PeopleSoft Financials

Communications Team

2/2/2004 Minutes

 

Attending:

Paul Anderson, Michelle Brittingham, Eileen Prazniak, Lisa Huber, Anna Bloch, Al Fanjoy, Dave McCarren, Peggy Bottorff, Ellen Lepine, Tim Miller, Chris Cook, Dee Smith, Ginger Knutsen, Steve Grasson, Rachel Strickland, Chris Murphy, Linda Somers

 

Minutes:  Peggy

 

Discussion of communication needed going forward:

Peggy shared view that biggest communication need now is for campus to know status of data/interpretation of data.  People don’t trust PeopleSoft for reasons including fact that sometimes data is incorrect and campus is never told that.

 

Many said they feel that lengthy e-mails are not sufficient in addressing campus’s need to know:

  • When data has problems
  • Data info like fact that transaction with blank JournalID is not a real expense and fact that these transactions don’t roll into balances (has campus been told that?)

 

Chris C/Dee Smith suggest that we have meeting with GA and other central office people to define info needed; before we invest that time, we need to know that GA/other central office will own it/ keep it updated/invest time in making it useful.  FAQs and e-mails are hard to sift through – there needs to be summary info accessible on the web.

 

 

Other Issues:

  • IT issue:  trying to offer query class; there is no longer a training database; Chris M said Van Adams told her there’s no way the training database will be ready for months if at all.  Ellen will follow up with Van because she has a need for training database.  With no training database, User Services cannot offer Query training.  This is manageable – colleagues can continue to train colleagues on Query tool – but it is a big problem for Comm II. (INFO OBTAINED LATER:  Van indicated to Ellen that training database will be available again by May)

 

  • Long term,  a web-based deployment of the COGNOS reporting system will be used at UD with the enterprise systems (HR, Financials, Development, and Student Information).

 

  • Procurement information needed; not clear where that stands.

 

  • Chartfield issues – e.g. campus doesn’t all know that purpose codes aren’t changing even when purposes change departments.  Include Marsha.

 

  • Include Carol Rylee because people are confused about Bud ref info in transaction table; also, they need to understand budget tab on statements.  Carol also understands UOD_Balances table better than anyone, and the budget office owns the LAM (and obligations????).

 

  • Obligations:  acts odd; who can answer questions about this?  Who owns it?

 

  • Web inquiries:  they are “on the list” but we don’t know when we can expect them  - many people have trouble knowing which EZQ to run (they don’t know if their Purpose is PTD or not; whether it has a budget or not).

 

 

Follow-up: 

I. Meeting toward updated resource for campus to know status of the data (legacy and PS) and applications (including web forms) and meaning of financial information.

 

Eileen to tell Amy Connell that we’d like to meet towards useful data info from “back offices.”  Eileen to ask Amy to call Peggy re: scheduling this.  Michelle to contact Carol about participating. Peggy to also contact Tory and Marsha.  Idea is to partner in solving this problem with back offices who own the data owning this. Comm Team role is to help define info campus needs; central offices need to own/update the solution.

·        Format of the solution TBD – maybe more tabs on UDFS?  Maybe one more tab?

 

·        Who from Comm Team should go? Ellen, Chris C, Peggy, Dee, Al, Anna.  Others who want to attend should contact Peggy ASAP.

 

 

II. Things to change on Web Page now:

  • HELP tab:  have first thing they see be the Guide to Help Sources; also have footnotes direct people to Guide to Help Sources.  Al to change.

 

  • Change references to Comm. Team to Comm Team I; say what Comm Team I “covers.”  Mention that there is a Comm Team II, and say what it covers.  Ellen and Al working on this.

 

  • Training Tab:  add row for query booster; Peggy to e-mail three sections to Al.  Al to add row in table for procurement training and refer people to procurement with questions.

 

III. Some Comm Team members wish they knew more about trees:

  • Dee to approach Marsha about trees training for comm. team members who are interested.