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Financials Upgrade 9.0

How Does This Upgrade Compare with the Financials 8.8 Upgrade?

The PeopleSoft Financials 9.0 Upgrade project is necessary so that our existing PeopleSoft system can accommodate the new TGMP functionality.  As many of you may recall, we recently completed a Financials upgrade over the last 18 months (i.e., from version 7.0 to version 8.8).  You may also recall that we had several key significant challenges during the upgrade:

• The PeopleSoft system had not been upgraded in many years, causing very substantial changes between the existing system design and those introduced with the implementation of 8.8
• This resulted in underlying table structure changes that had to be accommodated in development, testing, and learning the new system
• There were effectively two upgrades performed within this period because the state was so far behind in the versions
• Oracle completely redesigned the Budget module as well as the way PeopleSoft handled encumbrances.
• Oracle’s redesign eliminated the identification of Budget Year on transactions
• The State’s transition from object Class budget control to Program by funding source control had to be accommodated.  This resulted in major functional changes in the processes, system configurations, and reports used to track budgets
• The state implemented changes to accommodate interagency transactions
• The upgrade had to be implemented at the beginning of the fiscal year which resulted in closing the fiscal year and dealing with the problems of the new implementation at the same time
• During the upgrade, agencies were asked to devote several subject matter experts and other staff to the Streamlined Banking Project as well as to the upgrade, causing temporary staffing shortages in several agencies
• The PeopleSoft Financials production system was down for 2 weeks prior to the go live date for data conversion purposes, causing user inefficiencies / backlog across all SAO People soft supported agencies
• Various data conversion issues impacted the ability to generate accurate, timely, system reports
• The fiscal year end 2007 closeout was delayed due to the upgrade to 8.8

In comparison with the 8.8 upgrade, the 9.0 upgrade has many core, vital differences:

• There are much fewer business process and technical changes between version 8.8 and 9.0 result in much less complexity
• The 9.0 upgrade is being treated as a technical upgrade only - that is, in most cases, no functional changes will be implemented.  Only limited exceptions will be allowed.
• No program budget changes (i.e., changes to the Budget module or budgeting processes) have to be integrated into the 9.0 upgrade
• Existing processes that are still supported by 9.0 or through existing customizations will not be re-engineered; rather, those processes will be brought over to the 9.0 environment unchanged
• As of 12/31/07, changes to production were effectively “frozen” with the exception of occasional emergencies.  The code freeze restricts enhancements to the current functionality and prevents us from adding new agencies to PeopleSoft until after the 9.0 upgrade
• Continuation of Streamlined Banking process implementation has been deferred until after the 9.0 upgrade has been completed
• Measures are underway for the 9.0 upgrade which will allow data conversions to be performed within 5 or less calendar days
• Recently purchased and implemented a state-of-the-art automated testing suite (HP Quality Center) to “govern [our] quality processes and automate software testing across [our] IT and application environments”.   This tool will be used for this and all future projects involving system modifications and quality verification
• A conversion data clean-up project is underway (Cleanup 8.8 as mentioned above) to resolve the data conversion issues that surfaced during the 8.8 upgrade.  Specifically, this project will resolve the data integrity issues created in balancing transactions within each module and between modules.  Addressing this issue prior to the upgrade is essential to avoid rolling data conversion problems from 8.8 forward to 9.0
• Data issues created by user error will continue to be addressed and resolved during the normal course of business.
• The upgrade to 9.0 is not required to be implemented at the beginning of the fiscal year which will allow agencies to complete closing FY 2008 prior to conversion to the 9.0 upgrade

What are the Project Milestones for the 9.0 Upgrade?

Testing Procedures and Set Up Test Director	Create Testing Procedures and work aids and set up Test Director	12/15/2007
Unit Test Scripts	Creation of Functional Unit Test scripts	1/18/2008
TGMP Development Database	Create and deliver 9.0 Development Database for the TGMP group	2/1/2008
Functional Test Results	Complete Functional Unit Test	2/15/2008
System Test Scripts	Create System Test Scripts	4/30/2008
Performance Test Scripts	Create Performance Test scripts	4/30/2008
System Test Results	Complete System test	7/10//2008
Performance Testing	Complete Performance Testing	7/15/2008
Complete UAT	Complete User Acceptance Test	8/15/2008
Go-No Go Decision	Go-No Go Decision	8/22/2008
Go-Live	Go-Live	8/31/2008

What is the Current Project Status?

SAO is now actively involved in extensive technical and functional unit testing activities.  The testing phases are:

• Unit testing
• Functional testing
  • System testing
  • Integration testing
• User acceptance testing. 

Where and how during the upgrade will users be involved?  And what about training on any new system functionality - what is the approach to address this?

Users will be heavily involved in User Acceptance Testing (UAT). User involvement in any system implementation, even one with minimal process changes, is critical to the success of the project.  With this in mind, similar to the 8.8 upgrade, users will be asked to participate in the 9.0 upgrade testing process. 

Beginning in January 2008, SAO will be soliciting volunteers from the user community to be engaged in a thorough UAT testing phase.  User acceptance testing validates the usability of the new processes and ensures that the system meets the needs of the organization and the end user.  At the end of the UAT phase, users should walk away with a feeling of assurance that transactions are designed to operate reliably and accurately, and that all user process steps are clearly reflected in the UPK.   Remember….your feedback is essential to a successful upgrade!!  We encourage and appreciate your full participation in the UAT phase.

Although the 9.0 upgrade is purely a technical upgrade (as opposed to one which involves key business process changes), we anticipate that certain PeopleSoft functions may be slightly different from those in 8.8.  In order to ensure that our PeopleSoft users are properly trained on applicable functions introduced in 9.0, the SAO Training Staff is working closely with the 9.0 implementation team to identify changes in system functionality and will:

• Create a 9.0 Upgrade FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) site for users 
• Update the PeopleSoft Financials User Productivity Kits for new functionality and user screens (On Demand Website for UPK Training)
• Conduct train-the-trainer sessions as necessary

Is there an oversight function for the 9.0 upgrade?

Yes; one of the primary oversight roles is the one played by the 9.0 upgrade Steering Committee.  This organization has been recently established, and will be comprised of executives / leadership from at least 3 agencies other than SAO and DOAS.   We believe that this approach will help to ensure that our users’ concerns and interests are well understood and addressed throughout the project.

Who’s Managing the 9.0 Upgrade? 

In order to support our 9.0 upgrade staffing needs, SAO engaged an implementation partner, BearingPoint, to compliment our team.  BearingPoint has extensive PeopleSoft implementation experience, and is partnering with SAO in the successful management of this project.  Also, there are several team members from SAO and BearingPoint engaged in the upgrade project to assure its success.

Will the system continue to be available to users during the upgrade?

Yes, the system will continue to be available to all existing PeopleSoft users during the upgrade.  While we expect that the system will be unavailable during the cutover period (anticipated to be no more than five calendar days, at least two of which will fall on a weekend), other than that the system will be available as usual.   Please be reminded, however, that no changes to the system will be applied during the production freeze period (i.e., January 1^st through September 1^st) unless they are deemed to be emergencies as determined by the Steering Committee.

What benefit will the upgrade have to the state over the long term?

In addition to supporting the needs of the TGMP project, the upgrade will also help us be better positioned to take advantage system enhancements available in 9.0 that were not available in 8.8, the version that is currently installed.

Can we expect to have an upgrade every 12-18 months going forward?

It is not our intent to upgrade more frequently than is necessary.   To the extent that we are on a version of PeopleSoft that addresses the needs of our customer agencies and one that is still considered “current”, we will remain on 9.0.  

Summary

The bottom line is this….we are poised for success!!  We do not have the same complexity of change experienced during the 8.8 upgrade, and have put measures in place to avoid the problems encountered in the previous upgrade.  The scope of the 9.0 upgrade should be less invasive of our user’s time and resources, our testing approach is further enhanced with the implementation of the HP Quality Center, we do not have business process re-engineering efforts underway during the upgrade, and we will vigorously protect the scope of the upgrade to support success.

Overall, our objective is to ensure that we are focused on providing you with the level of service that you desire and deserve.  And with this in mind, we have developed and are deploying an upgrade approach that will demonstrate our commitment to a successful upgrade.   Thank you for your continued support!!

 

 

9.0 PeopleSoft Financials Delta Presentations
9.0 PeopleSoft Financials Delta Presentations