INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY UPDATE

Common Management Systems: A team effort

More than 100 people from across the campus have been working to move campus processes to the new Common Management Systems(CMS). CMS is a mandated CSU initiative to improve services through integrated administrative systems for human resource, financial, and student information. Chico is scheduled to begin using the financials and human resources portion in July, with a “sneak preview” of the purchasing functionality a bit earlier.

“The CSM project is a team effort involving knowledgeable people from across campus, and these teams are key to making this work effectively,” said Bill Post, vice provost of Information Resources. “These crucial groups will assure that the Chico implementation meets the needs of users to carry out activities such as purchasing, budgeting, recruiting, and grading.”

“The campus has been very supportive of the project,” said Phyllis Weddington, CMS project director. “Folks have been cooperative about sending their staff for large blocks of time to work through our processes. Chico is fortunate to have interdisciplinary project participation from departments and colleges, administration, students, and consultants.”

“Teams are an important element in the success of the CMS implementation,” said Nancy Praizler, Human Resources team lead. “Team members are learning to use the CMS software, redesigning forms, creating guides and checking purchase requisitions, budget allocations and transfers, faculty and staff recruitments, and personnel transactions.” They are also addressing security and confidentiality, reporting requirements, and interfacing with the ID card system and the campus directory, and will participate in the testing phases.

Lori Fuentes, administrative analyst-specialist from the College of Communication and Education explained, “Our team focused on the faculty recruitment process and how CMS helps eliminate duplication of tasks and data entry. This should reduce paperwork and the need to provide information to others through hard copies or e-mail.” Fuentes spends between six and 16 hours a week on a CMS team. She takes care of regular duties before and after business hours and delegates some tasks to others. “My dean and associate dean have been understanding of my time away from the office and actually encourage my participation on the project.”

Marilyn Gallaty, administrative analyst-specialist from the College of Humanities and Fine Arts, said, “Our team was very cohesive and worked extremely well together. At every meeting there was evidence of progress and a better sense of what we were to accomplish. It has created a greater understanding of the complexity behind the day-to-day processes.”

Several students are also key members of the teams. Jaime McDonald, CMS student assistant, has been updating business process documentation, attending project meetings, and providing valuable support. “This should help in my job search because many companies are using similar software and are looking for applicants with knowledge and experience,” said McDonald.

“We recognize the importance of these individuals to our normal campus operations and that their absence to serve on a design team is a hardship for their areas,” said Post. “However, they are the people who understand our current business processes, and only they can assure that CMS meets the needs of the campus. It’s got to be a team effort.”

To follow CMS progress, see the Web pages at http://www.csuchico.edu/cms

CMS Project Management Team