Since 2015, the City and County of San Francisco has been working to get its new Financial Systems Project (F$P) ready, and now it’s ready to launch.
The F$P has been the work product of a group at the Controllers’ Office that is comprised of dozens of hard-working Local 21 members who have been laboring on the highly complex project that will affect departments across the city. Employees working on the F$P have temporarily given up their telecommuting and Alternate Work Schedule privileges, and have taken only limited vacations, to ensure that the F$P is completed on schedule.
Adrienne Leifer is an Information Systems Programmer, Principal Analyst, and Local 21 member, has been working on this project since June 2016. Leifer says that the old FAMIS system is at “end of life” and “must be replaced in order to bring greater efficiency and transparency to the city’s business practices.” In July, the City will begin using PeopleSoft Financial & Supply Chain and Oracle Business Intelligence instead.
The new F$P will bring many benefits to the city. Some highlights include:
• Greater efficiency: Replacing and retiring 90 legacy applications across the city.
• Standardization across the city
• Online employee reimbursement
• Mobile Capability
• Elimination of dual data entry from paper and legacy systems
• Contract digital signature via DocuSign
• Centralized Documentation of all Policies and Processes
• Vastly improved reporting with data in a unified system
• Automated workflows including email alerts
• Reduced dependence on paper by automating previously paper-laden processes
Leifer gave one example of a positive of the new system; the way it will help the local business certification process. Currently it’s an outdated paper application, but the switch to electronic applications will make it easier for local businesses to apply and track their certifications.
Testing of the F$P has been underway for months, and test users have been providing feedback through surveys so that the city-wide trainings are better focused. “Super users” stand ready to help train colleagues, a help desk has been set-up, vendors are in training, and transition plans are being implemented. When the system goes live in July, Leifer and her team will switch to enhancing and maintaining the system.
Leifersays she is excited about how many Departments in the city will be positively impacted by this change and is looking forward to making the transition smooth. After months of working with an implementation partner, Leifer says that city workers are ready to meet the challenge, “we are confident in our ability to maintain this new system.”
“This is a work product that Local 21 members can be proud of,” says Leifer. We couldn’t agree more.
