WSUProjectCharter-v10

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Washington State University

Student Information Systems Project

Project Charter

Revised: November 22, 2010


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Table of Contents

Version Control ............................................................................................................................................. 1

Foundation and Background ......................................................................................................................... 2

Executive Statement ................................................................................................................................. 2

Accreditation and Leadership Statement ................................................................................................. 2

Problem Statement ................................................................................................................................... 2

Purpose of the Project Charter ................................................................................................................. 4

Project Vision ............................................................................................................................................ 4

Mission ...................................................................................................................................................... 4

Goals, Critical Success Factors and Success Criteria ................................................................................. 4Project Scope ................................................................................................................................................ 7

In Scope Items ........................................................................................................................................... 7

Out of Scope Items .................................................................................................................................... 8

Approach ....................................................................................................................................................... 8

Project Sequence ...................................................................................................................................... 8

Customizations ........................................................................................................................................ 10

Conversion ................................................................................................................................................ 9

Testing ....................................................................................................................................................... 9

Training ................................................................................................................................................... 12

Reporting ................................................................................................................................................ 10

Security ................................................................................................................................................... 11

End User Acceptance .............................................................................................................................. 11

Staffing Approach and the Use of External Resources ........................................................................... 12

Project Management and Control .......................................................................................................... 16

Timeline....................................................................................................................................................... 17Summary of Key Milestones ................................................................................................................... 17

Project Structure ......................................................................................................................................... 18

Organization Chart .................................................................................................................................. 18

Roles and Responsibilities ....................................................................................................................... 19

Other Teams............................................................................................................................................ 24


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Team Operations and Guiding Principles ................................................................................................ 24

Project Management and Control .............................................................................................................. 21

Project Plan Maintenance ....................................................................................................................... 21

Project Meetings ..................................................................................................................................... 25

Project Reporting .................................................................................................................................... 22

Project Budget Management .................................................................................................................. 23

Issue Management .................................................................................................................................. 27

Decision-Making and Issue Escalation Process ....................................................................................... 24

Change Control Management ................................................................................................................. 28

Documentation Management ................................................................................................................ 29

Communications ......................................................................................................................................... 30

Required Outreach and Operational Readiness ......................................................................................... 31

Post-Implementation .................................................................................................................................. 32


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Version Control

Document Title: Washington State University SIS Project Charter

Authors: Tori Byington, Chair, SIS Steering CommitteeMichael Corwin, SIS Project Technical Manager

Matt Skinner, Director, Operating Budgets

Cathy Fulkerson, Director, Institutional Research

Betsy Davidson, Solution Architect, Oracle Consulting

Sally Texter, Assistant Vice President, Student Affairs and Enrollment

Ken Vreeland, Special Assistant to Provost and Executive Vice President

Mark DeMaio, WSU SIS Project Manager

Revision History:

Date Revision By Page(s)

July 2010 Initial charter written Management team All

Sept 30, 2010 Content merge Ivy Wang All

November 4,

2010

Mark DeMaio revisions and

consolidation of comments

Mark DeMaio All

November 10,

2010

Mark DeMaio and Tori Byington edits

and revisions

Mark DeMaio All

November 22,

2010

Mark DeMaio: All Steering Committee

input. Version 1.0 complete

SIS Steering

Committee, JuliaPomerenk, Mark

DeMaio

All

December 2,

2010

Kate Esselbach edit document layout

and presentation

Kate Esselbach All

February 9,

2011

Casey Hanson and Kate Esselbach edit

document layout and presentation

Casey Hanson, Kate

Esselbach

All


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Foundation and Background

Executive Statement:Everyone who works at this university or at any technology-driven institution understands how

much we rely on our information systems. Unfortunately, WSUs IT infrastructure is increasingly

unreliable, made up of obsolete systems that were not originally designed for the multiple tasks theynow perform. That they continue to work at all is a tribute to employees who have specialized

knowledge of the unique fixes that are frequently required.

Clearly, a world-class research university cannot long stand on such a shaky IT foundation. In fact, in

the generally glowing accreditation report filed by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and

Universities about our university this summer, one recommendation read: The Committee recommends

that Washington State University provide contemporary information management systems that will

address the needs of the future for its student, academic and management support requirements.

The committee echoed the findings of Gartner, Inc., the consulting firm brought in by WSU to examine

our information systems in light of our funding requests. The current applications do not provide the

necessary agility to meet changing business and academic requirements in a rapidly growing andevolving environment such as WSU is experiencing today,the report found.

Students and their parents are frustrated by breakdowns in our systems for registration, payments and

financial aid. Just this fall, our registration software failed in the days leading up to the first day of

classes. The situation was resolved, thanks to an intensive round-the-clock effort by our programming

team. However, it was yet another clear sign that we can no longer delay solutions. Excerpt from: Dr.

Elson Floyd, Perspectives, November 9, 2009

Accreditation and Leadership StatementThe Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) 2009 Evaluation Committee

recommendation that Washington State University provide contemporary enterprise information

management systems that will address the needs of the future for its student, academic andmanagement support requirements did not come as a surprise. Over the course of preparing the 2009

Self-Study report, information technology and an aging legacy system were identified as one of four

cross-cutting challenges impacting the university as a whole and serving as a serious impediment to

progress for almost every area of the university. Our internal assessment, and that of the Evaluation

Committee, was reaffirmed in May 2009 in a report provided by a nationally recognized professional

consultant. Responding to this challenge has been and continues to be a high priority of the University.

The Student Information System project is a key component to the Universitys overall effort to enhance

WSUs ability to deliver improved and expanded information technology services to the University

community.

Problem Statement

The forces pushing the WSU student information replacement project forward are particularly strong atthis time. These are the primary business drivers:

Risk of non-compliance Risk of system failure Improved integration and system capabilities Opportunity for a vastly improved business intelligence program University, college and program accreditation needs


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These business drivers push WSU forward from a risk and compliance standpoint and/or pull WSU

forward from an opportunity standpoint. While the administrative systems generally do not deal directly

with the strategic initiatives of the University, they play key supporting roles in fulfilling the Universitys

mission.

Risk of Non-Compliance

The lack of a robust electronic workflow process across integrated University systems jeopardizes WSUsability to exercise adequate internal controls in the current systems and in meeting complex regulatory

requirements. In general, WSU systems are characterized by relatively weak internal controls and are

thus vulnerable.

Risk of System Failure

The current student systems put WSU at significant risk. The myWSU Portal has failed at key times over

the past several years severely impacting the ability of faculty, staff and students to prepare for the

beginning of both fall and spring terms. The current 30 year-old student systems are unique to WSU and

supported by only two or three technical staff members, some nearing retirement. In general, the

availability of qualified staff to support administrative systems is extremely limited, and there is no

vendor support available for the current application software.

Improved Integration and System Capabilities

Historically WSU has worked around many limitations in current systems, but is unable to do much more

without addressing the fundamental underlying systems. There are long lists of system improvements

that WSU needs, but is unable to implement due to the inflexibility of current systems. Over the past

few years WSU has, for the most part, only developed and implemented systems to keep current with

regulatory requirements. WSU is not in a position to react quickly to market needs and pressures with

current student systems. On the other hand, there is a tremendous opportunity to improve the

capabilities of our systems and allow for greater economies of scale. With the implementation of

PeopleSoft we will be able to sunset many existing peripheral systems while taking advantage of the

economies of scale of an expanded, flexible and integrated system. Improved system capabilities will

not only allow WSU to address long-standing known shortcomings, but will also put us in a position to

react quickly to unforeseen emerging needs.

Opportunity for Vastly Improved Business Intelligence

The business intelligence (BI) portion of the project will primarily focus on university business processes

and the needs of data consumers at the institution. More broadly, this change in data management will

allow data consumers to ask new types of questions that previously went unanswered. By structuring

data from a University perspective based on consistency of common data and hierarchies, we will make

a leap forward in reporting, predictive analytics and data modeling.

In order for our BI program to be successful the implementation team will ensure data conversion and

data warehousing are consistent with the needs of current and future organizational goals. The BI

functional teams efforts will encompass data conversion and cleansing, data warehousing, data

consistency and data consumption. For reporting, a set number of general dashboards and reports willbe made available at implementation time. Extensive training of the basic BI tools will be offered in the

initial phase. In a later phase tools for data analysis will be added to support analytics.


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University, College and Program Accreditation Needs

The risk to the university was documented in both internal and external reviews including a

recommendation from the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) based upon

their Evaluation Teams visit in 2009. While the universitys accreditation was reaffirmed, the

Commission identified the need for contemporary enterprise information management systems as a

challenge the university needed to address.

Purpose of the Project CharterThe Project Charter is the primary operating document defining the goals, objectives, strategies, scope,

organization and standards for the SIS project (The Project). It anticipates the reality of very large

projects and defines processes for constructively dealing with project issues and decisions and defines

the mechanisms for project control.

Project VisionOnce implemented, this student information system will positively impact virtually everyone associated

with the University: students, their families, faculty and staff. The new system will increase data

accuracy, make student information management more secure, effective, convenient and accessible,

and begin to coordinate information across the system to simplify student access to Universityresources.

MissionWashington State University demonstrates its commitment to WSU students, faculty, staff and the State

of Washington by planning, resourcing and implementing on time and within budget a robust, modern,

integrated, standards-based, sustainable and vendor-supported Student Information Systems (SIS). The

new SIS will improve service, accountability, work-flow, end-user reporting and provide access to

reliable, timely, accurate and insightful information for recruiting prospective students, managing the

needs of current students as well as the related needs of faculty and for institutional decision-making

and resource planning.

Goals, Critical Success Factors and Success CriteriaBecause a new student information system is a significant investment for the institution, the successful

implementation will need to meet or exceed a number of goals. These goals or Pillars of Success will

be used in conjunction with critical success factors to guide project decision making which optimizes the

likelihood of meeting the success criteria as defined by system users for each functional area.

Goals

Complete the project on time and within budget. Provide a system that substantially improves service to students, faculty, staff and other

users.

Provide a system that supports institutional initiatives. Provide reliable and valid student and academic program data in one integrated University

system of record that allows for the flexibility to meet specific university and academic unit

strategic decision-making needs and ensure that data quality continues to improve.

Implement a stable, integrated, upgrade-compatible system with minimal total cost ofownership.

Position WSUs administrative applications to support significant growth and expansion. Implement a reliable, secure and scalable technical infrastructure.


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Critical Success Factors

Critical success factors are conditions and resources that must be present in order for the project to

succeed.

Acknowledge that people are the most important critical success factor. For success, it isessential that we:

o Place the right people in the right roles at the right time across the breadth andlength of the project;

o Provide strong support by senior management;o Use skilled participants;o Keep employees and students informed; ando Foster broad participation and representation.o Give department personnel a good understanding of how their departments and

roles will change as early as possible in the project so that people can assimilate to

the changes more effectively. The organizational design effort will be a sensitive

topic for end users.

Agree that the PeopleSoft student business processes are reasonably close to best practices.Therefore, it is reasonable to start with a vanilla approach to the implementation and

adapt our business processes to minimize complexity and optimize the delivered capabilitiesof our system. Project participants will be able and willing to think out of the box, across

departmental lines, and with an eye always toward the good of the institution.

Ensure that the overall SIS project is viewed as a university owned project and not ownedby individual departmental silos.

Manage scope in a disciplined but not rigid manner. Scope changes can occur if its best forthe institution, but they must be explicitly identified, assessed and approved.

Structure and discipline governance process to a high extent with clear decision rights. Theproject leaderships decisions and processes will be biased towards action, accountability,

candor and support for the greater good of the institution.

Expect that we will not get the system and process design perfectly right the first time.Therefore, we will use an iterative design approach to implementation throughout theproject.

Agree that end users must be trained in regards to business processes in addition to theirrole within the business processes so that they can play a key role in achieving the intended

business outcomes.

Assume that the project will be able to proceed in the face of overall budget reductions. Inpart this has to do with protecting the project budget. But more importantly the project will

not take place in a vacuum, as many participants, and all those affected by the project, are

being affected by budget reductions.

Success Criteria

WSU functional areas have defined the following as measurements of success for the SIS project. As the

project progresses, the project team will monitor activities and deliverables to ensure that these criteriaare met.

Campus Community

A single source for associates and biographical/demographical data. Ability to create and maintain checklists for students, streamlining student notification of

information needed for admissions and other areas.

Ability to create communications, either by batch or manually, as needed by any area fortheir needs.


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Admissions

A seamless transition from the current legacy AIS system to PeopleSoft Campus Solutions inwhich staff from graduate and undergraduate admissions will be trained and able to process

applications without confusion.

Ability to proceed through all steps of application processing via automated processeswherever possible while retaining the ability to rush or manually process when needed for

individual cases.

Ability of departmental users to easily access accurate data for their day-to-day operationswhich will cut down on manual intervention.

Ability to track applicants by the appropriate offices through all stages (applicant, admitted,confirmed) for both graduate and undergraduate, in order to accurately project

matriculation.

Logical manner for work to flow through the system. Well-defined and flexible business processes (easy to change when necessary) that are

easily documented (with documentation tools that are common across modules), and

trainable (with interfaces that are intuitive for users and training materials that are easy to

maintain).

Easy access for users/departments to data for their day-to-day operations instead of liststhat are fed to them by The Graduate School. This will cut down on manual intervention

and communication from Graduate School to departments and to students.

Student Financial Aid

Meeting all target deadlines and ensuring that data across the PeopleSoft Campus Solutionsenvironment is accurate and accessible.

Successful load of FAFSA/Scholarship applications, packaging aid and delivery of funds tostudent accounts while staying compliant with state and federal regulations all without

adversely impacting students.

Student Finance

Precise tuition calculation. Successful coordination of aid release in conjunction with Financial Aid. Appropriate and accurate posting of all payments to Student Accounts. Accurate aid disbursement/refunds to students on the first day of school.

Student Records-Graduate

Smooth transition from one registration system to the next with student completing theirpriority registration with full class loads, by priority group.

Effective drop/add period beginning the week prior to classes and extending two weeks intothe term, with students able to complete their changes in a timely manner.

Planned and effective use of class lists and grading by faculty before, during and at theconclusion of the 2012 fall semester.

Ability to track special population of students (example: Fulbright and InternationalAgreements) in the Campus Solutions system rather than in shadow systems and paper files.

Ability to track and communicate with students on Graduate leave or Continuous DoctoralStatus without staff intervention.


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Advising

Ability for students and their advisors to create programs of study. Ability for offices or students to run a degree audit to check their status and progress

towards a degree.

Ability to track departmental degree requirements and faculty committee eligibility.

Ability to easily schedule student exams. Ability to process deficient students easily along with holds to prevent registration until

reinstatement occurs.

Improved reliability of the system and true accuracy of reported data.Reporting

Adoption of a tool for easy access to all components of the enterprise student system froma single source with planned integration and/or linkages to data outside the SIS (Housing,

Human Resources, Research, Finance, Alumni, WSU Foundation, etc.).

Secure self-service access to data and information for a broad base of users in appropriateforms that meet diverse needs.

Ability to conduct deeper analysis and data mining, turning data into information.Project Scope

In Scope Items:WSU is replacing parts of its major administrative systems: Student, Student Warehouse, and the

myWSU Portal. This will affect many support and peripheral systems as well. We are replacing WSU

student systems with PeopleSoft Version 9.0. The new PeopleSoft student system will be integrated

with the existing WSU business systems (Human Resources, Payroll, and Financials). The new system

replaces functionality currently found in our student administrative systems, which is comprised of

modules in AIS, RONet, Financial Aid and the Graduate Schools systems.

Along with replacing the core administrative systems, a substantial investment is being made in

Business Intelligence. These efforts are being made to both adapt to changing administrative systemsand to greatly expand the availability of business information to managers and executives. New BI tools

will replace the current ITS housed data warehouse and Business Objects, the primary tool used to

access that data. Also in scope is the replacement of the current Undergraduate Admissions data mart

and the Graduate School reporting data base.

The following list identifies what is currently in scope for the SIS project:

PeopleSoft Portal PeopleSoft Campus Solutions

o Academic Advising (including DARS replacement)o Student Self-Serviceo Admissionso Campus Communityo Student Financialso Financial Aido Student Records

PeopleSoft Data Warehouse (EPM and OBIEE toolsets) PeopleSoft Campus Solutions Fusion Intelligence OBIEE Integration of current SAN located on SharePoint


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Depending on project progress, performance to budget and business needs, the steering committee

may add additional items to scope. As this occurs, the additional items will be added as in scope to this

charter through the projects scope change process.

Out of Scope Items

On a regular basis the project team and the steering committee will review project scope. Currently, thefollowing items are deemed out of scope:

Human Resources systems and processes Finance systems and processes Research systems and processes Campus Recruiting and recruiting business processes. Recruiting data will be fed from

legacy recruiting systems to Campus Solutions via an interface.

Campus Solutions Grade BookDepending on project progress, performance to budget and business needs, the steering committee

may deem additional items out of scope. As this occurs, the additional items will be added as out of

scope to this charter through the projects scope change process.

Approach

Project SequenceThe SIS project will use a phased implementation approach that delivers new and improved functionality

in time to support the normal WSU academic calendar. The SIS project will aggressively seek to

minimize customizations to the delivered software. Appropriate project processes have been defined

to enforce this practice.

CustomizationsTo help minimize customizations the WSU SIS project will:

Communicate clearly about vanilla implementations. The SIS project view is that soundbusiness processes are embedded in the software and that WSU will look to adopt those

processes rather than changing the delivered software. We will question why we do things

the way we do. Is it really a best practice or is it because our legacy systems have limited

how we could do it? Many WSU business processes were built around antiquated systems

and limitations of current systems. Whats the worst thing that could happen if we change

it?

Be open to possibilities and doing things differently. Be open to new ways of naming andtalking about things. Be open to self-service, automation and consistency. Explore and take

advantage of the full functionality. How can we better serve students? How can we better

serve departments?

Along with delivering systems that WSU is in great need of, this approach also serves to manage cost.

The SIS project team will work very hard to meet target dates. Aggressive timelines require rapid

decision-making, and the project will work in this fashion. Processes are set up to support

knowledgeable and empowered decision-making. These processes are documented in the Project

Management Plan document. Proven methodologies will be employed. The SIS project will also

implement strong control mechanisms to effectively manage budget, issues, changes, etc. This includes

outside audit oversight by JB Harris Consulting, the selected Quality Assurance vendor, which will

perform monthly review of project status, plans and budgets.


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ConversionData conversion is the process of migrating high-value information from our legacy transaction systems

into the new PeopleSoft system. This is done for both operational and analytic purposes. There are

mature best practices and technologies available to minimize the cost of performing this work.

Conversion will be performed by creating data extracts from the mainframe legacy system, AIS. These

extracts will then be loaded to a series of staging tables through the SQL loader tool. The OracleComponent Interface tool will be used to then load data to the appropriate Campus Solutions data

tables.

TestingThe strategy for testing SIS is to employ all the aspects as listed below when they are applicable and

when they are possible. For example, a performance test is valuable when there is a concern about

volume processing and/or a critical need for response time. A usability test is valuable when the

experience of users will help us either in the design of the user interface or in the design of user training

and help-desk tools and materials. A parallel test is extremely valuable when possible. Transcript

production is an excellent example. The testing strategy varies from one initiative to another and is

incorporated into the implementation strategy and then the project plan for that initiative.Test Plan

Before testing begins, a test plan is created. A typical test plan documents input values for the test,

procedures used to perform the testing and the expected output values or results. Test plans range from

very simple to very complex, usually in relation to the complexity of software processes which are to be

test. For instance, testing whether a new user prompt is added to a screen may not require a test plan at

all, while testing a complicated process may require documenting many varied input scenarios and the

corresponding expected results and outputs for each case. During the testing, the test plan is updated to

log test activities, results and variances with what was originally expected.

Unit Test

A unit test typically focuses on a minimal component, module or narrow activity. The unit test validates

that the specific module functions correctly. In relation to new or modified code, the unit test is oftenperformed by the developer.

Integration Test

Integration testing follows a business process through a series of components, modules and activities to

ensure that a function performed by the system works as designed from end to end. The purpose of

integration testing is to reveal issues arising along the process chain, even though the individual

modules execute correctly. Performing integration testing is usually the domain of business analysts or

their equivalent that are well versed in the system functionality.

System Test

System testing takes, as its input, all of the "integrated" components that have successfully passed

integration testing. System testing is a more limited type of testing; it seeks to detect defects both

within the "inter-assemblages" and also within the system as a whole.

Parallel Test

Parallel testing compares the output between two different systems performing similar processes on the

same input data. In cases where the output is not identical, the causes of the differences are researched

and explained.


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Acceptance Test

Acceptance testing usually occurs in cases which require a sign-off in order for the coding or

functionality to be considered complete. If the acceptance testing proves successful, the code or

functionality is considered ready for production, and no further changes are required or allowed.

Performance Test

Performance testing attempts to put a system under a heavy load (such as a large number of concurrentusers or complex batch processing). The performance test shows whether measures such as system

response time are acceptable.

Usability Test

Usability testing seeks to discover whether the user interface is intuitive or at least easy to use.

Usability testing is often administered in a controlled environment in which sample end users are

monitored and asked for feedback on their experience.

TrainingTraining is a critical activity to ensure successful user adoption of the new applications system as well as

to meet the success criteria of the project. The user community of SIS is large and is spread out among

multiple locations and campuses. The SIS project will utilize a Train the Trainer strategy that providesdetailed application and business process training to a select group of power users throughout the

various departments and locations. These power users in turn will train other employees within the

various departments. The power users then can function as user support during the post go-live

period. This maximizes the effectiveness of training and minimizes the cost of classroom training and

materials. Training will be made available to end users via PeopleSoft on-line functionality (User

Productivity Kit).

For training to be effective, it should be delivered on a just in time basis in order to maximize

information retention and allow task repetition to reinforce learning.

A detailed training strategy and plan will be developed as part of the project execution process.

ReportingReports to support day-to-day business processes will be delivered along with each Campus Solutions

module. These reports are referred to as Operational and Transaction Reports. The development of

reporting requirements, report layouts and data elements will be accomplished by the functional teams

with input and participation from the appropriate University department. The technology team will code

and build these reports and will aid in testing and implementation. The appropriate functional and

technical project team members will work together to build and test these reports as part of the SIS

implementation.

In addition, cross-functional reporting requirements will be defined by the reporting team and will

ensure that all University wide reporting requirements will be met. A fit /gap analysis will be performed

to identify any cross-functional issues and to set direction for analytical and business intelligence reports

to be defined later. These will be then prioritized by each functional area, based on business needs.

As an overall strategy, the execution and running of reports needs to have a minimal effect on Campus

Solutions processing and user response time. Where practicable, reporting should be supported by the

EPM and OBIEE toolset. PS Query and other Campus Solutions tools will be used when necessary and

will contain well defined security to ensure minimal impact to production processing and system access.

A detailed reporting strategy document will be created as part of the project execution process.


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SecurityWith the implementation of the new student system, WSU will implement a system that is FERPA

compliant and gives users access to only the student records that they should be able to see. PeopleSoft

security can be set at two different functional levels simultaneously. An individual users security access

privileges are controlled by the resulting interacting combinations of these settings for that user.

Page (Screen) AccessA user can be granted one of the following access modes to Campus Solutions:

No Accessthe user can neither see nor interact with the application. Further, if no accessis granted to any of the pages associated with a menu choice, then that menu choice is not

shown to the user.

View-Only (also referred to as Display-Only) the user can see the data on the page butcannot change it. (Note that link controls on the page may or may not be active depending

on the page design and coding.)

Update/Displaythe user can see and change data on the page if no effective dating isinvolved. If the data is effective-dated then the user can only change current-dated and

future-dated data, not historic data.

Correctionthe user can see and change all data on the page, effective-dated or not.Administering Security

In order to ease the burden of redefining security for each individual user, standard groupings of

security objects are typically defined.

Sets of pages and the corresponding page access modes are grouped into permission lists.Additionally, any page or set of pages can appear in multiple permission lists with the same

or different access modes. Also, a permission list is often used as a convenient way to hold a

given row-level security definition.

In turn, permission lists can be grouped in a variety of ways and assigned to a role.Additionally, multiple roles may make use of the same permission list in combination with

other permission lists.

Effective security administration leverages the power of roles and permission lists byassigning users with similar requirements to the appropriate set or combinations of roles.

Security access for an individual is defined by that individuals assigned roles which are in

turn defined by the roles permission lists which are in turn composed of sets of pages, the

access modes of those pages, and the assigned row-level security.

End User AcceptanceThe overall strategy for end user acceptance starts early in the project and extends through Help Desk

support after go-live. These are some of the key components:

Support by executive management

End users know at all times that executive management fully supports the SIS project and understands

the difficulties of adapting to these new administrative systems.

Involvement by middle management

Middle management is informed of project progress and involved in project issues and decisions

through vehicles such as the Steering Committee and Core Project Team.

Involvement by university technical leaders

Similar to the above, university technical leaders are informed of project progress and involved in

project issues through vehicles such as the Technical Integration Group.


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Project communications

Through multiple vehicles (including open forums and web pages), described elsewhere in the Project

Charter, end users have access to information about project progress, issues, target dates, etc. (Please

refer to the projects communication plan.)

Hands-on exposure

End users have opportunities to see the system in action in a demonstration environment.

Training

Training specific to end users and specific to the WSU environment is developed and delivered to end

users by the SIS project team. End user training will also be made available to end users via PeopleSoft

on-line functionality (User Productivity Kit).

Testing

To the extent possible, the project team will recruit end users to participate in tests, in order to provide

early exposure and to receive early feedback on any end user acceptance issues.

Support

Support for end users will be provided by the same organizational unit that is responsible for training.

This will provide a seamless training and support environment that will extend into the future. Thisconsistency will avoid the issues of inconsistent facts and language.

Staffing Approach and the Use of External ResourcesThe SIS project is too large and too complex for WSU to undertake on its own. Thus, outside consultants

will play key roles on the project and will serve as well as sources for the additional temporary labor that

is needed. The SIS project will employ consultants for their specific expertise and advice and will work to

maximize knowledge transfer.

There will also be a great impact on colleges/departments due to changes in business processes,

including shifts in responsibility for data entry and the forms and formats of the information available.

Based on experience, this impact is best addressed by overall project communications, appropriate

involvement in the project, and in particular by adequate training provided by knowledgeable trainers.


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Project Management and ControlIn developing a project management and control framework, WSU benefits from the experience of

other leading research-intensive institutions that have successfully implemented the PeopleSoft Student

Information System. WSU will aggressively seek to employ proven leading practices and core values that

will guide us in the management of the overall project.

1. Demonstrate consistent and visible support for project by executive management.2. Continuously communicate implementation information to university community.3. Re-engineer business processes to conform to industry standards built into the software, to

avoid software customization.

4. Drive implementation schedule with specific milestones.5. Develop business intelligence and reporting strategies early in the project. Data conversion is

addressed early, not late, in the life cycle. In addition, operational and transaction reporting are

to be delivered at the time of go-live for each module.

6. Employ experienced consultants for expertise and support of core functional team. Consultantsenable WSU to make decisions, and WSU drives the project, so that at the end of

implementation WSU will be self-sufficient.

7. Maximize knowledge transfer from consultants to WSU staff.8. Establish project teams representing all functional areas, weighing functional more than

technical. Functional process and needs are core to the project.

9. Assign the project management team and core team members full-time on the project; reassignnormal job duties.

10.Empower the project team to make decisions.11.Track and reallocate project budget in a timely manner.12.Create a dedicated work environment for the project team.13.Promote positive work environment, with actions to reward, praise and celebrate project

successes and value fun at work.

14.Monitor organizations need and readiness to adapt on a continual basis.15.

Build prototypes early and often. Build, test and demonstrate frequently.

Processes and procedures to implement these practices are outlined and maintained in the Project

Management Plan document.


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Timeline

Summary of Key Milestones

MILESTONE TARGETDATE

Start SIS Implementation Project July 2010 Academic Structure Defined November 2010 Campus Community Defined June 2011 Student Bio/Demo Data Converted June 2011 Course Catalog/Schedule Converted September 2011 ISIRs Loaded January 2012 Enrollment History Converted March 2012 Ready for Live Student Pre-Registration March 2012 Student Financials Balances Converted August 2012 Financial Aid Awarded/Packaged August 2012 Ready to Post Grades November 2012 Calculate Tuition/Accept Payments June 2012 Business Intelligence/OBIEE and EPM Fully Functional June 2012


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Project Structure

Organization ChartThe organization chart below illustrates the SIS project organization.


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Roles and ResponsibilitiesThe table below defines the various roles and responsibilities of project leaders and team members of

the SIS project:

Role Responsibilities Decision Authority Example

Executive Committee

Overall

Act as champions for the project Make decisions that affect the University

as a whole or those that cannot be

resolved by the Steering Committee

Steering Committee

Executive Leadership

Define project success criteria Advise project management in resolution

of escalated issues. (See definition of

issues under Decision-Making and Issue

Escalation Process.)

Seek input from SIS Policy Committee onfundmental academic policy issues

Review and approve modifications thataffect University policy, project duration

and budget

Foster executive support and buy-in Assess value accomplished for the

investment

Attend weekly State of Project SteeringCommittee Meeting

Changes to implementationdate

Major scope or approachchanges with impact to cost

Policy Committee

Recommendations and Oversight

Review project progress regularly Make policy change recommendations as

requested by Steering Committee

Project Management

Team:

Tori Byington

Mark DeMaio

Mike Corwin

John Hansen

Project Direction

Review progress and work products Prioritize; decide scope boundaries for

potential customizations

Manage organizational change Determine what risk mitigation strategies

to adopt

Review and approve options to resolveissues, problems and scope changes to be

brought to the SIS Steering Committee

Monitor that staffing is maintained;participate as appropriate in candidate

selection

Provide weekly updates to MicrosoftProject plan

Provide operational oversight over corefunctionality

Prioritization of scope changerequests

Risk mitigations to adopt Approval of issues to escalate

to SIS Steering Committee

Resolve any project teamissues that cannot be resolved

by the project team members

Overall


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WSU Steering

Committee

Chairperson

Tori Byington

Assume responsibility for the successfulcompletion of the SIS project

Maintain oversight and enforceaccountablity for the project team

Co-chair of Policy Committee Lead and coordinate issues escalated from

the core project team

Assist with graduate school functionality

Provide guidance andleadership regarding

academic policy and issue

escalation

Oversee and provide guidanceto project management team

members

WSU Project

Manager:

Mark DeMaio

Overall

Assume responsibility for execution ofproject plan and the successful completion

of the SIS project

Manage and revise project workplan withinputs from Oracle Project Manager and

WSU Technical Manager, BI and Change

Management teams

Review and approve time in SIS timetracking Oversee and direct Oracle Project

Manager

Facilitate the development of projectstrategy documents and project

organizational items

Create weekly project progress statusreports

Assist with facilitatation of the weeklySteering Committee Meeting

Facilitate the resoultion of project issuesand problems as appropriate

Provide monthly progress reports toIndependent QA consultants

Assist with conversion planning effort andstrategy

Contract Management

Review contracts, identify exposures andmanage contract changes or additions

Monitor contract compliance Scrutinize expenses Escalate vendor issues to accomplish

resolution

Risk Management

Manage risk tracking, mitigation strategiesrecommended, mitigation strategies

adopted, responsible party, status,

probability and impact

Monitor impacts to critical path based on

Oversee planning activities Maintain project work plan


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updated project schedules from Oracle

Consulting Project Manager and WSU

Technical Manager

Participate in all quality checkpoints Recommend risk mitigation strategiesIndependent Oversight

Provide independent project managementopinions to the State of Washington

Provide independent project review,assessment, and advice to the CIO

Assume other duties as appropriate anddefined by the Vice President and Chief

Information Officer

Oracle Project

Manager:

John Hansen

Overall

Manage and lead all Campus Solutionsfunctional activities

Provide oversight and management toOracle consultants

Provide Campus Soluitions subject matterexpertise

Create and manage detailed projectschedule for Campus Solutions

implementation tasks and provide project

plan updates to WSU Project Manager

Provide progress reports to WSU ProjectManager

Budget

Create and manage vendor detailedbudget

Calculate burn rate throughout phases Reconcile to actuals from financeContract Management

Review contracts, identify exposures andmanage contract changes or additions

Monitor contract compliance Scrutinize expenses Escalate client issues to Oracle

Management when required to accomplish

resolutionRisk Management

Assist with risk tracking, mitigationstrategies recommended, mitigation

strategies adopted, responsible party,

status, probability and impact

Monitor impacts to critical path based on

Lead configuration activites


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updated project schedules from Oracle

Consulting Team Project Managers

Participate in all quality checkpoints Assist in creating risk mitigation strategiesProject Administration Monitor appropriate framework in place

for project results

Detailed Task Management

Assign tasks and monitor completion Update completed Microsoft Projects Identify at-risk, late tasks Provide preliminary status compilation to

Program Director weekly

Identify and monitor critical path Review team work products (primary) Manage day-to-day staff resources Assign and maintain adequate resource

levels and appropriate allocations

Manage issues tracking (date,responsibility, status)

WSU Technical

Manager:

Mike Corwin

Overall

Assume responsibility for all developmentactivities, including all aspects of the

lifecycle

Create and manage detailed projectschedule for techncial implementation

tasks and provide project plan updates to

WSU Project Manager Develop conversion strategy and plan Provide leadership and management to

WSU technical staff

Identify and staff technical roles tosuccessfully deliver required functionality

Act as WSU client manager for all Oracletechnical services and Oracle On-Demand

Provide leadership to ensure successfulimplementation of WSU environments,

when necessary

Detailed Task Management Assign tasks and monitor completion Update completed technical activities in

Microsoft Project

Identify at-risk, late tasks Provide preliminary status compilation to

Project Manager weekly

Identify and monitor critical path


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Review team work products (primary) Manage day-to-day staff resources Assign and maintain adequate resource

levels and appropriate allocations

Manage issues tracking (date,responsibility, status)

Program

Coordinator:

Ivy Wang

Responsible for coordinating projectlogistics including space, onboarding,

supplies, etc. Also acts as Administrative

Assistant to Project Management Team

Meeting scheduling Document preparation

SIS Budget

Administrator:

Dawn Barnard

Reports to the CIO Assumes responsibility for managing all

aspects of project finances, including the

project budget. Responsible for project

time tracking. Also responsible for

administration of all consultant contracts

Monthly budget report Approval of all consultant

requests

Washington State

Treasury/COP

Liaison:

Barry Johnston

Advises CIO on project financial mattersthat relate to the WSU and to the StateTreasury Office

Responsible for all communications withthe Washington State Treasury Office

regarding project funding

Responsible for regular reports andexpenditure submissions to the Treasury

Office

Responsible for coordinating long termCertificate of Participation documentation

and payments

Washington State

University Budget

Liaison:

Matt Skinner

Advises CIO on project financial andbudgetary matters that relate to WSU and

to the Office of Financial Management

Advises the project team on studentfinancials as it relates to the Universitys

budget and budget process

Other Teams Student User Team is a group of selected students that will participate in focus groups,

testing, review, etc. The Integration Group, chaired by the Director of UISS, consists of

technical leaders within the project and within the university IT community. The integration

group is responsible for ensuring that project functional decisions are aligned with technical

directions. The group works with the University community to develop technical integration

standards and ensures non-ERP systems can integrate with PeopleSoft.

SIS Communications Committee will be responsible for and will coordinate all campus andUniversity wide communications pertaining to the SIS project.


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Team Operations and Guiding Principles

SIS implementations bring together a group of talented individuals to bring about significant University

transformation and improvement. While WSU can and should expect a very positive and successful

project, implementations can also be a challenge. The SIS project will seek to balance the needs of team

member work and personal time. The project will promote trust, accountability, openness and will

provide mechanisms for conflict resolution.

Project Management and Control

Project Plan MaintenanceThe overall SIS Project Plan is a consolidation and integration of the project plans for the individual

initiatives. Project plans will be created and maintained in Microsoft Project for these initiatives:

Campus Solutions Portal Business Intelligence

The Oracle Project Manager is responsible for maintaining the project plans, with oversight and

direction from the WSU Project Manager. This responsibility may be partially delegated to consultants

and/or to a WSU Project Administrator, but the Project Manager is responsible for the integrity of the

plan as a whole, including integration across projects and with other initiatives. Maintenance activities

include marking of completed tasks, reassignment of tasks, redefinition of tasks, etc. Since project plans

contain greater detail for near-term tasks than for longer-term tasks, a part of the regular maintenance

of project plans is the decomposition of upcoming activities into tasks.

The ideal task, from a size standpoint, is what one person can accomplish in a week. That level of detail

is normally expected to be present for the upcoming three months.

With regard to the SIS project plan the SIS project team will work with the WSU Project Manager and

Oracle Project Manager to plan the work and work the plan. At the beginning of each week, the Oracle

Project Manager will ensure that each team member knows and understands the work that is expected

to be worked on and completed during the week.

The Oracle Project Manager will complete updates to the project plan(s) each and every Friday. Project

plans will be done in Microsoft project, will be versioned, and will be kept on the SIS project SharePoint

site.


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Project Meetings

Continual communication across the project organization is essential and will often include meetings.

However, it is essential that meeting time be designed to maximize productivity and efficiency. Thus,

the standard SIS meeting protocol is:

There is a designated chair. There is an agenda that includes expected participants and topics to be discussed. Meeting notes are kept, typically by supplementing the agenda with key decisions made

and/or follow-up items and assignments indicated.

Necessary documents are available either as pre-printed materials or as electronicallydisplayed materials.

Meetings are conducted in such a way to maximize the productivity of the group timeinvestment.

Team will strive for full participation in meetings. Team members that are unable to attend a meeting should be prepared to accept the

decisions reached during the meeting.

The standard SIS meeting schedule includes:

Executive Committee typically every 3 months Steering Committee weekly or as needed SIS Policy Committee monthly or as required/requested by the Steering Committee. Senior Project staff weekly Steering/Project Coordination Committee weekly SIS Project Management Meeting weekly Project Management weekly Quality Assurance monthly Functional Teams daily or as required

The core functional team working sessions are held as needed. A general project pattern is to meet

daily as a group in the morning and to work as individuals or smaller groups in the afternoon, but this is

at the discretion of the Project Manager.

Project ReportingProject status reports will occur weekly and monthly.Weekly Status

Each Oracle consultant will provide a weekly status report to the WSU Project Manager and the Oracle

Project Manager. The Oracle consultant will work with their WSU counterparts to produce the status

report. The status report will detail the work in progress, accomplishments, issues, risks, hours and all

information necessary to allow the Oracle Project Manager to update the Microsoft project plan. All

status reports will be posted to the project SharePoint site and be visible to the core project team.The WSU Project Manager will provide a weekly report that summarizes project status, progress against

milestones, steering committee action items, and risk summary and resource issues. In addition, the

WSU Project Manager will provide an overall project assessment of work in progress, accomplishments,

issues, risks and hours.

The functional coordinators and technical lead will report status to the Project Director and Project

Manager (and to each other) at the weekly Core Management Team meeting.


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Monthly Status and Quality Assurance

The WSU Project Manager and SIS Budget Administrator will ensure that an updated project plan,

budget summary issues log, and risk log are available on SharePoint for examination by the Independent

Quality Assurance Consultants by the 5th

business day of each month.

Project Budget ManagementBudget management is critical to determining project status and making timely project decisions. The

SIS Budget Administator, in close collaboration with the WSU Project Manager, is responsible for

tracking actual expenses to date, actively forecasting of total project costs, and administering project

contracts. Responsiblities include:

Create and manage detailed budget Review/approve invoices/record in spreadsheets Calculate burn rate throughout phases Reconcile to actuals from finance Review contracts, identify exposures and manage contract changes or additions Monitor contract compliance

Scrutinize expensesThe budget management process is supported by the SIS Budget Administrator, with representation

from the Office of Business and Finance and the University Office of Budget and Planning.

The SIS Budget Administrator and WSU Project Manager are responsible for tracking time spent on the

SIS project. Core team members and consultants will submit a weekly timesheet showing time spent by

initiative and by activity. This is an important tool for project management. It allows monitoring of

resources as actually delivered to the project, as well as a tracking of what is required to complete

activities. This timesheet is separate from, and has a different business purpose than, timesheets

submitted for payroll purposes. The SIS Budget Administrator and WSU Project Manager will meet

monthly to review and track fiscal/project progress, to resolve open issues, and to discuss upcoming

planned expenditures.

The SIS Budget Administrator is responsible for the processing of all project-related invoices. This

includes contractor/consultant invoices with reconciliation against project timesheets. The Project

Manager has authority to initiate spending requests in accordance with established project budgets.

The SIS Budget Administrator will provide second-level review and set appropriate accounting codes on

the transactions.

Issue ManagementIssues will arise throughout the life of the project. An issue is any condition or situation which, if not

addressed, threatens the project from a time, cost or result standpoint.

When an issue is identified it is logged, in the SIS Project Issues Log, located in the SIS Project SharePoint

site. The log of outstanding issues is reviewed as a standing item on project team meeting agendas.

Standard protocol for issue creation includes:

Assign a unique ID Name the issue Describe the issue, including its potential impact Assign a priority (Critical, High, Medium, Low) Assign the person responsible for resolution Set the initial status (Open)


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The protocol for issue review includes

Update status, record key decisions and next steps Determine the current status (Open, Closed, Hold)

Once an issue is opened it remains on the log until closed. One way to close an issue is to resolve it by

taking action or making a decision. Another is to determine that in fact it isnt an issue; no action or

decision is required. A third way is to turn it into a task on the project plan. All issues will be tracked via

the SIS SharePoint Issues List.

Issue logs are maintained at multiple levels on the project and managed as follows:

The SIS Steering Committee Chair The WSU Project Manager The Oracle Project Manager The Functional Lead (for an individual project within a given initiative)

Decision-Making and Issue Escalation ProcessIssues will arise over the course of the project. An issue is any condition or situation which, if left

unresolved, threatens the project from a time, cost or result standpoint . Quick and appropriateresolution of issues is critical.

Each of the core project teams are empowered to identify and develop recommended resolutions to

project issues. Some issues, those that affect University policy, project scope, project schedule and the

budget, will require escalation and resolution by the Project Management Team, the Steering

Committee or the Policy Committee. If an issue requires escalation, it will be assigned a PMT status

and will be reviewed by the Project Management Team weekly. In the event that a weekly turnaround

is not sufficient to complete an activity on time, the issue owner can escalate the issue to the WSU

Project Manager immediately. The Project Management Team will either accept the resolution or, if

required, assign it to the Steering Committee for approval. Items escalated to the Steering Committee

will be reviewed weekly.

Change Control ManagementOne of the more difficult aspects of a large project is change. Change is a fact, and it needs to be

managed in a controlled way. The process should be quick when the request is straightforward and

inexpensive and very considered when the request is more complex and/or more expensive.

The change control process has these steps:

1. Propose

Anyone may propose a change informally in the course of the project. These proposals are normal

what-if discussions. A formal request for change, however, must go through the WSU functional lead.

If the functional lead concurs, a System Change Request (SCR) is initiated. If the functional lead does not

concur, an issue will be opened, and the issue process used to resolve the disagreement.

The System Change Request (SCR) includes:

Initiative

Requestor

Date

Description

Expected benefit

Attachments as necessary


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2. Log System Change Request

The System Change Request (SCR) is presented to and discussed with the Project Manager. If the Project

Manager agrees with the judgment of the functional leads, then the Project Manager assigns an ID to

the SCR, and logs it in the System Change Request Log. This log is maintained for the overall SIS project.

3. Assess System Change RequestThe requested change is analyzed to determine what would be involved if this request were approved.

What modules/dialogs/tables/etc. would be affected? What more specifically would be the benefit?

What would be the cost to the project? Assessment of benefit and cost is done on a lifetime

benefit/cost basis. For example, a customization to PeopleSoft will need to be revisited every time a

new PeopleSoft release is installed. In the case of more complex requests this analysis can itself be a

considerable amount of work. As a result of this work the original SCR is modified, so that it now

includes:

SCR ID

Initiative

Requestor

Date submitted

Analyst

Date analyzed

Description (revised if necessary)

Affected components

Expected benefit (revised if necessary)

Expected cost (time and dollars)

4. Review System Change Request

All SCRs are reviewed by the Change Request Group (Oracle Project Manager, Technical Lead,

Undergraduate Liaison, Graduate Liaison, the Independent Project Manager, WSU Project Manager, and

the SIS Steering Committee Chair). The Change Request Group then decides whether or not to approve

the modification.

Documentation ManagementSIS documentation is managed as a shared resource. In most cases project documents are created and

distributed exclusively in electronic form. Documents fall under revision control once issued, so that all

users know which version is current. Documents are clearly marked as to version, and an indication of

what has changed is communicated when the version is released. Document authors are widely

dispersed across the project. All project documents will be kept on the SIS project SharePoint site.

CommunicationsThis role is responsible for all communications between the project and the University community, and

as necessary. Communications is viewed as a two-way process. Project information must be delivered to

the right constituencies using the right language and via the right channels. In turn, issues and concernsfrom the various university constituencies must be aggressively solicited and interpreted back into the

project so that appropriate actions can be taken.

The project will define and employ branding and other marketing methods to ensure that individual SIS

communications are perceived as part of a larger cohesive whole, with connotations that reflect the

vision and goals of the project.


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The SIS project will use multiple channels for communication including:

SharePoint Website Discussion forums

Newsletters Emails Personal Letters Open forums Participation in standing meetings of extant leadership groups Participation in ad hoc meetings as appropriate Monthly meetings with urban campuses

Other project units have significant responsibility for project communications. These include:

Steering Committee Core Project Team Outreach and Liaison Team Integration Group Business Intelligence Advisory Council Technical Council

Required Outreach and Operational ReadinessEven though WSUs student administrative offices are primarily responsible for implementing our new

Student Information System, this system will serve the entire University for many years. In order to get

the most out of it, we need all WSU personnel and students to learn about it, become familiar with it,

think creatively about how they can use it, test its functionality, and to be ready to use it when it goes

live.

Monthly meetings will be held that are open to the entire University, including a Student Information

Systems Liaison Group (representatives from all colleges, academic-support areas, campuses, and

student groups) with the SIS Steering Committee Chair, WSU Project Manager, Consulting Project

Manager, Content Area Leads, to talk about:

Current implementation activities What we are learning about how Oracle works What we are changing in our business processes and what is seamlessly being implemented What issues have arisen and what decisions have been made about them and why (Whats

not a good fit? Why is what we do not a best practice? What is the best practice?)

What campuses, colleges, academic-support areas are concerned about (their own currentprocesses and what will be included or not) and what they may be interested in learning

more about (new functionality pertaining to them)Agendas will be established ahead of time, and minutes will be kept of the meetings. Using agendas,

liaisons can communicate details to their constituents and those impacted will be invited to participate

in upcoming meeting. Using meeting minutes, members of the University community can learn the

needed details of the discussion.

Liaisons will be responsible for monitoring project progress via the website, attending monthly

meetings, communicating back to their constituents about the project and representing (or ensuring

representation of) their constituents specific needs and interests to the project.


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Once we have a module in place for testing, liaisons will be responsible for identifying the appropriate

personnel in their areas to go through the training and then for ensuring that they actively participate

during the testing phase of implementation. They will also be responsible for ensuring that the results

of module testing are communicated back to the project personnel.

At least quarterly, the SIS Project Manager will provide the Liaison Group and the WSU public a

demonstration of Oracle functionality showing how it works and how its being set up for WSU to use.This will give people a feel for it before the modules are ready for trained personnel in the academic and

academic-support areas to test them. That way they can get excited about it and anticipate how it

might interface with what they do right now or how it might work very differently. This may generate

creative thinking about business process change and may also prevent anyone from seeing any major

surprises about the product once it is ready for testing.

Post-ImplementationThe project budget includes consideration for the definition; setup and initial operation of the ongoing

systems after the implementation go live events have been achieved. It is expected that a new

organization will emerge with responsibility for ongoing governance, development, maintenance,

operation, training, etc. for all the initiatives that are part of the SIS project. The organizational structureof this sustainability function is not known, but it is assumed that it will arise and evolve organically

out of the implementation project structure and activities. It is also expected that some number of

project participants will not in fact return to their home departments, but will be part of this new

organization. In general this issue will not be further addressed until the go live events have occurred.

WSUProjectCharter-v10

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