Minutes - July 20, 2004
Present: Doug Gelinas and John Gregory (UMaine), Dick Campbell (UMA), Sharon Nadeau (UMF), Don Raymond (UMFK), Tom Potter (UMM), Dick Kimball and Lida Pinkham (UMPI), Bill Wells (USM), Laurie Pruett (University College), Gerry Dube (UNET), Elsa Nuñez, Joanne Yestramski, Tracy Bigney, Judy Ryan, Tracy Elliott, and Jim Breece (UMS), John Sponaugle, Cindy Mitchell, Jean Meakin, Alison Cox, Eddie Meisner (Project Enterprise)
1. Project Enterprise Status: update provided by John Sponaugle and Project Enterprise team members
a. Finance. In Bill Elsemore’s absence, John Sponaugle provided an update. Chart of Accounts values are complete and loaded to the database through 6/30/04. The Chart will be updated as new FAST accounts are established.
The FAST-to-PeopleSoft translation tool (maps from FAST to PS ChartFields) was presented on July 19 to a group of campus Chief Financial Officers and staffs. It is anticipated that the translate table will be maintained for 2 ½ to 3 years until we are completely off the existing software. Dick Campbell cautioned that procedures must be in place to limit errors and glitches before modules are introduced to users.
Work is ongoing on the GL Inquiry Pages to replace and enhance webFast. A demonstration using converted data will be available soon.
b. Purchasing/Accounts Payable/Expense module. At the outset, the expenses module will be implemented for use by System-wide Services employees only, and for those campus employees who input data by line item. Training all employees on use of expenses will be huge, and we are already facing training of 1600+ people on the other aspects of financials.
Jean Meakin provided an update on Purchasing and Accounts Payable (handout is attached herewith). She emphasized that she still needs data scenarios to test before go-live from all campuses (except UMA).
c. Position Management. John noted that a consultant has been engaged and will begin work on August 9 with Miriam White and Ann Gravelle to determine what we want to achieve from position management, and to begin outlining the process for working with the campuses. The presidents want management tools, information, and reports, not a control process. Position management will be accomplished at the campus, not the System, level. Among other possibilities, it should allow us to keep track over time, count FTEs, and look at vacant as well as filled positions.
Go-live may occur earlier than January 1, 2005, depending on the objectives identified. A short (2-3 day) fit/gap session is anticipated for the third week of August. Fit/gap participants will be selected by the Steering Committee (position management crosses budget and personnel disciplines), and John Sponaugle will contact the identified people no later than early in the week of July 26th.
Fit/gap participants will need to be prepared with data and additional position descriptions for any vacant (“ghost”) positions.
Other questions included: how are budgets and labor distribution managed? What about students? Graduate assistants? Part-time faculty?
d. Training and Communications. Cindy Mitchell said that the Training and Communications Coordinators (“TACC” team) from the campuses have been meeting with her and her training team regularly and are all engaged and helpful in providing feedback. In response to questions, she explained that these people were identified by the campus CFOs. It is possible that some of the Training and Communications Coordinators will remain in place for the Student Administration implementation, but others are specific to Financials.
“How Business is Changing,” the first training class to be completed, will be taught on campuses beginning in August. This is not hands-on training, but an overview designed for viewing by everyone—whether or not they need to be trained on specific tasks. The Sponsors and Steering Committee asked to see this class at their September meeting.
Cindy anticipates that 17 or 18 individual classes need to be taught for this roll-out. GL Inquiry Pages alone will be taught to 1600 people. The campus TAC team member will help to ensure that employees have the appropriate background in the various subject matters, and will also make sure that Excel classes are available for those who need them.
Focus Groups are being held at all campuses plus SWS. The questions and feedback from these participants have been extremely helpful in planning training.
Bangor Savings Bank has been approached as a source for dedicated space for training near the Project Enterprise offices in Bangor. Cindy and Joanne will pursue this possibility. Campuses are working on identifying where/how their training space will be made available.
e. Academic Structure/Admissions. Alison Cox provided several handouts, including an update on Student Administration, a Requirements Definition Report, and the Admissions Campus Community Fit/Gap Schedule (attached). The functional groups are meeting regularly, as are most campus ERP groups. The academic structure for PeopleSoft is being established according to our present, seven-university, structure. Obviously, if there are changes to this system resulting from the Strategic Plan, there will be many changes that will be required in the planned academic structure as well.
The Admissions portion will result in 35,000 new users. Training issues are enormous. There are security issues to be resolved, and some data here are shared with Human Resources. The biodemographic data about a student also includes confidential personal information (SAT scores, background etc.), not just information about the student’s program.
Observations included:
- Interface with ISIS should be in real time, if possible, and some ISIS data will have to be converted in real time.
- ISIS data are fairly clean—conversion should be smooth.
- Be sensitive to academic calendar when scheduling target dates for interfaces.
- Limited access groups will be converting test data November-January; the “big stuff” not until July-September 2005.
f. Other (development, housing, timetrack, etc.)
- Safari is installed, tech users trained, data are loaded, report writing begun. End-user reporting will be implemented by September.
- Gerry Dube said that RMS housing software is being installed at USM (October 1 implementation date) and at UMF (November 22). UMPI is likely next, and then UMM.
- Timetrack allows for time collection and interfaces with PeopleSoft. Elapsed time is being used at UMaine’s student auxiliary services; it is expected that this will be used at other campuses and entities.
- It is hoped that graduate schools can be added to the e-application.
- The Student Employment Task Force met on July 7, and anticipates four to six meetings. The group will identify processes that exist within student employment from hire to time entry to payroll, and will determine “as is/to be.” Some processes will need redesign. Tamara Mitchell leads the group, which includes human resources, financial aid, and payroll perspectives.
- John Sponaugle initiated a discussion about the need for hard copies of the check advice received by employees who have direct deposit of paychecks. Since PeopleSoft’s Self Service allows employees to see (and print, if desired) the same check advice that arrives in the mail, we might want to eliminate the expense and effort of sending out the hard copies. However, we also do not want to inconvenience employees who do not have access to a computer. It was suggested that employees who receive the check advice in the mail be offered the opportunity to opt in or opt out, as is their preference.
- Project Enterprise staff have been revisiting the security roles as they were originally defined in Human Resources (some roles may have been under- or over-authorized). The new roles have simple, descriptive titles, have been checked for accuracy, and should be implemented in the next few days.
- Human Resources security has been an issue: it’s primarily handled centrally, and is a lot of work for one person. Modifications to the system will allow a responsible employee on a campus access to authorize roles within the department for which he/she is responsible. This way, at the campus level, a person can authorize a role and assign someone to perform that role.
- John S. said that an advertisement will be posted this weekend for a security person.
2. Campus project leaders
Doug Gelinas brought up the role of the Steering Committee vs. the role of the Campus Project Leaders—should they be the same? Where do Training and Communications Coordinators fit in? The description (handout) of the Campus Project Leader needs to indicate that the CPL should communicate with the Training and Communications Coordinator. It was noted that much communication is needed, and bottlenecks can occur if everything is funneled through only one person.
3. Project Recognition and Project Enterprise Roll-out
Eddie Meisner noted that recognition letters from the Chancellor will be sent to all campus HR employees whose participation in the HR implementation last year warrant them. Those whose work exceeded the norm will receive additional recognition. Plans are being developed for an event (possibly involving a sporting event) in early January after go-live of Financials, to recognize those who have worked hard on this implementation.
Copies of the new Project Enterprise logo were distributed. The Chancellor announced the new name to the Board of Trustees. A posting will be made, in the near future, to the System-wide listserv, announcing the new name and tagline, and directing employees to the revised and updated website.
Respectfully submitted,
Eddie Meisner, Recorder
Attachments to hard copy of these minutes:
- General Ledger Update
- Purchasing and Accounts Payable Update
- Student Administration Update
- Requirements Definition Report
- Admissions Campus Community Fit/Gap Schedule
- Campus Project Leader