June 28, 2024

The first several months of this year kicked off the busy season for testing and training development. To facilitate this important work, more than 100 FMM program team members met on campus in early May for a week of in-person meetings. 

Additionally, the second iteration of Systems Integration Testing (SIT2) began in May, and we are delighted to announce that the team is now introducing end-to-end testing scenarios and including more campus end-users as testers. We have 89 testers representing 32 departments participating in SIT2 (up from 38 testers in SIT1). SIT2 will run through the beginning of July, and we will report our findings from these efforts in our next program update. 

Oracle Financials Cloud (OFC) training development began early this month, and a second round of Core Financial Principles (CFP) Finance 101 training was completed in April with nearly 200 campus staff earning their Finance 101 certificate. We’re excited to announce that these courses will be offered again this summer.

Completed Events

Quarterly Program Update Town Hall

On June 6, the FMM project team hosted a hybrid town hall to review progress to date. There were nearly 100 staff members in attendance in-person and about 300 attendees online, making this event our largest town hall to date. Topics covered included testing, training, and an overview of the Data Warehouse & Analytics subproject. If you weren’t able to attend this event, you can find the recording here. 

Divisional CCOA Meetings

Following the February Common Chart of Accounts (CCOA) town hall, project leaders met with lead departmental financial staff in the Vice Chancellors’ divisions and Academic Deans’ areas throughout late March and early April. In a series of 12 meetings, FMM leaders reviewed the CCOA, talked through examples, and provided an opportunity for participants to share feedback and ask questions relevant to their areas.

Upcoming Events

Core Financial Principles: Finance 101

The Office of Financial Training is offering a summer series of Core Financial Principles (CFP) Finance 101 training. These courses are designed to provide the building blocks for financial management, including an understanding of campus policies, procedures, and best practices. Classes will be offered virtually between June and September and are open to all UCSB staff. View the training offerings and register here.

Workstream Updates

  • Testing: In May, the FMM Testing team began the second iteration of Systems Integration Testing (SIT2), which will test end-to-end business processes in OFC and wrap up in July. This iteration of testing includes double the number of campus end-users involved in SIT1, and the team will continue to expand campus involvement in upcoming SIT cycles. In the previous cycle of testing, 457 test scenarios were executed with 10 campus systems and 40 reports, resulting in a 97% test execution success rate.
  • Training: The Training team offered CFP Finance 101 training from January through April, and nearly 500 campus staff members attended these courses either in person or virtually. In response to the overwhelming interest and positive feedback received, they will offer another round of Finance 101 training this summer. Additionally, the CFP Finance 201 Business Officers Summit will take place in the fall. Details will be announced later this summer. Lastly, OFC training development began in June and will continue through the fall of this year. 
  • Reporting: This team selected a new reporting tool for campus, Oracle Fusion Analytics, after evaluating four industry-leading business intelligence products. 27 UCSB team members from both functional and technical backgrounds participated in the evaluation, completing a survey to capture best-in-class product ratings and open comments. The team is confident that this tool will help standardize and streamline reporting, resulting in greater data accuracy and efficiency across campus.
  • Risks & Controls: In the last quarter, the Risks & Controls team completed OFC system demonstrations, gathered Jaggaer (Gateway) and Concur role requirements, and configured them in the new system. Additionally, the team developed an approach for testing security roles in OFC. 

Staying Engaged