Financials Upgrade Newsletter Issue 2 Milestones to Date... Fit Gap Sessions have been completed for the Asset Management, Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, Labor Distribution, Project Costing and Purchasing modules (Visit the Phoenix Website for session summaries of each Fit Gap Session.) INSIDE THIS ISSUE 1 Milestones to Date 1 UPK The New Training Tool 2 Key Differences Between 7.02 and 8.8 2 Contact Us 3 Glossary of New Terms 4 Take a "Look" at new vendor page 5 Technical Corner 7 Meet Financial Systems Upgrade Staff March/April 2005 UPK THE NEW TRAINING TOOL By Betsy Prior The rollout of the new web based version 8.8 of PeopleSoft Financials has given us a tremendous opportunity to take advantage of the newest innovations in training methods and tools, namely the "User Productivity Kit" or the "UPK". Web based learning is quickly proving to be an invaluable tool for delivery of effective and cost efficient training. These always available (on demand) courses provide comprehensive and consistent training that fit users' schedules. End users can access learning materials, participate in full demonstrations, practice tasks without travel and with minimal impact on their work schedules, while learning at their own pace; and because we have such a disbursed workforce where many cannot attend classroom training, UPK is the perfect solution for end-user training needs. For those who choose, we will still offer instructorled training, but will utilize UPK for those needs as well. The tool is designed with two major components the developer and the player. The developer is used by the SAO Financial Systems' staff to create the content for the training, including all customizations made to the PeopleSoft system. The Player is then utilized by end users to visually depict various transactions in four different modes: See It A self running, step by step simulation that allow users to view a particular transaction being performed before they are required to do it. Try It Interactive simulation in which users have the ability to practice the transaction prior to performing it in the live application - If they don't perform the correct action, the tool will give them a hint, or they can view the correct action. Know It Assessment tool that tests learners on their ability to perform a transaction without assistance. Continued on page 3 Financials Upgrade Newsletter Page 1 Key Differences between version 7.02 & 8.8 Vendors Vendor summary page displays majority of vendor information on one page so vendor can be identified easily. Ability to have multiple locations and banking information at each location (will reduce duplicate vendors) Online duplicate vendor checking. New setup for 1099s at the location level (will allow one vendor to have multiple withholding codes and reduces manual adjustments at year end) Accounts Payable Page design (no longer called `panels') and the use of voucher `styles' versus voucher types Voucher summary page has been added to review the most important information as well as the user identification of data entry personnel Matching and budget checking processes may be run from the invoice information page instead of the accounting information panel (for those users with security access) Zero paycycles will not be needed in version 8.8 New fields have been added to the Payment Selection Criteria page: o Pay From Dates o Pay Thru Dates (system will only print checks using these dates) o Next Pay Thru Date o Next Payment Date These fields should help to alleviate the problem of lost discounts Accounts Receivable Navigation is the big difference between version 7.02 & 8.8 Group Actions page new options for "Posting Action" will be available to post the group to the AR ledger New terminology: "Post Later" will be known as "Batch Standard" (Continued on page 3) Contact Us An e-mail address has been created especially for your use. Contact us at upgradefeedback@gta.ga.gov A project team member will personally respond to any questions you may have. If there is anything you would like to see included in the newsletter, please don't hesitate to contact the Communications Team with your ideas. Additional information pertaining to the Upgrade Project can be found at the State Accounting Office Website: http://phoenix.gagta.com Click Upgrade/Financials Upgrade PeopleSoft Financials Go-Live Date Is July 2006 Financials Upgrade Newsletter Page 2 Glossary Look for this column in every newsletter to learn new terms and phrases utilized in the upgrade process and the new 8.8 system. Homepage Because PeopleSoft 8.8 is web-based, the homepage is where all activity begins. The homepage includes folder navigation and a universal navigation head. Expand and collapse folders to these pages. End-Users will customize Favorites in PeopleSoft 8 which will allow time saving navigation by renaming components and pages with personalized naming conventions. Vendor Type formerly `User Classification' Withholding formerly a 1099 checkbox would be utilized to enter 1099 data into a vendor's record. There will now be a "link" to a withholding page. UPK The New Training Tool (Continued) Do It This mode actually "floats" on the live application to display step by step instructions. This provides an in-application support system to guide users through a transaction. Training is a very important milestones in an upgrade. If users are confident, they will be successful. With the help of the UPK tool, we anticipate that upgrade training will satisfy the needs of our users. See it for yourself! Visit the PeopleSoft website for a demonstration. http://www.peoplesoft.com/corp/en/training/end_user/productivity_kit.jsp Key Differences between version 7.02 & 8.8 (Continued) Accounts Receivable (Continued) New inquiry options include search by bank account, unit and payment status. Asset Management The "Asset Information" page combines the `general info1' and `general info 2' panels. The "Asset Acquisition Detail" page contains links to the Chartfields page and to the "interface info" page. In order to improve the timeliness of the data transfer between AM & AP, `load asset request' and the `transaction loaded' will be run on a nightly basis. Purchasing Reduced number of pages needed to create a requisition or a purchase order Requisition and purchase order edit process no longer necessary Ability to dispatch PO from a button on the header page Ability to create .pdf formatted PO's and requisitions. Eliminates the need to print and scan Ability to specify PO lines as "Amount Only". This defaults the quantity to one, and allows receipt to be for a dollar amount rather than quantities. Financials Upgrade Newsletter Page 3 New Functionality Take a at the new Review Vendor page: (Replaces Vendor Inquiry) Financials Upgrade Newsletter Page 4 Technical Update PeopleSoft Internet Architecture By Sunil Aluri (Financial Systems Application Management Unit Manager) (Re-printed from HRMS newsletter, Issue 4) We will soon be upgrading our Financials application to PeopleSoft Financials version 8.8. Those on the Financials 8.8 upgrade team already know most of the details about the PeopleSoft Internet Architecture ( PIA ) which forms the foundation of the Financials 8.8 application. This "Technical Corner" article will provide a brief technical discussion about PIA, along with some details about our deployment options. PeopleSoft Internet Architecture: PeopleSoft Internet Architecture, introduced with PeopleTools 8, is completely focused on the internet to provide powerful new functionality for internet-based access and integration. This architecture leverages a number of internet technologies and concepts to deliver simple, ever-present access to PeopleSoft applications and enable the open flow of information between systems. Using PeopleSoft Internet Architecture as the foundation, the State Accounting Office will be able to provide a wide range of agency end users with access to Financials version 8.8 over the web, as well as more easily integrate with existing internal systems and external trading partner systems. PeopleSoft Internet Architecture is a server centric/component architecture that enables secure end user access to PeopleSoft Financials 8.8. Any internet enabled device, such as a web browser running on a PC or a cell phone--which uses standard internet technologies such as HTML, XML, and HTTP--can access and execute PeopleSoft Internet Applications. This functionality is primarily supported through the following internet access technologies: Internet Application Server PeopleSoft Portal Directory Server Integration PeopleSoft Internet Architecture is a completely server-based architecture. Clients to this architecture can be nearly any kind of internet access device: Web browser running on a PC, Macintosh, or Linux machine Wireless device or cell phone External or third-party system with XML/HTTP protocols Financials Upgrade Newsletter Page 5 (Technical Updatesr continued) PeopleSoft Internet Architecture is really architecture without a client. There are no PeopleSoft executables on the client like earlier releases of PeopleSoft products. Thus, the client can be any internet device that uses standard internet technologies such as HTTP, Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), and XML to communicate with the PeopleSoft Internet Application Server. A web browser running on a PC is the most common internet client. The PeopleSoft Internet Application Server simply serves HTML and JavaScript to the web browser and the end user navigates through the PeopleSoft application just like navigating any other website. A cell phone is a wireless example of an internet client that can interact with the PeopleSoft Internet Architecture. In this case, the PeopleSoft Internet Application Server serves Wireless Markup Language (WML) and WMLScript--Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) standards--to the cell phone, rendering the user interface to the end user. An external or third-party system communicating with the PeopleSoft Internet Application Server over XML and HTTP is another example of an internet client--but this type of access falls more under system-to-system integration and is covered in a later section. A key concept of the Internet Architecture is that there is no complex, expensive client software installation. The internet client device accessing the internet architecture already has all the software and configuration it needs. No additional software must be installed on the client for interaction with PeopleSoft applications. No Java applets, Windows .DLLs, or browser plug-ins are needed. Simple, open architecture creates easy, inexpensive access and is a big reason why the internet has been such an enormous, fast-growing success. The Internet Application Server tier is the heart of PeopleSoft Internet Architecture. It leverages several technologies from BEA Systems (Tuxedo transaction monitor and JOLT), but the vast majority of components are delivered by PeopleTools development to support internet access and integration. Financials 8.8 Deployment: PeopleSoft Financials 8.8 is a web based application and thus can be deployed on the Internet or Intranet and can also function as an Extranet by leveraging the PeopleSoft Portal features in-built into the PeopleSoft Internet architecture. Our initial deployment of Financials version 8.8 will be only on the state backbone and not on the Internet. In a private enterprise or corporation, this compares to an implementation on the Intranet. Intranet is defined as an in-house Web site that serves the employees of the enterprise. Although intranet pages may link to the Internet, an intranet is not a site accessed by the general public. Using programming languages such as Java, client/server applications can be built on intranets. Since Web browsers that support Java run under Windows, Mac and Unix, such programs also provide cross-platform capability. Intranets use the same communications protocols and hypertext links as the Web and thus provide a standard way of disseminating information internally and extending the application worldwide at the same time. The state doesn't have an Intranet in the true sense of the word. The closest network option for deployment that compares to an Intranet is the state backbone which controls access to only state employees. This is a more secure option for deploying Financials version 8.8. Agencies that don't have access to the state backbone will access the application using Citrix. Secure access to sensitive information is the primary reason that we chose to initially deploy PeopleSoft Financials 8.8 on the state backbone. As you have seen from a brief technical description of the PeopleSoft Internet architecture, it is a flexible architecture. We will not be using all the capabilities of PIA described above. Some features need licensing other modules and in other cases our existing Infrastructure determines the features that we can leverage. Our primary driving factor will be delivering user requirements in a secure environment. Financials Upgrade Newsletter Page 6 Meet the SAO Financial Systems Upgrade Team! (Photo 1) Pictured front row (left to right): DeVal Lott (SAO), Bart Haberbosch (SAO), David Bogle (Accenture), Betsy Prior (SAO), Susan Banks (SAO), Henrietta Adams (SAO), Janice Brown (SAO). Back row (left to right): Chuck Heery (SAO), Dan Dollar (SAO), Rick Housworth (SAO), Derek Barber (SAO), Tomas Clark (Accenture), Phillip Gross (Accenture), and Kyle Morton (Accenture) Not pictured: Rob Prinzo (Accenture), Eloise Walker (SAO) (Photo 2) Pictured front row (left to right): Patty Hollis (SAO), Stephanie Griffin (SAO), Gerold Martin (SAO), Ashok Datta (SAO), Debra Williams (SAO) Pictured back row: Thenraja Kaliappan (SAO), Charles Babb (SAO), Brian Duplessis (SAO), Darryl Smith (SAO), Ramesh Bala (SAO), John McGaha (SAO) Not pictured: Nora Wolfe, Naren Patel, Jeff Hudson, Sandy Rogers, Jerry Hughes For more information on the Financials Upgrade Project or for comments/questions about the Project Newsletter contact the Communications Team at: Upgrade Feedback State Accounting Office - Financial Systems 200 Piedmont Avenue, Suite 1604, West Tower Atlanta, GA 30334 Phone: 404-656-2133 Financials Upgrade Newsletter Page 7