Printed in U.S.A. Oros 5.2 July 2001 Part Number ABC520 MGl

Transcription

1 Oros Glossary

2 Copyright ABC Technologies, Inc. All rights reserved. ABC Technologies, Inc N. W. Cornell Road Suite 200 Beaverton, OR Phone: 503/ Fax: 503/ Website: This document, and all information contained herein, is protected under the intellectual property, copyright, and trade secret laws of the United States and international treaties. The document may not be reproduced in whole or in part, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means: mechanical, electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the express written permission of ABC Technologies, Inc. Copyright protection includes material generated from the software products of ABC Technologies, Inc. and displayed on a computer screen. Oros and EasyABC are registered trademarks of ABC Technologies, Inc. ABC Technologies, Oros ABCPlus, Oros ABC/M, Oros ABC Views, Oros Administrator, Oros Analytics, Oros Analytics for Cost Management, Oros Analytics for Planning, Oros Analytics for Profit, Oros Analytics for Value Chain Collaboration, Oros Automation, Oros Bridge with SAP R/3, Oros Bridge with SEM, Oros Budgets, Oros Connect, Oros Console, Oros Core, Oros EIS Designer, Oros Enterprise Integration, Oros Expansion, Oros Framework, Oros Links Engine, Oros Lite ABC/M, Oros Lite Modeler, Oros Lite Scorecard, Oros Modeler, Oros One ABC/M, Oros One Analytics, Oros Planning, Oros Quick, Oros Reports, Oros Rules, Oros Scorecard, Oros Strategies, Oros Surveys, Oros Surveys Client, Oros Yield, RapidAnalytics, RapidDiscovery, RapidResults, Oros Value Chain Analyzer, Oros Value Chain Analyzer Designer, Oros Value Chain Assortment Analyzer, EasyABC Plus, EasyABC Quick, As Easy As ABC, and BetterManagement Journal are trademarks of ABC Technologies, Inc. ABC University(SM) is a service mark of ABC Technologies, Inc. Other products and corporate names may be trademarks of other companies and are used only for explanation and to the owners benefit without intent to infringe. Printed in U.S.A. Oros 5.2 July 2001 Part Number ABC520 MGl

3 (ABB) account activity-based budgeting account A line item in a chart of accounts. An account holds the costs related to it. For example, Marketing Office Supplies might be an account in the Resource module. activity Work performed within an organization. For example, entering the details of a customer order at a computer terminal. activity database A database containing activity information. A model created in Oros Modeler or Oros Links is an activity database. activity driver A driver that measures the demand placed on activities by other activities and cost object. It assigns costs to cost objects. For example, the number of customer orders measures the consumption of order-entry activities by each customer. Sometimes, an activity driver indicates the output of an activity such as the number of purchase orders prepared by the purchasing activity. Compare resource driver and cost driver. activity information Information about the cost and performance of the activities an organization performs. Activity information is used by activity-based costing systems to fuel activity-based management. Activity module A window that organizes information about centers, activities, and their related costs. In Oros Modeler, these activities can be grouped into centers and each center can contain any number of other centers or activities. See also Resource module, Cost Object module, and Scorecard module. activity-based budgeting (ABB) A methodology that focuses on activity information to determine a resource budget. Oros Glossary 1

4 activity-based costing (ABC) attribute activity-based costing (ABC) A methodology that uses activity information to measure the cost and performance of activities, resources, and cost objects. Resources are assigned to activities; then activities are assigned to cost objects based on their use. Compare activity-based management. activity-base based management (ABM) A discipline that focuses on managing activities as a method for improving the value received by the customer and the profit achieved by providing this value. This discipline includes cost driver analysis, activity analysis, and performance measurement. Activitybased management draws on activity-based costing as its major source of information. allocation (1) An apportionment or distribution. (2) A process of assigning cost to an activity or cost object when a direct measure doesn t exist. For example, assigning the cost of power to a machine activity by means of machine hours is an allocation because machine hours are an indirect measure of power consumption. In some cases, allocations can be converted to tracing by incurring additional measurement costs. Instead of using machine hours to allocate power consumption, a company could place a power meter on machines to measure actual power consumption. allocation base Any measure (or driver) of an activity used to charge costs to other departments. assign The tracing or allocation of resources to accounts, activities, or cost objects. assigned cost element A cost element created by assigning costs to an account. Compare entered cost element. assignment path The flow of costs from a source account to a destination account. attribute A word or phrase added to an object in a model that conveys additional information about the object. Oros Glossary 2

5 benchmark column expansion benchmark An account that is used as a best practice by which similar accounts will be measured. Benchmark values are used to compare against current values. bill of activities A listing of the activities and associated costs consumed by a product or other cost object. bill of costs A list of internal units and external units added to an account. bundle Any number of units packaged into one operation or lot. A bundle can represent costing by piece, package, carton, container, lot, or pallet. This can be useful in benchmarking or measuring product performance in discrete and process manufacturing settings. Compare unit cost. center A cluster of accounts related by function, department, location, or group. See also levels, module. Compare cost element. chart of accounts A systematically organized list of accounts representing the names and account numbers of an organization s expenses. See also Resource module and cost element. column definition In Oros Links, the information contained in the Property, Heading, Limit, and Or fields of a column in the Columns grid of a query. The information in these fields creates a column in the query answer table when the query is run. See also workspace. column expansion In Oros Links, the process whereby a single column definition can produce multiple columns in a query answer table. Oros Glossary 3

6 complex property default driver complex property In Oros Links, a property that represents a ForEach object.see also simple property and multi-complex property. concurrent model access (CMA) The ability to use multiple Oros products simultaneously on a modeland to allow multiple people to simultaneously access the same model. cost driver Any factor that causes a change in the cost of an activity. For example, the quality of parts received by an activity determines the amount of work required by that activity. An activity can have many cost drivers. Compare activity driver and resource driver. cost element One type of cost category in an account. For example, the following five cost elements can belong to the Depreciation account: Furniture & Fixtures, Office Equipment, Capital Equipment, Application Software, and Phone System. See also assigned cost element, entered cost element, external unit, and internal unit. cost object Any product, customer, market, channel, or work unit that you want to analyze. See also Cost Object module. Compare account and cost element. Cost Object module A structure that organizes information about the products, customers, or services that are the cost objects to which costs will be assigned. These cost objects can be grouped into centers, and each center can contain any number of other centers or cost objects. See also Resource module, Activity module, and Scorecard module. current period The period whose data is active in a model. default driver The driver assigned to an account when one is not specified. Oros Glossary 4

7 default property driver quantity default property In Oros Links, the simple property of a ForEach object implicitly added to a property's traversal path when the path ends in a complex property. destination account An account that receives the costs assigned to it from another account. Compare source account. destination view A view that displays the hierarchy on the destination account or right side of the module. dimension A group of accounts within a specific center in a module hierarchy. dimensional driver A driver that is made up of multiple components that enable the details of cost and driver quantities to be tracked along an assignment path. dimensional view A selected set of dimensions that are grouped together to view the intersection of the data in those dimensions. driver A measure of the frequency and intensity of the demands placed on resources or activities. See also activity driver, resource driver, and cost driver. driver center A hierarchical container in a driver definition used to organize the components of a dimensional driver. driver component A unique and individual piece of a dimensional driver that tracks the details of an assignment. driver quantity The measure of the cost assigned to an account.. Oros Glossary 5

8 entered cost element hierarchy entered cost element A cost element whose cost is entered interactively or by importing costs. Compare assigned cost element. export (1) To output data to a file so that another program can use the data. (2) In Oros Links, a workspace object used to export data from an Oros Modeler model. external bill The costs for an account that is not an account in a model but are part of a product. For example, for a company that builds cars and purchases the window glass from another company, the window glass is considered an external unit for the car-building activity. See also bill of costs. external unit One entry in the bill of costs for an account. Compare internal unit and cost element. fixed cost An indirect cost that remains constant. ForEach object In Oros Links, an object that represents a piece (such as an account, center, or period) of an Oros Modeler model. Each object has a set of properties that hold data about the object. general ledger The name for an organization s formal ledger containing all of the financial statement accounts. given cost The reciprocal cost given from one shared account to other shared accounts. hierarchy See levels, module. Oros Glossary 6

9 idle capacity logical operator idle capacity The sum of the driver quantities subtracted from the total driver quantity. import (1) To input data from a file so that a program can use the data. (2) In Oros Links, a workspace object used to import data into an Oros Modeler model. incoming costs The sum of all costs flowing into an account, including receiving costs. internal bill Any account used as a unit in the bill of costs of another account. internal unit Any account used as a unit in the bill of costs Compare external unit and cost element. intra-module cost (IMC) A cost that flows from one account to another account in the same module. levels, bill of costs A unit s level within a bill of costs. levels, module A center's level within a hierarchy. local named view A view that is stored on your computer and which can be used only by you. Compare model named view. logical operator In Oros Links, a keyword (And and Or) used in selection criteria to add more than one selection criteria to a single column definition. Oros Glossary 7

10 master survey multi-complex property master survey In Oros Surveys, a term that refers to the top-level survey which contains all the accounts and attributes for which model data must be collected. measure A unit of output quantity (similar to a resource driver or activity driver) for an account in a dimensional view. meter A method of defining a common range of values to which dissimilar components of a strategy or objective relate. model A representation of certain key features of an activity-based management project. model file A collection of information about a model stored as a unit on the hard disk. model named view A view that is stored with a model and which can be used by other users. Compare local named view. model note Information about the structural design of an activity-based management model. Compare period note. module A structure that organizes account, activity, or cost object information so it is easy to manipulate and view. See also Activity module, Cost Object module, and Resource module. multi-complex property In Oros Links, a complex property that, when added to a property's traversal path, can create more than one row in a query answer table for each occurrence of a ForEach object. See also simple property. Oros Glossary 8

11 multi-dimensional model owner multi-dimensional model A model that contains more than one dimension. multi-level level view A view that lists items in hierarchical order, starting at the top module level (level one). Compare destination view and source view. named view A view that has been saved so that it can be used later. See also local named view and model named view. net cost The cost of a shared account after considering the given cost and received cost from shared accounts. numeric calculated attribute An attribute that uses properties to calculate a number. objective An explicitly defined and measurable statement that an organization defines to help the organization manage performance and achieve its strategies or goals. operation In Oros Links, a self-contained, basic script action that can be combined with other actions to automate a task. operator In Oros Links, a symbol ( <, >, =, <=, >=, and <>) used in selection criteria to select the rows of data gathered in a query. outgoing costs The sum of costs flowing out of an account, including given costs. owner In Oros Surveys, the individual who is responsible for providing information about an account. Oros Glossary 9

12 parameter qualifier parameter In Oros Links, additional information that is specified about an operation before the operation is added to a script. parent center A center that contains another center. performance measure An indicator of the work performed and the results achieved in an activity, process, or organizational unit. period An arbitrary name that represents a specific timeframe. period note Information about the data derived from a period. Compare model note. primary cost The total cost of all entered cost elements, assignments, internal units, and external units. process In Oros Yield, a series of activities linked to perform a specific goal. profitability Revenue minus cost. property The general name used to refer to any item that contains or gives access to the information associated with a ForEach object. See also simple property, complex property, and multi-complex property. qualifier The driver component that you want to appear in driver property fields. Oros Glossary 10

13 query report query (1) A set of instructions for retrieving specific information. (2) In Oros Links, a workspace object used to gather data from a model. See also query answer table. query answer table A table in which a query displays the data gathered from a model. rate chart In Oros Surveys, the historical relationship between the cost of an account and the level of activity of an account as represented by the total driver quantity. received cost The reciprocal cost received from shared accounts. reciprocal costing A cost-assignment cycle where a portion of an activity s costs may be allocated to activities that are in turn partially consumed as well. In other words, a source of costs may also be a destination in this relationship. reciprocal allocation method A method of calculating cost allocations simultaneously. reference number A unique identifier for an item in a model. Reference numbers are similar to the account numbers or account codes in a chart of accounts and a general ledger. remote model A model other than the one that is open. report A presentation of information, generally in printed form. Oros Glossary 11

14 resource driver shared account resource driver A driver that measures the demands placed on resources by other resources, activities, and cost objects. It assigns costs to resources. Compare activity driver and cost driver. Resource module A structure that organizes information about resources and their related costs. See also Activity module, Cost Object module, and Scorecard module. roll-up center A center at the topmost level in a module's hierarchy, also referred to as level zero. This center's sole purpose is to roll up all the costs within the module. scenario A sequence of events or an outline, or summation, of a possible course of action or events. A brief survey or summary providing an overall view. scorecard A performance management tool used to measure and communicate strategic goals within an organization. It enables an organization to align the performance efforts of each department toward the organization s defined goals. Scorecard module A window that organizes information about an organizations business goals, strategies, and objectives. See also Resource module, Activity module, and Cost Object module. script In Oros Links, a workspace object used to perform a series of operations. selection criteria In Oros Links, expressions that specify the data gathered in the rows and columns of a query. shared account Any account that may have a reciprocal, cost-sharing relationship with other shared accounts within the same module. Oros Glossary 12

15 shared driver subsurvey shared driver A driver that always has the same driver quantity for a set of destination accounts, even if more than one source account uses the driver. shared driver quantity A driver quantity that is the same for multiple accounts because the accounts have the same driver. {bmc share.bmp} Compare unique driver. shared service activity An activity that is assigned to other activities, usually in a reciprocal cost assignment relationship. simple property A property that holds a single piece of data about a ForEach object. See also complex property and multi-complex property. source account The aggregation of all cost element costs associated with an account. Compare destination account. source view A view that displays the hierarchy on a source account.. Note: This view is not available in the Scorecard module,. Compare destination view and multilevel view. strategy A statement, defined by an organization, that describes an organization goal. string calculated attribute An attribute that automatically creates a text attribute based on where the calculated attribute is applied. subsurvey In Oros Surveys, a survey that contains only those accounts assigned to a specific owner. Oros Glossary 13

16 survey unit cost survey In Oros Surveys, a data collection form that allows the electronic collection of model data. target costing A method used in the analysis of product and process design that involves estimating a target cost and designing a product to meet that target cost. top center A center at the uppermost level in a module's hierarchy, also referred to as level one. The top center isn t contained within any other center. total driver quantity The maximum sum of the driver quantities for a source account. trace To attach cost to an activity or cost object using a logical relationship and existing data that don t require allocation. traversal path In Oros Links, the sequence of complex properties, separated by periods, that have been opened in the Properties list box. A traversal path always ends with a simple property. unique driver A driver that can have different driver quantities for the same set of destination accounts because it is used by different source accounts. Compare shared driver. unique driver quantity A driver quantity that is different for multiple accounts because the accounts have different drivers.. {bmc unique.bmp} Compare shared driver quantity. unit cost The cost of one unit. Oros Glossary 14

17 view workspace object view The columns, and their order, that are displayed in a module. See also destination view, source view, local named view, and model named view. wildcard In Oros Links, a character that can assume different values. workspace In Oros Links, a collection of workspace objects. workspace object In Oros Links, an object (model, query, export, import, or script) that performs a specific task. Oros Glossary 15