New computing tools address core administrative functions

Nobody likes working with outdated computer systems. The key is to convert to new systems before the old ones start to falter.

That’s the grand plan behind the “2008 Program Release,” a major campus effort to develop new computing tools that address five core administrative functions: grants, travel, reporting staff effort, purchasing and accounting. If your work touches on any or all of these, your world is headed for a positive change.

“Our aim is to give financial staff, PIs, travelers and other users of UW data the ability to submit and view content online,” says Darrell Bazzell, vice chancellor for administration. “Many of us will see marked improvement in access to data for our work.”

Change does not always mean immediate improvement, however. This is especially true for anyone comfortable with old ways of doing things. “Change is hard for some of us,” adds Bazzell. “Some new tasks will take getting used to. Overall, these new systems will streamline work and the reporting processes to government and other agencies.”

Functional staff, developers and project managers are hard at work creating new, automated (Web-based) ways for reporting and managing daily work. The individual projects that make up the 2008 Program Release are Madison Accounts Payable Purchase Order (Madison APPO), Automated Travel System (ATS), Effort System (ECRT), Grants Project and Legacy Accounting to SFS Transition (LAST).

For an overview of the 2008 Program Release and each project, visit http://www.vc.wisc.edu/ProgramRelease. Check it early and often for updates.

All of these projects have been through rigorous, end-to-end testing. As hoped, this testing has uncovered problems, which system developers are actively analyzing and correcting in time for a final round of integration testing. The aim is for a release date for most projects in the first quarter of 2008. The Effort System will go live in November.

The Program Release is different from, but related to, another major campus project called Administrative Process Resign (APR). The focus of the Program Release is on new software and tools to support administrative processes. APR is about improving the processes. Although the five projects may or may not have engaged in a review of their actual processes, APR may look into these processes and assist with process redesign later.

A joint project manager committee is managing the 2008 Program Release. It is composed of project managers from each of the five strategic projects and all other associated projects. A joint steering committee has led this group, with representatives from several UW–Madison departments and UW System administration. The projects are collectively sponsored by Bazzell. The Grants Project is also cosponsored by Martin Cadwallader, dean of the Graduate School, and Ron Kraemer, CIO and vice provost for information technology.

Watch for e-mail updates and training invitations in the coming months. Direct any questions about Program Release to Brian Rust at bgrust@wisc.edu.