Weekly Update for the week of May 6, 2013

EOC approves 2 change requests
The Executive Oversight Committee approved two change requests from the Student work stream earlier today. These approvals (Course Catalog and Course Approval) represent the first changes that require new development and signal the official transition to Phase 3, Configure and Develop. Project Director William Dana said these approvals are “a significant milestone... let the development begin!” Congratulations, Student work stream!

HRMS, Finance work streams tackle joint Payroll Accounting IDPs
Beginning in late April, the HRMS and Finance teams began joint Interactive Design and Prototyping (IDP) sessions on Payroll Accounting. Each session includes more than 50 invitees, representing a variety of stakeholders from across the finance and human resources user community and central offices. ESUP Reporting team members are also in attendance to understand and identify reporting implications and requirements. Dennis Bortolus (CCI) is leading the sessions, bringing tremendous experience implementing PeopleSoft payroll accounting functions at other large research institutions.

This cross-functional team is working together to identify solutions that best meet the needs of the University community while also addressing ESUP objectives of simplifying business processes and reducing system modifications -- paying particularly close attention to the specific requirements around research and grants. During the week of April 22, the group discussed combo codes and account mapping; last week, the focus was on salary distribution entry. Upcoming topics include encumbering, fringe processing, and historical salary adjustments. This is important work requiring strong collaboration across work streams. The Program is excited about the process and progress to date!

Quick hits and reminders from across the work streams

• The Portal team presented to the Student work stream at their bi-monthly all-Student team meeting on May 2. The two project teams will work together more closely to ensure they understand how to think about Portal when looking at alternatives to filling gaps.  
• The HRMS work stream will begin their Time & Labor and Absence Management IDP sessions in mid-July. The Recruiting Solutions (the University’s name for recruiting business processes within PeopleSoft’s Talent Acquisition Manager) will begin their IDP sessions in September.
• The Portal team is looking for input on some of the opportunities that have been identified through plan and discover activities. A survey will be available from May 13-20 to gather this input. The link will be in next week’s posting.  
• Gophers, Gators, and Horses, oh my! Florida Gator die-hard fan Walter Terrell (CCI) came face to face with Goldy Gopher last week. The pair seemed to get along well enough for a photo... 
• During last week’s trip to the Crookston campus, the ESUP group was treated to a tour. In addition to great feedback from Crookston ESUP participants, a highlight was the Equestrian Center where JP Hagerty and Santiago Fernandez-Gimenez stopped to horse around for a few minutes. (Get it, horse around?)