This article describes the structured project process with zapliance. Each step is clearly defined to ensure successful completion of the project. Please pay attention to the provided details and references to corresponding resources for further information.
1. Kickoff
After the contract is finalized and the onboarding phase begins, the kickoff meeting takes place. The purpose of this meeting is to facilitate an initial introduction of all project participants and to present the project workflow, including the individual steps and associated responsibilities. The project workflow vary depending on the contractual agreement whether zapHome OnPrem or zapHome OnPrem AI is implemented.
2. Technical Onboarding and Installation
The technical onboarding is conducted in a separate meeting with the IT and SAP administrators. The objective is to clarify any technical details and address open questions based on the provided documentation. Subsequently, the IT department takes responsibility for the technical setup.
The exact technical setup depends on the contractual agreement whether zapHome OnPrem or zapHome OnPrem AI will be implemented. Details on the technical details can be found in following Knowledge Base article:
3. Agent Onboarding
The deployment of zapAgents is determined by the contractual agreement and may differ depending on the specific project. The selection and configuration of the respective agents are based on the individual project requirements.
Following zapAgents are part of the Digital Audit Preparation Team depending on the contract:
Wolfgang:
The zapliance Agent Wolfgang is your specialist for SAP data extraction, structured data preparation, and precise risk and opportunity analysis based on the zapliance indicators (“Content Bundle”) selected for you. Wolfgang operates exclusively within zapAnalytics inside your locally installed zapHome instance. You can flexibly process the analysis results further, for example, using Power BI Desktop or in combination with other zapliance Agents.
Before deploying zapAgent Wolfgang, the following aspects should be clarified:
- Audit Objective: Aligning audit goals (360 °/Purchase-to-Pay/Order-to-Cash/Accounting).
- Project Details: Definition of the analysis scope.
- Roles and Responsibilities: Clarification of project responsibilities (Project Manager, IT Admin, SAP Admin).
- Timeline: Start and end dates of the audit.
Wilma:
The zapliance agent Wilma is specifically developed to interact with business professionals and understand your business context. Wilma receives your instructions directly via chat dialog. She independently selects the most suitable tools from her tool bundle, executes them, and meticulously documents the results. Wilma then shares her insights with you in the chat. As the customer, you remain responsible for the final evaluation of these results.
Wilma excels at collaborating with the outputs of other zapliance agents but can also serve as a regular chatbot, leveraging integrated algorithms to answer your questions.
Before deploying zapAgent Wilma, the following aspects should be clarified:
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Duration: How long is Wilma supposed to be used?
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Start: From when is Wilma supposed to be used?
- Audit: For which Audit should Wilma be inserted?
After the technical setup has been completed and the above-mentioned details have been coordinated, the project can be created in zapAnalytics and data processing can commence. This will take place during a separate meeting with your Customer Success Manager. Prior to this, zapliance will provide a content bundle for data processing.
4. Optional: zapliance AI Professional Onboarding
Optionally, additional audit and consulting services can be requested at a daily rate depending on your contract.
5. Power BI
After successful data processing, the Power BI dashboards can be created. The following prerequisites are necessary:
- 16GB RAM on the virtual machine (VM) or the auditor's notebook.
- Installation of the latest version of Power BI Desktop.
Detailed setup information can be found in the article: Setup Guide Power BI
Note:To ensure the successful execution of the Digital Audit Preparation workshops, zapliance must conduct a pre-analysis using the customer's Power BI report. This may require providing zapliance with access to the Power BI report. The following approaches can be used to grant access:
- Granting zapliance User Access to the Power BI Report:
The customer can grant a zapliance professional access to their Power BI report, published in the Microsoft Cloud. A Power BI Pro license is required to enable this setup. - Sending zapliance the Parquet Files:
Before the workshop pre-analysis, the customer can send zapliance the .parquet files containing the zapAnalytics results. zapliance can then build the Power BI report internally. - Access via Dedicated Server with Power BI:
Alternatively, the customer may set up a dedicated server where Power BI Desktop is installed and the zapAnalytics result files are stored locally. Access can be granted to zapliance through Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP), Citrix or similar solution. All pre-analysis will be conducted on this server. - Using a Laptop or External Storage Device:
The customer may provide zapliance with a fully functional laptop or external storage device containing the zapAnalytics result files.
Regardless of the method chosen, it is important to ensure all required files and software components are accessible to facilitate the pre-analysis and workshop execution.
6. Optional: Workshops
During the project, zapliance conducts three workshops with you to discuss the analysis results and the underlying methods. Each workshop lasts approximately two hours.
- Workshop 1: Big Picture
In the first workshop, an overall view of the company is presented, along with an explanation of the audit context.
- Workshop 2: Analysis of Results in the Power BI Dashboard
In the second workshop, the analysis results are presented in detail within the Power BI dashboard. Beforehand, zapliance performs a preliminary analysis of the data to gain targeted insights, which are discussed with the client during the workshop.
- Workshop 3: Feedback + QA Session
The third workshop can be tailored individually, for example to clarify open questions, provide feedback on the previous two workshops, etc.
After the workshops, zapliance provides the following documents:
- Meeting Documentation: This overview contains all key information on the core topics and questions discussed for the audit.
- One-Pager: A concise summary of the entire project.
7. Audit
After completion of the workshops and provision of the required documentation, the audit of the client is conducted using the provided Power BI dashboards. If contractually agreed, the agent "Wilma" will also be utilized to support the audit process.
8. Closing meeting
Upon completion of the project and finalization of the audit, a closing meeting is conducted with the client. The purpose of this meeting is to review the overall audit process, discuss key findings and outcomes, and address any challenges encountered. Additionally, client feedback regarding the project is solicited to identify strengths and areas for improvement. The meeting also serves as an opportunity to discuss potential avenues for future collaboration.