"It's Time to Pay Attention" was the central message of the Project X Briefing held on Jan. 15 at the School of Management. Despite ice and freezing rain, close to 100 business administrators from throughout the campus turned out to learn more about the upcoming implementation of Project X systems and business processes, and how this will affect the operations of departmental business offices.

The briefing featured a high-level description of the changes to expect as the new Oracle systems "go live" on April 1. It included discussion about the significance of this particular time-frame and critical implementation issues, as well as tips on how business offices can best use the 10 weeks remaining to prepare for the challenges that lie ahead.

The meeting was hosted by Dr. Stephanie Spangler, deputy provost for biomedical and health affairs, and the Provost Office's designee to Project X; and Irwin Birnbaum, chief operating officer for the School of Medicine. The featured speakers were Scott Bennett, University librarian and chair of the Project X Subcommittee on Business Office Practices; Jan Ackerman, associate vice president for finance; and Peter Vallone, associate vice president for administration.

In her opening remarks, Spangler acknowledged that, while business managers have been attending to the day-to-day operations of their own units, Project X has been laying the groundwork for the April 1 rollouts. "The time has come," she said, "when we not only seek your full attention, but also your full engagement, as the leaders of the business community at Yale, in making our Phase 2 implementation a success."

Spangler also made the following points:

* The Project X goals -- including improved services and quality of information for decision-making, and reduced costs and risks -- will only be fully realized over time. The goal for April 1 (the date earmarked for Phase 2 implementation of the new Oracle software) is more modest: to maintain current functionality in such critical areas as issuing paychecks, hiring people, monitoring grants, and purchasing goods and services, while laying the foundation for more profound change in the future.

* The implementation will be bumpy. As with any major change, system implementations are rarely smooth, noted Spangler. Working within the challenges of a compressed timeframe will only add to the challenges, she said.

* Project X intends to carry forward lessons learned from its Phase 1 implementation to avoid some of the problems encountered in that phase.

* Communication throughout this phase of the project is critical. Open lines of communication will not only facilitate problem-solving, but also will pave the way for "rapid and meaningful adjustments" in the way the Oracle applications are implemented, she said.

"The most important message that I wish to impart this morning," Spangler concluded, "is that we believe that those of you in this room represent the business expertise and leadership that allows us to achieve the academic goals of Yale University. It is only with your full engagement and embrace of these systems that this project will be successful and that we will achieve our loftier goals of improving the way we do work at Yale."

Birnbaum also presented a directive to the group -- the need for total commitment. "It is time for us all to come together," he said. "We need an enormous amount of positive thinking and positive attitudes to carry us through." Only by keeping an eye on the ultimate goals, he said, will those goals be reached. In summation, he noted, "I believe that the leadership of the University has given us the opportunity to step into the new millennium with a tool that will allow us to [reach those goals]." The "payback" he added, will be enormous.

The pivotal nature of this time period in terms of eliciting the full support and cooperation of business offices was the topic of discussion by Bennett, who is also a member of the Project X Advisory Committee. Bennett recognized the extraordinary effort made to date by Project X teams, and the key roles played by many of those in the business offices.

In his role as a "user" of Project X applications, Bennett emphasized that "the nature of the Project X enterprise is about to change." The work of the teams is currently being brought together in an integrated environment, where testing and refinement will prove crucial to the continued success of this effort, he said, adding, "In a very important way, Project X is now being handed over to users."

By devoting the time necessary to learn about the new systems, identifying what works well -- as well as what doesn't work well -- figuring out how to fix problems and working in close partnership with the Project X teams, the user community can confirm a commitment and establish open communication about the joys and pains that lie ahead, said Bennett.

Ackerman, the next speaker, began by noting, "The real challenge for all of us is to find a way over the next 10 weeks to convey the magnitude of information so that we all have a working knowledge of how it will affect our units and how we can best set up to make sure the process works effectively."

She then led the group through a list of "critical issues," which she categorized into three areas:

Essential New Infrastructure Components Offices Need To Master:

1) New Chart of Accounts -- goes into effect when new applications come up (addition of new segment project and use of Oracle Grants Management [OGM]; allows more flexibility in reporting of financial information).

2) New Financial Reporting Environment (new set of reports to replace Rainbow reports; will be available online; new stronger reporting tools to learn).

3) Labor Distribution (works in conjunction with other systems to ensure appropriate charging of individuals within departments).

Critical New Applications and Procedures:

4) Project, Task, & Award Setups (new forms to request the creation/modification of projects, awards, and related linkages).

5) Procurement's New Tools (Web Requisitioning replaces the existing Purchase Requisition System [PRS]; new forms and technology; department-designated approval authority).

6) Journal Staging Area (handles interdepartmental credits; accounting transfers, and a number of revenue-related
transactions).

7) Changes to Human Resources (including faculty and staff hiring, as well as new procedures and forms).

Other Important Changes and Concepts:

8) System Validation of Transaction Information (eliminates duplicated effort; requires more information in many cases).

9) Commitments (objective is to replicate current functionality of Distributed Accounting System [DAS] initially; eventually expect much greater functionality).

10) Roles and Responsibilities within Departments.

Vallone discussed what Project X is doing in anticipation of business office needs as departments prepare for these changes, as well as what business administrators themselves can do to get ready. He stressed that the next six weeks are critical in terms of planning and preparing for the training and go-live activities of March and April.

The activities that Vallone suggested for business administrators included keeping current on work and account activity, and attending comprehensive orientation and "go-live" planning workshops that are scheduled to begin later this month, as well as hands-on previews of the new applications over the next six weeks. The teams will continue to work on conversion reports and data clean-up opportunities, making sure data converted is correct. Departmental involvement will be essential for these activities, emphasized Vallone. In the future, there will be training classes, with an opportunity to practice back in the office.

The more familiar people are with the changes, the easier the transition period will be, Vallone explained. Other initiatives that will take place over this same time period include crisis-avoidance plans for Central Campus offices; Help Desks to respond to people's needs; telephone hotlines; and drop-in centers with flexible schedules to handle immediate concerns.

Each of the speakers noted that the University has a formidable challenge ahead and that it is essential everyone work together to successfully meet this challenge. As Bennett pointed out, "No one is better positioned than [business managers] to ensure that Project X is brought to a successful conclusion."

In her closing remarks, Ackerman expressed commitment to the project as a whole. "Project X began as a University-wide effort," she said. "[W]e should all take a great deal of pride as a group, that the officers, when they agreed to go forward with this project, were really making a bold statement to all of us in the business community here at Yale -- a commitment of resources, a commitment of belief and trust that we are leaders in the administrative areas of higher education and research as well as the academic areas. We are now at a point where we are positioned to be able to demonstrate that, if we as a group work together to meet the challenge before us."

-- By Donna Pintek

More information about Project X is available at: www.yale.edu/pjx/index.html.