The training phase of the SAP Grants Management Program has begun.
OXFORD, Miss. – After months of work by the Office of Information Technology and the Accounting Office, the SAP Grants Management system is entering the testing phase of the implementation process.
The first of three rounds of acceptance testing began April 9 and concluded April 25. The second round of testing will begin May 5 and continue through May 30, with the final user acceptance tests taking place June 9-25.
During each testing phase, representatives from various UM departments will come to the GM project space in Falkner Hall, execute detailed testing scripts specific to their business processes and audit all postings/results. During each testing session, the GM project team resolves any issues identified by testers. This process will ensure that the final system is configured properly to meet all the university’s business requirements.
“These testing phases are integral to the successful implementation of GM,” said Joy Shideler, manager of sponsored programs accounting. “The assistance provided by the various UM departments participating is extremely valuable to ensure that GM meets all of our expectations.”
As part of the GM project team, Shideler will work with other members of the Accounting Office to provide training for UM researchers and business offices. “Departments will be contacted beginning in June to schedule times for training on the features of SAP Grants Management that will be utilized in their areas,” he said.
The testing phases will culminate with the GM launch on July 1. To prepare for the go-live date, SAP will be unavailable for the majority of the UM community the last weekend of June.
“In order to prepare GM for productive use in July, the project team will have to execute numerous conversion processes of legacy grant data,” said Al Ling, director of business applications and ERP support. “Therefore, it is imperative that we take the SAP production system offline during this weekend so we can carry out all of our go-live tasks while no postings are taking place on the system.”
For more information on SAP Grants Management, contact the Office of Accounting at 915-6538.