Founded in 1893, the Visiting Nurse Service of New York (VNSNY) is the largest not-for-profit home and community-based health care organization in the United States, serving the five boroughs of New York City and Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester Counties, as well as parts of upstate New York. As an early adopter, VNSNY will present a case study of how they were able to successfully upgrade from 8.9 to 9.2 in a limited time frame with limited resources and provide tips and advice on how others can achieve similar success. VNSNY was able to successfully upgrade GL, AM, AP, PO, and ePro from PeopleSoft 8.9/PeopleTools 8.49 to 9.2/PeopleTools 8.53 in just 7.5 months using Oracle’s newly released 8.9 to 9.2 path. VNSNY had only a very lean team of internal and external functional/technical resources. VNSNY was also able to successfully maximize the use of a non-full time external PeopleSoft Admin/Upgrader resource.

1. Upgrading PeopleSoft Financials from 8.9
to 9.2
Advice You Need to Know from an Early
Adopter
Grant Chappell
VNSNY– Director of Business Systems
Michael Merrill
Elire Partner & Strategic Roadmap Expert

2. Introductions
Michael Merrill
Elire Partner & Strategic Roadmap Expert
--16 years of PeopleSoft project management, implementation/upgrade
stage lead, and module lead experience
Grant Chappell
VNSNY– Director of Business Systems

3. VNSNY
 Founded in 1893, the Visiting Nurse Service of New York (VNSNY) is the largest not-
for-profit home- and community-based health care organization in the United States,
serving the five boroughs of New York City and Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester
Counties, as well as parts of upstate New York
 The Visiting Nurse Service of New York offers a wide range of home health care
services, including medical nursing services, management of chronic conditions, and
care to meet the needs of every generation, from at-risk infants to those at the end of
life

4. Project Summary
 VNSNY was able to successfully upgrade GL, AM, AP, PO, and ePro from PeopleSoft
version 8.9/PeopleTools 8.49 to 9.2/PeopleTools 8.53 in just 7.5 months using
Oracle’s newly released 8.9 to 9.2 path
 VNSNY had only a very lean team of internal and external functional/technical
resources
 VNSNY was also able to successfully maximize the use of a non-full time external
PeopleSoft Admin/Upgrader resource

5. Project Objectives
 Pair Elire consultants with VNSNY staff so that VNSNY staff can expand their already solid knowledge base to
include the new features and technologies of the 9.2 application/tools 8.53 release
 Evaluate and analyze the many new features Oracle has added since version 8.9 which could result in
 cost savings,
 productivity gains, and/or
 decreased error rates
 Remove non-value add customizations
 Improve service where appropriate and deliver increased end user value

6. Project Methodology
 The phases which represent key transition points in the project life cycle of our Elire
Success DeliveredTM
upgrade methodology are illustrated below

7. Project Methodology

8. Plan Phase
 Elire and VNSNY used a series of well organized meetings and gate reviews to ensure
entrance and exit criteria for the various phases are satisfied
 Gate Kick Offs are critical parts of the Elire Success DeliveredTM
methodology and were
held at the beginning of key phases to allow for a detailed review of
 Roles and responsibilities for the particular phase
 Deliverables for the particular phase
 Process flows and procedures for the particular phase

9. Software Install

10. Fit Gap
 During Fit Gap we worked to understand the capacity the project could take on so that
scope could be properly categorized into core and variable scope
 Core Scope: Basics required to upgrade to 9.2 – the project’s primary goal
 Variable Scope: Additional scope which would lead to an enhanced future state –
things to tackle while “the hood is open” – which won’t jeopardize the project’s
timeline and milestones

11. Fit Gap
 The following were reviewed, in a series of facilitated working sessions involving the Client IT
and Business representatives to set the approved Project Scope
 Current State
 Although a formal Current State document was not produced, it was helpful to begin
the facilitated Fit Gap sessions with a walk through of key business process to ensure
all resources were on the same page prior to determining the Fit/Gap of that process
 Compare Report Analysis
 Determined which customizations would carry forward
 New functionality or functionality that was previously available but unused
 The first priority was high-impact features and functionality or low-hanging fruit:
features that are easy to implement and do not fundamentally change established
business processes

12. Fit Gap
 All details of the Analysis were
compiled in a Solution Deliverable as
shown in the below example for the
New Features tab
 Allowed for all Compare Report, New
Feature, and Wish List/Work Request
Enhancement details to be stored in
one place
 Captured overview information,
priority, cost/benefit, and other
pertinent information

13. Fit Gap
 Following the completion of the Fit Gap,
leadership reviewed the following to
determine the official project scope:
 The business priority of all core and
variable scope items
 A high-level cost benefit analysis of all
core and variable scope items
 The project’s FTE capacity
 The project milestones

14. Reapplication / Configuration
 Reapplication of existing customizations and development efforts were tracked via a
Development Tracker

15. Development Tracker

16. Test Moves
 The project used a series of Test Moves to perfect the upgrade process and build
consensus for the production upgrade
 The three major technical phases included:
 The Initial Pass
 The first pass was used to create the DEV environment
 The Test Move to Production Passes
 After completing the Initial Pass, the project conducted three Test Moves
 With each iteration we perfected the process and prepared to go live
 The Final Move to Production Pass
 In the Final Move to Production Pass, the most recent successful output of the
Test Move to Production Pass (generally UAT) was the Source

17. Success Delivered
The Elire project model for PeopleSoft upgrades works very well. The
key components of the model are: high quality consultants, robust
artifact requirements, well defined phase objectives and Elire senior
leadership oversight. The Elire consultants were some of the best I have
worked with, I would recommend them without reservation. The Elire
documentation requirements and phase objectives complimented and
supported each other. The Solutions Requirements Deliverable
document was the bedrock of the project and used repeatedly by the
team. All of the above comes together through the strong project
oversight of Elire Senior leadership. Senior leadership set the stage for
each project phase and constantly monitored progress/issues. In
closing, I highly recommend Elire for PeopleSoft upgrades.
–Grant Chappell, Director of Business Systems, Visiting Nurse Service of New York