WEBVTT 00:00:08.000 --> 00:00:12.295 Hey everybody, and welcome back to the Operational ITAM Podcast. I'm 00:00:12.320 --> 00:00:15.815 Bill Van Nort, and today we're following a saving that made it into the 00:00:15.840 --> 00:00:18.465 presentation before it made it into the accounts. 00:00:19.135 --> 00:00:23.490 The licenses have been cleaned up. The change ticket is closed. The project 00:00:23.515 --> 00:00:28.290 report says the work is complete. Then finance asks why the supplier is still 00:00:28.315 --> 00:00:29.480 charging the old amount. 00:00:30.075 --> 00:00:34.330 Nobody thinks that is their part of the project anymore. Fortunately, the 00:00:34.355 --> 00:00:36.360 invoice has brought everyone back together. 00:00:37.075 --> 00:00:40.460 Today, The Decision Table: Where Did the Saving Go? 00:00:41.095 --> 00:00:44.430 Good morning, good afternoon, or good evening, wherever you're listening 00:00:44.455 --> 00:00:48.870 from. This is the show where we take the unglamorous machinery of enterprise 00:00:48.895 --> 00:00:52.260 technology and make it make sense. Grab your coffee. 00:00:52.935 --> 00:00:57.710 In episode fifteen, we established who can make the renewal decision. We gave 00:00:57.735 --> 00:01:01.875 that person evidence, options, and conditions they could actually approve. 00:01:02.655 --> 00:01:07.670 Today we start after the approval. We are going to follow one change until we 00:01:07.695 --> 00:01:08.780 can explain the result. 00:01:09.495 --> 00:01:13.370 The FinOps Foundation's Reporting and Analytics guidance calls for comparing 00:01:13.395 --> 00:01:17.730 actual spend with the estimate behind a decision. That's a useful starting 00:01:17.755 --> 00:01:21.830 point. The practical challenge is explaining the distance between them 00:01:21.855 --> 00:01:25.560 without changing the original estimate every time something goes wrong. 00:01:26.155 --> 00:01:30.550 My opinion, clearly labeled: the original business case should stay in the 00:01:30.575 --> 00:01:35.490 file. Update the forecast, absolutely. Keep the earlier version so the 00:01:35.515 --> 00:01:40.070 organization can learn from what changed. Otherwise, every project eventually 00:01:40.095 --> 00:01:43.500 achieves exactly the number somebody last typed into it. 00:01:43.835 --> 00:01:47.970 Let's use a fictional company and an invented software agreement. These are 00:01:47.995 --> 00:01:52.970 illustrative U.S. dollar amounts, not vendor prices or a client result. We'll 00:01:52.995 --> 00:01:55.660 follow a calendar year from January through December. 00:01:56.190 --> 00:01:59.985 The company pays for a thousand subscription seats at twenty dollars per 00:02:00.010 --> 00:02:04.285 seat per month. Twenty thousand dollars a month. Two hundred forty thousand 00:02:04.310 --> 00:02:06.175 dollars for a full year. 00:02:06.850 --> 00:02:10.325 An assignment review finds that eight hundred seats can meet the continuing 00:02:10.350 --> 00:02:14.805 business requirement. The proposed reduction is two hundred seats, starting 00:02:14.830 --> 00:02:19.505 in January. At the same unit price, that would remove four thousand dollars a 00:02:19.530 --> 00:02:22.395 month, or forty-eight thousand dollars across the year. 00:02:22.775 --> 00:02:27.830 That is our original gross forecast. Gross means before the cost of making 00:02:27.855 --> 00:02:32.310 the change. It is also conditional: the quantity must be commercially 00:02:32.335 --> 00:02:36.890 reducible, the change must take effect in January, and the remaining service 00:02:36.915 --> 00:02:38.360 must still meet the requirement. 00:02:39.135 --> 00:02:43.355 Before we follow the money, establish what we're comparing. For this case, 00:02:43.715 --> 00:02:47.490 finance agrees that keeping the existing service at a thousand seats and the 00:02:47.515 --> 00:02:51.770 same twenty-dollar rate is a supported alternative for the year. We have the 00:02:51.795 --> 00:02:55.440 current invoices and an available unchanged renewal to support it. 00:02:55.800 --> 00:03:00.035 The business requirement stays the same. The reduction removes unnecessary 00:03:00.060 --> 00:03:04.955 assignments, not a department that has closed. No price increase, tax 00:03:04.980 --> 00:03:09.320 change, currency movement, or service downgrade is hiding in the comparison. 00:03:10.020 --> 00:03:13.740 Those assumptions keep this example readable. In your own records, 00:03:13.900 --> 00:03:14.885 each needs checking. 00:03:15.480 --> 00:03:20.135 That agreed comparison is the baseline. It tells us what the result is being 00:03:20.160 --> 00:03:25.065 measured against. Last year's payment, this year's budget, a supplier's 00:03:25.090 --> 00:03:29.945 opening quote, and a forecast of future demand are different baselines. The 00:03:29.970 --> 00:03:34.275 same invoice can look favorable against one and unfavorable against another. 00:03:34.870 --> 00:03:39.405 If demand really changes, explain it separately. Perhaps the company serves 00:03:39.430 --> 00:03:44.070 more customers or acquires another division. Keep the approved comparison, 00:03:44.430 --> 00:03:48.965 then show an adjusted view with the new scope and its evidence. Don't quietly 00:03:48.990 --> 00:03:51.795 rewrite the starting point and call the difference performance. 00:03:52.500 --> 00:03:57.435 You also need the period. A monthly reduction multiplied by twelve describes 00:03:57.460 --> 00:04:01.755 a full year at that rate. It doesn't establish that twelve months of benefit 00:04:01.780 --> 00:04:05.245 occurred. We'll see that distinction matter almost immediately. 00:04:05.900 --> 00:04:10.295 An easy place to lose that discipline is the handoff between teams. The 00:04:10.320 --> 00:04:14.815 person finding unused assignments may estimate an opportunity. Procurement 00:04:14.840 --> 00:04:19.400 may record a negotiated position. Delivery may mark an action complete. 00:04:19.960 --> 00:04:25.075 Finance may report a recognized result. Those are useful milestones, but they 00:04:25.100 --> 00:04:30.055 need their own dates and evidence. If all four are labeled saved, the report 00:04:30.080 --> 00:04:32.625 stops telling you where the work actually stands. 00:04:33.240 --> 00:04:37.275 Keep the original estimate alongside the latest forecast and the verified 00:04:37.300 --> 00:04:41.475 result to date. If the original estimate was wrong, leave a short 00:04:41.500 --> 00:04:46.275 explanation. If it was reasonable but circumstances changed, document the 00:04:46.300 --> 00:04:50.755 change. You are trying to improve the next decision, not arrange the columns 00:04:50.780 --> 00:04:52.865 so nobody has to discuss this one. 00:04:53.380 --> 00:04:57.855 The team finishes the cleanup later than planned. January remains at a 00:04:57.880 --> 00:05:02.625 thousand paid seats. The signed change takes effect on February first. 00:05:02.990 --> 00:05:06.785 There is another difference. The supplier agrees to reduce the commitment 00:05:06.810 --> 00:05:11.005 only to eight hundred fifty seats. That is the minimum in this fictional 00:05:11.030 --> 00:05:14.935 amendment. It is not a statement about a particular publisher's rules. 00:05:15.570 --> 00:05:19.645 The authorized owner accepts that option, and the team records eight hundred 00:05:19.670 --> 00:05:24.345 assigned seats against eight hundred fifty purchased seats. There are fifty 00:05:24.370 --> 00:05:29.085 unassigned seats still being paid for. They are available capacity, not 00:05:29.110 --> 00:05:30.835 another saving already achieved. 00:05:31.330 --> 00:05:35.005 Now we can explain the revised forecast. We lost the planned 00:05:35.030 --> 00:05:39.270 four-thousand-dollar reduction in January. For the remaining eleven months, 00:05:39.510 --> 00:05:43.625 those extra fifty paid seats cost a thousand dollars a month above the 00:05:43.650 --> 00:05:47.805 original target. Another eleven thousand dollars of the original forecast 00:05:47.830 --> 00:05:49.375 will not happen this year. 00:05:50.060 --> 00:05:54.695 Forty-eight thousand, less four thousand for timing, less eleven thousand for 00:05:54.720 --> 00:05:58.455 the retained commitment. That leaves thirty-three thousand dollars of 00:05:58.480 --> 00:06:01.085 expected subscription reduction for the calendar year. 00:06:01.780 --> 00:06:05.895 Here is a simpler way to check it. The monthly bill should fall from twenty 00:06:05.920 --> 00:06:10.595 thousand to seventeen thousand in February. Three thousand dollars less, for 00:06:10.620 --> 00:06:13.445 eleven months. Thirty-three thousand dollars. 00:06:13.830 --> 00:06:17.385 The operational cleanup can be complete while the commercial result is 00:06:17.410 --> 00:06:22.065 smaller than first proposed. Both statements belong in the report. Calling 00:06:22.090 --> 00:06:26.205 the work a failure would ignore the reduction. Keeping forty-eight thousand 00:06:26.230 --> 00:06:28.255 in the forecast would ignore the agreement. 00:06:28.845 --> 00:06:33.100 This is where you connect the evidence. Keep the approved proposal, the 00:06:33.125 --> 00:06:37.025 signed amendment, the effective date, and the assignment records together. 00:06:37.565 --> 00:06:42.140 Each answers a different question. What did we intend? What did the supplier 00:06:42.165 --> 00:06:46.100 agree to? When did that obligation change? What did the 00:06:46.125 --> 00:06:47.470 team actually implement? 00:06:48.080 --> 00:06:51.915 Give the change a stable reference that can appear in the benefit record and 00:06:51.940 --> 00:06:56.595 the billing investigation. It doesn't need a new platform. A reference in the 00:06:56.620 --> 00:06:59.595 existing renewal record can be enough if people can find 00:06:59.620 --> 00:07:00.685 the supporting documents. 00:07:01.400 --> 00:07:05.295 Microsoft's guidance on buying or removing business subscription licenses 00:07:05.320 --> 00:07:10.055 makes a useful distinction here. Unassigning a license from a user and 00:07:10.080 --> 00:07:14.935 removing a purchased license are separate steps. Removal timing depends on 00:07:14.960 --> 00:07:18.675 the billing arrangement and the applicable window. Check the actual 00:07:18.700 --> 00:07:22.265 subscription and agreement before predicting when the charge will fall. 00:07:22.720 --> 00:07:26.095 That is a real product mechanism, separate from our invented 00:07:26.120 --> 00:07:30.495 eight-hundred-fifty-seat minimum. A screenshot showing fewer assignments 00:07:30.520 --> 00:07:35.035 proves something about assignments. It does not, by itself, prove a 00:07:35.060 --> 00:07:36.325 lower payable quantity. 00:07:36.980 --> 00:07:41.275 And before removing access, verify the continuing service, data, and 00:07:41.300 --> 00:07:45.615 retention requirements with the responsible people. A cheaper bill is not 00:07:45.640 --> 00:07:49.055 a successful outcome if the change prevents authorized staff from 00:07:49.080 --> 00:07:50.285 doing required work. 00:07:50.920 --> 00:07:55.435 Our fictional company also pays an outside specialist six thousand dollars to 00:07:55.460 --> 00:07:59.495 complete the cleanup. For this example, that is the only incremental 00:07:59.520 --> 00:08:04.335 implementation cost, it is incurred and paid during the year, and finance 00:08:04.360 --> 00:08:06.245 includes it in the benefit comparison. 00:08:06.960 --> 00:08:10.835 Thirty-three thousand dollars of subscription reduction, less six thousand 00:08:10.860 --> 00:08:15.075 to implement it, gives twenty-seven thousand dollars of expected net benefit 00:08:15.100 --> 00:08:15.765 for the year. 00:08:16.400 --> 00:08:21.015 Internal staff also spend time on the change. Record that effort. In this 00:08:21.040 --> 00:08:25.515 case it fits within existing capacity, with no extra payroll or displaced 00:08:25.540 --> 00:08:29.860 funded work identified, so we are not inventing an additional cash payment. 00:08:30.380 --> 00:08:34.915 If it displaced important work, say what was displaced and assess it. Paid 00:08:34.940 --> 00:08:37.925 invoices are not the only possible cost of a decision. 00:08:38.500 --> 00:08:42.835 The completion check also needs more than a ticket status. Have the service 00:08:42.860 --> 00:08:46.695 owner confirm that the right assignments were removed, the required people 00:08:46.720 --> 00:08:51.555 retained access, and the purchased quantity matches the amendment. Preserve a 00:08:51.580 --> 00:08:55.835 dated record from the system that actually controls the assignments. If an 00:08:55.860 --> 00:08:59.975 automated rule can put those assignments back tomorrow, identify who owns 00:09:00.000 --> 00:09:01.805 that rule before closing the work. 00:09:02.460 --> 00:09:06.455 Keep the check proportionate to the service. You don't need to retest an 00:09:06.480 --> 00:09:11.115 entire application because a dormant account was removed. You do need to know 00:09:11.140 --> 00:09:14.915 that the removal happened and that the reason for calling it unnecessary was 00:09:14.940 --> 00:09:19.295 sound. Where the evidence is only a request to make a change, the 00:09:19.320 --> 00:09:21.265 implementation remains unverified. 00:09:21.980 --> 00:09:26.095 The counterargument is fair: this sounds like a lot of checking for a modest 00:09:26.120 --> 00:09:30.555 reduction. The effort should be proportionate. A small, straightforward 00:09:30.580 --> 00:09:35.115 change may need a few linked records and a short review. But somebody still 00:09:35.140 --> 00:09:39.335 needs to establish the effective date, the actual quantity, and the cost of 00:09:39.360 --> 00:09:42.805 getting there. The arithmetic gets shorter when the facts are simple. 00:09:43.420 --> 00:09:47.855 At this point we have a revised forecast. We have not yet verified a full 00:09:47.880 --> 00:09:52.095 year's result. Now we need the invoices, and that is where our case 00:09:52.120 --> 00:09:53.345 becomes more interesting. 00:09:58.000 --> 00:10:01.960 Let's take a quick break. If you want a practical procedure for this work, 00:10:02.240 --> 00:10:06.535 the Operational ITAM Store has one called Validate Benefits and Report 00:10:06.560 --> 00:10:09.720 Business Outcomes. It's procedure F02. 00:10:10.440 --> 00:10:15.375 It includes an editable HTML procedure, an SVG flowchart, and a local 00:10:15.400 --> 00:10:19.535 adoption and evidence checklist. The starting inputs include the agreed 00:10:19.560 --> 00:10:24.600 baseline, approved action, invoices or quotes, implementation cost, 00:10:25.020 --> 00:10:27.965 currency, period, and business outcome evidence. 00:10:28.560 --> 00:10:32.080 That gives you a structured place to start the conversation with finance. 00:10:32.960 --> 00:10:36.380 Adapt the responsibilities and measurement decisions to your organization. 00:10:37.120 --> 00:10:40.835 The procedure doesn't decide what your finance team will recognize, and it 00:10:40.860 --> 00:10:43.045 doesn't replace the records behind the number. 00:10:43.650 --> 00:10:48.925 You can review the contents at operationalitam.com/store. This is 00:10:48.950 --> 00:10:53.025 my paid resource, and buying it supports the show. Today's homework uses 00:10:53.050 --> 00:10:56.175 information you already have and doesn't require a purchase. 00:10:56.745 --> 00:10:59.840 You'll also find the podcast and practical resources at 00:10:59.865 --> 00:11:05.225 operationalitam.com. If someone keeps asking you where the saving went, 00:11:05.545 --> 00:11:07.850 this might be a useful episode to share with them. 00:11:11.945 --> 00:11:13.550 Alright. Back to the invoices. 00:11:14.445 --> 00:11:18.680 January is correctly billed at twenty thousand dollars. But February and 00:11:18.705 --> 00:11:22.400 March are also billed at twenty thousand, even though the signed amendment 00:11:22.425 --> 00:11:27.580 requires seventeen thousand from February onward. April and May arrive at the 00:11:27.605 --> 00:11:29.090 correct seventeen thousand. 00:11:29.565 --> 00:11:33.645 At the end of May, those five invoices total ninety-four thousand dollars. 00:11:34.285 --> 00:11:38.980 Our unchanged baseline for five months is a hundred thousand. The invoices 00:11:39.005 --> 00:11:41.470 currently show a six-thousand-dollar reduction. 00:11:42.105 --> 00:11:46.760 The agreement supports a different figure. January at twenty thousand, then 00:11:46.785 --> 00:11:51.180 four months at seventeen thousand, totals eighty-eight thousand. Compared 00:11:51.205 --> 00:11:53.760 with the baseline, that should be a twelve-thousand-dollar 00:11:53.785 --> 00:11:55.070 reduction through May. 00:11:55.645 --> 00:11:59.935 The six-thousand-dollar gap is the extra three thousand charged in February 00:12:00.195 --> 00:12:05.170 and again in March. It is a billing dispute supported by the amendment. It is 00:12:05.195 --> 00:12:07.760 not another reduction in the contracted price. 00:12:08.495 --> 00:12:13.390 Keep that distinction visible. At the May reporting cutoff, show six thousand 00:12:13.415 --> 00:12:17.490 supported by the invoices currently recorded, and a further six thousand 00:12:17.515 --> 00:12:21.990 under dispute. Finance decides whether the disputed amount warrants any 00:12:22.015 --> 00:12:26.270 accounting adjustment under the organization's policy. An expected credit 00:12:26.295 --> 00:12:28.660 is not evidence that the credit has arrived. 00:12:29.345 --> 00:12:33.980 The investigation should be specific. Identify the subscription, the legal 00:12:34.005 --> 00:12:38.720 entity, both invoice numbers, the relevant service periods, the agreed 00:12:38.745 --> 00:12:43.700 quantity, and the amendment's effective date. Ask the supplier to correct the 00:12:43.725 --> 00:12:47.980 two identified differences. That is much easier to resolve than a message 00:12:48.005 --> 00:12:50.390 saying the savings report doesn't look right. 00:12:51.085 --> 00:12:55.020 Microsoft's invoice guidance distinguishes the invoice date from the service 00:12:55.045 --> 00:13:00.200 period covered by a charge. That distinction matters beyond this example. A 00:13:00.225 --> 00:13:04.700 document arriving this month can concern an earlier period. Capture both 00:13:04.725 --> 00:13:07.760 dates so a late correction doesn't get mistaken for a 00:13:07.785 --> 00:13:09.010 new operating improvement. 00:13:09.645 --> 00:13:13.300 In our fictional case, the supplier accepts the dispute and issues a 00:13:13.325 --> 00:13:17.620 six-thousand-dollar credit in June. It is applied against June's normal 00:13:17.645 --> 00:13:21.100 seventeen-thousand-dollar charge, leaving eleven thousand payable 00:13:21.125 --> 00:13:22.070 for that invoice. 00:13:22.845 --> 00:13:26.220 June has not become an eleven-thousand-dollar service. The 00:13:26.245 --> 00:13:30.440 recurring charge is still seventeen thousand. Six thousand relates to 00:13:30.465 --> 00:13:32.090 correcting February and March. 00:13:32.765 --> 00:13:37.080 Link the credit to those original invoices and show when it was applied. If 00:13:37.105 --> 00:13:41.100 finance already recognized the correction in an earlier period, its later 00:13:41.125 --> 00:13:45.300 arrival settles that item. It must not create a second benefit in 00:13:45.325 --> 00:13:46.150 the savings report. 00:13:46.725 --> 00:13:51.580 And if you want to say cash has been saved, check settlement. An invoice, an 00:13:51.605 --> 00:13:56.120 expense entry, a credit balance, and a payment are related records, but they 00:13:56.145 --> 00:14:00.500 aren't interchangeable. In our completed fictional year, all the relevant 00:14:00.525 --> 00:14:04.640 charges and the credit are settled. Before that point, use the label 00:14:04.665 --> 00:14:05.830 the evidence supports. 00:14:06.525 --> 00:14:10.910 Let's finish the year. From July through December, the subscription stays at 00:14:10.935 --> 00:14:15.730 seventeen thousand dollars a month. No further billing errors, new seats, or 00:14:15.755 --> 00:14:19.730 additional project costs occur. The business owner confirms that the 00:14:19.755 --> 00:14:22.180 continuing service meets the agreed requirement. 00:14:22.700 --> 00:14:26.075 The final subscription total, after the credit, is two hundred seven thousand 00:14:26.100 --> 00:14:31.435 dollars. You can check that as January's twenty thousand plus eleven months 00:14:31.460 --> 00:14:35.295 at seventeen thousand. Against our two-hundred-forty-thousand-dollar 00:14:35.320 --> 00:14:38.585 baseline, the reduction is thirty-three thousand. 00:14:38.880 --> 00:14:43.375 Subtract the six-thousand-dollar implementation cost. The calendar-year net 00:14:43.400 --> 00:14:46.925 benefit is twenty-seven thousand dollars under our stated assumptions. 00:14:47.530 --> 00:14:51.565 The credit is already included in that result. Adding it again would 00:14:51.590 --> 00:14:56.325 overstate the benefit. Leaving it out would understate the benefit. The 00:14:56.350 --> 00:14:59.935 credit corrects the billing record so it agrees with the amended obligation. 00:15:00.515 --> 00:15:04.870 We can now explain what happened to the original forty-eight thousand. Four 00:15:04.895 --> 00:15:09.230 thousand was lost because the change started a month later. Eleven thousand 00:15:09.255 --> 00:15:13.095 was lost because the commitment could only fall to eight hundred fifty seats. 00:15:13.695 --> 00:15:17.530 Six thousand was spent implementing the change. The remaining twenty-seven 00:15:17.555 --> 00:15:20.020 thousand is supported by the completed case. 00:15:20.695 --> 00:15:24.850 That's an explanation someone else can reproduce. It also gives the next 00:15:24.875 --> 00:15:29.790 project useful information. The effective date needed more attention. The 00:15:29.815 --> 00:15:33.190 minimum commitment should have been tested before the original forecast 00:15:33.215 --> 00:15:36.890 circulated. Billing required follow-through after the technical 00:15:36.915 --> 00:15:37.820 work was complete. 00:15:38.515 --> 00:15:42.350 Now suppose someone asks for the annualized reduction. At three thousand 00:15:42.375 --> 00:15:46.050 dollars a month, the recurring subscription reduction would be thirty-six 00:15:46.075 --> 00:15:50.450 thousand over twelve months, assuming the same scope, rate, and commitment 00:15:50.475 --> 00:15:55.390 continue. That is a forward run rate. It does not replace this year's 00:15:55.415 --> 00:15:59.220 thirty-three-thousand gross result or twenty-seven-thousand net result. 00:15:59.775 --> 00:16:03.610 And if management spends the released budget on another service, report that 00:16:03.635 --> 00:16:08.390 allocation separately. The original service can cost less even when the total 00:16:08.415 --> 00:16:13.410 technology budget stays level. Equally, a lower total budget doesn't prove 00:16:13.435 --> 00:16:15.800 that your particular action caused the reduction. 00:16:16.435 --> 00:16:21.410 Amazon Web Services provides another useful example of why labels matter. Its 00:16:21.435 --> 00:16:26.370 Savings Plans utilization documentation defines total net savings against an 00:16:26.395 --> 00:16:31.195 estimated On-Demand cost for the same usage. That's a defined comparison. 00:16:31.855 --> 00:16:35.350 It does not mean the organization's bill fell by that amount compared 00:16:35.375 --> 00:16:36.200 with last month. 00:16:36.915 --> 00:16:42.130 Amazon Web Services, or AWS as it is commonly referred to, also 00:16:42.155 --> 00:16:47.110 reports how much of the commitment was used. If a workload is reduced, check 00:16:47.135 --> 00:16:51.175 what happens to that commitment and whether other eligible usage absorbs it. 00:16:51.775 --> 00:16:55.735 A technical reduction and a financial reduction can occur at different times. 00:16:56.415 --> 00:17:00.140 The answer is in the usage, commitment, and billing evidence together. 00:17:00.855 --> 00:17:05.390 In our seat example, the fifty unassigned paid seats might later accommodate 00:17:05.415 --> 00:17:10.750 new starters. If they do, record the actual reuse. If somebody wants to 00:17:10.775 --> 00:17:14.370 claim avoided purchasing, document the additional purchase that would 00:17:14.395 --> 00:17:18.830 otherwise have been needed and agree the comparison with finance. Don't count 00:17:18.855 --> 00:17:23.510 both the retained capacity and its later reuse as separate cash savings from 00:17:23.535 --> 00:17:24.440 this year's reduction. 00:17:25.115 --> 00:17:29.410 What if the credit never arrives, or the records are incomplete? Leave the 00:17:29.435 --> 00:17:34.495 item open with the amount, evidence gap, responsible person, and next action. 00:17:34.995 --> 00:17:39.130 Report the supported result and the unresolved amount separately. You can 00:17:39.155 --> 00:17:43.330 have a useful result before every issue is closed, provided the report makes 00:17:43.355 --> 00:17:44.300 its limits clear. 00:17:44.790 --> 00:17:49.705 What if the service got worse? Put that alongside the financial result. Track 00:17:49.730 --> 00:17:54.350 the agreed measures: required access, completion of the work, support demand, 00:17:54.730 --> 00:17:58.425 or whatever the business owner established. A subscription reduction 00:17:58.450 --> 00:18:03.005 doesn't erase rework or an operational problem elsewhere. The FinOps 00:18:03.030 --> 00:18:07.765 Foundation's Quantify Business Value guidance explicitly includes service and 00:18:07.790 --> 00:18:11.035 organizational performance, not just monetary cost. 00:18:11.670 --> 00:18:15.785 My recommendation is to close a benefit claim only when another person can 00:18:15.810 --> 00:18:20.765 follow its comparison and evidence. Record the scope and period, retain the 00:18:20.790 --> 00:18:24.825 source documents, explain the adjustments, and have the agreed reviewer 00:18:24.850 --> 00:18:29.425 confirm the result. Credit the people who contributed without multiplying the 00:18:29.450 --> 00:18:31.415 money by the number of departments involved. 00:18:32.090 --> 00:18:36.365 Today's principle is traceability. Someone should be able to start with the 00:18:36.390 --> 00:18:40.890 reported result and work back to the approved action, the implemented change, 00:18:41.350 --> 00:18:43.455 and the financial records that support it. 00:18:43.890 --> 00:18:48.765 Class dismissed. Here's your homework. Set aside about an hour and choose one 00:18:48.790 --> 00:18:52.675 completed technology change, using records you're authorized to access. 00:18:53.280 --> 00:18:57.835 Write down the original expected benefit, its baseline, and the period it 00:18:57.860 --> 00:19:02.720 covers. Find the effective date in the executed agreement or approved change. 00:19:03.280 --> 00:19:07.775 Compare what was implemented with what was purchased. Then inspect an invoice 00:19:07.800 --> 00:19:10.785 covering the affected period and any related credit. 00:19:11.500 --> 00:19:15.575 Record the cost of making the change. Explain every material difference 00:19:15.600 --> 00:19:19.835 between the original estimate and the result you can support. If a document 00:19:19.860 --> 00:19:24.575 is missing, name it and assign the next action. Finish with one sentence 00:19:24.600 --> 00:19:29.375 stating what has been verified and what remains unresolved. Take that page to 00:19:29.400 --> 00:19:30.305 your finance partner. 00:19:30.800 --> 00:19:35.320 If you want a procedure to help make that work repeatable, look for F02, 00:19:35.900 --> 00:19:39.995 Validate Benefits and Report Business Outcomes, in the Operational ITAM 00:19:40.020 --> 00:19:42.065 Store. The link is in the show notes. 00:19:42.880 --> 00:19:47.135 There is a natural next question at The Decision Table: once you've verified 00:19:47.160 --> 00:19:51.855 a result, what would cause you to revisit it? Keep that question beside your 00:19:51.880 --> 00:19:55.395 completed record. We'll return to how decisions hold up as 00:19:55.420 --> 00:19:56.325 the business changes. 00:19:56.835 --> 00:20:01.715 The case files are open. One situation, one page. The constraint, 00:20:02.115 --> 00:20:06.670 what you did, and what happened. Remove company names and sensitive details 00:20:06.695 --> 00:20:10.530 before sending it through the website. Send me one worth working, and I'll 00:20:10.555 --> 00:20:11.860 build an episode around it. 00:20:12.315 --> 00:20:17.390 I'm Bill Van Nort, this is the Operational ITAM Podcast. Keep the comparison 00:20:17.415 --> 00:20:21.790 visible. Follow the change through the bill. Report the result you can 00:20:21.815 --> 00:20:24.560 support. I'll talk to you next week. Take care.