AACii Meeting Notes 2/11/16, Room 1-214
In attendance: Richard Brewer (Chair), Lisa St Croix (Vice Chair), Sherene Aram, Peter Brenton, Chris Durham, Sucharita Berger Ghosh, Robin Elices, Pia Handsom, Tara Henrichon, Lynn Hinds, Robin Lemp, Christine Malnati, Kimberly Mann, Doreen Morris, Amberly Steward, Lisa Thoma
Web Grad Aid Initiative – Named one of the most important initiatives from last year’s AO Breakfast. Sucharita Berger Ghosh, lead from AACii and Project Steering Member, introduced Eamon Kearns, responsible for putting project team together.
Project Team
Eamon Kearns, Senior Director, Emerging Solutions (IS&T) & Project Steering Member
Mark Waters, Project Steering Committee (SFS)
Steve Zolud, Business Analyst (IS&T)
Sandeep Nadendla, Business Analyst (IS&T)
Kevin Lyons, Project Manager (IS&T)
Student Appointment System, Web Grad Aid Replacement – Overview
Original system was introduced in 2004. The new system is a collaborative project with the MIT community.
Current State – Web Grad Aid
- Approximately 15,000 appointments are created per year
56% Research Assistants, 31% Fellowships, 12% Teaching Assistants, 1% Instructor-G
- 97 active users in the past 2 years
- About 10 help desk calls per month
Business Process Points
- The students’ home department administrator creates appointments.
- The administrator starts with a list of all students enrolled for the term.
- Christine Ortiz announces salary and tuition rates in May.
- Appointments are often created after student bills go out causing late fees (main pain point).
- Cost object changes need to be made in eSDS and do not reflect back into Web Grad Aid (the two systems are out of sync).
Key points: The home department can make changes, but others are only able to view.
Everything is manually entered into Web Grad Aid system.
Project Initiation - User Engagement
Steering Committee was formed in July 2015 (held monthly meetings, identified pain points and direction).
Engaged the User Group, which was formed in Sept 2015 (initial outreach meeting, four user group meetings Sept – Dec, focusing on functionality, user interface and student impact, expanded group to include Finance/HR)
Steering Committee Members – Keiko Tanaka (ODGE), Mark Waters (SFS), Sucharita Berger Ghosh (MechE), Rebecca Chamberlain (Biology), Pamela Schickling (VPF), Leslie Wright (VPF), Darren Scartissi (Payroll) and Eamon Kearns (IS&T)
User Group – Bonnielee Whang (Microbiology), Susan Twarog (Political Science), Lynn Marie Guthrie-Libby and Heather Finney (Chemistry), Suzanne Maguire (ChemE), Erica Bates and Flavia Cardarelli (IDSS), Karen Yegian (DUSP), Janice McCarthy (MechE), Josh DeMaio (SSM), Bill Tilden and Kathy McCoy (EECS), Michele Gallarelli (Math), Tanya Abikoff (Engineering) and Sonia Verma (Physics)
Pain Points
- Changes are made in eSDS, but are not reflected in Web Grad Aid
- Difficult to find which students are on estimated appointments
- Too much manual input required for multiple and recurring appointments
- Limited information on cost objects (no expiry or owner)
- Limited search and reporting capabilities
- Too many manual calculations for partials and terminations
- Unable to create a split by dollar
- No historical tracking of appointment changes
- Level of effort is difficult to calculate and change
- Limit of five cost objects per appointment
- Notification e-mails are not clear
- 50/50 split for RAs is not always used
- Unable to end one fund and start another during the term
Proposed New Features
- Real-time system integration
- Copy appointment
- Multiple appointment creation
- Improved search, filter, and sort capabilities
- Funding changes single point of entry
- Cost object validation
- Parking – save a draft
- Split funding by dollar amount
The group is still checking the feasibility of features and capturing new requests that come in from the users.
Next Steps
- Backend Solution Prototype (where can it be stored in SAP)
- Review possible solution options with Stakeholders
- Confirmation of approach
- Support strategy, accounting, business requirement sign-off (SFS, ODGE, HRP, VPF)
- Start development
- SAP Fiori UI infrastructure build out, SAP RFC’s and custom programs, System Integration (Mulesoft, Gateway, etc), API Development (BANNER)
- Develop detailed schedule – target pilot Fall 2016
Q&A
Q: How difficult will it be for system integration and what are the odds of success?
A: We will be using Roles database, so we will not need to reinvent the wheel, MITSIS feeds to Banner (MITSIS is still record of system) through a real time integration using Mulesoft as a gateway (leveraging things they already have in place). Previously we weren’t looking at the big picture and are now doing that by spending the time upfront to get the input and feedback.
Q: Where will the data “live”?
A: During Phase I, where data is entered. Ultimately we would like it to be a system everyone can use. Modern Web Grad Aid will be the system of record and will be integrated with student academic record as well as financial data. The issue of supervisor vs. advisor role and who to contact for payment information, is not currently clear or easily obtainable.
Q: Will system have import functionality?
A: Yes, they will have to build it because people want/need it.
Q: Is User Group looking at higher-level senior reporting needs (AO, Department Head)
A: Yes
Q: Since all students will have an appointment in a department eventually, will we still need to enter student appointments in the system going forward?
A: The system will be tightly integrated. Departments will not need to enter information, but will be looking student up, since appointment type and other information is feeding from somewhere else. All students will have appointments, but we will need the ability to see which students do not have appointments. The user interface is more flexible. There is a huge gap between when the bills are created vs. when the student is appointed, but by September they should be in the system. How do you manage the different dates? It is difficult in August to determine whether a department will cover a portion of the student appointment. Without a cost object how can you create an appointment? Suspense accounts act as a placeholder. We don’t want departments to use invalid cost objects. Suspense accounts are tied to Web Grad Aid login rather than waiting for the term to begin and the first payroll to run. This will be a one-stop shop/place for all changes. Departments will be able to run reports prior to first payroll run to see if suspense accounts are being used and get payment in the right place.
Contact Kevin Lyons with any future questions/ideas.
After the meeting, Kevin provided the following (full) list of Pain Points and Wish List for Web Grad Aid.
Todd Holmes, Program Manager, International Safety and Security
Travel Registry
- New development directly related to this year’s AO Breakfast.
- Will allow us to track where in the world MIT students, faculty & staff are at anytime.
- Works with Concur
Travel at MIT
- Exact numbers not known annually Institute-wide
- VPF/Travel estimate 5K per year (students 1,600, faculty/staff 3,200)
- Internal department knowledge and tracking
- Student travel (UG) in structured programs known through study abroad databases
- GECD (Horizons)
- MISTI (Terradotta)
- Able to obtain partial information from several TMCs (TTC, CWT, OT&T)
Travel Risk & Response – NOW
- Incidents happen: global terrorism, export accidents
- Check data sheets of current systems (Horizons and Terradotta)
- Query TMCs (TTC, CWT, OT&T)
- Coordinate wellness check with Program Admin
- Reach out directly if program manager is ot available
- Remind to contact ISOS for assistance
- Keep head count and report periodically until all are confirmed okay
- Incidents/Wellness Checks since June 2015
- Ramadan attacks June 26 (Lyon, France - +/- 10 all OK)
- Bangkok on 8/17 (less than 10 known - all OK)
- Paris 11/13 (several MISTI + 1 faculty)
- Istanbul 1/12 (1 faculty – OK)
- Jakarta 1/14 (30 +/- students; several faculty/staff – all OK)
Travel Tracking
- Risk Management function
Tried to test in Spain & Mexico during IAP – students weren’t able to enable devices
- Project conceptualized in 2013/14 led by GECD with major stakeholder (GET, Insurance, IS&T, EMS, Travel)
- Concur selected to deliver in summer 2015
- Concur to design product to meet MIT Travel Risk
- Management needs by summer to Pilot. If successful – implement in Fall 2016
- Requires separation of Data by DLC
- SSI/Secure Data
- Ease of user/admin travel data input (individual vs. group)
- Unique traveler data to reach: itinerary, email, phone! (name & DLC sponsoring trip)
-Mention Verizon offer @ gov’t rate (some depts. Are considering offer) one cost effective way to make sure travelers have phone overseas (some afraid of roaming charges)
Some Lessons Learned
- Will need a travel registry policy (student required vs. strongly advised – faculty)
- Pilot this summer and if it goes well, will implement in the Institution
- DLCs sending student data but faculty/staff not captured (nature of database)
- Learning to work with certain DLCs
- (CCES/KSA)
- DUSP (MX trips)
- D-Lab (developing countries)
- Political Science (PVCD working group and high risk travel)
Administrator will have overview of map that is color coded by risk shows name, flight, hotel data if provided, and user check-in.
Can zoom into country and show travelers – broadcast or alert (be able to pinpoint travelers impacted).
Q: Are other institutions looking into this type of system? (Travel Tracker/SOS system to locate and send messages)
A: Princeton is also using Concur have contacted them to get their feedback
- Need to work out issues such as determining specific city that people are in.
- InternationalSoS.com has App that can be downloaded
- When traveling, need to add phone number into cell for International SOS
Administrative Systems Steering Committee (ASSC) launch
Doreen Morris and Robin Elices
Reinvention of ASPEC (disbanded 8 or 9 months ago)
Representation from all schools except SoE
Membership
Christine Albertelli, VPF
Richard Brewer, D-Lab
Robin Elices, EVPT
Josh Freedman, ISN
Ken Goldsmith, SA&P
Ron Hasseltine, VPR
Marc Jones, SHASS
Eamon Kearns, IS&T
John Letchford, SSM
Doreen Morris, Office of the Provost
Gerry O’Toole, VPF
Michael Parkin, Facilities
Wayne Turner, HR
Heather Williams, SoS
Carol Wood, OSP
Role of the Committee
- Guide administrative system development to provide best possible computing experience for MIT community
- Align efforts across academic and administrative areas
- Assure balanced portfolio of work
- Achieve consensus on priorities for admin system development
- Align work with RACC
- Gather insights from AACII
- Maintain awareness of ongoing work
- Refine directions as needed and assure continuous progress
- Evaluate technology experiments and pilots
- Endorse those to scale MIT-wide
Spring Term Goals
- Gain an understanding of currently ongoing work
- Identify critical gaps and needs
- Agree on body of work for FY 2017
The way projects have been adopted hasn’t been clear. Readiness has been important, do they have the right input from DLCs? Some are prototype projects that can be used for future work (SANDI redesign). Take on big questions – Roles Database – was cutting edge haven’t kept modern – the next generation of authorizations is a huge challenge. Disconnect of hierarchies – huge challenge as well. Nimbus and RAFT – need to figure out budgeting and forecasting – huge challenge.
Sampling of Key Discussion Topics for the Future
Financial and HR data hierarchies & governance
Authorizations – next generation Roles database
Budgeting and forecasting system
Effort management (eDACCA, eSDS, X schedules, summer session)
Understanding SAP Hana and what this means for future business process change
HANA data mart – next generation of SAP – better access to real time
Comments:
- A lot of changes have been coming at DLCs at once, which is overwhelming. It would be great if there could be a coordination of rollouts.
- Very happy with creation of Atlas - how wonderful it is to get everything from one place.
- Committee to have convening power to get parties together to move requests forward
- Business need and how to accomplish it – why is it not working?
- Create roadmap of successful project – to include all steps, groups need to be involved, training, best practices, communication
Current admin systems projects
Modernizing business processes
Buy to pay redesign
Compensation management & annual salary review system
Web Grad Aid redesign
Benefits enrollment – update old technology & automate life cycle forms
eBuilder – cost accounting for campus renewal
Travel registry – notifications for travelers abroad
Parking system enhancements
Technology for use in Atlas Service Center
Access to information and data
Salary distribution dashboard – prototype for additional dashboards
Enriching diversity – affirmative action planning
Campus as a living laboratory – data analytics for sustainability, will inform other analytics needs
Agreements module – track arrangements between Provost, schools, DLCs
Cognos report creation – translating key reports from Brio
Applications infrastructure
Provisioning – improve interfaces, access to real time data
Mobile – experimenting with Fiori to inform future paths
HANA data mart – proof of concept for reporting
AO Breakfast Planning Updates – take discussions off-line since we are running short on time.
Israel or Marty probably won’t be able to attend breakfast.
Save the Date, working on invitation.
Next AACii meeting is March 3rd
End of Year celebratory lunch, Emma Rogers 10-340, 10-2 p.m., Wednesday, June 8th
Meeting adjourned
