We
will achieve success through our approach, which includes the following
approaches and techniques:
IMPLEMENTATION
TEAMS
Team
Responsibilities
Participation
in implementation teams is an institutional priority.
Teams are responsible for interfacing and converting their area of
responsibility to the new system.
Each
team is empowered to make decisions that affect their area of responsibility
without prior approval of the steering committee. Decisions that affect more
than one team must be made with the involvement of all affected teams.
Decisions that affect more than one system must be made with the involvement
of all affected Systems Teams. Any exception that impacts college policy or
would extend the project time line must be reviewed by the steering committee.
Each
team is empowered to resolve its own conflicts subject to the communication
protocol described below. The appropriate Steering Committee members must
address conflicts that cannot be readily resolved.
Teams
are responsible for putting in the codes associated with their modules.
Documenting
Process
Each
team is responsible for keeping appropriate documentation of processes. When appropriate, process mapping will be used to identify
key individuals and steps for each process.
Decision
Making
Each
team has the delegated authority to make decisions about coding, processing
rules, and process improvement without prior approval of the Steering
Committee. As members of the
teams represent cross-functional units, decisions that affect more than one
area must be made with the consultation of other teams.
Similarly, decisions that affect more than one module must be made with
the involvement of all affected module teams.
Conflict
Resolution Process
Each team is empowered to
resolve its own conflicts. If
teams cannot reach consensus on an issue, the leader must forward the issue to
the Steering Committee. In the
event that the Steering Committee cannot reach consensus, the Steering
Committee Chairperson will bring the issue to the appropriate level.
COMMUNICATION
PLAN
Consistent,
ongoing communication is central to the effective and efficient implementation
of the Colleague software system. The
Steering Committee, as the policy recommending and oversight committee for
this project, has been charged with the responsibility of assuring that these
communication needs are met. Toward
this end, regular implementation updates will be provided to the entire campus
community. Additionally, the
Steering Committee will give and receive information from the Functional
teams. The Chairperson of the
Steering Committee will be responsible for communicating the status of the
project to the President on a regular basis.
With
respect to the application work teams, each team should develop a method of
documenting decisions made and providing information on these decisions to the
Steering Committee. All
communication with Datatel employees will go through the Project Manager and
Project Leader(s). Technical
communication between IS and Datatel technical support is the exception.
The
Project Manager will be responsible for communicating all information about
the implementation project to the college community.
As part of the communication network, an E-newsletter will be produced
to keep college employees informed regarding the status of the implementation
of Colleague. It is the
responsibility of each employee of the college to keep informed about the
project by reading the E-newsletter. The
E-newsletter will be the primary means of communicating project status
information. Information will
also be provided on the District’s Website.
SYSTEM
MODIFICATIONS
SRS
software support – SRS will be modified only for the following reasons:
-
A significant software error is identified; or
-
A mandate by the Board, Chancellor or an external entity requires the
system to be changed.
Customizing
Datatel Software - Colleague will be used in its original form throughout the
implementation period as defined in this document. This means no changes,
including custom programming, will be performed unless a complete
“Fit/Gap” analysis has been completed and approved by the Steering
Committee.
Security
(access) is determined by who “owns" the data and with the involvement
of all affected module teams.
BUSINESS
PROCESS ANALYSIS (BPA)
BPA
mapping is fundamental to the effective use of the new system. It may yield
more efficient, streamlined processes, which change the tasks and
responsibilities of employees involved in the old and new processes. Colleague
will enable existing employees to more effectively support and serve students,
faculty, and staff. Process re-engineering will be performed throughout the
project but will occur most intensely during the earlier planning phases.
PLANNING
Conversion
Plan
Converting
data from the current legacy system to the Colleague system will involve both
a manual and programmatic process. A programmatic conversion (the preferred
method) requires IS to write a conversion program, which converts the data in
the selected file directly to the Colleague system. The manual or programmatic conversion decision will be done
on a file-by-file basis taking into consideration several factors including
data redundancy and accuracy, staff time, and costs. A manual conversion
requires that all data in the selected file be reentered into the Colleague
system.
Training
Plan
A
training facility has been established for scheduled and informal training
sessions. Training is key to
ensuring that the new system is used properly and with confidence. A
“train-the trainer” approach will be used in which select people from each
functional area will receive formal training. These individuals will then be
responsible for training others in their work area.
Cross training will be an important part of the implementation process.
More than one individual will be trained in the use of each Colleague module.
This will ensure that the colleges are not dependent upon one specific
individual to effectively serve its customers.
Practice/Test
Plan
Testing
software to ensure that it has been configured properly and that it functions
according to needs is a critical quality assurance step. Software testing will
be heavily emphasized during the later stages of implementation.
The users of the system will be responsible for testing all the
scenarios that occur as a part of their daily work. IS staff will be available
as a resource to assist users in meeting their testing deadlines.
System
Interfaces Plan
Interfaces
between the current legacy system and Colleague will be developed by IS with
the assistance of key users. Some of the permanent interfaces include the IFAS
system, Sungard HR System, Sigma Financial Aid System (SAM) and the Image Now
document imaging system. Implementation
teams will identify additional interfaces as the project proceeds forward.
Document
