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Managers' Mosaic Update
May/June 2013
Mosaic, McMaster's program to modernize its business processes and replace its current business systems with an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, is progressing quickly. In this month's newsletter:
Project Update
Mosaic is now well into the design phase of the project. The teams are busy documenting and specifying how the system should be configured during the build phase. The project is also beginning to see differences emerge in the patterns of activity based on the launch date of the various portions. For example, the finance and research finance teams are finishing their design work and beginning their build activities to meet their December 2013 launch date. In contrast, design activities for student administration, which is the most complex of the streams, will run through the summer. All the teams are still reaching out to subject-matter experts across the University but meetings are smaller and more narrowly focused than during the earlier Fit-Gap stage.
Project Sequence
Training plans are beginning to take shape for the finance launch in December. An overview training schedule will be released this summer, and a detailed schedule with the opportunity to sign-up for specific sessions will be released in September. Full-scale training will begin in the middle of October and extend past the finance system launch to the end of the year.
Preparing Your Team
Mosaic will provide many training opportunities for users to learn how to operate the new PeopleSoft system; however, savvy managers recognize that technical training is only part of the transition. Successfully navigating a system change of this scope requires close attention to your employees’ feelings and concerns. Even though user training won’t start until October, there are several things you can do to prepare yourself and your team.
- Talk to your team. How are they feeling about the new system? Are they excited or concerned? Are there questions they need answered? Are there questions you need answers to? Feel free to email the Mosaic team if you need further information on any topic.
- Acknowledge their concerns. Like many things worth doing, moving to the new system will require hard work. Let your team know that you recognize the substantial effort learning a new system entails.
- Reassure them. It is the project team’s goal to provide people with the training they need to use the system before they have to use it. There will be many training opportunities. Let your team know they will get training and post-launch support.
- Stay Informed. We understand you’re busy, but please take time to follow the news and messages flowing out of Mosaic. Share messages like this one and Mosaic related Daily News articles with your team and consider attending Mosaic information events.
New FAQs Posted
At Mosaic events and meetings the project team frequently fields many questions. We have gathered some of the most common questions and provided written answers as part of an expanded Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) section on the Mosaic website. (This includes many questions that were raised at April’s student administration event.)
Pass It On
One of our goals is to keep people across the University informed about Mosaic. We encourage you to share the information from this newsletter with your team. Let us know if we can help answer any questions you receive about the project.
Contact
For additional information contact:
Sheldon Smart
Public Relations Manager
McMaster University
905-525-9140 x28643
mosaic@mcmaster.ca