Campus Financial Systems for the Future

Implementing the System

The expected outcome of the final phase of the financial system project is the actual implementation of the system. The parameters of a system implementation process are actually unique to each institution. One popular way to define the completion of an implementation is by the date on which the institution's general ledger is operating under the new system. A more general definition of an implementation's scope is that phase of the system project that begins after the computer program code has been acquired (whether through purchase or development) and extends until the system has begun to be used to conduct business. Hairs can be split as to whether the system is "implemented" after the first user is employing it or when the last user has been brought on board, but that is a rhetorical issue. In fact, it is usually difficult to discern when the implementation is over, as implementation for many institutions becomes a multi-year process if additional functionality or new modules are being added to a baseline system.

Nowhere is teamwork more important than during the system implementation phase of the project, because it is in this phase that many efforts begin to come together. Good documentation has to be in place. Training materials and resources have to be ready to go. The functional sponsors have to be ready with support staff. The technical team members need to really be in synch. Networks must be stable, code must be stress tested, and workstations configured, to name but a few of the technical elements. The project manager is in full evidence during implementation: every day, crises will arise and judgments will have to be made that affect the ultimate outcome.

One land mine that arises in the implementation phase is the diverting of technical resources to other projects when the system is viewed as "finished," that is, acquired or developed. It is vital that completion criteria be established so that it will be clear that developers and integrators need to be retained on the project throughout implementation. Design changes and fixes will inevitably arise during this final process, and the system will not be fully implemented until these are made.

As can be seen from the tasks described below, a lot of the implementation work will be done before the final cutover to the new system occurs, but it would be unwise to imply that the bulk of the work is done at that time. If the system has been developed in-house or as part of a partnership, there is a very strong likelihood of discovering bugs and functional deficiencies only after the system is in use by a significant number of users.

The implementation process will vary depending on the solution your institution selects, but a number of tasks, described in the following sections, are common to all solutions in the implementation phase of the project.

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