ESUP at the Board of Regents

“We went into this [the upgrade] with our eyes wide open,” Vice President and Chief Information Officer Scott Studham explained at the June 12 meeting of the Board of Regents Finance committee.

VP Studham and ESUP Executive Program Director Dennis Wenzel presented an annual ESUP update at the committee’s June meeting, comparing the Program to a hockey game. During the first period, teams were actively engaged in discussions identifying processes they no longer needed. The second period--where the Program currently sits--is the building stage, where programmers are busy developing and ESUP delivers the system. The third period is reserved for post go-live, when the Program will deal with changes and issues.

“People tend to celebrate the go-live, but that’s only the end of the second period,” Studham cautioned. 

The Finance committee, which includes Executive Oversight Committee member Vice President and CFO/Treasurer Richard Pfutzenreuter, were encouraged by the Program’s status and appreciated the progress made to date. Committee members asked a number of questions, including day one reporting expectations, the status of Identity Management, tertiary system engagement, and lessons learned from previous upgrade projects.

The presentation slides can be viewed here. To download a PDF of ESUP’s official status report, click here.

ESUP Update for July 1, 2013

Items from the blog
If you missed these ESUP items posted over the last two weeks, click on the title link to read more!

• OHR Portal steering committee kicks off -- The newly formed Office of Human Resources Portal Steering Committee held its first meeting on Friday, June 14, to help define, plan, and support the delivery of high-functioning, user-friendly HR functionality and content via the University’s new enterprise portal... 
• Consolidated Program Plan presentation -- On June 3rd, Rebecca Collings, program director from Cedar Crestone International (CCI), Kathy Brown, vice president for Human Resources, and Andy Hill, ESUP program director gave brief presentations on ESUP's Consolidated Program Plan and thanked the Program's partners at an event on the Twin Cities campus...
• New module in Student work stream -- A new module has started in the Student work stream: Academic Advisement... 
• ESUP at the Board of Regents -- On June 14, Dean Robert Elde presented an ESUP status report to the Board of Regents in his role as chair of the Executive Oversight Committee (EOC)...

HRMS hosts team appreciation lunch
On June 17, the HRMS work stream hosted an Appreciation Lunch for team members, including a taco bar, beverages, and desserts -- not to mention kudos and thanks from HRMS Project Director Kris Hause, Director of HR Operations Lori Lamb, and Vice President Kathy Brown. Brown commented on the critical importance of the HRMS project to the future of the Office of Human Resources and the University, and Lamb complimented the enthusiasm of team members to take on challenging work and do it well. Hats off to the HRMS project team, governance groups, and SMEs, for their great work to date!













Quick hits and reminders from across the work streams

• The Executive Oversight Committee approved two change requests at the 6/25/13 meeting, PY003 (payroll module) and BN001 (benefits module). Congrats, HRMS work stream!
• As of the end of June, the Student work stream reports 65% of Interactive Design and Prototyping (IDP) topics are complete or in progress. Great job to all involved! 

ESUP at the Board of Regents

On June 14, Dean Robert Elde presented an ESUP status report to the Board of Regents in his role as chair of the Executive Oversight Committee (EOC). Accompanied by the full EOC, Dean Elde provided an overview of the Program’s goals, multiple work streams, complex timeline, budget, and Program Quality Review (PQR) results. Following the presentation, the Regents asked questions and gave feedback.

Regent David Larson, speaking from his experience merging decentralized units into one global enterprise, encouraged those working on ESUP to continue reducing the number of customizations and modifications. Regent Clyde Allen reinforced ESUP’s focus on data, both now and in the future. He asked if ESUP was addressing longer-term extensibility. Finally, Regent Abdul Omari appreciated ESUP’s “synergy with faculty, staff, and students during a time of change” and reiterated the need for continuous communication.

On June 13, Vice President for Human Resources Kathy Brown and Director of HR Operations Lori Lamb gave a more detailed update on the HRMS work stream to the Faculty and Staff Affairs Committee. Vice President Brown described the HRMS project as a “foundational” priority for the Office of Human Resources, and praised the hard work and collaboration of project team members and stakeholders within the HRMS work stream and across ESUP. Regent David McMillan spoke to the critical importance of “business process optimization” as a part of the current Analyze and Design phase, and asked Director Lamb about the depth of the commitment to reduce customizations.

“It’s as strong as I could have imagined,” said Lamb, adding that the commitment starts with President Kaler and the Executive Oversight Committee. “People are actually saying, ‘Maybe simpler is better.’”

Click on the following link to watch a video recording of the ESUP presentation to the Board of Regents on June 14. The ESUP presentation starts about one hour and 35 minutes into the meeting.