Controlling End User Computing Applications - a case study

We report the results of a project to control the use of end user computing tools for business critical applications in a banking environment. Several workstreams were employed in order to bring about a cultural change within the bank towards the use of spreadsheets and other end-user tools, covering policy development, awareness and skills training, inventory monitoring, user licensing, key risk metrics and mitigation approaches. The outcomes of these activities are discussed, and conclusions are drawn as to the need for appropriate organisational models to guide the use of these tools.