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Office of the Chief Information Officer
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BG@100 Frequently Asked Questions |
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 HCM Specific FAQ's
FMS Specific FAQ's
Applicant Tracking FAQ's
| Q: What is the BG@100 project? |
| A: The BG@100 project will move BGSU’s administrative systems from AHRS, AFIN, and SIS to the PeopleSoft administrative
systems.
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| Q: When did the project begin?
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| A: Project planning began in 2002 and the process of incorporating information from the university community started in
early 2003. From February through April 2003, 257 individuals participated in a process to define the vision of a new administrative
system and to define requirements. A tool called Decision Director (from Advantiv, Inc.) was used to guide this process.
The 6,390 identified requirements were then accumulated and prepared into a request for proposal from administrative systems
vendors. Vendor demonstrations took place in late October 2003 and resulted in the selection of PeopleSoft for implementation
at BGSU.
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| Q: How long will the project continue? |
| A: This is a multi-year project that will begin with the transition of the Human Resources/Benefits/Payroll (AHRS) area.
The financial (AFIN) and student (SIS) systems will follow.
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| Q: How was the project named? |
| A: The name BG@100 represents the desire to move to new administrative systems as BGSU’s centennial approaches as well as
the goal to achieve 100% satisfaction in the services provided through the use of administrative systems.
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| Q: What is PeopleSoft? |
| A: PeopleSoft is the company that produces the administrative software application that is being implemented. The software
itself is also referred to as PeopleSoft. Since the initial naming of PeopleSoft for this project implementation, the company
has been purchase by Oracle. References to Oracle-PeopleSoft will also represent the same software. For further information
visit http://www.peoplesoft.com |
| Q: What does the purchase of PeopleSoft by Oracle mean for the project? |
| A: Oracle acquired PeopleSoft in December 2004. Oracle executives have repeatedly underlined their commitment to supporting
and maintaining PeopleSoft’s customer base, which they cited as a primary reason for acquiring PeopleSoft. They have committed
to supporting PeopleSoft product lines through 2013 and have begun work on the successor product. For information, please
see Oracle’s statement online at http://www.oracle.com/peoplesoft/psft_jde_commitment.html |
| Q: What is the Executive Steering Committee? |
| A: The BG@100 Executive Steering Committee (ESC) decides project scope, timelines, priority and has overall responsibility
for the success of the project effort. The committee also makes decisions on issues brought forward by the implementation
team. Committee members are: Bruce Petryshak, Chair; Chris Dalton; Linda Dobb; Gaylyn Finn, and Ron Lancaster.
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| Q: What is Fit/Gap? |
| A: Fit/Gap is the process of comparing the BGSU financial business processes with the functionality in the FMS application.
This is done to determine where the business processes need to be changed to match the FMS functionality or where additional
functionality might be required. Fit/Gap sessions are held early in the implementation process in order to determine where
the 'fits' and the 'gaps' are. This information is then used to determine the scope of the work to be completed in order to
'Go Live' with the new system.
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| Q: What is data mapping? |
| A: Data mapping is the process of identifying a source data element for each data element in the target environment. In
the case of FMS, source data elements in AFIN are assigned target data elements in FMS.
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| Q: How is information about the project being communicated? |
| A: The primary means of project information is the project web site at: http://www.bgsu.edu/BGat100. This web site provides a monthly project update, information about the Executive Steering Committee, training, project
team members, project related documents, etc. Additionally, as appropriate, information is disseminated through email, messages
in Marketing & Communications broadcast email, Monitor, BGNews ads, etc.
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| Q: What are the BG@100Open Forums? |
| A: BG@100 open forums are held approximately once a month. These are an opportunity for the campus community to hear a
project update and to ask questions about the project to a project team member.
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| Q: What does ‘back office’ mean? |
| A: The “back office” term refers to the areas of focus for a specific conversion phase – for example, for HCM, Human Resources,
Benefits, and Payroll are considered the primary office. Offices such as Continuing & Extended Education, Graduate College,
and Student Employment are also involved as subject matter experts and participating in “back office” training.
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| Q: What is an Action Item? |
| A: An action item represents a request by the BG@100 Project Team to the Executive Steering Committee. Most action items
will be requests to customize the PeopleSoft delivered software. However, an action item could also be a request for assistance
or guidance from the ESC. The type of assistance or guidance could take many forms, such as, assistance in changing a current
business practice. Once reviewed and approved by the ESC, action items are posted on the project web page. Action Items are available for your reference at: http://www.bgsu.edu/offices/cio/page6828.html |
| Q: What is an Information Item? |
| A: Information Items are descriptions of choices that are made with regard to the implementation of the PeopleSoft software.
They contain background information about the issue and then information regarding the solution. They are listed on the web
page upon approval from the BG@100 Executive Steering Committee. Information Items are available for your reference at:
http://www.bgsu.edu/offices/cio/page5246.html |
| Q: What is involved in conversion? |
| A: This is the process of converting data from the legacy to the new system. It also involves creating interfaces to continue
to integrate with areas of the legacy system (such as AFIN and SIS data) that will be converted in future implementations.
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| Q: What types of testing are taking place? |
| A: Prior to "Go Live" testing of scripts, processes, and interfaces will take place. For example, for this involves running
processes such as payroll in parallel to the legacy process and comparing the output. Any differences will then be reconciled
prior to "Go Live".
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| Q: Will this same project team continue throughout the length of the project? |
| A: The BG@100 Project Team will continue to evolve throughout the length of the project. Depending on the focus of the
implementation, functional team members from appropriate offices will be working on the project.
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| Q: Will applications such as e-Hire and Kronos change with this implementation? |
| A: e-Hire and Kronos will continue to be used but will have a different look in preparation for the conversion to PeopleSoft.
Information regarding this will be communicated by Student Employment.
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| Q: How is PeopleSoft accessed? |
| A: PeopleSoft is accessed through a web browser. No additional software is required. |
| Q: Will FOCUS continue to be used in PeopleSoft? |
| A: In PeopleSoft, Query will replace the FOCUS reporting tool. |
| Q: What is PeopleSoft Query and what is it used for? |
| A: PeopleSoft Query is a web-based reporting tool that allows a user to extract information from the PeopleSoft databases
and return the results in columns. Reports can be exported to Excel, printed, or saved and run later to get updated data. Users
are granted access to Query through their PeopleSoft security profile and the results of their queries are limited to their
security authorization.
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| Q: What is UPK and what does it stand for? |
| A: UPK stands for User Productivity Kit. It is a product marketed by Global Knowledge to allow training and support personnel
to create interactive software simulations and other instructional materials. These simulations allow users to see and interact
with an application even before they have access to it. This allows people to learn about software before a system is put
into production. BGSU’s UPK license only covers PeopleSoft and PeopleSoft related applications. UPK is being used to develop
instructions on self-service applications like “View My Paycheck” so that users can learn how they will be able to view their
paycheck information prior to the system “Go Live”.
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| Q: What are Crystal Reports and what is it used for? |
| A: Crystal Reports is a reporting package marketed by Crystal Decisions. A special version of Crystal Reports is required
to access PeopleSoft databases. People with this software and access to PeopleSoft Query can create and refresh reports based
on existing PeopleSoft queries. The user has to log in with their PeopleSoft UserId and password to be able to access any
PeopleSoft data, and security profiles are maintained when results are returned from the database, meaning that users will
not be able to access results that they do not have the security to see in PeopleSoft.
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| Q: Is there a test or training installation of PeopleSoft that users can access in order to not test in the production environment? |
| A: User Productivity Kit will allow end users to try out some PeopleSoft applications in a simulated environment so that
they can learn them before they have access to the production system. Users who attend training will be using a special training
database so that they are not working with production data.
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| Q: What is the difference between the Oracle Enterprise Portal and Blackboard? |
| A: The two products are made by different companies and have different functions. Blackboard will continue to be used for
online courses, but other functions will gradually be moved to the Oracle Enterprise Portal, which will allow for some additional
features, such as single sign-on.
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| Q: What are translate tables? |
| A: To save space, PeopleSoft often uses codes or abbreviations to stand in for longer values. Translate tables are database
tables that cross-reference a code or an abbreviation with its corresponding value. For example, PeopleSoft uses three
letter country codes. These codes are cross-referenced in the country table with their short and long translate values. The
country code “GBR” has a short translate value of “UK” and a long translate value of “United Kingdom” in the Country table.
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| Q: What is FTP? |
| A: FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. Computers use FTP when moving a file from one machine to another, e.g., from
your desktop to a server or from one server to another server.
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| Q: Will security access be different in PeopleSoft? |
| A: A new security form and approval process is being created. All PeopleSoft HCM users will be required to complete a new
security form even if you were a previous AHRS user. New security records are being created with this implementation. After
June 27, 2005, anyone requesting access to PeopleSoft HCM will be required to follow the new procedure.
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| Q: Why do I need a BGSU account to access the self-service applications? |
| A: Self-service applications are accessed by authenticating to the MyBGSU web portal. To authenticate you must provide
your BGSU account username and password.
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| Q: Will I need my SecurID to access PeopleSoft applications? |
| A: With the initial implementation of PeopleSoft HCM, you will not need your SecurID. However, we plan to implement SecurID
with the PeopleSoft back-office applications. So hang on to your SecurID.
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Return to BG@100 Project Home Page |
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