Morningstar 2011/2012 - (Page 31)

+ 1 866 374 – 8800 global.morningstar.com 31 Continuous Improvements Have Enhanced the Quality of our Exchange-Traded Fund Data 12% 10.7% 9% 6% Lowered Composite Defect Rate Through LEAN and Six Sigma projects, we’ve reduced our internally defined composite defect rate for ETF data to just over 1%. starts to meet its objectives, the process leaders cross-train the team’s members so everyone is following the same standards. Teams achieve the second level of certification when they meet their objectives for six months. When the numbers indicate consistent success for a minimum of 12–18 months, the process reaches the third and highest level of certification— indicating that it’s stable and sustainable. Managing with metrics. Regular data audits and internal metrics let us know whether we’re meeting our standards for accuracy, timeliness, and completeness. We run benchmarking studies of other data providers globally to learn how our data stacks up within each country’s financial industry. We’ve also built a data dashboard that charts our audit results in real time. Accessible via the web, the dashboard makes it easy for Morningstar leaders worldwide and members of the global operations team to monitor current quality levels. Similar to those found at manufacturing businesses, this type of sophisticated dashboard is rarely seen in the financial industry. It’s the touchpoint we use to identify areas where we need to launch new LEAN and Six Sigma improvement projects. The road ahead. Quality is the road to satisfied clients. It’s an essential part of a good experience with our products and data. Like research, technology, and design, it’s part of Morningstar’s DNA. As we hear what our clients have to say and anticipate their needs, we’ll continue to apply these insights to drive quality and strive to deliver the best data in the industry. A recent global survey found that 95% of our data feed clients are satisfied with Morningstar data. We won’t rest until it’s 100%. K 3% 1.2% January 2007 Data from periodic audits April 2011 quality targets. When we identify something we need to improve, we launch LEAN and Six Sigma projects to determine what should change about our internal processes to lead to a better result. Arising from the Japanese manufacturing industry, LEAN principles work to simplify processes by reducing waste and removing bottlenecks for greater efficiency. Six Sigma’s statistical tools help us identify what causes errors so we can eliminate defects and variations in our data. Their ability to help us capture data outliers on a real-time basis makes these tools particularly valuable. Morningstar data analysts are trained to use a mix of LEAN and Six Sigma tools to evaluate and improve processes, identify potential issues, and eradicate problems at their root cause. At any given time, we may have 50 or more process improvement projects going on throughout the company. When these projects are complete, they bring direct results to our clients who benefit from improvements to our data and the methods we use to deliver it. When we finish a quality project, our work isn’t done. We follow up by asking our clients whether the improvements are working and if there’s more we can do. Process certification. Quality is a way of life at Morningstar. It makes an impact throughout the company as we train our people to integrate our approach to quality within their everyday work. To track our progress, we’ve launched an internal initiative to certify our operations processes. We’re not only building stable processes to start with, but also making an ongoing commitment to improve them. At Morningstar, we certify processes at three levels and measure their success based on how well they meet client needs over a continuous period of time. Certification begins at the first level by setting clear objectives, defining the owners of the process, and documenting all procedures. Once the team  http://global.morningstar.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Morningstar 2011/2012

Morningstar 2011/2012
Table of Contents
Commonwealth Financial Network
The Hartford
ING
Transamerica
Institutional Software
Custom Software and Services
Investment Data, Market Data, and Indexes
Fund, Stock, and Credit Research
Advisory, Retirement, and Portfolio Management Services
Independent Advisor Software and Services
Financial Communications
Investor Websites and Publications

Morningstar 2011/2012

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