Steady Hands, Big Changes: The Business Process Owners Leading UC San Diego’s Biggest Technology Innovation Effort
As the University of California San Diego continues to bring forth transformational changes in our student information systems, it’s not just the technology that matters — it’s the people and processes behind it that will lead to their successful implementation. At the center of these system changes are our Business Process Owners, or BPOs. They are seasoned university leaders whose leadership is helping to ensure that UC San Diego builds and improves our systems, all while balancing visionary ambition with grounded wisdom.
Meet the BPOs
The SIS Project portfolio consists of several transformational projects. I had the opportunity to interview the BPOs for some of our projects.
As the BPO for a few of these projects, University Registrar Cindy Lyons brings deep institutional knowledge to the Triton Student System (TSS) Project, the CourseLeaf Project and the uAchieve Transfer Articulation Project. Gayle Ta, Senior Director of Student Financial Solutions under Business & Financial Services, whose career in financial services has been marked by successful system transformations, leads as a BPO for the TSS Project and also served as the BPO for the TritonPay 2.0 Project. Lending her analytical expertise, Tiffany Swiderski, Principal Business Intelligence Analyst in Financial Aid & Support, champions both the staff and student experience as BPO for the Financial Support Payments Tool (FSPT) Project.
Majoring in Workflow, Minoring in Miracles: What is a BPO?
A BPO isn’t just a stakeholder. They’re the bridge between the technology and the people who use it. They ensure that the systems being built actually support the university’s operational needs and business goals. Additionally, the BPOs effectively collaborate between the end users and technical teams to ensure the system functions successfully to complete critical university processes. While we have job descriptions and team definitions of what a BPO is and does, let’s hear from the experts: the BPOs themselves.
Cindy says that the BPO is someone who “is accountable for an entire process, from its design to operations and continuous improvement.” They “develop functional requirements, user acceptance testing scenarios and overall implementation coordination in partnership with IT.” Gayle concurs and says that her role “is really about making sure that the business and operational needs are fully considered throughout the project — nothing gets overlooked or short-changed.”
The BPO, according to Gayle, “brings in perspectives from the student and staff experience to make sure those voices are represented as we design the new system.” Tiffany mentions that, after bringing in those voices, the job of the BPO is to “identify and make connections: connections between colleagues on various business and technical teams; between policies and day-to-day process; between requirements and the why.” In all, this looks like advocating for end users in design decisions by listening to the needs of our people and advocating those with those building and configuring the system. BPOs also collaborate with other projects to align on outcomes and ensure that our projects are led with our guiding principles at heart. They track the impacts that changes have up and downstream have on the project and on people.
Oh, The Places You’ll BPO
As someone who studied at UC San Diego for six years and has now worked here for three, I have been the beneficiary of the hard work and spirit of the many dedicated staff that work everyday to serve the university community. None of the BPOs were strangers to UC San Diego before stepping into these project roles – far from it. It is their deep institutional knowledge on university policies, intradepartmental overlaps and needs and the needs of students, as well as their trusted leadership that make them natural choices to lead changes to business processes caused by these projects.
Cindy has served the university for 28 years, during which she has helped implement many transformative changes. From a new online Summer Session application to a rewrite of WebReg, Cindy has been a leader in and advocate for continuous improvement for the university’s systems. As our University Registrar, becoming the BPO for projects that utilize student information, such as TSS and CourseLeaf, was a logical next step. As Cindy says herself, the “student information system is the student record system for which I have oversight … by default, I am the Business Process Owner for the project.”
For over 25 years, Gayle has served UC San Diego, including working here as a student employee (we have that in common!). She describes her UC San Diego experience as more than a job – it’s a “dynamic, community-driven environment.” She says that one of her favorite aspects of working at the university “is the opportunity to get involved in a wide variety of activities, including being a founding member of the Staff Sustainability Network.” This interconnectedness with the university community, combined with her essential work in overseeing student finance and the student accounts receivable process, made her a shoo-in for what she describes as “definitely a big responsibility,” but one that she is committed to getting right.
Tiffany shares a similar trajectory. She recently celebrated 20 years of service, starting as a student employee and working in various financial and operational roles in Academic Affairs. As a Principal Business Intelligence Analyst, Tiffany works closely with the data and the systems that produce that data. She says that “understanding what we want out of the systems to help staff complete their work accurately and efficiently motivated me to get involved in designing and implementing the systems that facilitate our business.”
When One Hat Isn’t Enough: How BPOs Do It All
In all of our BPOs, there is a shared curiosity about how to make our systems better and also the knowledge and experience to make it happen. How do they balance the day-to-day responsibilities of their jobs with the added responsibility of being a BPO, you ask? Great question! Let's explore how they make that magic happen. 
Cindy, Gayle and Tiffany all highlight the importance of teamwork and relying on the subject matter experts on their teams who are directly working with the systems. Cindy says that “ensuring that my teams work effectively and efficiently allows me the ability to balance my responsibilities between current operations … and planning for the future Triton Student System.” Gayle concurs, saying that it all comes down to “managing my priorities and leveraging my team’s talent to take on the additional responsibilities.” Tiffany depends on “mutual trust and close communication with team members and other subject matter experts” to help her balance the competing demands of her priorities.
Another important aspect of their ability to manage their responsibilities is relying on the collaboration between them and the Service Owner and the technical teams. Think of implementing a new system or updating a system as a puzzle. The people are the foundation, the border, of that puzzle. They are the starting place and the guides that help to bring all the other pieces together. The BPOs work with the technical teams to build out from there, configuring a system that keeps the needs of our students, staff and faculty at the center. That close collaboration and interconnectedness is an important aspect of the work BPOs do to ensure that they perfectly piece together the needs of the people and the processes with the capabilities of the new systems.
This teamwork and collaboration, combined with a shared excitement for the benefits the projects will bring, keep our BPOs pushing forward. Cindy mentioned that “improving business processes or implementing new systems is something that I’m accustomed to” and that “I enjoy change.” Gayle is excited about the “opportunity to build something that can support new ideas, innovative programs and future expansion,” while Tiffany is excited that the Student Information System (SIS) Project, including the FSPT Project, “will bring opportunities to refocus our considerable talents toward analysis and creativity.”
What’s Next: All Systems Go–Many Thanks to BPOs!
While our BPOs are excited about the changes that will come from the SIS Project, they are also well aware of the challenges that face them. All three BPOs acknowledged that while the projects will provide positive changes for our university, change is imperfect.
Cindy acknowledged that “with projects of this size, complexity and scope, there’s always a concern about having enough time to meet all the deliverables and provide the best experience,” and that to do so, “compromises are necessary [and] it’s crucial to make the right ones.” Gayle agrees, mentioning that “with thoughtful planning, clear communication and the right support, we can help ease the transition and create a better experience not just for students, but for staff and faculty as well.” Tiffany acknowledges that “it is no easy task to balance the urgency of the changes we need to make as a university with the very real risk of moving both too quickly and not quickly enough.”
That said, our BPOs are well equipped to take on the balancing act and lead the business process changes needed for a successful implementation of these projects. We are very fortunate to have leaders who understand not just the workflows involved, but also the impacts that those workflows and that these systems will have on students, faculty and staff.