ORACLE FAQs

The Lawson system is at what technicians describe as the "End of Life", which means it doesn’t work very well with the rest of the technology around it. The Lawson system used by the District was originally designed in 1990s, which did not account for the variety of web-based functions and features applications use today. Plus, the District spends additional funds to keep Lawson running. Think of it as constantly patching a flat tire. It's time to get a new tire rather than spend time and money on patching.

As for Oracle, the District reviewed a number of vendors and selected Oracle based on their ability to meet specific District needs to include securing our data, the Oracle support model, which includes ongoing quarterly updates, as well as from testimonials provided by other K12 Districts that have implemented the Oracle Cloud.

A cloud system is a web-based application that can be shared by a variety of users across many organizations. The District will be hosted in Oracle’s a public sector cloud. District data will be secured and separated.

The District’s Oracle system will be comprised of three suites of modules.

The project team will schedule information sessions with various stakeholder groups for an opportunity to ask the team members questions about the system and/or process changes.

The implementation of the Oracle cloud system is expected to generate benefits at the District level as well as the individual level.

District Level Benefits
--Improved & synchronized data, which is expected to enhance reporting capabilities
--Updated & harmonized processes, which is expected to enhance process efficiency and effectiveness
--Better return on technology funds as redundant systems are retired
--Enhanced security

Individual Level Benefits

-- Enhanced usability

-- Access to real time data

-- Time saving process enhancements

-- Less time bouncing from system to system

Specific benefits will be shared as the system is designed and tested.

The project team will be assessing change impacts by role and will share their findings prior to testing and training. Here are some basic impacts you can expect to experience.

Automation

The Oracle system is expected to offer the District a variety of opportunities to automate manual, paper-based processes. The automated forms may not resemble paper forms the District has been using, which will require training but the ability to enter data in an online form and share the form is expected to improve data entry accuracy. Oracle will also allow users to save documents to be used as a template for the next iteration. For example, if a secretary orders office supplies regularly, the requisition from a previous month can be used for a new requisition by simply changing the date and the line items.

Transparency

Rather than chasing down a supervisor to approve a document such as a requisition or a time sheet, the document will be sent to the supervisor electronically and the staff employee can check the status of the document at any time. The system will also record any revisions to the document and can be retrieved for reference before or after approval.

User Interface

The screens will look different. The graphic below is an example of an Oracle home page. The tiles you'll see on your home page will vary depending on your role. Notice the yellow/orange Learning Assistant box in the bottom right corner of the screen. The Learning Assistant will help you complete tasks if you are not sure what to do. You will be taught how to use the Learning Assistant in training.

Specific change impacts will be shared as the system is designed and tested.

You will be trained before you have to use the system. The project team is planning to showcase the system to different groups prior to formal training so users are familiar with the system before attending training.

Courses will be developed for specific roles. So, if you are a manager in Central office, your course will vary slightly from a school principal. All courses will include hands-on instruction to include how to use the Learning Assistant, which is an online guide that can help you complete specific tasks in real time.

The training curriculum for District’s roles is expected to be published about six months before each Go Live phase.

You will not be expected to learn the system on your own. The project team will build a team of "first responders" who will be able to help you with questions in the first month after Go Live. Success stories and lessons learned will be shared frequently in the weeks following Go Live so all District employees can perform their role quickly and easily. CherryRoad and Oracle will partner with the District long term to ensure the system and its users are supported 24x7 for years to come.

If you are interested in working with the project team in helping your department, contact your supervisor and have them forward your contact information to the project team.

We want to hear from you. If you have comments or questions about the Oracle project, contact us via email at ProjectOracle@hcps.org.