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ISP
News WHAT'S NEW Reports
Running Faster
If you run a version of these reports that is not prefixed with ‘IS.’ (i.e.; you’ve modified or saved a version of the original report), you will need to do one of the following to take advantage of the improvements:
New
Website: Processing funds in Oracle - from deposits to budgeting The ISP and Financial Administration have created a new website to walk you through the answers to these questions for every type of funds at the University. This information is part of a course being developed to help employees better understand how Oracle General Ledger and Grants Management work at UVA. We are making the website available in advance at the request of people who have helped us pilot the course. When the course is ready, it will demonstrate how these processes fit into the Oracle General Ledger and Project Centric structure. The information contained on this website is accurate and may be used by fiscal administrators, award managers, and project managers to guide their work when using the Oracle GL and GM applications. You will note that the last two columns (reports and fund sources) are, at this time, incomplete. We will be adding this information, as well as links to on-line procedures, in the weeks ahead. The Processing Funds website (which is best viewed with Microsoft Internet Explorer) can be linked to from the Document Repository and from the General Ledger FAQs (How do I deposit different types of funds, and what happens next?). Patch
Improves Processing Time More
Info on Modifying Budgets The steps can be found through the Integrated System website, via the following frequently asked questions:
DOT
Assumes Responsibility for Delivery Location Codes WHAT'S IN THE WORKS Windows
2000 Compatibility Very Close In the meantime, we hear that people are using Oracle successfully with Windows 2000 with the current j-initiator. Since it is not certified, and therefore not supported by Oracle, we cannot vouch for its performance. However, departments can move forward with their plans to install Windows 2000, with the understanding that it is not yet supported, but will be soon. We will be sending out information on how to load the new j-initiator as soon as our testing is complete. Tips
on Modifying Reports Added to Courses Enterprising users have experimented and discovered ways to modify the reports to meet their needs. We have now enhanced some of our courses so that you can be guided in your experimentation and see many of the options available to you. For example, we will show you how to sort, reformat, add a column, view the same data in different ways, and more. This material has been incorporated into existing courses for new users. If you have already taken a course that covered Discoverer and want to learn more about how to modify your reports, register for the ODS Viewer course via the Training website. ISP
Task Force Hears and Finds Answers to Users' Issues with Oracle Three resource materials that emerged as the result of issues raised by the task force include:
Much more is to come. As the task force works its way through its list of issues, information will be made available through the most appropriate vehicle, be it website, ISP Bulletin, or email. With the HR Division of Training facilitating the group, information will also be built into training materials and communicated to Customer Support Center staff. Another effort in the works is to provide a search engine for Oracle-related websites so users can more easily find the information that is available about the Integrated System and University policies and procedures related to work they do in the system. We will get better and more efficient in how we provide information, just as users are becoming better and more efficient in how they use that information. The ISP Task Force is one more step in helping us reach that goal. Oracle
at UVA: the Big Picture The materials provide information that bridges the gap between the General Ledger and Grants Management applications, and is targeted for people with the following Oracle responsibilities: GL specialist, award manager, and project manager. In addition to the "processing funds" information noted above (New Website), the course addresses:
"This effort represents the first installment of what we expect to be a much more comprehensive effort to develop models and learning aids related to various aspects of the Oracle application modules," says Steve Kimata, interim University comptroller. "Our aim is to provide system users with mental images of how the major processes work and how the major components are interconnected. We encourage feedback during these sessions so that we can improve what we have developed so far, and so we can identify new learning aids and reference materials that can be developed." ISP advisors will be scheduling sessions for users in their areas. If you have questions about sessions in your area, please contact your ISP advisor. Users
to Help Review Reports "We will use the reports subject matter expert list as our starting point for pulling a group together," says Rick Seaman, director of Financial Information Services, "but if someone has a burning desire to contribute, they can contact me directly (afs@virginia.edu) and volunteer. We hope to get started before the end this year." PHASE 2 UPDATE HR/Payroll
Conference Room Pilot 1 a Success Not to say that this HR/Payroll implementation won't be an adjustment, but certainly it is one Susan Breeden, of the Curry School, is looking forward to. Breeden was one of 60 participants in the first conference pilot for the Oracle HR and Payroll applications during the first week of December. Clearly, one advantage of the July implementation will be that users will no longer have to maneuver the unnatural linkage between OPAS and Oracle Labor Distribution. "Integrating LD with the Payroll application will make our lives much easier," attests Breeden. CRP participants went through all the steps of creating job requisitions, entering applicants, hiring people, entering time, and running payroll. "People entered as applicants at the beginning of the week got hired and were paid at the end of the week," says Barbara Henry, phase 2 functional lead. "And they got paid correctly!" Melissa Pelletier, from Business Operations, felt "the CRP provided an excellent opportunity to gain insight into the HR/Payroll modules and also presented the participants an opportunity to provide feedback on the functionality of the modules to the design team. Having the experience of working with the Oracle financial modules was a plus when working with the HR/Payroll. Based on the pilot it appears that HR/Payroll has some really good features, especially doing the entire hiring process on line." Schools will benefit from having many more places to collect data, thus eliminating some of their shadow systems, according to Troy Dunaway, from the Law School. "It will also allow us to pay short term people much more easily." Dunaway also notes that training will be absolutely critical. "It will have to be specific, hands-on, with real world scenarios geared to departmental needs," he says. "It's complicated, but workable." "We received good feedback from CRP participants," says Henry. "We will try to make adjustments in response to the issues they raised. We really appreciate the time and effort everyone put in." Oracle
HR Show Getting Ready for Road "Our plan is to offer presentations during January and early February, and then to provide demonstrations of the applications to future users in February and March," reports Barbara Henry, phase 2 functional lead. "Our hope is that this will familiarize people with the new system before they begin formal training in April." If you have a group interested in scheduling a presentation, please contact Carole Horwitz at chorwitz@virginia.edu. What
is Oracle Time Management? "Time will be autogenerated for all classified salaried employees, whereas hours will be keyed in for wage employees," explains Barbara Henry, phase 2 functional lead. "Employees will simply designate the type of time on the timesheet, for example 8 hours of leave versus 8 hours of work, in the day slot. Salaried faculty will not complete timesheets." As with Oracle Labor Distribution being implemented before HR/Payroll, there will be a lag time during which some extra steps will be required when using OTM until we upgrade to Oracle version 11i in 2003. "OTM is designed to work with Oracle Self Service, so that employees can enter their time directly on-line, and it can be routed to supervisors for approval," explains Henry. "However, we will have to wait until 11i before we have that Self Service capability. In the meantime, employees will fill out a paper form that looks like the on-line screen, sign it, and give it to a designated departmental employee to enter into OTM." "OTM will be a definite improvement over our current timekeeping system in the long-run," says Henry. "But in the short-term, departments will be doing some keying they haven't had to do in the past." Fixed
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