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Budget Administration 2 Training
Budget Administration 2 training sessions this week solidified concepts introduced in Budget Administration 1 and provided attendees with the natural next step in becoming comfortable in the new system. People were most excited to learn how to export budget details into Excel, which will let them construct graphs, add columns to track purchases, and more. As MIS instructor Peter Ho (pictured) explained, “Excel allows you to perform ‘what if’ scenarios—What if I buy these items? How much money will I have left?” Attendees left training confident in their abilities to code financial transactions, save advanced searches, and review budget specifics.
Budget Administration 2 training provides tools that give users more flexibility and assurance when coding purchases and reviewing budgets. Optimize staff members can assist you in determining which training sessions make sense for your position. Please email optimizetraining@pugetsound.edu to ask for help evaluating your training needs. If you have questions about PeopleSoft access and technical concerns, please continue to contact the Service Desk at 253.879.8585.
August training sessions include Budget Administration 1, Budget Administration 2, Submitting Requisitions, and Approving Requisitions. Register now!
Optimize: In Full Swing
Financials presented another round of training to the campus community this week. Procurement Director Ed Barber taught classes on submitting and approving requisitions to staff members from across campus. Ed highlighted the university’s new policies around purchasing and approvals, showing classes common tasks, such as adding routinely ordered items to favorites lists and requesting new vendors.
Still need training? Classes are available for Budget Administration 2 training next week! If you participated in Budget Administration 1 and want to dive deeper into budget inquiry and learn about processing non-PO disbursements, please register for Budget Administration 2. There are other opportunities to take Budget Administration 1 and 2, Submitting Requisitions, and Approving Requisitions classes in August for anyone that was unable to attend July’s sessions. You may review the entire class schedule on the Optimize Training page and sign up today!
Then the Human Resources team is in the midst of numerous Discovery sessions regarding benefits and payroll. The team looks forward to even more sessions next week, as MIS consultants will be on campus to incorporate several design discussions into the discovery phase.
The Campus Solutions team is incredibly busy in one-on-one sessions with MIS consultants who are teaching staff members how to enter data into PeopleSoft. The team will go live with demographic data first, and each day the team gets one step closer to that goal. This data is the foundation for the way the university operates and will be shared between the Human Resources and Financial systems. Behind the scenes, the team is also building its calendar of “firsts” (the first time registration will happen in PeopleSoft, the first time financial aid will be incorporated into PeopleSoft, etc.), which helps ensure that all operational tasks get done on time in both the old and new systems.
PeopleSoft Financials Training Update
Budget Administration 1 training was a success this week, led by professional instructor Peter Ho from MIS. Staff and faculty members said they enjoyed the hands-on experience and illustrative handouts. This was the first time that many of the participants signed into PeopleSoft and began looking up new department and account codes using the crosswalk created especially for the university by the Optimize project team. After mapping old account codes to new ones, the classes practiced searching for budget information and saving it to their PeopleSoft profiles so that they can easily refer to it later. The project team encourages people that participated in Budget Administration 1 to sign up for Budget Administration 2, which will expand on the budget inquiry feature and talk about processing non-PO disbursement requests.
You may register for classes by visiting the Optimize training page. If you are unable to attend training, help videos are available through PS Help on PeopleSoft navigation, budget administration, and using the crosswalk tool. You may watch step-by-step instructions, try the process out yourself, and print a hard copy of the instructions to keep as a reference. The help videos are a great resource if you haven’t yet gone through training or if you need to refresh your classroom lessons.
Remember that classroom training is offered for: Budget Administration 1, Budget Administration 2, Submitting Requisitions, and Approving Requisitions. Register today!
Welcome to PeopleSoft Financials
“PeopleSoft’s purchasing system has been a cinch! I find it to be very user friendly, and some of the information I need when working with the system is easily accessible. It also helps that the system is aesthetically well laid out.”
Sunil Kukreja, professor of comparative sociology and associate dean for 2012–13 academic year
“After all the hoopla, it is easier to use that I anticipated. Pretty straightforward and Ed Barber is great in answering questions. The new system will make it much easier for Puget Sound to know exactly how it is spending money and where to save. I also like it because it relieves me of having to be the money enforcer for grants. Much better!”
Michal Morrison-Kerr, biology stores coordinator
It was a superb week for Financials as the team worked in the live PeopleSoft environment, which is accessible from the Cascade menu. Members of the campus community submitted several requisitions to the purchasing office, and the Accounting and Budget Services team created journal entries. From Dining and Conference Services and the biology department to Facilities Services and athletics, campus members banded together to serve the university efficiently while learning this new system. Puget Sound now has a state-of-the-art platform for continual improvement on day-to-day practices.
The Campus Solutions team is in the midst of reviewing its processes and configuring PeopleSoft to fit its needs in one-on-one sessions with MIS consultants.
Human Resources is progressing through the discovery phase. Team members are exploring and recording best practices for accessing and interacting with personnel data.
Purchasing and budget administration training times are now updated. If you preregistered for a training session, you will be contacted soon by a member of the project team.
Finally PeopleSoft Mission Headquarters wants YOU! (To visit!) Visitors are welcome and encouraged. Stop by Howarth 003/005 to chat with the project team and see the computer lab.
PeopleSoft Financials Is Live!
PeopleSoft Financials went live today after six months of persistence and dedication. PeopleSoft is available for campus use through the Cascade menu. Accounts Payable is blazing the trail as the first team to use the system, and as the project progresses, training will be available for other departments. Visit the training page to learn more about upcoming classes.
The Financials team gathered in Howarth 005 to celebrate with party poppers this morning! From left to right: Mike Staton in green (MIS), Suresh Pandurangam (MIS), Jenifer Lambert, Tim Graham (MIS), Jody Putman, Kristen Spiese, Ed Barber, and Steve Renker. Not pictured: Janet Hallman, Angela Markos, John deGroot, Travis Nation, Nancy Nieraeth, Jessie Carter, and Emily Precht.
Financials: Going Live on Monday
This was a milestone week for Financials, Campus Solutions, and Human Resources! As the team leading the implementation process, Financials spent the week testing and training in preparation for go-live on Monday, July 2. Meanwhile Campus Solutions signed off on its Fit-Gap document, outlining each department’s operational requirements for the new system, and Human Resources kicked off its Discovery sessions to begin documenting operational requirements. Training sessions with the General Ledger and Accounts Payable teams went well, with team leaders guiding their staffs through PeopleSoft, and the purchasing department taught requesters and approvers—in seven departments!—how to order goods in the new system. But the accomplishment everyone is most excited about was getting checks to print correctly! (Woo hoo!)
The PeopleSoft Help system is now accessible with basic PeopleSoft navigation instruction videos. Budget administration and purchasing resources will be available shortly. Remember to check the Optimize Training page for updates on in-person and online training. Additionally all weekly campus communications about Optimize Puget Sound system changes and training opportunities are available on the Optimize communications page for your reference.
As the university transitions to PeopleSoft, please refer all questions or comments about system access and functionality to the Service Desk at 253.879.8585 or servicedesk@pugetsound.edu. It is important to document all the questions during the coming months. The Service Desk will then route your question to the appropriate party. Thank you for your patience and excitement as the university launches PeopleSoft Financials!
Preparing for Financials Go-Live
In addition to participating in all-day work sessions to prepare for go-live on July 2, this week the Financials leads provided an introductory training session on PeopleSoft for members of the Accounting and Budget Services (ABS) team. The ABS group was excited to log in to PeopleSoft, navigate through screens, enter journals, and process inquiries. In another session the leads demonstrated the grant process for the staff of the Associate Deans’ Office, and everyone was happy to see how the new system will support grant tracking. Grant tracking’s functionality will continue to be enhanced over the coming months. In two years, the options will be phenomenal.
Campus Solutions celebrated the completion of their Fit-Gap review sessions with cake and cookies! The Fit-Gap highlights how operations will be configured in the new system, and now they can begin the design phase!
To learn about upcoming training sessions and preregister, visit our Optimize Puget Sound Training page. Please check the website often as current session offerings will be updated regularly.
Gaining Momentum
The Optimize project gains momentum through the combined efforts of Puget Sound and MIS! On the Financials side, technical and functional teams are busy organizing the system to ensure that processes run smoothly. Members of Accounting and Budget Services were pleased to learn how to query in PeopleSoft, moving them into a new world of reporting. Instead of using many systems to generate reports, the team will now be able to utilize one system for reporting. The team also experienced a breakthrough with the Approval Framework structure streamlining the approval process for the purchasing of goods.
Campus Solutions had an exciting week as the team assembled to approve the Fit-Gap document. The Fit-Gap document summarizes each department’s operational requirements and how the new system will handle those requirements.
Additionally, Human Resources is preparing for Discovery sessions to begin June 25.
Technology Services’ Optimize Puget Sound page now includes a calendar for upcoming training sessions. Budget administrators and staff members with purchasing authority should take note and see when upcoming opportunities for training will occur. Stay tuned next week for more information about Financials progress.
Going Page by Page
Financials made significant progress in three areas last week. First MIS consultants were on site to demonstrate the system’s configuration page by page! The newest team member from MIS, Mike Staton, spoke highly of the week’s advancement: “Going page by page allows the functional leads to see how something works. Then, through discussion, we are able to validate the setup or refine it to ensure that the configuration meets the requirements.” During this process, MIS consultants led the team through the navigation steps. On their laptops, team members used the User Productivity Kit (UPK) to record each click, creating a reference for future use.
Second the Wells Fargo Payment Manager implementation kicked off, and within three days, the team reviewed the associated documents and began development. (That’s really fast!)
Third Mike Staton gave the first hands-on demonstration of PeopleSoft’s Approval Framework, clearly outlining options that were not evident before. Configuration can now move forward.
Congrats and Thanks to Optimize Student Staff
The end of Spring semester brings happy thoughts of the many student staff supporting Optimize Puget Sound! Congratulations to Garrett Dieckmann ’12 who is joining the Enterprise Information Systems team as our new implementation developer. Extra special thanks to Lexie Gallegos ’15, Kenzie Miller ’13, and Andy Galbraith ’13 for their hard work during the 2011-12 academic year. Lexie will return in the fall to continue her good work, while this summer, Kenzie, Erin Bryne ’13, and Corinn Hillstrom ’14 will assist the project team.
The Financials team continues configuration as they prepare for go-live on July 1. Mike Staton from MIS is set to guide the team through creating the approval framework, a critical part of the purchasing cycle. Teri Mills and Ed Barber have tested the Punchout catalog. Ed has also been working with buyers across campus to standardize the new purchasing system.
In Campus Solutions, Mattie Watts from Student Financial Services and MIS consultant Robbie de Leur set up PeopleSoft tables, a major step in learning the program and building accurate data in the system. Ellen Peters, Alyce DeMarais, and Carol White are working with the Data Standards Committee to establish demographic conventions and a process for checking duplicate records.
For questions or additional information, contact Project Manager Travis Nation at 253.879.2710 or tnation@pugetsound.edu.