Tip of the Month: Introduction to BarnOwl ECLIPSE

Did You Know?
BarnOwl ‘Eclipse’ is the web-based version of the BarnOwl risk management module. It is platform independent and can operate in most browsers. BarnOwl Eclipse can be accessed by the following types of user license:

Type of license holder	Functionality by license type
BarnOwl Open (free) License (available to everyone in your organisation at no cost)	Update action plan progress online (where the user is the owner of the action plan) Complete checklists online  (compliance and any type of checklist) Complete Voting online (RSAs (Risk Self Assessments) and CSAs (Control Self Assessments)) Capture Key Indicator values online
BarnOwl Lite license	As above, plus: Full maintenance (create, update, delete (permission dependent)) of all registers (Objective, Risk, Contributing Factor, Control, Action Plan, Key Indicators, Risk Incidents)
BarnOwl Rich Risk, Audit license	Rich users automatically qualify for access to BarnOwl Lite should they choose to use the web-based interface.
BarnOwl Administrator/s license	Library maintenance. All objects (Objective, Risk, Contributing Factor, Control, Key Indicators) are written to a library which enables a normal user to search the library (for example an objective, a risk, a control etc.) rather than creating a new object every time. The library is dynamically updated every time a user creates a new object in a unit where the user can’t find what he /she is looking for in the library.  The library however needs to be maintained by an administrator to keep it clean such as merging risk titles, deleting risks which are no longer used / required.

You can find more detailed information on license types at: https://api.barnowl.co.za/licensing/

Getting to know the BarnOwl Eclipse Interface

After logging into Eclipse, the Eclipse landing page looks as follows:
Fig 1: Eclipse landing page

The Eclipse home page provides quick links to action plans, votes, key indicators, risk assessment project plans and risk assessment projects.  Please note: The user can get back to the home page at anytime from anywhere by clicking on the BarnOwl logo (top l.h.s of the page).
The BarnOwl navigation bar is split into two sections:

• The System View

The System View shows all available menu options.  For example, by clicking on Risk Management, a normal user is able to view unit based registers for objectives, risks, contributing factors and controls. An administrator, with permissions, is able to click on the ‘library’ menu option to maintain (create, merge or delete etc.) library objects (i.e. objectives, risks, controls etc.).

• The My BarnOwl View

The My BarnOwl can be customised by users. By clicking on the ‘manage my BarnOwl’ option, the user can add or remove a page as a shortcut on ‘My BarnOwl’. The user also has the option of adding a new subcategory or category to further customise and organise his /her pages.

How to view unit registers in BarnOwl Eclipse

By selecting the relevant menu item on the left-hand side you are able to view the relevant registers. For example click on tabs ‘System>Risk Management>Risk by Unit’ to view your risk register for the selected unit. The menu items with the word ‘Library’ are only accessible to an administrator/s and is discussed in more detail in the next section.
Fig 2.1 Menu Navigation

Fig 2.2: Risk Register

How to view and maintain library objects in BarnOwl Eclipse

Library functionality is used by an administrator/s to maintain the various library objects in BarnOwl such as Objectives, Risks, Controls, Contributing Factors, Key Indicators. All objects (Objective, Risk, Contributing Factor, Control, Key Indicators) are written to a library which enables a normal user to search the library (for example an objective, a risk, a control etc.) rather than creating a new object every time. The library is dynamically updated every time a user creates a new object in a unit where the user can’t find what he /she is looking for in the library.  The library however needs to be maintained by an administrator to keep it clean such as: merging risk titles, deleting risks which are no longer used / required. The library functionality makes use of the new BarnOwl user interface which is highly intuitive and user friendly. This new user interface, will in time, be pervasive throughout Eclipse, enabling unit based registers to be maintained using the new interface.
Fig 3: Library maintenance using the new user interface (UI)

*1 This view menu

*2 Favourite view menu

*3 Column menu

BarnOwl Eclipse videos and online help

You can find more information on BarnOwl Eclipse as follows:

• BarnOwl Eclipse Help Videos

Introduction to BO Eclipse covering:

• What BarnOwl Eclipse is
• Who can access BarnOwl Eclipse
• What you can and cannot do on BarnOwl Eclipse
• The basic BarnOwl Eclipse interface and Icons

You can view this video here.
BarnOwl Eclipse Action Plans covering:

• How to create an Action Plan
• How to respond to an Action Plan
• How to export your Action Plans to your Outlook Calendar
• How to export or save your Action Plan register to Excel

You can view this video here.

• BarnOwl Online Manual

You can find assistance via BarnOwl’s online help manual at https://api.barnowl.co.za/support-info/documentation/ and click on the ‘BarnOwl help’ link: http://docs.barnowl.co.za/barnowlhelp/. The ‘BarnOwl Web’ menu provides online help for Eclipse:
Fig 4: Online Eclipse help

• BarnOwl online courses and free spotlights
• Online courses: https://api.barnowl.co.za/training/
• View past spotlights: https://api.barnowl.co.za/spotlight/ including spotlights on BarnOwl Eclipse
• Upcoming events: https://api.barnowl.co.za/events/

• Help desk support for Client champions
• BarnOwl provides a help desk for designated Client champions: https://api.barnowl.co.za/contact-support/

About BarnOwl:
BarnOwl is a fully integrated governance, risk management, compliance and audit software solution used by over 200 organisations in Africa, Australasia and the UK. BarnOwl is a locally developed software solution and is the preferred risk management solution for the South African public sector supporting the National Treasury risk framework.
Please see www.barnowl.co.za  for more information.