r"f':'-:.,~~~-Z~~~;S;~~~:-5:;::~{'~-:~::0';:-:<::0-::·"":--- ,.--

, ,

i fl·

~ t'

~ i' . '., 1" t ~ j; f .J'!. '. , ,. i: . ) 11

E ". \, .)

:' { !'..

if. j~ "j

i;; ;;.

~ r::

.'" ;l

r~ n ·n f.

r' t, " ~ g f~ .fi i ~ 11 },

Y J:i , ~ ~: . 'r: 1;' L· ~: ~

~ ~ .,t ~.

I ~.

" I t ;; :ji 1;;

I . ,

I :~ ·t .~ ~ ~ .. ' "f.

J~

, ~"

\.

Establishing a Management Information Environment using the SAS System Robin H. Wilson, Abbey Life Assurance Company Limited

Abstract

Data relating to the life assurance and pension policies of a million clients is a valuable resource for managers and professionals at all levels of a financial services company. The paper traces some of the key principles involved in the development of a Corporate Management Information Environment which improved the effectiveness and efficiency of translating large volumes of data into readily accessible information.

Initial success was achieved by a small team of systems professionals dedicated to writing SAS® programs in response to management requests for ad-hoc reports and analyses. Facilities were expanded via a series of projects which led to the creation of a management information database . This is held on an mM® mainframe computer as SAS datasets and supports both regular batch reports and on-line "point and click" information systems which together form an integral part of Abbey Life's business processes. The database also provides a consistent validated source for IT professionals and an increasing number of business users to interrogate directly via SAS/ASSIST® and Base SAS .

IT and business factors which influenced progress are explored to highlight successes and failures along the way. The subject is presented from an IT Manager's viewpoint and includes reference to achieved benefits, the technical design philosophy, and organisational considerations.

Introduction

I have been involved with the development of the Management Information Environment since work on the strategy commenced in 1989. Currently I manage a team within the Company's IT division comprising 11 systems professionals. We are responsible for the further development and support of the Management Information Environment, and associated applications, with the SAS system as the main tool.

I will commence with an overview of the business and IT background at Abbey Life to establish the context for. the new systems. I will explain how we developed the MIS (Management Information Systems) Strategy and how this was turned into the Initial MIS Developments. I will highlight some of the problems with our first attempt at implementing an on-line "push button", or "point and click", Executive Information type application. I will explain how the early systems were expanded and how our second attempt at an on-line Information Delivery System resulted in satisfied customers. Finally I will talk about where we are today and some of the benefits the company has gained from the Management Information Environment.

Abbey Life Assurance Company Ltd

Abbey Life pioneered the concept of unit linked life assurance and pensions products in the UK and is one of the country's major life assurance companies. Today it is wholly owned by the Lloyds Abbey Life Group.

73

.~ ______ . __ .. _. _ .. _- - F.·_'~_. r_"_~' ,_

~-.~ -::~. ~:;_:",'~'_'J_'''_

I t

The main channel for the company's products is a sales force of 2,500 (1993 figure) self­employed Sales Associates (financial consultants). The products are also sold via independent

. intermediaries (insurance brokers). Abbey Life's main products comprise unit linked life assurance, pensions, investment plans, unit trusts, PEPs (personal Equity Plans), health insurance and medical insurance. The Company's primary markets are personal clients, small businesses, and corporate pension funds. The company has one million existing customers. Central administration is provided by the Company's head office, The Abbey Life Centre, in Bournemouth. Sales support and local administration is conducted through approximately 80 sales offices throughout the United Kingdom. The Company employs 1600 (1993 figure) administrative staff.

Computer Installation

For those interested in the technical side, Abbey Life operates an mM 3090-500J mainframe computer under MVSIESA TM 4.2, with 165 Gb of on-line disc storage. The network links the mainframe to 1,100 "dumb" terminals and 730 PCs (DOS and some Microsoft® WindowsTM) within the head office and the sales offices. Some departmental local area networks are installed.

COBOL is the main development language with CICSTM as the teleprocessing monitor for on­line systems. Data is mainly held on VSAM files and on the central CA-DAT ACOMlDBTM relational database. Mainframe SAS including SAS/AF®, SASIFSP®, and SAS/SHARE® are used for developing Management Information applications. SAS is also used extensively as a data interrogation tool and for CPE. Mainframe electronic mail and diary facilities are provided by mM's OfficeVision™ products. Printout management is via the WSF2™ package. This software also provides a cost effective means of viewing printout images on screens, and has enabled significant print volume savings. Policy documentation and client letters are produced via mM's mainframe text processing software, ASFTM, using the Script language to embed data within text for both batch printing and via local on-line laser printers.

PC software includes point of sale and departmental applications together with a variety of word processing, spreadsheet, database and other personal productivity software packages. SAS version 6.04 (DOS) is in use on 5 PCs with SAS/CONNECT® for data transfer and SAS/GRAPH® for high resolution graphics.

Management ,Information Strategy

SAS software was installed on the mainframe computer in 1986 and was used initially for computer performance analysis and as a file interrogation tool by the internal auditors. Following early successes using SAS as a tool for quick reports, a small group of IT staff was established to provide a company wide "Fast Response" service for ad-hoc reports and analyses from any of the mainframe held data. Because of its success, there were concerns that demand would grow beyond the IT department's capacity to provide economic support.

In 1989 the concept of holding data files for management information purposes, separate from the transaction processing files, and installing appropriate software to enable business managers and professionals to generate their own analysis and information reports was proposed. This new strategy was based on maintaining 3 discrete data areas, one for corporate files, one for read only MIS files (data extracted from the corporate files) and one for local data manipulation (departmental and personal files). It followed ideas proposed by mM and, from case study evidence, appeared to offer some relief to the ever increasing IT development backlog.

74

The IT department undertook an investigation of software which would be capable of supporting the MIS files and the end user reporting and analysis facilities. Paper evaluation suggested FOCUSTM from Information Builders might meet Abbey's needs. The product was installed, training undertaken, and in-house trials commenced.

At this stage Abbey Life became aware of the new SAS/ASSIST® product. This appeared to offer a potential solution for providing data access, reporting and analysis facilities to non technical staff via the SAS system. The beta code of SAS version 6.06 was installed on the mainframe computer and comparative evaluation undertaken. Major issues included vendor support, training, linking to DB2™, PC costs, integration with the "Office" software, resource consumption, security and access control, printing, graphics and the ability to develop EIS type applications. Neither product fully satisfied all the criteria but both appeared to be technically viable options. To cut a long story short, the SAS system with the addition of SASI ASSIST was selected as the main tool for implementing the MIS strategy. SAS was a significantly lower cost option as most of the required products were already licensed, and SAS equalled or improved on FOCUS in most of the evaluation criteria including the important areas of data access and hardware resource utilisation.

Further trials with DB2 were undertaken. It was concluded that an MIS environment with data held in DB2 and accessed via SAS would be viable, but so would one with data held in SAS datasets. It was also confirmed that for read only purposes SAS datasets offered similar relational database advantages and accessing them generally consumed significantly less cpu time, compared to holding similar tables on DB2 (I understand that with the introduction of SQLTM passthrough and improvements to DB2 itself the performance of SAS code accessing DB2 tables is greatly improved). With strong business pressure to keep expenditure to a minimum it was decided to discontinue the DB2 licence.

MIS Organisation and Training

The way forward with the MIS Strategy became quite tortuous, making the choice of software seem relatively easy. On-line sales analysis, EIS style, was not an immediate priority as a rudimentary CICS based Sales Information system had been implemented in 1984. Despite some flexibility shortcomings it reported figures up to the close of business on the previous day, with acceptable accuracy, and supported interactive hierarchical monitoring.

Consideration was given on how best to use Corporate data to explore detailed answers to questions such as "who's selling what to whom?". To provide cross divisional direction and agree priorities, an MIS Steering Committee was formed, with myself as secretary. It met bi-monthly and included directors from the Operations, Finance, and Marketing divisions, and senior managers from IT and from the business departments responsible for corporate reporting. Much time was spent debating the scale of potential projects, the number of staff to be allocated, the potential benefits, and how the benefits would be measured. The consensus was that we should move forward in small defined project steps with minimum incremental costs. It was considered impossible to predict the benefits with any degree of accuracy and to some extent the justification was based on an act of faith that there would be corporate value in improved information.

An MIS Working Group was also formed. It comprised business managers with direct responsibility for areas which would use ofthe new facilities, plus the IT division's MIS project management. It met monthly to review progress on projects, resolve issues, and ensure

75

appropriate allocation of staff resources. To provide a regular self help forum for the newly identified members of business departments who were learning to use the MIS/SAS facilities directly, an MIS User Group was formed.

The MIS development team was drawn from the IT division's pool of analysts and programmers. Initial trainees attended courses at SAS Institute. Business areas nominated individuals to become their local centres of competence. On-site SAS courses were run by the Institute. Later the Institute's consultancy service was employed to help develop the first application incorporating SCL. SAS technical support was also provided by an experienced member of the Data Centre's systems software group. Some members of the original IT Fast Response group formed part of a separate support area and in addition to coding the one off SAS reporting programs they also provided help to the new business users.

Corporate Management Information Project

In 1990 the first major project, "Corporate Management Information", begin turning the strategy into reality. The finance division's Management Information Manager conducted an in depth review of the regular information needs of directors and sales executives with a focus on sales, sales expenses and productivity. A key feature of survey, one I consider essential for any successful information system, was to obtain corporate agreement to business definitions for the measurements to be reported with their associated derivation rules. Hard copy output was agreed as a business must. It was also agreed that screen based information should be considered for a future development phase. The majority of the base data was identified by IT staff as being available on a variety of files on the mainframe computer. These files contained personal data about sellers, the structure of the Agency sales division, sales transaction data, historical figures (from archived back-up files), product data, persistency (a measure of performance of policies remaining in force), and sales expenses. New data requirements were identified for monthly targets and to capture a small number of movements not catered for in the current systems.

The project was split into a number of small phases, typically 4 to 8 weeks in duration, each delivering component reports. Each phase commenced with agreement to the corporate definitions such as product groupings, date conventions etc. SAS software lent itself well to extracting data from corporate files and producing the hierarchical tabular reports which formed the bulk of the output. One team member's previous experience in database design proved very useful in designing the physical structure of the new MIS data files (SAS datasets), ensuring that future stages would dovetail with the earlier implementations. The process was a combination of normalising the data and also identifying key historical "snapshots". These minimised the number and complexity of the physical files which in turn simplified report programming and minimised hardware usage whilst still providing good flexibility. Some weak design features were ideritified in reviews and new development guide-lines were established, such as always keeping a data file copy of the results of all calculations required for printing. Invariably there will be a request in the future for another report to show not only new data but also some previously printed results.

This incremental development approach was spread over approximately 12 months and was considered a business success. The outputs were a series of daily, weekly and monthly printed reports comprising analyses of sales volumes, seller analyses, productivity, and sales costs. Various comparisons were reported against targets and previous year historical data. Product and sales organisation hierarchies were accumulated together with a variety of time periods. The proposed development of a screen based version was reviewed. The conclusion was that the main

76

1"';:;(i"-C~-E~~·"""':""""Cc,"c."'-",,:'0;"'''':C':: ..

l t

t: !' i " " ~ ~. ~ ~ 1:1 f' ,;"

;\ " " }',

:"

'.'

~~ F

f, . .}

r " 1 ~: 1-: ~.,

~; ;::

·ii i h 1, ~.\

i! f,' \Ii :!. I

t 1:· ( ~: t ~ J; -t· T f

l

J ~ .;} >~.

'-l-; r .:t. r i~

'*" :} .,. :i:

~ , , ;. ~

:{'

.~ ':,~

.• ~ 'll :;\;

t .~ ~:

\ • \\

objective of delivering consistent information in a usable business format had been achieved. The development of the on-line system was deferred indefinitely to allow redirection of IT resources to higher priority projects.

Ownership of the data and reports remained with the Finance division's Management Information deparUnent and the figures on the reports were accepted as representing the definitive company position. This in turn ensured that the accuracy of the underlying data was not questioned when used for ad-hoe-reports and other investigations. This concept of relevant business responsibility for, and ownership of, MIS data has proved to be particularly valuable and has ensured that all MIS data and reports have maintained a good reputation for consistently high quality.

Information from Data

During 1991 and 1992 new areas of the Company began to benefit from the central MIS data and the rapid development capabilities of SAS, such as an investigation to quantify the effectiveness of the pilot use of laptop computers at the point of sale compared to sellers without one. An on­line enquiry facility was installed to provide access to data on registered brokers extracted from the regular sm (Securities and Investment Board - a government regulatory body) magnetic tape files. SAS FSLETfER was used for one offbulk mailings. The system produced reports for the Inland Revenue. Historical data was used to illustrate how many winners and losers would result from proposed changes to commission formulae. The database was used to identifY trends in client and product profitability and sales channel performance, part of a major Corporate study. Whereas many of these could have been achieved without the MIS database, its availability significantly reduced development effort and run times and virtually eliminated much repetitive validation of data extracts - real business benefits in themselves, as well as the increased value of the information through shorter lead times and management confidence in the results.

The First IDS (on-line Information Delivery System)

Senior managers tend to associate the term EIS (Executive Information System) with expensive software so we decided to call our EIS type applications "Information Delivery Systems", IDS for short. We developed our first prototype in mainframe SAS to learn how to use the new SCL features in SAS 6.06. It took less than 2 weeks of effort as data was already built on the database for creating hard copy reports and restructuring it for on-line information was straightforward. Demonstrations to IT management attracted much positive comment.

In November 1991 it was suggested that the prototype should be made available on the directors' PCs, via mainframe emulation software, in time for the year end. The directors agreed. The system had some star features. It was data driven with easy to use push button "point and click" drill down facilities using "Tab" and "Enter" keys. Context sensitive help facilities were included and judicious use was made of colour highlighting. One to one training was organised and the directors' initial reaction was very positive.

When, however, we asked the directors, after a couple of weeks, why they had only tried it once or twice, we learnt that there were two main problems. First, the sign-on proeess required a sheet of A4 notes to navigate through a PC menu, a special mainframe sign-on, a new password entry screen, and the unfriendliness of our TSOTM log-on to SAS. This was a real turn off. Second, although the IDS contained some new data, it didn't have daily relevance; the weekly printout was much easier to use. The IDS contained daily updated sales figures but these had been available to directors on screen via the CICS based Sales Information system since 1984. Our

77

~ .

~:

\

\,

conclusion was that we had a partial success; we had proved the technology apd confirmed its potential but a smoother front end was a must. The directors were generally happy with the concept and although they did not feel that their needs justified further expenditure at that time, they were happy that we consult other business managers regarding the potential value of this type of system.

I think the most important lesson we learnt was that the next IDS project should be business sponsored.

Expanding the MIS Environment

Following on from the successful Corporate Management Information reporting project, more data was added to the SAS database, in particular extracts from policy master files and from the client file. It's worth noting that earlier IT projects had separated personal client data from policy master files and much effort had been expended in post coding addresses and the removal of duplicated client records. Data about sales related customer complaints was captured and analysed. Log~n scripts in CUSupersessionTM, the mainframe session management software were modified to simplify switching between the OfficeVision einaiVdiary and MIS without having to re-enter passwords and permitting concurrent sessions. A common push button front­end menu covering all MIS facilities was developed in SAS!AF. Data driven sub-menus were added to enable users to select applications or choose which data libraries to work with. Options to branch into SAS! ASSIST or the SAS Display Manager System were included. To alert users when problems occur with the data, e.g. arising from an overnight failure in a master file update system, a data driven "NeWs Flash" window was added to the sign on logic. The warning appears automatically when appropriate text has been entered.

The Second IDS - Satisfied Customers

In 1992 the head of marketing wanted his managers to make more use of historical sales data analyses in their planning processes. It was felt that SAS andlor SAS! ASSIST would be too complex for many of the potential hands~n users. An on-line system incorporating drill down capabilities appeared to be an obvious solution. The capabilities of SAS were already well appreciated within the Marketing division as they had established one of the first MIS centres of competence, but the aim now was to "convert" a much larger number of marketing professionals, some of whom.had no computer experience at all. A new project to develop a marketing Information Delivery System was approved. It was sponsored by the head of marketing with a budget of 9 man months IT resource.

Iterative prototyping was employed. A concept model was developed in July based on data already held in the MIS database. Data and functionality were added following discussion "round the screen" at weekly review meetings with a panel of6 members of Marketing, representatives of the potential users. Project control was based on the assumption that the budget for effort was fixed at 9 man months, and that implementation would be in December 1992. The plan included an implementation phase, the start of which was marked by a freezing of the protoype, with provision for optimising performance, final testing, documentation and quality reviews. The extent of the system's functionality was considered the only variable. All involved were very· enthusiastic. We knew the SAS software could deliver excellent facilities especially with the improvements in version 6.07. Response times proved excellent. We hit our schedule, and came in slightly under budget. Our customers were delighted; they received a system with significantly

78

more functionality than they had expected at the start of the project and "they could use it themselves" on any mainframe connected terminal or PC. . .

In February 1993 the Company's managing director asked whether the new system could provide him with daily access to a particular measure of sales volume, one that was not available on the old CICS system. A 20 minute exploratory demonstration on his PC proved that the answer was "yes". A second session was booked and following 25 minutes of instruction he became a new customer of the system, adding further credibility to the MIS philosophy.

IDS Features

The IDS enables drill down analysis of sales metrics on the 3 dimensions of product structure, sales organisation structure and time levels. The display is character based., using advanced attributes. It is manipulated via pull down menus and pop up data driven windows. It contains up to 4 data columns across the screen and lists down the screen the selected members, of the selected level, of the chosen "vertical axis dimension". The information is also defined by the levels selected for the other 2 dimensions. Interactive options allow dynamic ranking, show basic statistics, calculate row and column percentages, and colour highlight chosen data ranges. Once a required view is achieved it can be saved for future recall from a personal "view menu". Each user can select their own log-on default from their "view menu" entries and place the remaining ones in a preferred sequence. This is probably the most important of all the usability features as it enables instantaneous future access to an entirely personal list of screen report formats.

Current Organisation (1994)

The MIS Steering Group is no longer required. The MIS Working Group meets bi-monthly to provide for inter divisional management communication and to pursue MIS issues as they arise. Bi-monthly User Group meetings help to spread good ideas and act as a forum to discuss business opportunities. The MIS centres of competence within the business divisions have become more experienced and continue to serve their management very effectively.

There are over 700 members of staff authorised to use the on-line MIS applications (up to 200 concurrently) .

The MIS Team specialises in SAS applications development and support and, with 12 members, represents about 10% of the IT division's development resources. In 1992 the "Fast Response" ad-hoc reporting and User Support functions were consolidated in the one team to provide for more effective use of staff skills; time spent in these areas is closely monitored to ensure turnround standards are maintained and changes in demand are identified before they cause a significant budget variance.

Since I first started documenting the MIS Strategy in late 1989, most areas of the company have undergone significant reorganisation. The IT division is no exception. It has introduced "Business Account Teams" with Business Systems Consultants. One of their roles is to understand in depth the business processes within their customers' division. They are the source of most new MIS projects and additionally new corporate projects will now often have an MIS development (using SAS) as one of their components.

Ad-hoc reports are written in SAS as quickly as possible with only limited consideration for run time efficiency and standards. Regular formatted reports, on-line information delivery systems,

79

r-M""l-,-~;@;'~-XM~-;'::';"'~~~""':~~::::"':'~-X?::::':"",:"""'~'->-"~-'- ""' - . . ,

and database additions are all developed according to established professional IT practices by following a project life cycle, usually involving iterative prototyping. SASI ASSIST solutions provides cost effective access to data for certain enquiries which are not otherwise catered for in the bespoke on-line systems. SAS FSLETTER meets simple requirements for embedding data in text, not ~nly for letters, but also for some report formats. Some low volume data capture applications are developed using SAS, with SAS/SHARE providing multi user facilities. Further on-line IDS applications have been developed. All run on the mainframe computer. On-line graphics remains a relatively low customer priority and has not yet been pursued.

Care is taken to maintain the integrity of the MIS SAS database. Some data files are refreshed monthly. Some are held at transaction level and uSed to build historical summaries and periodic data snaphots. Derivation rules are built into the batch database build processes. These not only ensure consistency but also make the most of spare overnight processing capacity and minimise the use of day time cpu.

Education and training is an essential component of the MIS environment. Where there is limited knowledge of MIS, a half day MIS Awareness session is held to introduce managers to the concepts and prompt thinking on how MIS can be employed in their area. The first step for new users is usually our in-house developed "Introduction to MIS" course which teaches the fundamentals of using SAS/ ASSIST with the SAS files in the MIS database. This was developed by the Company's professional IT trainers and is run by them. A key item of support is the MIS Data Catalogue which holds details such as descriptions and derivations of data fields, files and libraries. It started life on paper but is now held on-line as a SAS application accessed from the MIS menu. One to one support from members of the MIS team is particularly appropriate for making rapid progress and for helping to resolve a new business problem. The MIS team also run occasional workshops to address specific areas of the database and advanced SAS topics. The SAS Fundamentals CBT is used to introduce people to coding in Base SAS. A library is maintained of up to date manuals.

Development standards applicable to SAS programming and the MIS environment have been written and form part of the corporate IT Development Standards Handbook.

Examples of Recent MIS Developments

When a customer complaint is received, LAUTRO (Life Assurance and Unit Trust Regulatory Organisation) rules require the Company to respond according to a specified timetable. An MIS application produces the appropriate letters automatically.

A Deficit Control system integrates data on debtors, extracted from a PC based software package, with data from mainframe account files and, via the MIS application, produces exception reports highlighting priorities for action and hierarchical management summaries.

MIS extracts daily data from a Clerical Work Recording system for analysis of work volumes and turnround performance in the head office administration departments.

Data from a PC based CBT (computer based training) system is uploaded onto the mainframe· SAS database every night from the 80 sales offices. An on-line MIS application makes the data available for enquiries by sales management the next morning and the same data supports an IDS for hierarchical analysis of test performance results by head office training management.

80

i . , .

Each Sales Associate receives a monthly, 9 page, presentation quality printout called the Managing Your Practice report. It shows the individual's progress against key performance indicators. This industry leading development was achieved against a tight business deadline. It combines the power of the SAS System, within the MIS environment, with the mainframe print formatting capabilities of mM's Script language. The latter provides for mixed character sizes, proportional fonts, and other advanced print character attributes.

Benefits

MIS provides a source of data accepted as the "corporate picture". It extracts data directly from corporate master and reference files, wherever possible, virtually eliminating transcription.

Function point analysis suggests productivity gains between 5 and 10 times over that for 3GL projects, for the development phase, with elapsed times often reduced by a factor of 4 or more.

Anyone with a terminal or PC connected to the mainframe computer can, if authorised, access MIS facilities (all MIS data is protected by the CA-TOP SECRETTM access control software).

The executives' Monthly Statistical reports used to be compiled by keying data from computer reports into a spreadsheet, making adjustments and calculations, then retyping the results using DisplayWrite 4™. Now the package of information is printed on the mainframe directly by MIS programs, ready for photocopying and binding. Distribution is achieved in the week following month end instead of in the third week.

Changes in the sales organisation structure sometimes take place more than once a year; the flexibility of MIS enables it to cater for mid year changes and if required reflect them on the history back to I January. Both types of change were implemented in 1993, with minimum effort, due to the "data driven" nature of both batch and on-line applications.

The use of the MIS database reduces the need to run more expensive scans on Company master files and its design means that derived data is held once only and does not have to be recalculated each time it is required. Trying to resolve differences between two reports which should show the same totals used to be a regular occurrence; it happens far less often now.

Finally, MIS has empowered management to make better decisions by using information which would not otherwise have been readily available.

Conclusions

Most of the key functionality proposed in the early strategy has been achieved, although not necessarily in the manner originally anticipated, and the Company has achieved cost effective benefits. The main deviations are that mainframe SAS has provided a means of developing on­line applications with excellent response times and a much higher degree of intuitiveness than was considered possible on character based displays and that the relatively high costs of introducing a PC based co-operative processing environment for on-line graphical presentation of information was not justified between 1990 and 1994; the occasional downloading of sub-sets of the MIS data to PC SAS or spreadsheets have met management needs for graphs at low cost.

A paper "Using the SAS System as an Executive Information System" by Ros Surrey, SAS Institute, presented at the 1990 SUBI (SAS User Group Britain and Ireland) conference stated itA

81

good EIS is used not only-by corporate management but also by lower management levels". We often find that by developing data and information facilities first for operational and lower levels of management we gain immediate benefits. Adding facilities for presenting high level summary information to executives is then straightforward and economical.

The Management Information Environment has enabled the Company to respond to business challenges faster and with higher quality results than previous technologies could have supported.

I am convinced that the Company continues to achieve excellent value for money from its investment in the SAS based Management Information Environment.

References

Surrey R. (1990), Using the SAS System as an Executive Information System, in SUBI '90 Proceedings of the SAS Users Britain and Ireland Conference

Acknowledgements

Many thanks to David Penny for his help in reviewing this paper, and to past and present members of the Abbey Life MIS team for their support and encouragement.

SAS, SAS/ASSIST, SAS/AF, SASIFSP, SAS/SHARE, and SAS/GRAPHare registered trade marks of SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA.

DB2, CICS, TSO, SQL, ASF, OfficeVision, DisplayWrite 4 and MVSIESA are trademarks and mM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation.

Windows is a trademark and Microsoft is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation.

FOCUS is a registered trademark of Information Builders.

WSF2 is a trademark of RSD Roger Software Development SA.

CLiSupersession is a registered trademark of Candie Corporation.

CA-DATACOMIDB and CA-TOP SECRET are registered trademarks of Computer Associates.

The author can be contacted at: Abbey Life Assurance Company Ltd. The Abbey Life Centre 100 Holdenhurst Road Bournemouth Dorset BH8 8AL United Kingdom

Tel: 0202-401321