University at Albany
Department of Management

BMgt 680 Concepts in Management
Spring, 1999

Martin Fogelman
BA 324, 442-5545
fogelman@albany.edu

ProjectClientGeneral Task
or
Work Product
Brief Description
End User
Training
Core
Implementation
Team
Training SurveyImmediate need for 2 or possibly 3 students. Detailed needs analysis and requirements planning to start immediately, with much to be completed before spring semester. Evaluate best practices in training end users. This is a broadly based project using mostly phone surveys to answer several important questions:

What is the timing and phasing of successful training for PeopleSoft?

How are prerequsite skill levels evaluated and accommodated?

What technologies and configurations are working well (e.g. a seperate 15-station room with a
standup teacher, Web-based learning applications, CBT, etc.)?

What are the vendors specializing in PeopleSoft training, along with their methodologies, costs, etc.?

Possibly another project: How are businesses being successful in training their workforces?
What are businesses using to develop change management skills among their professional work force?
Communication
Flow Analysis
Undergraduate
Admissions
Map Business
Sub-process
1-2 Students. Start immediately for mid-spring completion. Analyze communication flow using interviews with several knowledgeable and very skilled individuals. Will progress to encompass much of the requirements definition for that office, largely through consultation with the new director, a nationally respected leader in the field
Civil Service
Hiring Process
Base HR
Team
Business Process
Map and
Step-by-Step
Documentation of
Existing System
1-2 students to handle early needs analysis phase: documenting the current process. Most of the work will involve consulting available state manuals and local sources. (Working with the classification service supervisor will reveal nearly all the various procedures--preferred lits, etc.

Most of work can be done during spring semester.
Analyze Data
System
HR PayrollProcess Map of
Existing Home-
Grown Subsystem
1 Student. A now-retired end-user developed a system in FoxPro to collect probation dates and other data absent from core system. It produces labels, some reports and other outputs. Nobody gets how the system works, but its functions need to be incorporated into the new system. A rather unseemly, but common, real-world problem.

To be spread between the first and second semesters.
Time and
Attendance
Process
Base HRExisting business
rules written
into a logical
narrative.
1-2 Students. In preparation for a consultant (e.g. Datastudy, Hunter, Deloitte) hired to get it programmed and working in PeoleSoft, local and Civil Service rules and regulations regarding absence tracking and time/labor need to be gathered into a manual. Future corporate HR specialists will be carrying out/managing this process in the future, and consultant candidates can gain some important insights into their future clients' challenges.

To be completed in spring.
Map Large
Process
All Student
Areas
Business Process
Map
Projects for up to 2 people each to map out an individual process. Likely systems: SUNY Card, Housing, Parking Management, University Library, and Orientation.

To be completed late spring.