November 2017

Pilot Release Demo Available

Demo versions instances of the Redesign's Pilot Release is available for the public. The demo versions instances contain anonymized training data so feel free allowing you to experiment with the Redesign software!  Just a reminder these are shared public instances so you should not enter any sensitive data that you would not want others to see.

USAS-R Pilot Demo: 

• https://pilot-usas.demo.ssdt.io/
• Username: admin
• Password: demo

USPS-R Pilot Demo:

• https://pilot-usps.demo.ssdt.io/
• Username: admin
• Password: demo

These databases will be periodically reset.  In our User documentation, our USAS Appendix includes 'processing guides' on how to create accounts, vendors, transactions, etc.  The USPS Appendix includes steps on how to add a new employee and process a payroll.  You are more than welcome to use these processing guides to assist in experimenting with the demo instances.

If you wish to experience USAS-R or USPS-R with your own district's data, please contact your ITC and request they install an instance of the Pilot Release for you.

Pilot Sites Progress

The Pilot sites (Lisbon, C-TEC, Elida, OMERESA) have now been using the USAS/USPS Redesign in parallel with USAS/USPS Classic for approximately 8 weeks. Each Pilot site began operations with all of their same data, in its same form (including historical information), as it exists in Classic. The pilot sites are doing “dual entry” of all monthly transactions into both the Classic and Redesign systems and as they close their books, payrolls between the two systems are balancing and financial results are being reconciled.  Most significantly, Pilot users and their supporting ITC support staff have quickly become comfortable with the new software after just a few days of formal training.  Some of the users had not seen the Redesign until right before Pilot operation began, which is a testament to the user-friendly application of the Redesign. 

Results During the Pilot

• No data translation or data cleansing is required when moving from Classic to Redesign.  
• The data migration from Classic to Redesign is both quick and seamless.
• Transactions entered in the Redesign are yielding virtually the same results as those entered into Classic. Where dollar totals have differed between the two systems, the differences have been researched, explained and fixed.
• The Pilots are identifying some software “bugs” in the testing process.  SSDT has been able to correct these minor bugs as they have come to light.
• The Pilot sites are reporting some instances of slow response times (SSDT had requested response time feedback as part of the Pilot testing). SSDT has been able to improve the majority of these response times.  While most Redesign transactions now have response times of less than a few seconds, a handful of computationally intensive transactions (e.g. process payroll) will require several seconds to complete because of the number of calculations the system needs to perform to complete the task. 
• Transactions can be performed in the “background” allowing the user to do other online transactions while the background tasks complete.  The Redesign allows for multiple processing windows to be open simultaneously. A perfect example is that a user can generate a payroll while having another window open for entering new employees.

The SSDT is grateful for the hard work, positive attitudes, and great suggestions made by the Pilot users.  Everyone has been pleased with the Pilot users’ feedback and suggestions. The SSDT and all of the Pilot sites continue to teleconference on a weekly basis to discuss progress, answer questions, and address issues.

The Pilot is validating that the Redesign is working!  Pilot user feedback is transforming the Redesign into an improved, more user friendly product in just a few short weeks.  The ODE Sponsor is anticipating the SSDT will roll out a production version of the Redesign to as many as a dozen school districts during the first wave in calendar year 2018.

If you are interested in more information regarding the Redesign, contact your ITC.  The new software and a training database is available for you to review.  A wealth of related Redesign information is also available on the SSDT’s Wiki website https://wikimcoecn.ssdt-ohio.orgatlassian.net/wiki/display/ssrd/