SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION -
ERP HUMAN RESOURCES IMPLEMENTATION

Efficient, accurate, and reliable human resource management systems (HRMS) are critical to furthering the Smithsonian's mission, meeting legislative obligations, and improving human capital. The state of human resource management systems at the Smithsonian Institution (SI) allowed neither adequate response to ever-growing demands nor efficient processing. The SI could not sustain its mission and expand its projects without having a modern human resource management system. SI's human resource systems and applications were outdated, not scalable, and unable to meet many of the functional requirements of the Office of Human Resources (OHR) and the Institution as a whole.

Museum staff was unable to work solely within the existing system or rely upon data generated in the reports provided by the system. To facilitate functional operations, staff utilized a combination of cuff records and manual processes. OHR staff relied on a variety of manual manipulations in conjunction with ad hoc processes to produce the necessary reports and gather information needed by both internal and external customers. The SI excessively depended upon a third party system (National Finance Center) to perform the daily activities required to support the mission. This dependence resulted in limitations in both system functionality and operational efficiency for the Institution.

SPS - Problem Solved.

In June 2001, SPS won a competitive contract with the SI to perform a comprehensive and full implementation of the PeopleSoft HRMS V8.8. Work on Phase I of the HRMS deployment began in July of 2003. Phase I included the implementation of Personnel Actions, Base Benefits and Payroll, and a complex two-way interface between PeopleSoft HRMS and the National Finance Center (NFC). In 2005, SPS led the deployment of Phase II (Job Requisitions, Labor Relations, and Workflow), Phase III (Enterprise Learning), and Phase IV (Employee Competencies). SPS also provided enhancements to the interface between PeopleSoft HRMS and NFC as well as a new XML-based interface to provide Federal employee training data to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).

Methodology

The implementation team provided a complete configuration of the hardware architecture, database environments, and application fit-gap analysis. The team reviewed and prioritized all identified requirements and used the Rational tools to ensure that each requirement was tracked. All software changes were traced back to documented requirements within the Rational database.

Processes and Tools:
A major key to ERP implementation success is conducting effective and well-prepared fit/gap sessions. The SPS preferred project life cycle tool is the Rational Tool Suite, an IBM product. As an IBM partner, we successfully use Rational tools for business modeling, requirements management, configuration management, and defect tracking and reporting on the majority of our projects. In particular, Rational tools we used for the Smithsonian ERP project included ReqPro for requirements management, ClearCase for configuration management, and ClearQuest for defect tracking and reporting. The SPS implementation team successfully performed the planning, development, training, and testing to complete the migration to PeopleSoft HRMS V8.8 in time to meet the scheduled deployment December 2004. The Institution recognized the implementation as a major success.

Lessons Learned

Many lessons were during the implementation, such as the importance of reducing risk by minimizing the dependence upon external development teams and external systems. SPS was diligent in minimizing the risk associated with the development of the interface between PeopleSoft HRMS and the National Finance Center. This risk reduction was accomplished by assuming all of the development responsibility as well as by reusing existing software to the greatest extent possible.

Another important lesson learned from the PeopleSoft HRMS deployment was the early involvement of functional experts in the process. Functional experts were part of the team from the concept of operations phase through system testing. These individuals were involved very early in the testing process to ensure requirements were met and that the system performed as designed.

Results

The PeopleSoft HRMS deployment at the Smithsonian Institution was a major success for both SPS and the Institution. The system was implemented on time and there have been no system interruptions in the first full year of operations. The low maintenance costs are a credit to the quality of the original deployment. Three additional phases were deployed since the initial implementation in December 2004 and all three were on time, were well received by the users, and resulted in very few Discrepancy Reports.

Client Benefits

Increased efficiency of operations; Organizational synergies; Improved data accuracy, reliability, and timeliness; Reduced dependency upon external systems; and Enhanced communications.

About SPS
Software Performance Systems, Inc. (SPS), a small business based in Maryland, is a privately held information technology services provider. Established in 1995, SPS specializes in the design and integration of large Web-based solutions for State and Local Governments and commercial clients. SPS has been honored with many national awards, including: #10 ranking in the Computerworld Top 100 Best Places to Work in IT, Deloitte's Virginia Technology Fast 50 and North America Technology Fast 500, and as a SBA Exporter of the Year. More importantly, SPS solutions helped our clients win prestigious awards, including the Grace Hopper Federal Government Technology Leadership Award, the E-Gov Pioneer Award, the Excellence.gov Grand Prize Award, and the Government IT Agency Award for Excellence in Government.
SPS...proven over time.

Contact Information
Software Performance Systems, Inc.
Mike Dorsett, PMP
VP Financial Solutions Division
301-518-5711
mdorsett@gosps.com
www.goSPS.com