Changes to class registration dates

To accommodate the planned Upgrade cutover and Go Live periods in April, class registration timing is changing. Most registration periods will be held earlier than previously published (as noted below) to ensure students can successfully register for May, summer, and fall terms.

May/Summer	Fall
Crookston 3/23-4/2 queued registration 4/24 open enrollment Duluth 3/2 Morris 3/18 Rochester 3/9 Twin Cities 3/9 for degree-seeking students 5/1 open enrollment	Crookston 3/23-4/2 queued registration 4/24 open enrollment Duluth 3/16 Medicine & Pharmacy students 3/23-4/3 queued registration 4/23 open enrollment Morris 3/30-4/2 queued registration 4/23 open enrollment Rochester 3/23-4/4 queued registration (including evenings & weekends) 5/1 open enrollment Twin Cities 3/23-4/4 queued registration (including evenings & weekends) 5/1 open enrollment

There will also be a change to how the registration queue will be created:

• Stages will be defined based only on cumulative credit total (completed and in-progress credits) only. 
• Stage definition will differ by campus. Details will be published on respective campus websites soon. 
• Students will then be randomized within those stages.

This is how the queue will be created once the Upgrade is complete, but due to the positive feedback received regarding this change, we were able to implement it now. For Twin Cities and Rochester students only, registration appointment times will extend into the evenings and weekends to accommodate a shortened timeframe.

Due to the random assignment of registration appointments to students within each defined stage, previously available tables of appointment times by student name will not be published. Students will be able to look up their registration appointment time using the “Your registration time” application for their campus.

Undergraduate students should expect an email with their registration appointment time approximately two weeks prior to the start of queued registration on their campus. There will also be additional communications to students alerting them to these changes starting as early as February 9.

ESUP Student team meets in-person to collaborate, share progress

More than 120 people involved with the Student systems upgrade met in-person June 16-17 to work together face-to-face. The group met on the Twin Cities campus and included representatives from all campuses and all areas of the Student project: academic advisement, admissions, campus community, financial aid, SEVIS, student finance, and student records. 

The two-day meeting kicked off with a visit from President Kaler who discussed his vision of operational excellence as it relates to ESUP. Following his presentation, attendees learned more about work stream intersections from ESUP leaders before seeing some of the student experience in the upgraded system and having time to work as module teams.

From top and left to right: All Student group from all campuses,
President Kaler, and All Student breakout session

The second day of the meeting began with Vice Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Education Bob McMaster addressing the importance of supporting and improving the student experience. Before having more time to work together as module teams, the group participated in a workshop on how to address difficult changes with stakeholders. The team was encouraged to follow the L.E.A.D. approach:

• Listen using active listening skills
• Empathize
• Answer the person’s questions
• Direct to other sources of information

Associate Vice Provost and University Registrar Sue Van Voorhis said bringing the Student work stream together was a good way to reconnect and collaborate with colleagues. “It was great to have representatives from all campuses meet in-person after a long period of virtual meetings and conference calls.” 

On the Road Again...

Santiago Fernandez-Gimenez between
Nolte and Williamson Halls going to another
University unit to share ESUP information

In the past year ESUP staff, mostly Santiago Fernandez-Gimenez, Change Management director, has logged many miles visiting over 100 unit, governance, and professional network meetings including the:

• Senate Committee on Finance and Planning 
• College of Science and Engineering
• Carlson School of Management
• All five system campuses
• College of Biological Sciences

The visits offer the opportunity for face-to face communication between ESUP staff and stakeholder communities across the University’s five-campus system.

These crucial conversations have transformed over time, starting with executive and leadership meetings focusing on the why and how of ESUP. (Watch the first three “About ESUP” videos for this high-level context.) As the program moved past the analysis phase and into its current development phase, these conversations are starting to address specific changes coming with ESUP. 

Many blog posts in the Upgrade newsletter are based on questions faculty and staff asked during these face-to-face meetings. Listening and responding to stakeholder concerns is at the core of ESUP’s change management strategy. 

ESUP is interested in meeting with more faculty and staff prior to or during fall semester to hear concerns and share the latest information on faculty-facing changes. Please email the program at esup@umn.edu if your college or unit is interested in more information.

ESUP creating a 'one-stop-shop' for reporting

University leaders and staff need reports to help them make good decisions. However, these reports are not always easy to find. This will change with the Enterprise Systems Upgrade Program (ESUP).

“In terms of reporting changes coming as a part of ESUP, the idea of a reporting center is the thing I’m most excited about,” says Lori Lamb, chair of ESUP’s HRMS functional steering committee. “Having ready access to reporting information in one place will be a big step forward.” Lamb is referring to the Reporting Center, a concept now taking shape as part of the program.

 

The idea is to centralize the reports University faculty and staff need to do their job through the Portal when the upgraded systems go live late in 2014. It won’t be the only place to find reports but it will be THE place to access reports from multiple reporting tools like UM Reports, PeopleSoft and UM Analytics.

 

The Reporting Center will:

• categorize reports based on their function (i.e. finance, human resources, student, etc.), 
• include robust search functionality, and
• allow users to customize their own view to include their favorites.

 To help identify features that work well for users and enhance functionality, Reporting and Data Management (RDM) staff conducted usability testing and feedback sessions by sharing an early version with University staff from the System campuses.

UM Morris feedback session - Clare Dingley, registrar and director of the Office of the Registrar pictured

“We’re encouraged by the positive response and we’ll use the feedback as we work towards a final product,” said Amy Winkel, reporting project director for ESUP. “We appreciate everyone’s input and the opportunity to create this tool that will make it easier to access reports in the future.”

Look for additional Reporting Center information and details in future issues of the Upgrade and at upgrade.umn.edu as development work continues.

ESUP Update 9/9/2013 - 9/22/13

Portal leadership team retreat
Members of the Portal Leadership Team gathered on August 19, 2013, in Folwell Hall for a half-day retreat to launch a content governance process and to energize the team for the release of the rough draft this fall. Click here for more information.

ESUP fosters University reporting and data management collaboration
Through ESUP, a strong partnership has formed between the Program’s Reporting and Data Management (RDM) work stream and the Enterprise Data Management and Reporting (EDMR) initiative. Together, RDM and EDMR are addressing important reporting and data-related capabilities for the University over the short and long-term. Click here to read more.

ESUP student workers get real life experience
This summer, four student workers helped keep the ESUP team moving forward. While two have moved on, two will remain throughout the school year. Program Director Andy Hill said of the student workers, “We really appreciate having the opportunity to give real life work experience to our students.” Click here for more information.

Quick hits and reminders from across the work streams

• ESUP would like to congratulate Dean Robert Elde, chair of the Executive Oversight Committee, on his recently-announced retirement at the end of the academic year. We look forward to continuing our work with Dean Elde and supporting him during this transition.


• In the past week, the HRMS work stream held two OHR Brown Bag events and a second collaboration session with the Finance and Reporting and Data Management work streams on the recommended approach to restructuring appointment data. A total of 67 people from across the HR community attended the Brown Bags in person and online. More than 50 people participated in the collaborations session, which ended with general endorsement of the recommended approach to simplifying and streamlining core HR data and processes.


• Survey Said!!! - ESUP is sending its second stakeholder assessment survey to nearly 5,000 people across the System campuses this week. The purpose of the survey is to gather new information, compare the results to the first survey sent in December 2012, and gain a better understanding of stakeholder awareness, engagement, and areas of concern to move forward most effectively. If you receive an invitation to take the survey, please complete it as soon as possible.


• Jennifer McCord and Max Thacker from CCI led four training sessions for the Student work stream on how to create WorkCenters in PeopleSoft. These sessions concluded the last week in August and were attended by 41 people. The Student work stream has had fewer IDP sessions due to the busy start of term, though work has continued in earnest and the team is on track to complete IDP by the end of October.


• On the road again… Members of ESUP’s leadership team will be returning to the system campuses this fall. They will meet with campus leadership and hold listening sessions with the staff who are helping make this program a success. Plans are underway for the Duluth and Rochester campuses with trips to Crookston and Morris anticipated for later this fall.

Subscribe to the ESUP Blog!
Get each new blog post delivered to your inbox by entering your email address in the Subscribe by Email window at upgrade.umn.edu and following the instructions. Once your subscription is activated, you will receive an email alerting you to new ESUP posts late in the afternoon the day they are published. If there is no post, you receive no email -- simple as that!

Consolidated Program Plan Presentation

ESUP thanks partners at Consolidated Program Plan event

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.

Over 100 people from all areas of ESUP came to the event to make connections, get reacquainted, and hear Collings' presentation which included more information on:

• What is a program plan?
• How did ESUP develop their program strategies?
• Where can people find information on the program strategy?
• What are some program deliverables?

Collings, Brown, and Hill each expressed their gratitude to ESUP's partners for their hard work, creativity, and perseverance on the Program. They encouraged everyone to continue their efforts to develop and implement an effective system for the entire University community.

"I'm relatively new to the Program so hearing more about the history and framework at this event was beneficial," said Patricia Samberg, instructional designer and system campus training lead, who attended the event from Duluth. "It was also a great opportunity to meet my colleagues from the other campuses and feel like a part of an enthusiastic and dedicated team."

The presentation is available to view here. Team members can get more information on the plan by navigating to the internal program site.

Weekly Update for the week of May 13, 2013

Finance work stream kicks off
The Finance work stream held their project kick off last Wednesday, May 8, at Coffman Union. About 175 invited attendees participated both online and in person. They heard from a number of project representatives, including the project sponsor, Mike Volna; project director, Dan Hemauer; and chair of the EFS Functional Steering Committee, Rob Super. The presentation is available on the Finance website.

Phase 1: Plan and Discover work begins today for Finance’s General Ledger module. Congratulations to the entire Finance team and good luck!

Emerging themes from system campuses
This spring, members of the ESUP leadership team travelled to the Morris and Crookston campuses to meet with Program participants and campus leadership. The discussions and listening sessions yielded helpful insights and some immediately actionable items to improve Program operations. Some of the commonly heard themes include:

• Employees: be sure to take care of our people; be careful with burnout.
• Training: don’t make formal training a barrier.
• Communications: focused, smaller topics that can be repurposed or easier to find.
• Repository: send out copies or file paths to meeting documents in advance.
• Kudos: the many people involved with ESUP have been doing a great job.

Portal launches new survey, Faculty Advisory Team
ESUP’s Portal team is gathering opportunities and needs for the new portal, and wants to hear from the University community about some of the ideas already collected. The team will use the survey responses to prioritize opportunities and begin design work. Please fill out the 10-15 minute survey by May 20th. A sneak peek of survey topics includes: mobile functionality, checklists, grants management, events calendars, drag and drop graphics.

The Portal Faculty Advisory Team met for the first time last week, with 7 faculty members on three campuses. Santiago Fernandez-Gimenez attended to help frame Portal in the context of ESUP, which faculty appreciated. The team created a strategy for engaging faculty around Portal in the fall.  They were also very pleased with the engagement approach of gathering extensive input into Portal opportunities, even if not all suggestions can be initially realized.

Quick hits and reminders from across the work streams

• The Executive Oversight Committee (EOC) approved two Student work stream change requests at today’s meeting, Scholarships and Application Processing. These requests are approved to begin work within the next phase of the project; Phase 3: Configure and Develop.
• Dean Robert Elde, chair of the Executive Oversight Committee, met with University Chancellors last week to discuss ESUP’s progress. The Chancellors were supportive of the Program and pleased with the campus-wide engagement efforts.
• Last week, the University’s Board of Regents approved ESUP’s equipment request to purchase new Exadata and Exalogic servers, which will be used to house a number of platforms, including: the new portal, the new identity management system, and upgraded PeopleSoft applications. The servers are expected to be delivered this month.  
• The Student FA module will be moving their summer operations from Fraser Hall over to 16 Johnston Hall, effective May 20th. 
• Members of the Integration project have been holding preliminary meetings with collegiate IT leads to discuss how changes to the PeopleSoft applications and data structures will impact their home grown applications and reports. 
• The HRMS work stream is beginning to plan their communication and stakeholder engagement efforts around the planned data conversion strategy and streamlined appointment structure. More information will be coming soon.

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?) 

Weekly Update for April 29, 2013

HRMS upgrade to include key new functionality
The HRMS work stream is excited to announce two key decisions that will mean important new functionality for HRMS users at implementation. The Executive Oversight Committee has approved a timing change to include Time & Labor and Absence Management with the initial implementation. The committee also approved a scope change to include Recruiting Solutions -- previously referenced as Talent Acquisition Management (TAM) or Employee Applicant Tracking -- as part of the current upgrade. These modules will provide high-demand functionality without increasing the project timeline or budget. Kudos to everyone who helped to make the business case for these important system enhancements!

Backes to replace Warren on Integration Steering Committee
Lisa Warren, chair of the Integration Steering Committee since its inception in 2012, has recently stepped down from that role. Andrea Backes (College of Biological Sciences) has assumed the chair responsibilities, effective April 22, 2013. "I am grateful for the masterful role that Lisa has played in helping to get the Program launched. I am also pleased that Andrea Backes, who serves as Director of Finance and HR for me in CBS, will transition into the role as chair,” said Dean Robert Elde, chair of the Executive Oversight Committee. “Since Andrea and I work closely within CBS we will be able to optimally coordinate the work of the committees that we chair."

New faces around ESUP
ESUP welcomes new team members for the second week in a row! Help us welcome Bruce Erickson who joins ESUP as a strategic communications consultant for the program with a Reporting and Data Management focus. The Student work stream welcomes a new consultant, Peg Johnson (Student Records), and a new analyst, Barbara Jensen (Admissions). Finally, CCI consultant Dan Croce (technology) is transitioning off the project. Bob Nadon is transitioning on as Croce’s replacement. Welcome, all!

ESUP on the road
Program director Andy Hill and assistant director Santiago Fernandez-Gimenez visited the Morris campus last week to meet with staff and campus leadership involved with the Program. Members of ESUP plan to visit the Crookston campus this week to hold a similar event. If you would like ESUP to visit your department or college, please email esup@umn.edu or Tricia Conway (conwa012@umn.edu) for more information.

Quick hits and reminders from across the work streams

• The Student work stream is holding its bi-monthly all-Student team meeting this Thursday. Attendees can expect a presentation on the Portal project.
• The Reporting and Data Management work stream attended a Data Governance retreat last week hosted by Enterprise Data Management and Reporting.

Weekly Update for the week of April 8, 2013

First ESUP business processes approved
Last week, the Executive Oversight Committee provided final approval on team recommendations on nine business processes from the Student work stream. The first was the process that students use to view their account details online (Student Finance module). This process is changing from a home-grown application to PeopleSoft delivered functionality. The other eight processes were Student Records processes (PCAS, APLUS, APAS, Graduation Planner, Education Abroad System, Athlete Certification System, Min/Max Credit Adjustments, and the Degree clearance process). These custom processes will be brought forward with a technical upgrade based on the recommendation of Oracle, CCI, and the project team.

ESUP on campus
ESUP has been busy this spring meeting with governing groups and visiting the system campuses. Assistant program director Santiago Fernandez-Gimenez presented an ESUP overview at the Financial Systems User Network (FSUN) on Thursday, followed by Rob Super, Finance Functional Steering Committee Chair, working group representatives, and Finance project director Dan Hemauer, who provided more specifics on the Financial project goals. All presentations can be found online at the FSUN website.

Following their presentation a few weeks ago to the Faculty Consultative Committee, Program director Andy Hill and Portal’s Julie Selander took their joint presentation to the P&A Senate meeting last Friday. Portal project director Susan Geller will head to the Rochester campus on Tuesday to host a Design Thinking workshop, and ESUP members are heading west to visit the Morris and Crookston campuses in the coming weeks. If you would like ESUP to present to your campus, department, academic unit, or professional organization, please contact Tricia Conway at conwa012@umn.edu.

Technical resources for ESUP team members
Are you working on ESUP and having trouble with your internet connection? Need help troubleshooting Google apps? If you’re experiencing trouble with your computer, please open a service ticket by calling 1-HELP (1-4357; system campuses please dial 612-301-4357) or by sending an email to help@umn.edu. Reference “ESUP” in the body of your email or to the person on the phone so your request is routed to the appropriate people.

Quick hits and reminders from across the work streams

• The Integration work stream launched an applications inventory survey to IT Directors across campus. The survey will remain live until April 19, 2013. For more information or to add your application to the inventory document, please visit: http://upgrade.umn.edu/p/integration.html and follow the directions.
• The Student work stream will hold a Student Records Town Hall meeting Friday, April 12th. Topics include the registration appointment queue, including a demo of what the student will see in self-service. More information can be found on the Student Records Stakeholder Engagement webpage.
• The Portal work stream continues to push for University-wide engagement by hosting four more Design-thinking workshops, holding listening sessions, and scheduling targeted one-on-one stakeholder interviews. For more information or for a look at the updated Portal work stream timeline, visit z.umn.edu/portal. 
• The Test work stream continues to meet with project directors to discuss the testing strategy and is beginning to develop ESUP’s test communications plan.
• Both the Technology and Reporting and Data Management work streams continue to be actively involved with the IDP process and are meeting with teams as needed.
• Project director Kris Hause was pleased to report the HRMS work stream completed their first IDP sessions, covering Creating a Person/Persons of Interest.

Subscribe to the ESUP blog!
As ESUP progresses, you can expect more information to be shared more frequently on the ESUP blog. Get every post delivered to your inbox by entering your email address in the Subscribe by Email window at upgrade.umn.edu and following the instructions. Once your subscription is activated, you will receive an email alerting you to new ESUP posts late in the afternoon the day they are published. If there is no post, you receive no email -- simple as that!

Weekly Update and Key Messages for the Week of 01/28/13

Systemwide Collaboration a Challenge -- and a Top Priority -- for ESUP
One of the most challenging aspects of ESUP so far has been identifying effective ways for the ESUP team and system stakeholders to collaborate across functions, units and campuses. Phase 1: Plan & Discover requires the participation of hundreds of people from all five campuses of the University, many of whom have expertise in multiple work streams, as well as ongoing responsibilities to their home departments. In Phase 2: Analyze & Design, the need for consistent, well-equipped meeting space and reliable tele-conferencing and collaboration platforms becomes even more important, since Interactive Design and Prototyping (IDP) sessions will require continuous engagement from key stakeholders several hours a day for multiple weeks.

This is clearly not “business as usual” at the University -- which is why ESUP has made collaborative work spaces, facilities, and technology a top program priority. This effort has pushed existing platforms like Google and UMConnect further, in some cases, than they were meant to go -- as a result, we continue to test new equipment and software for affordable and effective solutions to keep our teams connected wherever their members are. The goal is to develop a technology “tool kit,” with multiple options for work streams and users based on their specific needs for each particular session. The program has also reserved space across the Twin Cities campuses for fit-gap validation sessions and IDP sessions (which begin in February for the Student work stream) and is building out new conference space to meet immediate and long-term needs. In fact, ESUP is helping to pilot the use of such flexible meeting and work space at the University of Minnesota, with the hope that the space, technology, and practices developed by the program will help the entire University community.

“ESUP is committed to changing culture and organizational practices, as well as upgrading technology,” said program director Andy Hill. “We are working to ensure new ways of broad engagement and participation, including new technologies, collaborative spaces, facilitated meeting techniques, and more.”

In a perfect world, an IDP session would convene in the same space from start to finish, with no need to reset the room for whomever is using it next, no equipment to transport, and dedicated technical support in case something goes wrong. The challenge of finding enough space on campus that can be used several hours a day, several days a week, for several months is tough enough -- ensuring that it is consistent space, equipped for intensive, collaborative, and creative work by colleagues in multiple locations across the state, is daunting indeed.

We need your input! If you have specific concerns or ideas for facilities, technologies, or techniques to improve collaboration and engagement as the ESUP work streams move into the IDP process, please contact Tricia Conway at conwa012@umn.edu.

It’s Still Early, But Changes Are Coming!
As more people across the University learn about ESUP, we hear the question more frequently: What will this mean for me and my work? Those who use the Student, HRMS, and Finance systems on a daily basis have specific questions about key features and processes that impact their jobs (positively or negatively).

Users haven’t heard a lot of specific changes announced yet, in part because of the nature of the methodology being used. The Student work stream, for example, is just finishing Phase 1: Plan & Discover (informally known as the “What, Not How” phase) -- which is concerned with comparing the off-the-shelf PeopleSoft product to our current processes in order to solidify the scope of the project. In Phase 2: Analyze & Design, the Student team will delve into how our system and business processes should work through the IDP process. It is during this process that more specific changes to the system and processes will be identified and described.

That said, the foundational work undertaken in Phase 1: Plan & Discover is yielding specific improvements already. The HRMS work stream, for example, announced last week that the team has identified 133 earnings codes that can be inactivated (approximately 40 of which the user community sees) due to infrequent use or opportunities for streamlining.  This reduction in earnings codes will simplify the entry of HR/Payroll for the user community and the Office of Human Resources.  These codes will be inactivated in March 2013; user communications will share the details of this change in the next several weeks. Meanwhile,  in the Student work stream, the five campuses have agreed to use a single, consistent set of classroom characteristics when the University moves to its new class scheduling system, Ad Astra. These classroom characteristics are used to determine whether a given space is equipped and appropriate for a particular class or activity. Agreeing to a consistent list across all campuses  eliminates a modification to the PeopleSoft system required to maintain campus-by-campus characteristics.

The ESUP team and leadership are committed to sharing information and specific changes as this process unfolds! If you have questions about the process or progress of ESUP, please email esup@umn.edu.

ESUP at the Legislature
As part of the University’s response to the Minnesota legislature regarding administrative efficiency at the University of Minnesota, President Eric Kaler asked the ESUP team to prepare a brief update on the program and its progress to date. The one-page update was reviewed by the ESUP Executive Oversight Committee and shared with the president last Wednesday. The update is also available online.

New Team Members In Williamson
Several members of the Technology team (Application Development and Testing) moved into Williamson 150 on Monday. If you see new colleagues, be sure to welcome them and introduce yourself!

Register by Wednesday for the Portal Kickoff!
Wikipedia defines a web portal as, "...a website that brings information together from diverse sources in a uniform way." But what does that really mean? The U of M has myU, One Stop, and any number of online tools. But something is missing. Figuring that out is not a simple task. The real question is: "What SHOULD the portal be at the U of M?" Help us answer that question by attending the portal kickoff event.   Register for the event by Wednesday, Jan. 30, and learn more at z.umn.edu/portal.  If you can’t make the event, follow it on Twitter (#umnportal).

Weekly Update and Key Messages for the Week of 12/24/12

ESUP Forums at UMR, CLA
ESUP Program Director Andy Hill and UMN Director of Academic Support Resources Sue Van Voorhis traveled to the University of Minnesota Rochester campus on Tuesday, Dec. 18,  for a UMR campus kickoff event. According to Hill, UMR Chancellor Stephen Lehmkuhle spent more than four hours with the two of them and key UMR leaders; additionally, an open forum on the program was attended by approximately 40 members of the the UMR community, who expressed strong support and enthusiasm for the program and its goals.

Hill also gave an ESUP overview presentation to staff and stakeholders from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities College of Liberal Arts (CLA) on Wednesday, Dec. 19. According to CLA Finance Director Brent Gustafson, the audience numbered approximately 50 people, including most of the college’s Finance and HRMS user community and a number of key stakeholders from the academic side.

Other colleges interested in planning an ESUP forum should contact communications director Jim Thorp at (612) 624-8942 or jthorp@umn.edu.

Changes in ESUP Leadership
College of Biological Sciences Dean Robert Elde will be taking over as chair of the ESUP Executive Oversight Committee following Vice President for Research Tim Mulcahy’s retirement at the end of this month. (Read the full announcement here.)  Also, please welcome Sherwood Daniels to the ESUP Leadership Team, as project director for the Portal work stream and Susan Geller’s CCI counterpart.

HCM Rocks!
Last week’s demos of the latest versions of the HRMS system (PeopleSoft HCM version 9.1 and 9.2) earned rave reviews from HRMS project directors Kris Hause (UMN) and others in attendance. Among the system highlights, stakeholders were wowed by the Manager’s Dashboard, loved Forms and Approvals functionality, and saw great opportunities in the Life Events functionality for the Benefits module. Enthusiasm for the new system is high going into the final weeks of Phase 1 for HRMS.

Staggered Scheduling for ESUP Work Streams
Coordinating the several work stream-specific projects that comprise ESUP is no small task. Each is starting from a very different point, with its own unique scope and objectives, but with the need for a shared roll-out and successful cross-functional integration.

The Student and HRMS work streams, for example, are undertaking significant system and business-process changes, and as a result, are the first two work streams out of the gate. (In fact, Student is approximately four to six weeks ahead of HRMS, as planned, and is effectively piloting ESUP governance processes and methodologies for the rest of the program.)

Since EFS was implemented relatively recently, changes in the Finance work stream are less substantial, and Phase 1 for Finance has not yet begun in earnest. This is the reason that Finance system stakeholders have heard relatively little about the project in recent weeks. Rest assured, you will hear more about the Finance project in the new year, as the EFS upgrade gets underway and integration points with the Student and HRMS systems are discussed in detail.

The Portal and Enterprise Data Management and Reporting (EDMR) work streams are also still ramping up. The scope of these cross-functional projects touches each of the other work streams and requires both a high level of coordination and extensive stakeholder engagement to be successful. We will be reporting more frequently on the progress of these projects in the coming year, as well.

Upgrade Lab On Track for Early January
The CCI Upgrade Lab is on track to deliver the development and test environments for PeopleSoft CS version 9.0 (the new Student system) in early January, as planned.

ESUP Meetings and Communications Schedule for the Holidays
There are no ESUP sessions and few standing meetings scheduled after this week due to the winter holidays and break. If you have meetings scheduled, please take a moment to confirm them with your colleagues. Sessions will resume on Monday, Jan. 7.

This is the weekly update for Monday, Dec. 24, and there will be no ESUP messages on Monday, Dec. 31. Beginning on Monday, Jan. 7, the ESUP weekly update and key messages will resume the regular release time of Monday afternoons.

Weekly Update and Key Messages for the Week of 12/10/12

Please Welcome the Tech Team! 
As of this morning, the ESUP technology teams are officially moved into 150 Williamson. Please stop by and say hello -- they will be working in Williamson until the WBOB renovation is completed. 

Momentum Growing Across All Work Streams
Plan and Discover sessions for the Student and HRMS work streams continue at a brisk pace. Student has completed its Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) and Admissions sessions last week and is beginning to plan the Analyze and Design phase, which will launch in early 2013. HRMS is resuming its Benefits sessions following the close of open enrollment and will host two days of PeopleSoft demos on Wednesday and Thursday of this week. (See the ESUP Consolidated Calendar for details.)

The Finance work stream is preparing to launch three new work groups -- Accounts Payable, Billing, and Commitment Accounting -- and our e-Procurement vendor, SciQuest, is hosting its first user focus group this Thursday. Our two cross-functional work streams, Portal and Enterprise Data Management and Reporting (EDMR), continue to assemble their project teams and strategies in preparation for sessions beginning after the first of the year.

On the technology side of the program, the Identity Management and Security (IdM) work stream met with the University of Minnesota Foundation, Office of Information Technology IdM, and the ESUP Student and HRMS teams to discuss IdM requirements and integration points. These meetings will continue next week and include the Crookston, Duluth, Morris and Rochester campuses, as well as University Libraries and Google.

Finally, the ESUP leadership team also continues to develop. Please welcome Portal project director Sherwood Daniels, who will serve as Susan Geller’s counterpart from CedarCrestone (CCI), and Jacqueline (Jac) Campbell, project manager for metrics, who will be working to develop executive, internal and external metrics for ESUP.

ESUP Quality Review Process Begins This Week
As mentioned last week, CCI will conduct our first Program Quality Review to ensure that the appropriate leadership, structures, processes and documentation are in place for quality assurance. Vickie Cleary, a quality manager in CCI’s higher education practice, will be interviewing selected team members and surveying a larger group this week. Please understand that the purpose of this review is strictly quality assurance, so your honest feedback is requested and encouraged. If you are not contacted or surveyed, do not be concerned -- not everyone will be targeted in this or future quality reviews.

REMINDER: Stakeholder Assessment Survey Closes Tuesday
If you received an email invitation to take the ESUP Stakeholder Assessment Survey, please complete the survey by tomorrow, Tuesday, Dec. 11. We have had a strong response so far, but would like to hear from everyone targeted with this assessment! If you did not receive the survey, please keep in mind that this is only the first of many opportunities for users and stakeholders to engage with ESUP and make their opinions heard. If you would like to be included in future assessments, please email esup@umn.edu.

ESUP Expanding Across the U System
Following a successful kickoff event at the University of Minnesota Duluth and conversations and visits to the other University campuses, we are strengthening connections and scheduling forums at the University of Minnesota Rochester next week, and in Crookston and Morris in early 2013.

Weekly Update and Key Messages for the Week of 11/12/12

• The program and project directors want to thank the hundreds of subject-matter experts, end-users, and stakeholders from across the University of Minnesota system who have participated in the first few weeks of ESUP sessions.
• Project directors report that participants have been engaged, open to change, and embracing of the principle of reducing system customization.
• All five campuses have been well-represented, and despite occasional technical challenges, thus far everyone seems willing to take the time to do this right.
• Thank you, colleagues, for your time and effort so far!

• Last Wednesday, much of the ESUP Program repository on Google Drive were removed from view, disrupting access and work for a number of ESUP team members.
• The problem may have been triggered by a team member who had moved the ESUP Program folder to “My Drive,” then later decided to remove it from their personal drive.
• This action in itself should not have caused the more significant access problems that resulted, and the University has opened a ticket with Google to investigate these issues.
• Until the remaining repository folders and files are recovered and we understand exactly what happened, please do not remove the folder “ESUP Program” from your personal “My Drive.”

• Access to the ESUP Program repository on Google Drive is managed by the work stream project directors.
• If you are using Google but do not have access to the repository, please contact your project director.
• If you cannot use Google mail because of the nature of your work at the University, please let your project director know -- we need to know the scope of this problem so we can provide alternative access.
• Please do not rely on personal Gmail accounts to access ESUP folders and files.

• The ESUP Consolidated Calendar is now available online by clicking Calendar on the ESUP blog at upgrade.umn.edu.
• This calendar features all scheduled sessions across all work streams (primarily Student and HRMS at this point), plus blackout dates and other key events.
• For more information about these sessions, please contact the appropriate work stream project director.
• If you are a part of the University of Minnesota community and are unable to view these calendars, please email us at esup@umn.edu to report the issue.

• Approximately 180 people attended the University of Minnesota Duluth’s ESUP Kickoff Brown-Bag last Wednesday, Nov. 7, in Kirby Ballroom on UMD’s campus. 
• For more information, check out this brief overview of the event, including presentations.
• We hope to schedule similar forums on the other campuses in the next several weeks, and are looking into scheduling additional forums on the Twin Cities campus, as well.

• The Student work stream held its ESUP project kick-off on Thursday, Nov. 8. 
• More than 80 people, representing all five campuses, attended either in-person or online. 
• The purpose of the event was to create a shared understanding of project operations, project roles, and next steps for everyone involved with the project.
• The presentation can be found at z.umn.edu/studentkickoff. 
• The videos are not embedded in this version, but can be viewed using the following links:
• Bob McMaster: mediamill.cla.umn.edu/mediamill/html5/176355 
• Sue Van Voorhis: mediamill.cla.umn.edu/mediamill/html5/176361
• The Student work stream has also launched an informational web page with additional work stream-specific information at z.umn.edu/esupstudent.

• The current ESUP team roster, including both University of Minnesota (UMN) and CedarCrestone (CCI) team members, is now available online.
• This listing will continue to be updated regularly as the team composition changes.
• Please introduce yourself to those team members you don’t know when you have the chance!

UMD Holds ESUP Campus Kickoff

UMD ESUP 2014: Together Everyone Achieves More

Approximately 180 people attended the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) ESUP Campus Kickoff Brown-Bag on Wednesday, Nov. 7, in the Kirby Ballroom. Chancellor Lendley Black offered opening remarks, in which he anticipated the transformative impact of the effort – as well as the challenging work ahead.

“We are here to celebrate the Enterprise Systems Upgrade Program and the incredible impact it is going to have on our HR, Finance, and Student operations,” Black said. “We are taking a team approach, and the vice chancellors and myself are all committed to the process. … We are behind you and supporting the staff the whole way.”

Program Director Andy Hill offered an overview of ESUP, including the scope, rationale, and governance structure. Sue Bosell (Finance), Linda Kinnear (HRMS), Carla Boyd (Student), and Steve Patterson (IT) provided a more detailed look at the ways in which UMD has engaged in the program and opportunities for end-user involvement. The presentations were followed by a brief Q&A with all the presenters.

• UMD ESUP Kickoff Overview Presentation (PDF)
• UMD ESUP Kickoff TEAM Presentation (PDF)

Key Messages for the Week of 11/05/12

• ESUP work continues to gain momentum across all work streams, and weekly work stream status meetings are underway to keep the program on track and on schedule.

• HRMS Fit-Gap Validation Sessions begin this week.
• The purpose of these sessions is to validate and build upon the fit-gap analyses conducted previously by Oracle.
• For more information about these sessions, check the Google Calendar “ESUP - HRMS Meetings” or contact the HRMS project directors.

• University of Minnesota Duluth will hold an ESUP Campus Kickoff Brown-Bag on Wednesday, Nov. 7, from noon to 1:30 p.m. at Kirby Ballroom.
• The kickoff will include a brief welcome from UMD’s senior leadership; an overview of the Enterprise Systems Upgrade Program (ESUP) from Program Director Andy Hill; and a more detailed look at the impact of ESUP at UMD and the role of UMD stakeholders in the initiative -- as well as an opportunity for questions and answers.
• For more information, please contact Sue Bosell on the UMD campus.
• We hope to schedule similar forums on the other campuses in the next several weeks, and are looking into scheduling additional forums on the Twin Cities campus, as well.

• The portal project is now starting project initiation phase and will be working on a project charter and other foundation processes.

• Please welcome Tricia Conway (UMN) as our latest addition to the Program Management Office.