September NextGen Newsletter

What’s New

The NextGen project team is continuing the selection process for a software solution to modernize the state’s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system and finalizing the selection of a process mapping vendor. In addition, a contractor has been engaged to lead change management efforts.

Process Mapping

Process mapping outlines the individual steps within a process, identifying suppliers, inputs, process steps, outputs and customers. All of this is crucial for the NextGen project as we define what our existing processes are and what they could be in the future. Once a vendor is selected, they will focus on five areas:

• Human Capital Management
• Talent Management
• Financials and Accounting
• Procurement
• System Support and Maintenance

In each area, the vendor will work with agencies to define current processes and procedures, and evaluate best practices. Workshops will be hosted to evaluate this information and create a new, future state for how we will work using the new ERP system. Agencies will be included in these workshops and activities as an opportunity to have a voice in what the new ERP system will look like. 

Change Management

The new change management lead, Linda Orban, will help us focus on our people and the changes we will experience over time, including what will be new and different in how we work with a modern ERP system. This work ensures we have the leadership support, knowledge, tools and skills to smoothly transition to our future. Change management will be a priority through the lifecycle of the project. Over the next few months, you may be invited to participate in change management activities such as stakeholder meetings, change impact assessments, focus groups, surveys and townhall meetings.

What’s Next

Once the process mapping vendor selection is finalized, process mapping activities will get started. The vendor will be meeting with agencies to talk about processes and procedures – how they’re doing business now – and look at best practices and analysis to find areas for improvement – how we want to do business in the future. Agency heads and subject matter experts should expect an invitation to process mapping activities in the coming months.

Additionally, we will be hosting stakeholder meetings with various agencies to provide updates and see how key experts across the enterprise can help participate in the NextGen project. We will also hold a Townhall Meeting this fall to provide updates on where we are and where we are heading.

You Oughta Know

Throughout this project, we know we’ll be introducing a lot of new ideas, practices and terminology, so we want to get down to the basics to make sure we’re all on the same page and learning the same things. Below you will find the definitions of some helpful terminology (and acronyms) that we’ll refer to throughout our project.

ERP: Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is a set of common business practices and a software system that implements core business practices across an organization. A complete ERP system combines business functions (finance, procurement, budget, payroll and HR) across an organization’s main resources – its people, money, information and assets – and provides decision makers with real-time enterprise information.

POCs: Points of Contact will be identified by each agency head to spearhead communication about the NextGen project with their organization.

SMEs: Subject Matter Experts, key PeopleSoft/TeamWorks system users, will be invited to share their expertise with the project team at various points throughout the process to ensure the new system meets business needs and provides increased functionality and efficiency.

Team Highlights

Our new Change Management Lead is Linda Orban from Houston, Texas. She brings with her 20 years of expertise as a project consultant. In previous years, she has overseen change management projects with Phillips 66, Walmart, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Procter & Gamble, Whirlpool and many more. We are so excited to have Linda join the NextGen team! Welcome!

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Questions about NextGen? Email us at [email protected] or visit sao.ga.gov/nextgen.

Related to: 

• NextGen