Despite earlier delays and current challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, the project to overhaul UBC’s core software systems is set to continue with the Board of Governors (BoG) approving a total release of $131.2 million in funding during the April meeting cycle.
The project includes the Integrated Renewal Program (IRP), which involves replacing existing software systems with Workday software systems, and the Application Ecosystem Program (AEP) that will prepare other UBC software systems to integrate with the new Workday software.
The HR and finance systems are set to go live in November 2020, but the student portion has been pushed back from its original go-live date of 2020 to sometime between 2022-2023.
The April funding release breaks down to $69.6 million for the HR and finance and $19.5 million for the student components of the IRP, as well as $42.1 million for the AEP.
Back in February, the BoG approved an extension of the launch date for the HR and finance portions of the project from April 1, 2020 to November 1, 2020 and an additional $23 million in funding.
But with the current COVID-19 pandemic resulting in much of the work being conducted remotely, the university has acknowledged this date might “come under pressure.”
COVID-19 pressures
During the Board meetings, the IRP and AEP team leads addressed concerns about how the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic could impact the project’s launch date as well as the overall funding.
“If the COVID-19 situation persists beyond 6-8 weeks, the November 2020 go-live date could come under pressure,” reads a document submitted to the Board for the April session.
The document further explains that the IRP and AEP teams have been preparing plans to mobilize “underutilized staff” to assist with meeting the project’s November deadline.
Associate VP Enrolment Services & Registrar and IRP/AEP Lead Sponsor Kate Ross said in a written statement to The Ubyssey that the team has prepared contingency plans to deliver the entire system online.
“The program teams are continually assessing the situation and exploring the feasibility of contingency plans, including delivering the training schedule wholly online,” Ross said.
At the Board’s Finance Committee meeting, VP Finance and Operations Peter Smailes also addressed concerns about the ask for a significant funding release during a time of financial uncertainty associated with COVID-19, saying it would be more cost-effective to complete the work that’s already been done on the project since it’s already so far along.
The Board documents also state that finishing the HR and finance project by November was determined to be the least costly option. But Smailes confirmed they would continue to update the Board as the work progresses.
“We consider this a seeking approval to continue at this point and we'll report back as we go,” he told the Board on April 16.
Reasons for overhaul
With UBC’s current software systems now over 20 years old, UBC has determined the IRP and AEP projects to be a key strategic priority for the university going forward.
According to UBC, as a cloud-based Software as a Service (SaaS) style application, the Workday project will bring increased flexibility and consistency to UBC’s administrative software.
“We are starting to see strains with our existing system and we’ve had some issues in the last couple of weeks around year end, so we’re really pushing to get this in place,” Smailes told the Board's Finance Committee on April 6.
As HR and finance work towards November 2020 go-live date, the architect phase of the development of the student version is also expected to be completed by November 2020.