Fit Gap

The Fit/Gap Phase of The Student Information System (SIS) Project concluded on October 20, 2006. Project teams spent five months conducting a detailed analysis of the upgraded PeopleSoft software to determine how it “fits” current OSU business practices. These teams also identified “gaps” that exist in the software that could result in modifications to the software or to OSU business processes. As a result of Fit/Gap work sessions, 284 Project Team Recommendations (PTR’s) were identified - 84 PTR’s from Admissions and Recruiting, 23 from Campus Community, 61 from Student Financial Aid, 28 from Student Financials, 79 from Student Records and 9 PTR’s from Academic Structure. All have been presented to SIS Advisory Groups, and have been reviewed by Business Sponsors and the SIS Executive Steering Committee if necessary. Decisions made from these PTR’s will form the basis of the new Student Information System.

Planned features of the new system include:

For Faculty, Staff and Students -

The SIS and HR systems will be integrated with incoming students and employees being assigned a 9 digit ID number.

For Faculty -

Ability to login and access relevant student information, such as class rosters and advisees.
An interface with PeopleSoft SIS will allow faculty to continue to use Carmen’s gradebook.

For Staff -

SIS Peoplesoft will replace Resource 25 for room scheduling.
Fee waivers will be completed on-line.
Talisma recruiting software and DARS will interface to PeopleSoft.
SIS PeopleSoft will be used to track commencement data, providing more timely updates.

For Students -

Online registration and other services will continue to be provided.
New system will provide a variety of tuition payment plans, rather than the one plan currently offered.

The creation of 284 PTR’s during Fit/Gap was a huge accomplishment for the project team. What did project members take away professionally and personally from five intensive months of work? SIS Functional Leads take a look back at the challenges and triumphs of Fit/Gap:

Frank Torma, Functional Lead, Recruiting and Admissions Team

“The Fit/Gap phase of the SIS project was successful because of the care and perseverance of the people involved. I was fortunate to a part of a variety of different teams who effectively worked together, especially the functional team of which I am a part. I learned a lot and tried to share whatever I knew. I felt energized by the good will and dedication of those involved. The SIS project is an incredibly large and vital project for the University - we are off to a good start thanks to our team approach.”

Rita Painter,
Functional Lead, Financial Aid
Team

“The Fit/Gap Phase seemed very long because of having to evaluate each business process with what the PeopleSoft System delivers. Once a gap was identified the team had to decide if the business process should change or to recommend a modification to the PeopleSoft System to eliminate the gap. In the end, I feel our team came away with a good outline of what processes would change and what modifications need to be done. Based on comments from our consultant regarding other implementations we feel the number of modifications our team recommended was reasonable and necessary.”

Jim Palavin,
Functional Lead, Student Records
Team

“The Fit/Gap Phase of the SIS was much like going back to kindergarten, re-learning everything you ever learned about student record systems, then defending your decisions in front of a dissertation committee (i.e., the advisory committee). From grade school to defense of the SIS PHD in five months was an adventure that one should enjoy once in a career.”

Susan Schnell
Functional Lead,
Admissions
Team

“Going through the Fit/Gap process was a tremendous learning experience for all the members of the Admissions team. Not only did we grow in our understanding of People Soft functionality, but we also gained a deeper understanding of our current business processes and practices. While the admissions team members all came from different roles and backgrounds, we have evolved into a solid team that works well together. We were all a little apprehensive about what the transition to this new culture would be like, but after making it through Fit/Gap, I have no doubt we will continue to learn from and support each other for the duration of the project.”

Photo - Guy Flora
Guy Flora
Functional Lead,
Student Financials
Team

“The various Teams brought a wonderfully varied set of perspectives to our Fit/Gap tasks. Our discussions were as lively as they were thorough. The result has been a solid understanding of the tasks we have ahead and how we can attack them successfully. The one certainty that we are taking away from this phase of the project is that the already tightly intertwined parts of the university will become even more closely linked in the future.”

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Fit Gap