Finance & Human Resources Guiding Principles
These Guiding Principles outline key criteria for making decisions regarding the Workday
Financial Management (Finance) and Human Capital Management (HCM) Implementation Project
and are intended to help the project team accomplish its goals in the most timely
and cost-effective way while still meeting essential requirements of the LSU Community.
The Workday Financial Management (Finance) and Human Capital Management (HCM) Implementation
Project is sponsored by the Vice President for Finance & Administration/CFO and the
Chief Information Officer.
The Executive Sponsors endorse the Guiding Principles and, if necessary, may supplement
or modify them. In general, unless there is a significant and compelling reason to
deviate from them, these principles take precedence in all project planning and decision-making.
Only the Executive Sponsors are empowered to determine if a proposed exception meets
significant and compelling criteria, and no exception is permitted without the Executive
Sponsors’ agreement.
Transparency
We are committed to making information about the project available to the LSU Community
via the project website and through periodic stakeholder updates.
Inclusion and Consensus
We invite members of the LSU Community to share their ideas and concerns about the
project. We take the needs of stakeholders seriously, and we will consider all suggestions
and comments. However, we cannot promise that any given suggestion or comment will
be adopted or acted upon.
Timely Implementation
We are committed to implementing the new system and redesigned processes as efficiently
as possible with an attention to rapid deployment and risk mitigation. Personnel assigned
to the project team will be empowered to make immediate decisions during design and
configuration sessions.
To minimize the amount of redesign work and configuration needed, we will adhere to
a governance model that provides leadership, accountability, and oversight, and considers
the needs of stakeholders throughout the LSU Community. All parties will work through
the governance structure to resolve issues quickly and decisively.
Minimum Requirements
Initial software functionality will include features that are required to replace/decommission
the existing human resource and financial management systems on the mainframe. Additional
features beyond this baseline will be considered if they can reasonably be accomplished
with existing staff resources and within the project budget and schedule.
Business Practices and Procedures
The new enterprise system embodies leading industry practices in human resource and
financial management. Moreover, the software vendor continues to add features specific
to the needs of higher education based on input from their higher education advisory
board.
We will implement business practices and procedures as delivered by the software vendor,
even when it means changing our current business processes, unless there are significant
and compelling reasons to do otherwise. This may mean that some people’s jobs may
change, that some work may shift from one office to another, or that the method of
accomplishing certain actions may be different.
We will implement these standard, best-practice processes and procedures with a focus
on what is best for the LSU Community as a whole. Through standardization, we will
simplify cost structures and delivery of services to our internal and external constituents,
and demonstrate accountability to the state’s taxpayers.
Sustainability of the Technology and Workforce
Recognizing that our employees are our best resource, the system and redesigned processes
will be modern, maintainable, manageable, and measurable to facilitate a sustainable
system and sustainable workforce practices. We will take full advantage of the training
opportunities available as part of the implementation to develop and empower the LSU
workforce.
Flexibility and Adaptability
System selection, design, and implementation will be based on: strategic and functional
fit, ease-of-use, flexibility and reliability in a complex organizational environment,
compliance with regulatory and security guidance and rules, and cost.
However, we will also use “native” software features and functions in all cases unless
there are significant and compelling reasons to do otherwise. The new enterprise
system has substantial configuration capabilities that will allow us to tailor it to
our needs in most cases. We will not customize the software, and we will avoid using
third-party point solutions whenever possible, unless the third party point solution
is a preferred partner of the enterprise system vendor.
System of Record
The new enterprise system will be the official, authoritative data source for employee
and financial information. We know that other systems contain information about employees
and financial information. We will strive to implement a system and processes that
provide integration and sharing of workforce information, facilitate the automation
and management of business processes, minimize redundancy, and create and maximize
efficiencies.
If there is disagreement between systems, the enterprise system information shall
take precedence. Ideally, procedures should be established so that new and updated
employee data and financial information are entered first into the enterprise system and
subsequently provided to other systems via download or other data exchange process.
Where this is not possible, owners of secondary systems are responsible for ensuring
that data in their systems match the corresponding enterprise system data.
These Guiding Principles are based on enterprise system modernization principles approved
on December 23, 2013 by F. King Alexander, LSU President and Chancellor and revised
on January 26, 2015.