July 2008

 
The LawsonGuru Letter
 
Thought-Provoking Commentary for the Lawson Software Community
In This Issue
Are You Aligned?...
Installing Patches
ESS and Portal Security from 8.03 to 9.0
Using a Generic User ID for Processing...
HSA (Health Savings Accounts)
Using Excel Add-Ins to Add Accounts
Restricting employee from seeing one dept
Worthwhile Reading
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Quote of the Issue
 
"Another flaw in the human character is that everybody wants to build and nobody wants to do maintenance."
-- Kurt Vonnegut
 
Are You Aligned?
We always hear a lot about IT alignment. That is, how aligned your IT goals are with goals of your business? Usually, these are addressed in a macro view, but rarely in micro. But what about within the IT organization itself? Are its goals aligned internally within IT? Read More...
Welcome to the latest issue of The LawsonGuru Letter, a free periodic newsletter providing provocative commentary on issues important to the Lawson Software community.  The LawsonGuru Letter is published by-and is solely the opinion of-John Henley of Decision Analytics. 
Yes folks, it's that time again. 
 
This month, I'm trying out a new format, and featuring some highlights from topics discussed on the LawsonGuru.com Forums and the LawsonGuru Blog.

LawsonGuru.com is the place where I answer your Lawson-related questions.   
 
   
In response to your many requests, I have opened the LawsonGuru Store, where you can purchase Crystal Reports for use with your Lawson applications.  I'm still building up the inventory, but some popular reports are now available. I've kept the prices pretty low; you'll be getting high-quality reports for less than you'd pay for a couple of hours of consulting.
Installing Patches
We are in implementation stages doing CRP. There are quite a few patches that we've held off on doing until after CRP. I've seen some comments that clients hesitate to install patches unless absolutely necessary - In general do most people install every patch that is out there or do they only install ones affecting issues that they've experienced?  Read More...
 
ESS and Portal Security from 8.03 to 9.0
We're implementing LSF9 and I'd like to understand what the "best practices" setup is for ESS users if you do not want to maintain a LAUA record for everyone.  Read More...
 
Using a Generic User ID for Processing
I wanted to poll the community and see how clients who are subject to SOx are dealing with daily/monthly processing. In various organizations I have consulted with, the daily/monthly scheduled jobs are usually run using a general userid, rather than being tied to a specific user. The advantage is that, given normal turnover, the jobs do go away when the employee terminates. In addition, the jobs / reports are accessible to a generic userid in the print manager, etc. This disadvantage is that, potentially, multiple employees know the password for that userid, which may have broader security access than the average user.  In these days of SOX 404, etc., I've been told by some organizations that they are no longer using this method.  Any thoughts on this?  Read More...
 
HSA (Health Savings Accounts)
We are going to be setting up an HSA plan. Can someone give me advice. Since there are different limits-single vs family-do you set up 2 separate plans? I can set up the high deductable health plan as HL, do you set up the HSA as an RS plan?  
 
Using Excel Add-Ins to Add Accounts
One of the great powers of the Excel Add-Ins is that you can use them to "automate" mundane tasks that take multiple steps in LID or Portal. One good example is that of adding detail GL Accounts and Sub Accounts. Without the Excel Add-Ins, this requires using two different LID / Portal forms.Read More...
 
Restricting employee from seeing one dept
The payroll manager wants her payroll clerks to see all employees except for employees with their departments. Any recommendations on how I could get this restricted on the form?  Read More...
 
Thanks for joining us this month.  Enjoy your summer!
 
Sincerely,
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
John Henley
Decision Analytics
 
Worthwhile Reading 
Symantec`s Midnight at the Oasis
 
The software Vendor's Project oasis, code name for a massive ERP overhaul, nearly crippled its ordering system. Refocusing on the user experience and connecting with a hidden class of customers salvaged the company's business.
 
Project Management Keeps IT From Being A Victim Of Success
Top IT shops made themselves approachable, and now everyone wants a piece. Project portfolio management can help hold off the hordes while keeping your hard-won reputation intact.
 
Making the Pieces Fit
How to avoid finance hiring mistakes.
 
Take the Sting Out of Workers' Comp Rates
Going to work isn't nearly as dangerous today as it was in the days when young boys were forced to climb and clean chimneys, steel workers balanced untethered atop skyscrapers and women risked their limbs working in textile mills. Back then, every workday could be your last.
 

Decision Analytics

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