Carbon Visual [CarbonV] is an enterprise strength corporate performance management platform that is in its second version release. The solution brings together advanced and graphically attractive business intelligence diagnostics (i.e. reporting and analysis of history) with powerful modelling (i.e. ‘what if’ scenario simulation of the future). The tool offers managers (from the lowest operational level to the highest executive level managers) a dynamic window into the underlying problems and complexities of the day to day running of their operation. This is achieved by representing the causal drivers and business rules that govern the performance of the organisation in the form of ‘value trees’ – simply put, a value tree is the graphical representation of a logical reporting structure or operational model.

The tool unleashes the ability to quickly evaluate the overall performance of an operation and drill down, expose and diagnose the root cause of all or specific outperformance areas, problem areas or improvement opportunities. CarbonV delivers on the next generation of Business Intelligence imperatives - built on a reliable and robust modelling platform , a manager can establish: 

• How has the organisation performed? (i.e. what are the outcomes on important metrics against budget)
• Why has it performed this way? (i.e. which areas are leaders; which are laggards; how has this changed over time; which operational and macro variables have contributed most to certain performance)
• Forecast  what will happen if there is no intervention (i.e. utilise the modelling component to understand the true dynamics and relationships between variables relevant to that operation / organisation)
• Model potential interventions (having rapidly identified the most ‘appropriate’ and ‘realistic’ interventions first) and re-forecast the outcome – at all levels of the organisational hierarchy.

Beyond its core function, and given its highly intuitive and collaborative nature, CarbonV can be used as a learning or behavioural modification aid for managers - managers experience a firsthand understanding of the dynamics of the operation and learn what levers they can pull in order to optimise their domain of responsibilities for an efficient and effective operation.
 

Technology

CarbonV is a proprietary solution which has been developed on three leading technology platforms:

• All front ends developed for configuring, committing and editing the underlying model have been built on the .Net framework. The underlying code has been developed to the highest standards and has been rigorously tested, ensuring a quality product and great user experience.
• The underlying model has been developed on the CarbonL (or Carbon Logic) engine, allowing for robust, reliable and scalable modelling solutions based on Object Orientated Modelling methodologies.
• The CarbonV solution utilises SQL as its database engine, which enables organisations to seamlessly integrate to or from existing ERP, Production Planning or reporting systems.   
   

Value Proposition

The value proposition for CarbonV can be broken down into 4 core offerings:

1.  Diagnose - drill down and understand the underlying problems and complexities of your organisation. Value trees offer a clear and transparent source of organisational information in a logical and coherent structure, enabling managers to rapidly perform root cause analysis determining the source of organisational problems by location, activity or driver, allied with clear understanding of how this has changed over time.  A very powerful means of comparing actual vs. budget.
2. Forecast – the underlying model has the capability of forecasting the future performance of the operation given its historical and current performance. This is fundamentally different from mere extrapolation of current figures (as is the case with most ‘forecasting’) – rather, the underlying model representing the true mathematical relationships between variables (operational as well as financial) are referenced to predict what will happen if there is no intervention. 
3. Optimise - utilising the underlying model, managers can review scenarios where they deterministically reconfigure their domain of responsibilities by adjusting controllable ‘levers’ creating an optimal and efficient operation (i.e. activity optimisation - adjusting burden spacing for blasts, shifts, machine hours, etc.; or even value chain optimisation – Mine to Mill principles, etc.). Furthermore, the system also provides sensitivity analysis highlighting the biggest areas of focus for a given location, activity or function – thus ensuring managers get the biggest ‘bang for their buck’.
4. Re-Forecast – once interventions have been identified, the impact of these interventions can now be assessed. Through the use of histograms and statistical distributions Monte Carlo simulations can provide users with the probability of achieving specific targets or modifying undesirable outcomes.

Benefits

The following list highlights some of the key CarbonV solution offerings:

• Robust and Reliable System - enterprise strength performance diagnostic and modelling platform; technology comprises of a combination of reporting, diagnostic and modelling functionality on one unified platform.  The tool allows models to be dynamic and ‘live’ where transactional information is uploaded on a continuous basis.  In addition, the system utilises a well proven object orientated modelling framework called CarbonL which provides for robust, scalable, auditable and reliable operational models to be developed within a highly collaborative environment.
• User Friendly Frontends - CarbonV has been designed to be as intuitive as possible, ensuring that managers only endure a short learning curve before mastering the tool and reaping the full benefits from the system.
  • Graphical Representation of The Enterprise Reality - CarbonV displays the logical relationships of an operational model in a value driver tree format. Each tree is displayed on a canvas which is built up from nodes representing different attributes within the model.  These trees will also display the budgeted or planned values against actuals, highlighting the variance (in percentage and absolute terms). This difference is displayed graphically by a red or green arrow, where the size and colour indicate the degree of variance for each parameter.
• Automatic Aggregation of Underlying Data – the system allows for scalable models to be created drilling down to the lowest level of entities or activities (in mining terms panels, blocks, development, stoping; and in retail terms store, supply chain provider, product or product category), and automatically aggregating the data to the highest level (i.e. subsidiary, head office or group). Similarly, time based information is automatically aggregated as well – days to weeks to months to years.    
• Root Cause Analysis Tools – tools such as histograms, exception reporting, contribution reporting and KPIs are tightly integrated with the Value Trees, easily highlighting and identifying the ‘path of greatest variance’ in a simple and transparent manner to the end user.
• Event Reporting – the tool allows users to add notes to specific nodes in the tree highlighting the reasoning for a discrepancy or problem in a specific location or activity within the tree. In this manner, high level managers will be presented with an event report when reviewing the total performance of an operation or activity.  This underscores the highly collaborative nature of the solution.
• Scenario Evaluations – CarbonV provides the ability to run ‘what if’ scenarios on the underlying model, allowing managers to consider the effect of reconfiguring the operation for optimisation purposes or to evaluate an operational forecast.  These may be executed in either a deterministic or stochastic way.
• Stochastic Modelling – based on historical performance of parameters, efficiencies and drivers, CarbonV uses the stochastic distribution of these values to run Monte Carlo simulations in order to evaluate the probability of achieving specified targets.
• Sensitivity Analysis – CarbonV dynamically evaluates the sensitivity of an output variable, such as revenue or costs, with regards to its underlying inputs. In this manner, the hierarchy of the sensitivity report (which is statistically calculated) will lead managers to focus on drivers that provide the biggest bang for their buck.   
   

Key Features

1. Object Oriented Modelling Framework
   CarbonV utilises the proprietary Cyest CarbonL modelling engine, which provides a framework to develop models in an object orientated manner. In essence, what this means is that once a user has defined the logic and structure for key components for their model, the IP can be ‘packaged’ and reused multiple times without having to worry about the integrity of the model (i.e. no referencing or aggregation errors).
2. Scalable and Reliable Solutions
   Users need not worry about creating models that are too big or unmanageable by the software. CarbonV allows users to build models to any scale, with the only limitation being the memory capacity of the machine being used.
3. Sarbanes Oxley Compliance
   CarbonV provides a secure platform to design and configure operational models. The system has secure user access controls and all models created by the tool are fully auditable.
4. Seamless Data Exchange
   Having the solution being based on SQL, allows for seamless integration to and from existing ERP, Production and Reporting systems within the organisation.
5. Graphically Driven Diagnostics
   CarbonV uses value trees to visually depict the operational hierarchy and operational logic of the organisation. The tool has been, by design, configured to assist the user to simply click and trace problems or discrepancies throughout the model.
6. Stochastic Reporting and Modelling Capabilities
   CarbonV has been integrated with a stochastic modelling framework, providing the ability to run Monte Carlo simulations.
7. Sensitivity Analysis
   The tool can perform sensitivity analysis highlighting the most critically sensitive parameters or ‘levers’ for a manager to focus on within their domain.