Assessing and managing operational risk in organizational operations

• US 7,933,878 B2
• Filed: 11/11/2010
• Issued: 04/26/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/18/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Salesforce.com, Inc.
• Original Assignee: BeyondCore, Inc. (Salesforce.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Sengupta, Arijit
• Primary Examiner(s): Abel-Jalil; Neveen
• Assistant Examiner(s): Chbouki; Tarek
• Application Number:
  US12/944,559
• Publication Number:
  US 20110055119A1
• Time in Patent Office: 166 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 707/690
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/93 Document management systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06311 Scheduling, planning or task assignment for a person or group
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other groups of this subclass

Abstract

Methods and systems for automated assessment of the operational risk for an organization based on sampling the operations of the organization. These approaches can be used for automated comparison of the operational risk of two or more organizational operations.

Claims

1. A method for comparing operational risk of two or more organizational operations, the method comprising:

sampling information processed by each of the organizational operations;

determining the error rate for each of the organizational operations, based on the frequency of errors in the sampled information for each organizational operation and a relative operational risk for said errors; and

comparing the error rates of each of the organizational operations; and

adjusting one of the organizational operations, based on the comparison of the error rates, wherein the step of adjusting comprises concentrating adjustments on portions of the organizational operations where the error rates are most different.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein one of the organizational operations is an operation implemented by a first organization, and a different one of the organizational operations is a corresponding operation implemented by a different second organization.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein one of the organizational operations is an operation implemented by an organization at a first time, and a different one of the organizational operations is a same operation implemented by the same organization at a different second time.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein one of the organizational operations is an operation implemented by an organization using a first system, and a different one of the organizational operations is a corresponding operation implemented by the same organization using a different second system.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein one of the organizational operations is implemented by an organization following a first process, and a different one of the organizational operations is implemented by the same organization following a different second process.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein one of the organizational operations is an operation implemented by an organization at a first time, others ones of the organizational operations are the same operation implemented by the same organization at subsequent times, and the step of comparing error rates is a measure of the operational risk of the operation as the operational risk changes over time.

7. A method for transferring a process from a first organization to a second organization, the method comprising:

sampling first information processed by the first organization implementing the process;

determining first errors in the first information for the first organization;

determining a first error rate for the first organization, based on a frequency of errors in the first information and a relative operational risk for said errors;

sampling second information processed by the second organization attempting to implement the process;

determining second errors in the second information for the second organization;

determining a second error rate for the second organization, based on a frequency of errors in the second information and a relative operational risk for said errors;

comparing the first and second errors, wherein comparing the first and second errors comprises comparing the first and second error rates; and

adjusting the process implemented by the second organization, based on the comparison of the first and second error rates, wherein the step of adjusting the process comprises concentrating adjustments on portions of the process where the first and second error rates are most different.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the step of adjusting the process comprises allocating training based on the comparison of the first and second error rates.

9. The method of claim 7 further comprising:

determining error patterns based on the comparison of the first errors and second errors.

10. The method of claim 9 further comprising:

adjusting the process implemented by the second organization, based on the detected error patterns.

11. The method of claim 9 wherein the step of adjusting the process comprises concentrating adjustments on portions of the process identified on the basis of the detected error patterns.

12. The method of claim 9 wherein the step of adjusting the process comprises allocating training based on the detected error patterns.

13. The method of claim 9 wherein the step of adjusting the process comprises automating portions of the process identified on the basis of the detected error patterns.

14. A method for transferring a process from a first organization to a second organization, the method comprising:

sampling first information processed by the first organization implementing the process;

determining first errors in the first information for the first organization;

determining a first error rate for the first organization, based on a frequency of errors in the first information and a relative operational risk for said errors;

sampling second information processed by the second organization attempting to implement the process;

determining second errors in the second information for the second organization;

determining a second error rate for the second organization, based on a frequency of errors in the second information and a relative operational risk for said errors;

comparing the first and second errors, wherein comparing the first and second errors comprises comparing the first and second error rates; and

adjusting the process implemented by the second organization, based on the comparison of the first and second error rates, wherein the step of adjusting the process comprises identifying portions of the process where the first and second error rates are most different.

15. The method of claim 14 further comprising:

adjusting the process implemented by the second organization, based on the comparison of the first and second errors.

16. The method of claim 14 wherein the step of adjusting the process comprises allocating training based on the comparison of the first and second error rates.

17. The method of claim 14 further comprising:

determining error patterns based on the comparison of the first errors and second errors.

18. The method of claim 17 further comprising:

adjusting the process implemented by the second organization, based on the detected error patterns.

19. The method of claim 17 wherein the step of adjusting the process comprises concentrating adjustments on portions of the process identified on the basis of the detected error patterns.

20. The method of claim 17 wherein the step of adjusting the process comprises allocating training based on the detected error patterns.

21. The method of claim 17 wherein the step of adjusting the process comprises automating portions of the process identified on the basis of the detected error patterns.

22. A method for comparing operational risk of two or more organizational operations, the method comprising:

sampling information processed by each of the organizational operations;

determining the error rate for each of the organizational operations, based on the frequency of errors in the sampled information for each organizational operation and a relative operational risk for said errors; and

comparing the error rates of each of the organizational operations; and

adjusting one of the organizational operations, based on the comparison of the error rates, wherein the step of adjusting the process comprises identifying portions of the organizational operations where the error rates are most different.

23. The method of claim 22 wherein one of the organizational operations is an operation implemented by a first organization, and a different one of the organizational operations is a corresponding operation implemented by a different second organization.

24. The method of claim 22 wherein one of the organizational operations is an operation implemented by an organization at a first time, and a different one of the organizational operations is a same operation implemented by the same organization at a different second time.

25. The method of claim 22 wherein one of the organizational operations is an operation implemented by an organization using a first system, and a different one of the organizational operations is a corresponding operation implemented by the same organization using a different second system.

26. The method of claim 22 wherein one of the organizational operations is implemented by an organization following a first process, and a different one of the organizational operations is implemented by the same organization following a different second process.

27. The method of claim 22 wherein one of the organizational operations is an operation implemented by an organization at a first time, others ones of the organizational operations are the same operation implemented by the same organization at subsequent times, and the step of comparing error rates is a measure of the operational risk of the operation as the operational risk changes over time.