Recruitment is underway for a campuswide group of volunteers who will play a crucial role in helping with transitions during Phase II of WorkCyte, Iowa State's ongoing initiative to modernize its enterprise software products.
The change liaison network will include more than 100 faculty and staff not otherwise involved in the Phase II implementation of Workday Student and Receivables, a project that began earlier this year and is scheduled to deploy in five segments between summer 2023 and late 2024. The four-year process will affect nearly all faculty, staff and students, replacing essential and aging systems such as ADIN and AccessPlus.
Change liaisons will help share information about WorkCyte Phase II within their unit or college, introducing colleagues to new terminology, processes and software functions. Liaisons also will be an ear to the ground for project leaders, said Scott Butterfield, manager of change management for information technology services.
"They'll be a main conduit for feedback," he said.
Regular meetings will begin in November and take two to four hours per month, according to a message college and unit leaders received last week from special advisor to the provost for student information systems Steven Mickelson, vice president and chief information officer Kristen Constant and Butterfield.
As go-live dates near for Workday Student and Receivables, change liaisons will help shape training plans by participating in user acceptance testing and readiness workshops. They'll also inform colleagues about continuous improvements related to WorkCyte Phase I, which launched Workday in 2019 for human resources, finance and payroll transactions.
"Our change network will be the key to a successful implementation. Change liaisons are instrumental in keeping our campus teams informed and providing feedback from all areas of the university. Their service is vital to ensure we are implementing a quality system to serve our students, faculty and staff into the future," said Mickelson, the Chuck R. and Jane F. Olsen Professor of Engineering.
Change liaisons need to be familiar with existing systems and processes for student information and receivables, but they don't need to be experts. College and unit leaders will nominate liaisons by Oct. 15, and WorkCyte staff will review the nominations with steering committee members from the Faculty Senate and Professional and Scientific Council to ensure a cross-section that represents campus. Nominess will be contacted in late October to gauge their interest.
Questions about the change liaison network or the WorkCyte project in general can be submitted to workcyte_feedback@iastate.edu.
