Founded in 1893, the Visiting Nurse Service of New York (VNSNY) is the largest not-for-profit home and community-based health care organization in the United States, serving the five boroughs of New York City and Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester Counties, as well as parts of upstate New York. As an early adopter, VNSNY will present a case study of how they were able to successfully upgrade from 8.9 to 9.2 in a limited time frame with limited resources and provide tips and advice on how others can achieve similar success. VNSNY was able to successfully upgrade GL, AM, AP, PO, and ePro from PeopleSoft 8.9/PeopleTools 8.49 to 9.2/PeopleTools 8.53 in just 7.5 months using Oracle’s newly released 8.9 to 9.2 path. VNSNY had only a very lean team of internal and external functional/technical resources. VNSNY was also able to successfully maximize the use of a non-full time external PeopleSoft Admin/Upgrader resource.
Unblocking The Main Thread Solving ANRs and Frozen Frames
Upgrading PeopleSoft Financials from 8.9 to 9.2 – Advice You Need to Know from an Early Adopter
1. Upgrading PeopleSoft Financials from 8.9
to 9.2
Advice You Need to Know from an Early
Adopter
Grant Chappell
VNSNY– Director of Business Systems
Michael Merrill
Elire Partner & Strategic Roadmap Expert
2. Introductions
Michael Merrill
Elire Partner & Strategic Roadmap Expert
--16 years of PeopleSoft project management, implementation/upgrade
stage lead, and module lead experience
Grant Chappell
VNSNY– Director of Business Systems
3. VNSNY
Founded in 1893, the Visiting Nurse Service of New York (VNSNY) is the largest not-
for-profit home- and community-based health care organization in the United States,
serving the five boroughs of New York City and Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester
Counties, as well as parts of upstate New York
The Visiting Nurse Service of New York offers a wide range of home health care
services, including medical nursing services, management of chronic conditions, and
care to meet the needs of every generation, from at-risk infants to those at the end of
life
4. Project Summary
VNSNY was able to successfully upgrade GL, AM, AP, PO, and ePro from PeopleSoft
version 8.9/PeopleTools 8.49 to 9.2/PeopleTools 8.53 in just 7.5 months using
Oracle’s newly released 8.9 to 9.2 path
VNSNY had only a very lean team of internal and external functional/technical
resources
VNSNY was also able to successfully maximize the use of a non-full time external
PeopleSoft Admin/Upgrader resource
5. Project Objectives
Pair Elire consultants with VNSNY staff so that VNSNY staff can expand their already solid knowledge base to
include the new features and technologies of the 9.2 application/tools 8.53 release
Evaluate and analyze the many new features Oracle has added since version 8.9 which could result in
cost savings,
productivity gains, and/or
decreased error rates
Remove non-value add customizations
Improve service where appropriate and deliver increased end user value
6. Project Methodology
The phases which represent key transition points in the project life cycle of our Elire
Success DeliveredTM
upgrade methodology are illustrated below
8. Plan Phase
Elire and VNSNY used a series of well organized meetings and gate reviews to ensure
entrance and exit criteria for the various phases are satisfied
Gate Kick Offs are critical parts of the Elire Success DeliveredTM
methodology and were
held at the beginning of key phases to allow for a detailed review of
Roles and responsibilities for the particular phase
Deliverables for the particular phase
Process flows and procedures for the particular phase
10. Fit Gap
During Fit Gap we worked to understand the capacity the project could take on so that
scope could be properly categorized into core and variable scope
Core Scope: Basics required to upgrade to 9.2 – the project’s primary goal
Variable Scope: Additional scope which would lead to an enhanced future state –
things to tackle while “the hood is open” – which won’t jeopardize the project’s
timeline and milestones
11. Fit Gap
The following were reviewed, in a series of facilitated working sessions involving the Client IT
and Business representatives to set the approved Project Scope
Current State
Although a formal Current State document was not produced, it was helpful to begin
the facilitated Fit Gap sessions with a walk through of key business process to ensure
all resources were on the same page prior to determining the Fit/Gap of that process
Compare Report Analysis
Determined which customizations would carry forward
New functionality or functionality that was previously available but unused
The first priority was high-impact features and functionality or low-hanging fruit:
features that are easy to implement and do not fundamentally change established
business processes
12. Fit Gap
All details of the Analysis were
compiled in a Solution Deliverable as
shown in the below example for the
New Features tab
Allowed for all Compare Report, New
Feature, and Wish List/Work Request
Enhancement details to be stored in
one place
Captured overview information,
priority, cost/benefit, and other
pertinent information
13. Fit Gap
Following the completion of the Fit Gap,
leadership reviewed the following to
determine the official project scope:
The business priority of all core and
variable scope items
A high-level cost benefit analysis of all
core and variable scope items
The project’s FTE capacity
The project milestones
14. Reapplication / Configuration
Reapplication of existing customizations and development efforts were tracked via a
Development Tracker
16. Test Moves
The project used a series of Test Moves to perfect the upgrade process and build
consensus for the production upgrade
The three major technical phases included:
The Initial Pass
The first pass was used to create the DEV environment
The Test Move to Production Passes
After completing the Initial Pass, the project conducted three Test Moves
With each iteration we perfected the process and prepared to go live
The Final Move to Production Pass
In the Final Move to Production Pass, the most recent successful output of the
Test Move to Production Pass (generally UAT) was the Source
17. Success Delivered
The Elire project model for PeopleSoft upgrades works very well. The
key components of the model are: high quality consultants, robust
artifact requirements, well defined phase objectives and Elire senior
leadership oversight. The Elire consultants were some of the best I have
worked with, I would recommend them without reservation. The Elire
documentation requirements and phase objectives complimented and
supported each other. The Solutions Requirements Deliverable
document was the bedrock of the project and used repeatedly by the
team. All of the above comes together through the strong project
oversight of Elire Senior leadership. Senior leadership set the stage for
each project phase and constantly monitored progress/issues. In
closing, I highly recommend Elire for PeopleSoft upgrades.
–Grant Chappell, Director of Business Systems, Visiting Nurse Service of New York