February 22, 2008
Banner Project Update
Project Overview
Banner Project Implementation began in August 2006 and may continue through Fall 2009. All of the modules are expected to be implemented by the end of 2008, except for the Luminis Portal System which will go-live in 2009 after a new release of the software becomes available. Project Plans have been developed for all Banner System Modules (Finance, HR, Student, and Financial Aid) and the Technical/Conversion components. The finance module went live July 2, 2007 and has laid the groundwork for improved financial controls. Plans for HR to go-live have been revised from December 9, 2007, to March 24, 2008. Student and Financial Aid are scheduled for phased in go-lives beginning March 2008. The Luminis Portal System is now scheduled to go-live in 2009.
Human Resources/Payroll Module
The currently planned go-live for the Human Resources/Payroll module is March 24, 2008.
The HR Process Team has been working long and hard on all of the critical tasks involved in moving to Banner. Over the past several weeks, additional staff and consulting time have been dedicated to the team. In addition, execution of critical team deliverables has been given to the appropriate process owners in the HR and Finance areas. This has improved alignment of authority and responsibility for completing the project, placing it in the hands of the management responsible for on-going system operations.
The HR Process Team continues to struggle with completing a parallel test that meets current system acceptance criteria of two successive parallel payroll tests where all differences are explained. Given the problematic nature of the Oracle data being converted and the length of time required to correct each conversion for parallel testing, the SunGard Higher Education (SGHE) Project Manager recommends a revision to the system acceptance criteria from full parallel testing to testing a statistical sample acceptable to the Steering Committee. The process of developing for the Steering Committee alternative acceptance criteria that meet LCC's quality standards is underway.
Both the Grant Thornton auditor and the SunGard Project Manager believe that remaining on the current Oracle system poses a serious risk to ongoing college operations. The Banner Steering Committee Work Group, comprised of the project managers and appointed members of the Executive Leadership Team, believes for a variety of reasons that it is not advisable to delay beyond the currently planned go-live date, assuming that quality is not sacrificed. Maintaining the go-live date will require that LCC assess the risks of modifying the acceptance criteria against the risk of remaining on the Oracle system beyond March, keeping in mind that each of the next three possible go-live dates (July 1, October 1, and January 1, 2009) has its own associated risks, including affecting the implementation plans for Student and Financial Aid and prolonging the use of the Oracle payroll system.
End-User Training for HR Web Time Entry is scheduled to begin the week of March 3, 2008. Open Forums on the HR module also will be held in late February and mid-March at the downtown and west campuses.
Finance Module
As you know, the Finance Module was implemented on July 2 and has laid the groundwork for improved financial controls, including better transaction documentation; improved audit trails; extraction of information; and improved reporting. Expense reporting and P-Card processing with Concur (a third-party system) is live for employee use. Reimbursement checks are being issued. The Concur to Banner Interface, which allows automated check processing, is being tested. The Finance Project Plan is being reviewed to itemize project close-out activities required to complete final LCC system acceptance.
Student Module
The functional work of this team has been on track, but is now somewhat at risk as competing work adds additional stress to the teams. Key staff members are dividing their time between requirements for Banner, support for Oracle, and other institutional priorities. The Student System is scheduled to go live in phases, with Admissions being the first on March 31. The plan is to have the Banner Student System operational in time for Fall 2008 registration.
Financial Aid Module
The functional work of this team is generally on track for a phase-one go-live date of March 10. However, due to a delay in converting academic history, Financial Aid has moved back the date it planned to communicate to students the actual awards that they will receive for Fall Semester 2008. Because this new date—June 18--remains within the normal timeframe for college financial aid awarding, students will not be negatively affected by this change.
Technical Team
There are serious resource constraints in the area of support for Finance and Human Resources that have been worsened by the difficult task of converting the Oracle HR data to Banner and supporting the existing Oracle applications. In terms of backfill utilization, additional programming support (8 full- and part-time resources) has been provided by SunGard, Millennium Consulting and Enterprise Integration Solutions, Inc. in order to support the additional workload of the implementation. An additional backfill position has been requested to manage the current Web Portal. A temporary full-time SunGard consultant has been assigned to work on reporting needs and other IT deliverables.
Reporting Team
In the area of reporting, the Project Management team is providing leadership in developing policies and procedures. Much progress has been made on reporting. Reports have been identified and the top 10% for each system have been prioritized. The next steps are to define more detail for each report and estimate the work effort required to produce them. It will be a challenge to develop the 200+ reports that have been identified in a timely manner. Additional resources will be required to produce each report in the timeframe needed.
We will continue to keep all employees informed of Banner Project plans and progress through our multiple communication channels---Campus Communications, LCC News to Use, Star Port, Banner web page and open forums.
If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact the LCC Banner Project Manager Jack Bergeron (bergerj@lcc.edu), or you may use the confidential Banner Feedback Form available on the Banner web page (www.lcc.edu/banner).
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