Class M planet in the solar system,” and it would jump on it right away. The downside was that you had to be a TV character on board a fictional starship to make this work.

In the real world, we have had to turn to our information superheroes, the people we always call when the questions get too difficult. We rely on those who can make the partnerships, who can overcome the access problems, technology issues, and communication boundaries to find the data and information we need, because our systems cannot do it for us.

In the early 2000s, the UW Data Warehouse was born and a Cognos Business Intelligence tool was provided that offered access to reams of reports and data which hitherto existed only in dreams. As useful as it was, it was never able to offer the instant access and ease-of-use that was hoped for. With recent improvements in technologies, however, that dream is closer to becoming a reality.

Where We Are Headed

Dinah Walters of the Decision Support Center is leading a project with C&C to replace the Cognos tools with Microsoft Reporting Services. With Microsoft Reporting Services, it will be possible for the masses to access and create information out of the data warehouse or other sources. While it may not be as simple as talking to your computer, Microsoft Reporting Services will make it much easier to distribute information in a way that hasn’t been possible until now.

“We are trying to implement a BI reporting toolset that will allow campus to access information and analytics in an easily digestible manner,” Dinah said. The tools make it easy to develop, publish, and distribute reports. Instead of spending time fighting to get data, you can spend your time more appropriately by analyzing it.

The project is already well underway. “Currently what we need to do is migrate existing Cognos reports to Microsoft Reporting Services. We are mostly finished with that task. The biggest hurdle that we are facing now is data governance, which is what the Data Management Committee is working on.” Data governance has been a thorny issue because of the myriad and confusing laws involved in making sure that confidential data is secure.

According to Dinah, rollout of Microsoft Reporting Services will initially be limited to a select group of users across campus as a proof of concept to demonstrate the usefulness and capability of the application. Depending on the evaluation, the hope is to provide greater campus access later through ASTRA, the online authorization system to University applications.

As part of this project, the implementation team will also test the Microsoft SharePoint Portal to see if reports can be delivered online via the portal.

“We have selected people from across campus to attend training so that they can begin working on new report development,” Dinah said. “We will be looking at designing specific training for campus, on data and the tools themselves, as part of the rollout plan.”

So stay tuned. The future is not as far away as you think.