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New financial system celebrates end of first phase

A core team charged with directing ITD’s transition to a new financial management system celebrated the conclusion of the first major phase last week and took a collective breath before launching into the next phase.

Approximately halfway through the 15-month process, the transition team concentrated in the “envision” phase on identifying gaps between present ITD processes and capabilities of the new Advantage 3 package from American Management Systems (AMS).

The “gap-fit analysis” produced no major surprises and relatively few areas where Advantage 3 and ITD needs do not precisely match, according to Ken Stewart, Automated Systems Manager in the Administrative Services Division.

“The gap-fit analysis helps us determine how the program can fit our needs, where there are gaps and how to address those gaps so we can continue moving forward,” Stewart adds.

“Most of the things identified in the gap-fit analysis we already knew about. Others we have addressed and solved. There have been some ‘significant’ but not insurmountable gaps. One of the reasons we chose the AMS product was because it meets most of our demands without the need for major customization.”

Stewart said three primary teams – representing financial, technical and Human Resources – have been working on shrinking the gaps. “They have exceeded our expectations and are ready to take it to the next level,” he said.

AMS has committed about 10 employees to the project at ITD. They function as part of ITD’s transition teams and will continue through the remainder of the process. Stewart expects several other company representatives to be located on-site to become part of the “create” phase. ITD’s core team includes about 40 people who integrate their regular responsibilities into nearly full-tme work on the transition.

Teams have been meeting almost daily since early summer to test and document business scenarios. Tests of the federal aid and highway programming components have been completed.

“We have been entering and tracking information, and tried to include actual data to see how it works,” explains Janice Biggins a consultant and hort-term ITD employee who serves as project manager.

As a result of early testing, the department has identified a few internal processes that need to be modified to conform to the Advantage 3’s capabilities and complete the “marriage” of the software and ITD’s needs.

“Given the broad nature of the processes, customization (of the AMS program) should be minimal,” Biggins acknowledges. “That reduces the long-term cost of the system."

Some of the changes identifed during the envision phase might be incorporated into future AMS software releases as improvements or enhancements, benefitting not only ITD but also other clients.

With the first phase completed, transition teams now enter the “create” phase that moves the process from the “drawing board” or conceptual realm into a working product. The result will be a system that is functionally ready to meet the department’s needs. Nearly everything except activation will completed during the second phase, which should be finished in late spring 2005.

Stewart says about 300 department employes use the present Integrated Financial Management System from Oracle. About two-thirds of them will receive detailed training next spring on the new system. One of the system’s features is electronic timesheets, so all ITD employees will need a rudimentary knowledge of entering data into the system.

Detailed training will occur just before the system is fully acivated in July, Biggins says. Waiting until just before the launch date will help ensure that important steps aren’t forgotten before users apply the training.

The final or “achieve” phase of the 15-month project, targeted for July, will be full operation.

“AMS hs been very impressed and pleased with the working groups and how much they have achieved,” says Sue Simmons, Administrative Services administrator. “The partnership has worked extremely well,”

The transition team has been working closely with the State Controller’s office to ensure compatibility with the state’s payroll system. Controller’s Office staff and financial managers of other state agencies are following ITD’s process with interest.

“Our hopes are that the system might have application as a statewide solution, involving other state agencies and the Controller’s Office,” Stewart says.