Surviving Large Scale Rollout
of Financial System Overhaul
UCCSC 2014
August 4, 1024
Mimi Sosa
Where we were
Once upon a time, long long ago….
Financial accounting structure was
implemented in Mainframe system once
considered “leading edge”
Where we were
Over next decade(s);
Accounting structure had planted a deep roots
across all over campus and Medical Center
departments
Where we were
Few years ago, we had to face the
truth and begin the process to bring the
system into 21st century…
Where we wanted to go
New Chart of Accounts (COA)
A comprehensive redesign of UCSF’s system of
accounting records
MyReports
Improved financial and operational reporting
campus-wide to support decision making
UPlan
Web-based Budgeting and planning tool with
Excel-style interface
Pre Planning
 Part of Chancellor’s Goals
 Create a financially sustainable enterprise-wide business model
 Design and implement transparent and effective budgeting and
planning processes
 Maximize existing revenue streams, develop new ones and continue
Operational Excellence efforts to manage costs
 High Level Conceptual Design of COA
 Road Show by Controller’s Office
 High Level time/effort estimates
 Identify key players
Planning
 Establish Project Teams
 Project Management Team
 Departmental Champions
 Steering Committee/Think Tank
 Working Groups (SME)
 Technical Teams
 Establish Roles and Responsibilities
 High Level Project Timeline
 Project Plan, Project Budget & Resource Plan
 Comprehensive inventory of Departmental Systems
 System Environment Planning
 Communication Strategy
Design & Development
 Conversion Methodology & Development
 Identify impacted programs
 Meetings with Departmental Representatives and IT
staff
 Identify Integration impact
 Functional Specifications
 Technical Specifications and Development
Testing
 System Environment Management
 Test Case/Scenarios
 Functional Testing
 Integration Testing
 Performance Testing
 User Acceptance Testing
 Mock Conversions
 Tracking Testing Issues
Implementation Preparations
 Downtime for all impacted systems and
dependencies
 Implementation (Cutover)Plan (Including
Rollback Plan)
 Implementation Rehearsals
 Training
 Change Management
 Pre-Cutover Tasks
COMMUNICATIONS!!!!
Implementation
24x7 Operation
Check-in points
Implementation staff – Task updates
Functional Sanity Testing
Go/No Go
Challenges
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Design Changes
SaaS modifications & Integrations
Lack of Departmental system inventory
Lack of Design/Conversion understanding
Moving System freeze dates
Coordination of 3 major initiatives
Coordination and communication with all
impacted systems
TIPS
Identify Key User Departments and
advocates early
Identify right resources with proper skill sets
Run the Project with Internal Staff with
augmentation of consultants as required
Manage by Project Plan
Commitment from Senior Management to
Staff
TIPS
 Take the opportunity to re-engineer business
process and implement best practice
 Clear understanding of business
requirements
 Thorough analysis of current state
 Minimize customizations
 Define historical data conversion
requirements early and understand various
dependencies
 Thoughtful decision on go live date
 Timely decision on key design issues
TIPS
 Identify all integration points and it’s
dependencies
 Identify all impacted systems early
 Early engagement with SaaS vendors
 Early engagement with UCOP for UCOP
reporting and identify impact to the system
 Frequent Conversion Testing
 Multiple “go live” rehearsals
 Observe system freeze
 Test, Test and Test
TIPS
Dedicated Website
Change Management & Training
Post go live support readiness
Leverage all channels of communications
Keep positive attitudes & stay flexible
Rally the team and support each other
Believe that project will be completed (in
this lifetime) 
F3 Stats
• 350+ people contributed as Champions, UPlan Control Point Coordinators, FAS Think
Tank members, SOM Think Tank members, and MyReports SME’s and Volunteer Testers
• 80 total project team members over 2 years
• 10,000+ UCSF personnel affected
• 5,630 people made 17,008 visits to the F3 Training site
• 29 training modules & 69 job aids created
• 2,685 people took online training for COA, MyReports, and UPlan
• 295 people took in-class UPlan training
• 361 pages written to create the UPlan training manual
• 23 Champion Meetings totaling 46 hours and 1,230 slides
• 8 Town Halls
• 1,585 people made 3,177 visits to the Department Readiness tool
• 209 readiness items in DR Tool
• 8 dedicated distribution lists
• 4 dedicated help desk resources
COA Stats
300~ Design Specifications written (many rewritten)
1100~ Tickets created for Enhancements and
Testing
350~ PeopleSoft Technical Projects Migrated
9500~ PeopleSoft Technical Objects Modified
75,000~ hours spent by 28 Staff (past and
present) and Consultants
16~ Monthly Meeting with Department IT
Project Timeline – Approx. 2 years
Post GO LIVE
Almost scary quiet
All hands on deck to quickly resolve issues
Continued few strategic meetings to ensure
smooth transition
Vigilant monitoring of the system
Tracked trending of issues to identify
improvement areas

CELEBRATE!!!