They Advise, We Revise: Triton Student System Project Committee Kickoff
The Triton Student System (TSS) Project design team has been hard at work wrapping up Process Group 1 of the Process Design Workshops (PDW), and Process Group 2 is now in full swing. An important part of our design work is listening to folks who use the systems being replaced so that we can best meet the needs of the university. Over the past few months, we have been inviting a representative contingent of staff to the TSS Project Advisory Committee to work with us and guide us through their day-to-day experience using the student information system (SIS) and other systems affected by the SIS. The committee began their journey with us over the past several weeks. I had a chance to meet with a few members of the committee about their recent participation, and I’d love to tell you more about that!
Representation of the Entire Organization
We are excited and fortunate to be working with a multitude of folks that represent many units and departments across campus. The committee includes deans and assistant deans, directors and assistant directors, undergraduate and graduate student advisors and other functional staff from all across campus. Most functions, departments, schools and graduate programs are represented by at least one member of the committee.
Given the size of the scope of the TSS Project, it is only fitting that we have an appropriately sized advisory committee to match, so that we can hear the voice of the university and be properly advised as we prepare for this momentous change. The amount and variety of experience of the committee members will allow them to fulfill their responsibilities to advise us on project decisions, to contribute to and provide input on organizational change management, testing and training plans, to identify gaps and to help us support the change across the university. Rachael Lapidis, Strategic Project Manager at the School of Social Sciences, as well as a member of the Advisory Committee, mentioned that she is excited to “learn from the perspectives and expertise of…a group of diverse experts across General Campus and the Division of Extended Studies.” We are excited to work with and learn from them as well!
First Things First
The committee was invited to our first meeting on June 6, 2024. At this meeting, we introduced them to their role and prepared them for their first upcoming task: participating in the Functional Review & Feedback Session for PDW Process Group 1. These sessions provide opportunities for us to periodically share with the committee our initial design work on the project and to listen to their feedback and adjust as needed. We discussed with them, in detail, what the PDW are and what our expectations for the initial release of the Triton Student System are, so that they have necessary context for the feedback they will provide to us. We wanted to make sure that they understand that our design work is iterative and they will be an important part of the process to drive it forward.
After a presentation about these topics, we paired members together into small groups to discuss their hopes and concerns about the project. Folks mentioned that they were excited to work together in the committee and appreciated that it provided an opportunity to have disparate units and functions working together towards a common goal. Rachael mentioned to me afterwards that she appreciates “having many informed and engaged voices in the room [that] can contribute to better decision-making as the preparation and roll-out continue.” Several committee members also shared an appreciation for the opportunity to have a new system that won’t be hamstrung by as many limitations as ISIS is today.
We also heard some concerns regarding training and documentation. We understand that, with a project as large as the TSS Project, these will be significant areas of concern. Our teams will be hard at work to develop training materials that will assist folks in learning the new system once the design is complete. We appreciate the efforts of the committee as we continue to build the TSS, and we appreciate their advising efforts.
Advising the Designing
After the introductory meeting and at the end of Process Group 1, members of the design team led a Functional Review & Feedback Session with the committee on July 18. During this session, they shared a higher-level overview of the design work of Process Group 1, which focused on the student record, academic structure, academic calendar and holds and statuses. The members of the design team also answered any questions they had during the session. They also encouraged the committee members to provide them with any further questions, concerns and recommendations regarding the design work as they reviewed it in more detail during the week after the session. That feedback is shared with the larger design team and will be used to influence the design work going forward.
Rachael mentioned to me that she is “impressed with the structured approach the design team is taking” with the design efforts and appreciates the “effort to engage larger communities on campus, including end users.” She also acknowledged that “this is a project that has a huge scope” and that the design team has their work cut out for them in order to design a system that thoughtfully takes into consideration the needs of the university as a whole.
Moving Forward
The participation of the committee at the end of Process Group 1 has been invaluable. As we continue our design work in Process Groups 2, 3 and 4, our advisory committee will continue to advise us throughout the design phases and we look forward to hearing their feedback at the Process Group 2 sessions in October. We also look forward to keeping you informed on their and the project’s progress. As we continue our journey to building and implementing the new TSS, the university can rest assured that it has been built with the interests of staff, students and faculty from all across the university in mind and that our advisory committee will keep us honest towards that goal.
Note on Project Name
As of September 2024, the project has been renamed from the ISIS Replacement Project to the Triton Student System (TSS) Project. All mentions of "ISIS Replacement Project" in this article have been changed to "Triton Student System Project." All other article details remain unchanged and accurate.
For questions about the SIS project contact esr-student@ucsd.edu.