HopkinsOne — the multiyear project to modernize
Johns Hopkins' business and administrative systems —
is re-evaluating the original go-live date for the SAP
software component of the project.
As previously announced, the electronic grants
submission component of Hopkins-One, which uses a software
product called Coeus, will go live on July 1, 2006, one
year earlier than originally planned, in response to the
government's launch of Grants.gov.
Two main factors played a role in the need to
re-evaluate SAP, said Steve Golding, executive director of
HopkinsOne: the decision to fast-track Coeus and the
complexity of system requirements and issues with specific
components of the SAP software, which has caused the design
and configuration portion of the project to take longer
than expected.
HopkinsOne is looking at the pros and cons of several
dates for the launch of SAP, including the original date of
July 1, 2006. "We have made no firm decision to delay our
originally scheduled go-live date, but based on our initial
evaluation of the time and resources needed to accomplish
our remaining tasks, we have concluded that it is highly
unlikely that we will be able to meet this date without
seriously compromising testing and training on the new
system," Golding said. "If that is our conclusion, we do
not want to risk a faulty implementation, and we will
recommend a delay for all of the components except the
Coeus grants proposal module."
Hopkins' senior leadership expects that the review,
including input from key constituent groups, will be
completed by the end of December and that a final decision
will be made sometime in January.
"If the SAP go-live date changes, training, testing
and vacation days will change, too," said Kevin Kobylski,
HopkinsOne project manager for business transformation. "We
will let people know once a final decision is made and post
notices on our Web site
[www.jhu.edu/hopkinsone]."
If the SAP go-live changes, the start date of shared
service centers may be adjusted to reduce relocation costs.
Plans are to have shared service centers co-locate at Johns
Hopkins at Eastern, where they will provide back office
functions, such as payroll administration and accounts
receivable, for both the university and health system.
Co-location plans will proceed, Kobylski said, with a
possible adjustment of the start date, because the centers
could operate legacy systems until the new system is up and
running.
Anyone with questions or concerns can call the
HopkinsOne hotline at 410-735-7411, e-mail MACROBUTTON
HtmlResAnchor hopkinsonehotline@jhmi.edu or contact the
HopkinsOne anonymous feedback Web site located through
www.jhu.edu/hopkinsone/Secure_Private/Toolbox/
askhopkinsone.htm
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