July NextGen Newsletter

The NextGen Project aims to modernize the state’s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system by replacing PeopleSoft Financials and Human Capital Management with a new cloud-based solution that will propel Georgia government into the forefront of technology and change the way we do business. Click here to learn more.

What's New

This summer, a team of project members and collaborators spent time constructing the NextGen Strategic Plan. As part of that effort, the team developed the vision and mission that will align the work and priorities for all project team members and stakeholders participating in NextGen.
 
Project Vision
To transform state government processes by leveraging secure, flexible, and intuitive technology that promotes transparency, increases efficiency, and enables excellent customer service. 
 
Project Mission
Continuously optimize user experience and business processes in human capital management, finance and procurement enabled by a unified platform.
 

In the month of June, the NextGen Project Team kept several stakeholder groups up to date through the following meetings:
 
CFO Meeting 
On June 21, the team provided a project update in the State Accounting Office’s (SAO) CFO Meeting. This included an overview of the project scope, project workstreams and a review of the timeline for the rest of the calendar year.
 
CIO Meeting
On June 22, the NextGen Project Team hosted a meeting for agency Chief Information Officers (CIOs) to share project details and review existing interfaces and data exchanges with TeamWorks as we prepare to work with a System Implementer later this summer. CIOs were asked to complete a survey gathering input on agency technology as we prepare to plan and deliver the NextGen project.
 
POC Meeting
June 28, agency-designated Points of Contact (POCs) were called together to learn about our progress and discuss how POCs can engage key personnel within their organization who will be involved in the next steps of the NextGen project. POCs are being encouraged to share NextGen updates with all attached entities to keep them informed about upcoming activities.
 
As part of these meetings, the NextGen Project Team reshared two important memos detailed below that all agencies should be aware of. To review a copy of either memo, please contact your agency’s Point of Contact (POC), or parent organization’s POC for attached entities, or email [email protected].
Click here for a listing of POCs.
 
Suspension of TeamWorks Project Requests Memo: This memo was sent from SAO on June 22, 2023, to notify agencies that all project/change requests for TeamWorks are being suspended through the remaining lifecycle of TeamWorks, unless the changes are federally or state mandated.
 
Application Review Memo: This memo was sent from SAO, Office of Planning & Budget, Department of Administrative Services and Georgia Technology Authority (GTA) on March 6, 2023, to notify agency heads that all agencies considering procurement of applications that provide the same or similar business functionalities as the State’s new Workday system should contact SAO and submit a written business case to GTA for technology projects prior to the request of any state funds or issuance of any procurement documents to reduce redundancy across the enterprise.

What's Next

As soon as a System Implementer (SI) is selected, the NextGen Project Team will be reaching out to agencies for specific resources to participate in implementation activities. We will be looking for high-level subject matter experts to provide their know-how and experience in testing, validation and design sessions as we fine-tune how Workday is configured for the State. We will be looking for data experts to participate in data cleansing efforts, ensuring what we input into the new system provides an accurate and clear depiction of the enterprise. The NextGen Project Team will also be working with agencies to identify Change Champions within their organizations who can help spread the word about what our future business processes will look like – what people can expect when Workday goes live.

Once the SI is onboard, we will kick off implementation efforts first with Human Capital Management (HCM), followed by Finance a few months later. Here’s a look at the project timeline.

Human Capital Management
The image below depicts the scope of the HCM Implementation. This effort will be supported by Communications and Organizational Change Management, Data Governance and Technical workstreams with a focus on data conversion, integrations and security activities.

You Oughta Know

It has been a couple of years since the NextGen Project first started. Since then, the NextGen Project Team has grown to include many new team members and collaborators. And the State has introduced several new people to agency leadership positions. We want to take this opportunity to review some of the basics of this effort to modernize Georgia’s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system.

What is NextGen?
Georgia’s new ERP system is a cloud-based software solution that will replace the current PeopleSoft/TeamWorks system. The new system will be tailored for the State’s new hybrid/remote workforce and offer streamlined processes and procedures – a complete transformation of the way the State does business. 

Why do we need NextGen?
By implementing a new cloud-based ERP solution and transforming the processes that support the State’s business, NextGen will help ensure decision makers have access to data that is accurate and timely, standardize common business processes across agencies and improve service delivery.

Business requirements have evolved over the past 20 years, and Georgia now requires modern services to meet those needs. 

What are the benefits of the new ERP system?
Newer systems offer more business solutions and centralize services into one platform. A new system will provide an ease of workflow, ease of processing and standardized procedures across the enterprise. 

Related to: 

• NextGen