Browsing by Author "Nel, Petrus Abrie"
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- ItemA process and procedure documentation framework for financial services operations in MediaWiki : a critical evaluation(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2015-12) Nel, Petrus Abrie; Von Leipzig, Konrad; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Engineering. Dept. of Industrial Engineering.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: A business process framework was constructed to assist companies in the Financial Service industry to rapidly gain control over their business procedure documentation problem. The requirement owed from an existing engagement in which Plumb Line, a training provider, had to provide generic training in the South African financial services industry. In several instances the companies engaged in the generic training also had the requirement that their personnel were trained in specific business processes and procedures. This requirement was encapsulated in a MediaWiki platform that was developed and extended over four projects to support a rational and feasible approach to capturing and managing business procedures. The documentation approach was broadly based on ISO 9001 principles and captured the various aspects of activities in organisation, process, system and risk centric views. This approach was encountered in previous projects done by the author in the aerospace and defense industry. In this industry the maintenance operator had to provide clear visibility to both internal and external stakeholders about roles, tasks and infrastructure that supported maintenance operations on Aircraft. This was typically done using a "Maintenance Repair Organisation Exposition". This is a document structured around ISO 9001 principles. Despite its importance this document was quite compact and formed the basis for the idea of doing something similar for the financial services operations department, i.e. the "back office". The MediaWiki provided stability and exibility and allowed for rapid prototyping of client training, documentation and risk management requirements. This thesis presents the approach followed and then evaluates whether the drawbacks of the MediaWiki approach and platform could be mitigated through extensions of the MediaWiki platform such as charting, risk mapping, document status tracking and other tools and whether there is value to be had by examining techniques from the Semantic Web. Additionally the author investigates to what extent the final solution is appropriate for the financial services industry. Finally an evaluation is done to evaluate whether the platform is indeed ISO 9001 compliant. The conclusion is that the platform and solution has merit inasmuch as ISO 9001 does apply to the financial services industry and that the exibility and rapid prototyping allows for the accommodation of a wide range of requirements and a wide range of different clients. The collaborative nature of the MediaWiki platform also allows for rapid input and communication of process changes. It is however clear that the solution as presented in this thesis is not a replacement for more sophisticated systems but can find applicability in smaller departments and clients requiring rapid stabilisation of procedures and control documentation. With reference to the evaluation of whether the system is ISO 9001 compliant it is concluded that the system is compliant enough so that further development is not only practical but also recommended in order to close the gaps and improve the market position of the solution.