The College has initiated the BATTERY Project, which includes planning for, selecting and implementing a new complex suite of administrative computing applications matched with a new, single, integrated institutional data base. Replaced will be the multiple legacy application programs and many separate databases currently used to conduct the administrative business of the College. You know these applications as Cougar Trail, SIS, FRS, HRS, FRED, Recruitment Plus, Raiser’s Edge, and more.
The process entails collating requirements for the new system (often referred to generically as ERP – Enterprise Resource Planning), procuring new software and hardware within College and State guidelines, and implementing the new system – completing the implementation by the end of 2010. The project is led by myself, Priscilla Burbage, VP for Fiscal Services, and by an Executive Steering Committee consisting of Provost Elise Jorgens, Sr. VPs Steve Osborne (Business Affairs), Sue Summer-Kresse (Institutional Advancement), Victor Wilson (Student Affairs), and Bob Cape (CIO) who has overall responsibility for BATTERY.
One of the critical steps in the planning process for a new ERP system is completing a “Functional Assessment” (defining and prioritizing requirements). Your input as a College stakeholder during this Functional Assessment phase is crucial to the overall success of the BATTERY project. The feedback you provide will also help us select the best ERP vendor and tailor that vendor’s product to best meet our needs.
The objective of a Functional Assessment is to determine what functionality exists in the current, legacy systems (such as HRS, FRS, SIS and others) and identify any new functionality necessary to create a system of the future. You will be asked to evaluate and rate a number of functional requirements (according to your role at the College) based on level of need in a future system, and whether or not that functionality exists for you today. You will also have the opportunity to add and rate requirements that may not be included.
To collect this input we will be utilizing DecisionDirector®, a web-based collaborative planning tool. We will open the Functional Assessment in DecisionDirector next Wednesday, April 11th thru Friday, April 27th. You will be receiving detailed information and instructions about accessing DecisionDirector and participating in the Functional Assessment on April 11th. In the meantime, please feel free to contact me at burbagep@cofc.edu or x3-5578 with any questions regarding the BATTERY Project or the Functional Assessment.
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