Rhythm
As EZ-E (as a true accountant) could tell you on more certain terms than I, the first few days of the month are extremely busy on the financial side, especially at the quarter boundaries.
However, as a Business Analyst in my role, there isn’t a whole lot to do until all of the accounting is finished, which means this is a top-notch opportunity for long-term projects (as are the last few days of the month).
But, I don’t have the tools yet to do what I want to do. So, it’s a little awkward until things get into a better flow.
Most of my project ideas either involve programming or a spaghetti-bowl of beaurocracy. I’ll let you guess which one of the two I’m most excited about.
My first success was found with VBScript, which I would say is a bit ignominious. After browsing around on the web for other ideas, it seems like it would be best to stick with this cute little toy language for the duration.
This opinion seems confirmed in that VBScript is one of the only languages known to many commercial (finance/accounting/etc.) employees, as it is the language of Excel macros. What else would I use? COBOL?
I wanted to use Python, since it is database-friendly, knows how to speak in CSV (comma separated values), and has some formidable string processing functions, but it’s just too hard to deploy under lockdown. There’s this “Moveable Python” distribution that costs 5 GBP via Paypal (lets you run Python sandboxed on a USB stick), but… meh.
Perhaps the best way to kill a quality project in the business world is to get overly esoteric. Dogfooding is the ethic at Microsoft, but in the non-tech world you’re expected to recycle your used dogfood. I’ll let the mental picture be all yours.
The story with SAP, et al., is that any well-trained squad of monkies can fill it up with data. Perhaps a better-trained ape could get the data out in the same form it was inputted. Once it’s familiar, it’s not that hard.
The trick is assimilation, explanation… the coveted “slice and dice.” With a good mix of data processing programming, some Excel automation, and database skills, you can really tear it up in making these things happen.
I’ll tell you the truth, and I’ll tell you this is widespread: many of the most “advanced” usage cases of SAP-based data assimilation are done via MS Access. Like, SAP-to-Data Warehouse-to-ODBC-to-Access-to-Query. Someone in Germany should be held accountable.