Jargon Buster: A guide to common terms & acronyms often thrown around in the Shared Services &Outsourcing space

Term

Description

Contributor

Term

Description

Contributor

Business Analyst: responsible for analyzing the business needs of their clients and stakeholders to help identify business problems and propose solutions.

Marianne

i. Business Consultant
ii. Business Continuity (Disaster Recovery)
iii. Business Case: is a structured proposal for business change that is justified in terms of costs and benefits. It is a typical prerequisite for the initiation of a large project and is explicitly required by many project management methodologies.

Susan Demo

i. British Computer Society: a body that represents those working in Information and Communications Technology ICT. Our 15 IT competencies are drawn from the 78 SFIA competencies.
ii. Business Consolidation System (SAP module)

Buying Department Information: used for commitment control (obsolete system)

Business Data Warehouse (DB2 back end part of SAS)

Business Intelligence (SAP module)

Business Process Master List (Finance Process): catalogue of all business processes to be implemented through FTP eg create a new supplier.

Business Process Procedure (FTP): detailed procedural steps for an individual business process eg posting an accrual.

Business Planning System (SAP module)

Business Planning Tool (franchise system)

Business Solutions and Programmes. One of the five IT leadership streams

Business Warehouse (SAP module)

Term

Description

Contributor

Cash Accounting System

Computer Based Training (FTP): use of desktop technology to enable the user to be self sufficient in the training process.

A formal process used to ensure a product, service or process is only modified in line with the identified necessary change.

Buying Department Information: used for commitment control (obsolete system)

Central Handling Delivery and Installation: budget code.

Change Impact Analysis (FTP): assessment of the impact a change will have on the business processes, people and technology, and actions to monitor and track.

Change Readiness Assessment (FTP): Regular checking-in with the business to establish readiness for change across various criteria, using tools such as questionnaires.

Customer Relationship Management (or Model)

Current Run Rate

Customer Services: enquiries and complaints.

Corporate Stock Management

Corporate Social Responsibility

Term

Description

Contributor

Harshal Ambani

Demilitarised Zone: firewall preventing hackers over the internet

Harshal Ambani

Term

Description

Contributor

E-Commerce or Electronic Commerce

Electronic Data Interchange: system used to transmit information to and from suppliers

Enterprise Data Warehouse

Mike Kitchen

Electronic Point of Sale

Enterprise Resource Planning: software which claims to meet all your needs, e.g. SAP

Term

Description

Contributor

Fixed Assets (Finance process and SAP module)

Fire, Health & Safety

Financials (SAP module)

Full Time Equivalent: term used to refer to full-time hours

Term

Description

Contributor

Goal Directed Project Management: a formal technique for determining plans and milestones

Term

Description

Contributor

Human Resources (HR) Outsourcing

Term

Description

Contributor

Internet Information Server (Microsoft product): supports browser access.

Invitation to Tender: documents inviting and containing all the information that a potential supplier needs in order to bid for a contract

Interactive Voice Recognition

Term

Description

Contributor

Join The Dots - training sessions/materials on the Op Model.

Term

Description

Contributor

Key Performance Indicator (measure used in evaluating a supplier or service).

Term

Description

Contributor

Local Area Network: this links together all PCs in Head Office so they can easily exchange data.

Term

Description

Contributor

Mike Kitchen

Merchant ID

Harshal Ambani

Term

Description

Contributor

Non Disclosure Agreement

Term

Description

Contributor

(FTP) Order to Cash

Operational Requirements Questionnaire

Term

Description

Contributor

i. Purchase to Pay (Finance Process)
ii. Procure to Pay

Post Implementation Review

Project Manager

Programme / Project / Portfolio Management Officer

Susan Demo

Ian McAtamney

Performs price lookup and records sales and returns at UPC level.

Fashionable buzzword meaning web site giving access to a variety of company applications.

Harshal Ambani

Point of Sale: used to record sales at UPC level

Portfilio Review Group: The forum which reviews all IT projects from a capacity and capability point of view - it makes recommendations regarding project approvals to ITGG and ExCo.

Project and Programme Review Meeting: project status report and meeting held fortnightly and chaired by the head of BS&P. The term is also used to describe the report which is complied by BSMs.

Term

Description

Contributor

Quality Gate: formal quality assurance mechanism to ensure that projects have completed the relevant tasks at a particular point in the project.

Quick Reference Guide (FTP): very condensed training document, typically one page, highlighting key points on a topic

Term

Description

Contributor

Record to Report (Finance process)

Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed (FTP): Project management tool to assign roles and responsibilities, and ensure tasks are completed and receive appropriate sign off

Radio Frequency (e.g. RF HHT)

Mike Kitchen

Radio Frequency Identifier. Leading edge technology which enables the identification of individual units.

Request For Proposal: next stage on from RFI (more formal, more commitment) see also ITT.

Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurances Regulations

Term

Description

Contributor

Systems, Applications and Products in Data Processing (SAP) is a business application and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution

Stock Keeping Unit

Service Level Agreement

Service Oriented Architecture: fashionable buzzword implying code sharing between applications.

Harshal Ambani

Supplier Relationship Management: the SAP module which acts as the non-merchandise procurement buying system

Term

Description

Contributor

Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol. A communications protocol.

Assessment of business unit morale, buy in to the change initiative and how engaged individuals are with the project. Also a useful channel for people to raise risks and concerns.

Mike Kitchen

Terminal ID

Training Needs Analysis (FTP): Assessment of requirements and envisaged outcomes of the learning process.

Terms of Reference

Treasury (SAP module)

Term

Description

Contributor

User Acceptance Testing

A portable Operating System, standard in the IT industry.

Unique Product Code: identifies merchandise at the lowest level specified by the Department, Stroke, Colour, primary size and secondary size. Currently 7 digits but changing to an 8 digit code in the future.

Unique Reference Number (number on outer transit packaging - shows supplier, quantity and UPC).

Term

Description

Contributor

Vendor Managed Inventory (within M&S we had a VMI Planner system which merely shared sales estimates with suppliers, but this has been superseded by Collaborator)

Term

Description

Contributor

Wide Area Network - a communications network over a large geographical area (see LAN).

Usually means stroke-colour level, but can mean UPC (stroke-colour-size level).

World-Wide Retail Exchange: a trading exchange on the Internet, set up May 2000.

Term

Description

Contributor

Extensible Markup Language: Communication protocol, replaces EDI.

Term

Description

Contributor

Waiting for First Submission

Term

Description

Contributor

Waiting for First Submission