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Wednesday, June 23, 2004

Threat and Risk Assessment Working Guide

This post contains information on where to find a sample Threat and Risk Assessment document layout.

In a previous post I introduced readers to the Oracle Applications Implementors Journal at ITtoolbox. I talked about the first post on this blog which related to performing a Threat and Risk Assessment for Oracle Applications (TRA). I subsequently spoke to author of this post and asked if there was anywhere on the Internet where I could find a document layout/template that would assist in the preparation of such an assessment. I was provided with a link to a Threat and Risk Assessment Working Guide where you can download a fairly comprehensive 132 page document. According to the site: -

"This document entitled Threat and Risk Assessment Working Guide
provides guidance to an individual (or a departmental team) carrying out a
Threat and Risk Assessment (TRA) for an existing or proposed IT system. This
document will help determine which critical assets are most at risk within that
system, and leads to recommendations for safeguards that will reduce any risks
to acceptable levels.

By following the guidance given therein, a TRA can be carried out such
that it results in a concise report that:

defines the IT system under assessment;

states the aim of the assessment, along with the desired security level to be attained;

identifies potentially vulnerable parts of the system;

states the potential impacts of successful threat events on: the IT system; the business functions that the IT system supports; and the applications used carry out the business functions, in terms of confidentiality, integrity and availability; and

provides recommendations that would lower the risks to acceptable levels".

I am sure the TRA working guide will be useful to any organisation who wants to perform some type of security evaluation on their systems. You will also find other useful IT Security documentation at the Government of Canada’s knowledge centre

Monday, June 21, 2004

Oracle Applications Implementor’s Journal - an ITtoolbox blog

An Oracle Applications Implementors Journal has recently started at ITtoolbox. This post contains details of the blog.

The Oracle Applications Implementors Journal urges you to "Follow one Financial Systems Development Officer & Oracle Certified Professional with a strong background in Oracle Applications as he shares unique insights and real-life solutions to approaching business needs with Oracle". The first post is on how to perform Threat and Risk Assessment for Oracle Applications (TRA). All the best to the author who is listed as non other than "Oracle Fan".

Glad to see the blog has an RSS feed, I think I will syndicate it on this site once I figure out how to.

Oracle E-Business Suite implementation documentation

This post contains information about Oracle E-Business Suite project documentation and training materials.

Maricopa Community Colleges have implemented a College Financial System using Oracle E-Business Suite 11.5.8. According to their site "The College Financial System (CFS) is the system of record for all purchasing, accounts payable, fixed assets, and accounting transactions. CFS is used by the Business Services Division, Campus Fiscal Officers, Administrative Secretaries, and Receiving Clerks to create, act upon, and review Purchase Orders, Invoices, Assets and Financial information. The annual Financial Report is derived from information in CFS. The CFS application interfaces with the BDS application, the HR application, and the Student Information System. 

The Application is Oracle E-Business Suite, version 11.5.8, with relatively minor customizations. It operates on a Compaq Tru64 Server with a Unix 5.1a Operating System on an Oracle 8.1.7.4
Database". 

I came across their site and thought this documentation would certainly be useful to anyone implementing Oracle Apps. At the College Financial System site you will find Oracle the following documentation: -

Customization impact analysis

Design and Build Standards

Application Architecture

Objective, Scope and Approach

Testing Strategy

Project Training Strategy

End User Training Documents

End User Navigation Training Documents

End User Inquiry Documents

Fiscal Agent and Buyer Documents

Project Plans

Implementation Team Structure

You should also visit the Maricopa Technology Training Services site where there you can obtain training material for a variety of Microsoft and other software products.

Saturday, June 19, 2004

Oracle Applications Documentation - Training Courseware

This post contains information about some useful Oracle Applications Training Courseware.

The University of Northern Iowa has implemented a Modern Executive Management Financial Information System (MEMFIS) using Oracle E-Business Suite.

According to their web site: -

The MEMFIS Project at the University of Northern Iowa is a campus-wide initiative with the primary objective of replacing the core system of human resource, payroll, general ledger, purchasing, accounts payable, grants and contracts, projects, and budgeting. In July 2001 general ledger, purchasing, accounts payable and cash management went “live”. Additional modules are scheduled for implementation in 2004. These modules include human resources, advanced benefits, self service HR, payroll, and time collection”.

I had a look at the site and believe that in particular their training courseware might be particularly useful for anyone implementing or learning Oracle Applications.

Oracle Documentation for the Enterprise Accounting System 〈EAS〉

The George Washington University has implemented an Enterprise Accounting System (EAS) using Oracle Applications. This post contains links to the business forms, procedure documentation and training materials used in the implementation.

The Universities implementation of an Enterprise Accounting System (EAS) has been very well documented. On this site you will find various business forms, procedure documentation and training materials which I am sure will be helpful to anyone implementing Oracle E-Business Suite.