Building Excellence in Information Systems Implementations: Lessons Learned from major renewal at the University of Waterloo

If best practices are so widely available, why do so many information systems projects fail to meet their scope, timelines or stay within budget? How do you build a structure of repeatable excellence in your IT organization,... [ view full abstract ]

If best practices are so widely available, why do so many information systems projects fail to meet their scope, timelines or stay within budget? How do you build a structure of repeatable excellence in your IT organization, allowing for confidence in your ability to deliver systems that meet the evolving needs of your institution?

The University of Waterloo is in the midst of significant revitalization of business systems through many large re-implementation and replacement projects.  This presentation will provide a brief overview of these efforts with a primary focus on the lessons learned to date.  We aim to share some of our successes and learnings on the path to repeatable success with systems projects of all sizes in the university environment, and offer an opportunity for interactive discussion about information systems challenges and opportunities that are common across all members of CANHEIT.

Some of the pillars covered include:

• Building complementary IT/Business teams to cover all ADLC roles, and an IT/Business relationship that benefits both organizations
• Developing appropriate governance
• Deciding between Agile, Waterfall, or none of the above
• Advantages of utilizing prototyping and iterative approaches
• Employing appropriate Change Management to improve outcomes
• Understanding how to partner with Cloud vendors

Some of the projects completed in the last two years from which lessons are drawn include:

• Implementation of a new Co-op administration system for the largest Co-op program in Canada
• Migration of the Financial system to a cloud-based solution
• Significant upgrades to PeopleSoft Campus Solutions and a renewed focus on using the toolset to meet campus needs
• Selection and planning to move our HR System to Workday HCM at the start of 2019
• Implementation/updates for many departmental (non-enterprise) systems:
  • Shopify eCommerce
  • Integrated Student Service Centre
  • Research Portal and Award Management
  • Food Services’ Mobile Pay Ahead solution
  • Campus Wellness Electronic Health Records