There is much value for customers with PeopleSoft 9.2, specifically in the areas of Fluid and Selective Adoption. Many customers, including NYU Langone Health System, have developed a strategy for Selective Adoption and now are adopting the Fluid User Interface.

Quest had the opportunity to talk with Wendy Plante, Senior Director of Finance Enterprise Solutions from NYU Langone Health System about their Selective Adoption strategy.

Key Takeaways

NYU Langone Health System is one of the nation’s premier academic medical centers. Their trifold mission to serve, teach, and discover is achieved daily through an integrated academic culture devoted to excellence in patient care, education, and research.

NYU Langone Health System implemented PeopleSoft 9.0 in 2010 and then upgraded to 9.1 in 2013. In 2015, they upgraded to 9.2 and have been updating via selective adoption quarterly ever since. They currently have PeopleTools 8.55.

They use just about everything in Financials and Supply Chain Management, including Inventory, Mobile Inventory, eProcurement, eSettlements, eSupplier Connection, Strategic Sourcing, Asset Management, and IT Asset Management. They also use Human Capital Management (HCM), Customer Relationship Management (CRM) including HR Help Desk and Support, as well as Real Estate Management.

What does your company’s selective adoption strategy look like?

Wendy:

We have a quarterly update process that includes PeopleSoft Images, Strategic Enhancements/Customizations, Maintenance and Bug Fixes.

What is your experience to date with PeopleSoft update manager and selective adoption?

Wendy:

Selective adoption has forced us to think very differently about how we evolve and maintain our technology. It has impacted our internal resources (both IT and business) in that their roles and responsibilities (and the frequency at which they do them) had and continues to have to change. Our users are pleased because they now have more insight into how and when the systems and processes will change so they can plan accordingly. We’re also thrilled (and somewhat exhausted) by the volume of features and functionality that are being delivered by Oracle.

How have your functional (feature adoption) business processes changed since selective adoption?

Wendy:

We have had a collaborative process for quite some time, but it has become even more so post-selective adoption. Our business folks are very aware of the features and functionality that are being delivered and we plan in advance the coordination with our Organizational Change Management and Leadership teams to make decisions about what we’ll leverage and when.

How, if any, are your technical and functional teams working together with selective adoption?

Wendy:

Our technical and functional teams work in partnership with one another, which is one of the reasons that we have been so successful. Our teams meet weekly – sometimes more frequently – to review and document requirements, understand new functionality, validate designs, test, etc.

What would you tell a customer that’s about to begin the process of selective adoption?

Wendy:

It’s an iterative process. You will need to make a concerted effort to regularly review your process, timing, expectations, etc. to ensure the process you have is meeting the needs of your organization and those involved.

Also, it’s important for customers to know that there isn’t a “right” or “wrong” approach to Selective Adoption. The only “wrong” is to have NO approach. What works for one organization may not work for another – even if they are similar in their technology footprint or size. There are other factors such as appetite for change or ability to manage the risk that come into play and can affect your strategy and schedule.

How are you rolling out new features and functionalities to your end users?

Wendy:

We are! It’s very difficult to keep up with all that’s being delivered, but we’re mindful of what’s coming and try to take advantage of those things that have the potential to materially improve our users’ experience or encourage efficiency. Each quarter, we review all the dormant functionality and make determinations about what the groups – or individual areas – are interested in researching and employing.

Are you using fluid? If so where and how are you using fluid?

Wendy:

We were one of the first users of Fluid Mobile Inventory, so we’ve had experience for a while with Fluid. However, it’s only recently that we’ve been able to roll out Fluid to a larger audience.

In August 2016, we delivered Fluid Landing pages to all of our 28,000 employees. In addition to providing our users with tiles that help them easily navigate the transactions and activities that they do in PeopleSoft, we’re also proud to say that we delivered tiles which direct users to other systems, solutions or support materials and resources. It’s truly transformed the experience our users have and favorably changed their perceptions of PeopleSoft.

Where do you want to take your company’s solution in the next 2-3 years?

Wendy:

We’re very focused on optimizing our current environment by reducing customizations and leveraging delivered functionality that is currently dormant. We’ll keep an eye on the option to run PeopleSoft on the Cloud as it continues to evolve and become more prevalent in the marketplace.

How involved was your company in utilizing the quest community, or any other user group, during the upgrade process?

Wendy:

We definitely leveraged Quest during and after our upgrade. We reviewed sessions and webinar recordings to see what other customers had done, sought out specific sessions at COLLABORATE and RECONNECT to research and determine what we wanted to do – especially with the six additional modules we were adding – and networked with other customers in the process.

Do you or your company participate in focus groups for the PeopleSoft products? If so, what benefit does this have?

Wendy:

Several of our team members have or are currently participating in Focus Groups. We appreciate the opportunity to participate for a fixed period of time and enjoy the benefit of having our recommendations come to fruition in the product or in the process of delivery afterward. It’s really rewarding to be able to influence the direction of the products we’re using in near “real” time.