1. User Story: As an IT user, I want a cost allocation system that utilizes Activity-Based Costing (ABC) to accurately allocate costs to different activities, so that we can have a more precise understanding of our expenses and make informed decisions.
Precondition: The organization has implemented ABC as its cost allocation methodology, and the necessary data for cost allocation is available in the system.
Post condition: The cost allocation system successfully allocates costs to different activities based on their consumption levels, providing accurate information for decision-making purposes.
Potential business benefit: By using ABC for cost allocation, the organization can identify the true costs associated with each activity, enabling better cost control, resource optimization, and pricing strategies.
Processes impacted: Cost allocation, budgeting, financial reporting, activity analysis, and decision-making processes will be impacted by the implementation of the cost allocation system.
User Story Description: As an IT user, I want a cost allocation system that utilizes ABC to allocate costs accurately. The system should be able to collect data on activities and their associated costs, allocate costs based on activity consumption levels, and generate reports that provide insights into cost drivers and their impact on the organization’s financial performance. The system should also support flexible allocation rules and allow for easy integration with other IT systems.
Key Roles Involved: IT manager, finance manager, cost accountant, activity owners, data analysts.
Data Objects Description: The cost allocation system will utilize data objects such as cost pools, cost drivers, activity consumption levels, and activity costs. These data objects will be used to determine the allocation rates and allocate costs to different activities accurately.
Key Metrics Involved: The key metrics involved in the cost allocation process include activity consumption levels, cost per activity, total cost allocated, and cost allocation accuracy. These metrics will help the organization assess the effectiveness of the cost allocation system and make necessary adjustments if required.
2. User Story: As an IT user, I want the cost allocation system to have a user-friendly interface, so that users can easily navigate through the system and perform cost allocation tasks efficiently.
Precondition: The cost allocation system has been implemented, and users have been trained on how to use it effectively.
Post condition: Users can navigate through the cost allocation system effortlessly, perform cost allocation tasks accurately, and generate reports without any difficulties.
Potential business benefit: A user-friendly interface will enhance user productivity, reduce the learning curve, and minimize the chances of errors during the cost allocation process.
Processes impacted: User training, cost allocation, report generation, and data entry processes will be impacted by the user-friendly interface of the cost allocation system.
User Story Description: As an IT user, I want the cost allocation system to have a user-friendly interface. The interface should be intuitive, with clear navigation menus, easy-to-understand icons, and logical workflows. It should also provide contextual help and error messages to guide users through the cost allocation process. Additionally, the system should allow users to customize their preferences, such as font size and color scheme, to suit their individual needs.
Key Roles Involved: IT user experience designer, IT developer, IT manager, end-users.
Data Objects Description: The user-friendly interface will interact with data objects such as cost pools, cost drivers, activity consumption levels, and activity costs. These data objects will be displayed in a user-friendly format, allowing users to easily understand and manipulate the data during the cost allocation process.
Key Metrics Involved: User satisfaction, user error rate, user productivity, and user adoption rate are the key metrics involved in assessing the effectiveness of the user-friendly interface. These metrics will help the organization gauge the impact of the interface on user performance and system utilization.
3. User Story: As an IT user, I want the cost allocation system to integrate seamlessly with other IT systems, so that data can be exchanged efficiently and accurately between systems.
Precondition: The cost allocation system and other relevant IT systems are in place, and the necessary data integration interfaces have been established.
Post condition: The cost allocation system can exchange data seamlessly with other IT systems, ensuring data consistency and accuracy across systems.
Potential business benefit: Seamless integration between the cost allocation system and other IT systems will eliminate manual data entry, reduce data errors, and improve overall process efficiency.
Processes impacted: Data integration, data validation, data entry, and data reconciliation processes will be impacted by the seamless integration between the cost allocation system and other IT systems.
User Story Description: As an IT user, I want the cost allocation system to integrate seamlessly with other IT systems. The system should support standard data integration protocols, such as API or web services, to exchange data with other systems in real-time. It should also provide data validation mechanisms to ensure data consistency and accuracy during the integration process. Additionally, the system should have error handling capabilities to handle data integration failures and provide appropriate error messages for troubleshooting purposes.
Key Roles Involved: IT integration specialist, IT developer, IT manager, end-users.
Data Objects Description: The cost allocation system will exchange data objects such as cost pools, cost drivers, activity consumption levels, and activity costs with other IT systems. These data objects will be mapped to the corresponding data structures in the target systems to ensure seamless data exchange.
Key Metrics Involved: Data integration success rate, data accuracy rate, data integration time, and data reconciliation time are the key metrics involved in assessing the effectiveness of the integration between the cost allocation system and other IT systems. These metrics will help the organization evaluate the efficiency and accuracy of data exchange processes.