December 2017

Implementation Timeline

Within the past few months, SSDT has been demonstrating the software to various groups throughout the state including the OASBO AP regional seminars, OSBA Capital conference, OEDSA conference and ITC fiscal support staff.  We have received some great feedback and districts are excited about the progress that's been made. After we demonstrated the software to the ITCs, their response was overwhelmingly positive. Many of the ITC fiscal staff have since demonstrated the software to hundreds of districts across the state with many having expressed an interest in migrating as soon as possible.  With the pilot districts wrapping up a successful two-month dual-processing period, SSDT has been diligently working on any support issues encountered.  We are currently in the process of preparing for our production release early next year.

With our production release comes the projected implementation timeline.  The first wave of districts is scheduled to run between January and June 2018.  This does not mean they are required to start in January.  In fact, we know January is a very busy time with W2s, 1099s and year-end closing.  The wave runs six months to give districts flexibility in deciding when, within that time frame, is the best time to migrate. Due to the nature of the migration, it does not have to be done on a period boundary.  If your district feels March is a good time, then you can migrate in March or even in the middle of March .  The table below is the current projected timeline the ODE Project has released.

Redesign Implementation FAQs

When does my district migrate?

The FROC committee and ODE Project Manager will be working with ITCs on the production waves.  Currently, the plan for the 1st wave is to include a maximum of 12 school districts from up to four ITCs.   First preference will be given to ITCs which participated in the pilot phase. Those ITCs include OMERESA, LACA and NOACSC.   

When I decide what wave my district is on, what do we need to do to get ready for the migration?

100% of your existing data will be imported into the redesign.  You are not required to do any housekeeping (i.e. clean up unused vendors or accounts) beforehand unless you want to.  It's recommended an evaluation import of your data be completed in order to validate your existing data in Classic can be migrated successfully.  Your ITC will review the log files generated from the import and contact you if any changes need to be made in Classic before the actual import.  An example would be if a vendor's STATE field did not import over due to an invalid abbreviation in Classic.  This is a minor change that can be easily fixed in the classic system before migration.

How long will it take to import my district's data?

As little as an hour to possibly 24-48 hours.  It depends on how large your districts is and the number of years you currently have in your live data.  A district with 15 years worth of data in their live files will take longer than a district who may have only 7 years worth.

Do you recommend a dual-processing period after importing our data?

Yes, especially districts involved in the first wave.  Once your data has been imported and validated, we recommend running at least one complete payroll and processing USAS transactions in the Redesign simultaneously with Classic. Note: you cannot import you data in the middle of a payroll. A payroll must be complete before importing your data. For example, you decide to import after completing your first payroll of the month in Classic.  This will allow you to process your second payroll simultaneously with Classic as well as process the rest of your USAS transactions and balancing reports for the month.  If everything balances with Classic, you would just continue on live with Redesign only.

What happens to my access in the classic system after I migrate over.  Will it be taken away?

The SSDT expects that your ITC will allow you to continue to access the Classic systems.  However, your level of access will change.  Obviously, you will no longer be able to process transactions in Classic so your access will be changed to 'read-only' in order for you to still view information and run reports.  You will have access to your MONTHLYCD/PAYROLLCD reports as well so if an auditor is working on your prior fiscal year audit, they will still be able to access those reports.  It will be up to the district and their ITC as to how long the classic system will be made available to the district.  Eventually the Classic system will be decommissioned based on when all districts have migrated.

What about training?

Hopefully, many of you have already seen a demonstration of the software.  Your ITC's fiscal support staff will be training you and your staff on the new system.  They are currently able to set up test instances containing a copy of your live data so that you can get comfortable with the new system now.  Training on both USAS & USPS will probably take a full 2 to 3 days depending on the number of employees you want trained.  We recommend training the staff in your treasurers office first.  After import, any requisition users will need to log into the Redesign but will be able to use the 'Requisition (Legacy)' option that mimics USASWEB's requisition program.  Once you and your staff feel comfortable enough with the system, you or your ITC can help train requisitions users on how to process requisitions using the 'Requisition' option in the Redesign.

What about support?

Your ITC's fiscal support staff is there to help just like they always have in Classic.  Any questions or assistance they need will be directed to the SSDT.  We are more than happy and excited to help out in any way we can.

My district uses XYZ software. Will it be compatible with Redesign versions of USAS and USPS?

Many software vendors have integrated with State Software over the years.  Many of them use the Classic "Web Services" (SOAP) to retrieve data and post transactions.  The Redesign systems also contain web services which provide a compatible interface.  Therefore, the majority of third party developer products will work seamlessly with Redesign.  The SSDT is working with many of these vendors to verify 100% compatibility.

We are also working with other vendors, such as check printing, which use import and export integrations with Classic to verify support within Redesign.  

If you have any questions regarding a specific software product, we encourage you to contact your ITC or the software vendor directly.  You may also wish to enquire if an update to the software will be involved and any related fees.