Overview
Executive Summary
Estates and Buildings currently utilise the heavily customised EBIS system environment to manage financial management aspects of the business activity related to stock control, purchase ordering, purchase/sales invoice creation/processing, recharges, and property and lease management, project/programme financial management. This functionality is business critical to Estates and Buildings. Whilst the current system has proved to be successful in the past, the ever increasing reliance on external vendors and associated costs in maintaining / upgrading the system is imposing unacceptable delays in implementing on-going change. The revised E&B/IS approach to system requirements is that wherever possible it will be preferable to utilise “out of the box” systems rather than relying on bespoke work to meet our requirements. This project will deliver an integrated solution to enable Estates and Buildings to cointinue to oversee the development and general maintenance of the university estate, incorporating the financial management aspects of the business, through the utilisation of the Archibus facilities management system, the core Financial system eFinancials and the core Procurement system currently available within the university.
Background
In commencing this project, there was considerable uncertainty regarding the technical integration that might be possible and so as part of this project, an initial investigation has been undertaken to determine potential integrated solutions, associated estimates and potential tiimescales to enable the project team / board to direct on the most appropriate solution.
As part of the investigations, the project has identified the preferred University Procurement system (SciQuest) and has subsequently established the feasibility of integartion with Archibus (although SciQuest costs and timescales have still to be established) This initial investigation has been completed resulting in the proposal noted below. This proposal has been approved by the project team and will now be subsequently presented to the project baord for approval. Additionally, the project proposal wil be forwarded to the cental Finance committee to ensure there is no conflict with the long-term Finance strategy
The proposal states that the overall solution will be delivered in three phases via three individual projects,
Phase 1 - The first phase will deliver an integrated purchase order facility as part this project ,
Phase 2 - The second phase will deliver an integrated solution associated with the processes relating to Receipting, Internal Stores, Invoice Payments and Management Reporting as a separate project
Phase 3 - The third phase will implement Internal Recharging, again through a separate project
Business Objectives and Project Deliverables
No | Description | New or Changed (Y/N) |
| O1 | Deliver an integrated purchase order facility | |
| D1 | Define and prioritise business requirements regarding procurements relating to goods, works and services | |
| D2 | Confirm the procurement system that will enable the strategic demands of the project to be met | |
D3 | Prepare design of integrated purchase order process between the Archibus facilities management system and the specified procurement system |
|
| D4 | Document new buisness processes and impact on current processes | |
D5 | Implement solution of integrated design |
|
| O2 | Effective Stakeholder Management | |
| D1 | Define communication strategy relating to the project and its deliverables | |
| D2 | Prepare timely communications related to the defined strategy | |
| O3 | System Testing | |
| D1 | Define an integrated test plan and log | |
| D2 | Complete system testing according to the defined test plan | |
| O4 | Training Programme | |
| D1 | Define a full training programme relating to functional and process changes | |
| D2 | Complete training schedule according to defined training programme | |
| O5 | Effective Risk Management | |
| D1 | Define a risk management strategy for the overall project | |
| D2 | Define and maintain an active risk log throughout the project | |
| O6 | Decommission of EBIS specific configurations | |
| D1 | Define redundant aspects of the current EBIS environment as a result of this project | |
| D2 | Detemine impact in the removal and prepare decomissioning plan | |
| D3 | Decomission identified activties and complete testing |
Success Criteria
- Produce a prioritised set of buisness requirements
- Produce an integrated system design with regards to purchase ordering
- Implement an integrated solution with regards ordering that delivers the madatory specified requirements
- The full implementation of an effective stakeholder management through a defined and controlled communications strategy
- The full implementation of an effective user training programme
- The full implementation of an effective risk manangement programme
Scope
Within the confines of the existing central systems, namely Archibus, eFinancials and the nominated procurement system, develop an integrated system that enables the Estates Department to continue to process all finacial management related activies.
Having reviewed the complexity of the project, it has been agreed that functionality associated with phase 2 and phase 3 will not form part of the scope of this project and will be delivered as separate projects.
In addition, having reviewed the additional requirements associated with Capital Budgeting, it has been agreed that this requirement will not form part of this project, but will be undertaken as a further stand-alone project.