1. Student Information System Project: (Shorthand: SIS!!!!)
Jeannie Crowley •

2. The need External Factors Internal Factors
Education Brands (owner of Senior Systems) is developing a new product, Radius, and our current product is in “maintenance only” mode
The company’s attention is focused on Radius and is unable to address customization requests or minor fixes (arrested decay)
Internal Factors
Senior is organized by household (not individual), making data unwieldy
Senior can’t meet a lot of internal needs & we have a hodgepodge set of tools filling those gaps
The need

3. The scope/scale We put Senior in place in 1994
If done well, the SIS replacement should occur once every ~ years; this is not your average software project
We need to look at this holistically both for our current needs and for the needs of people who will use it years from now.
The scope/scale

4. Brace Yourself

6. The pain This project can take 3-5 years to realize the full benefits
It can take up to 2 years to get everything working as intended
The bulk of the burden will rest on Database Admin (Vasil), technology support staff, business offices, administrative staff, and school offices (people who put in data and run reports)
The pain

7. Interview stakeholders & document needs (what works & what’s missing)
Document entire map of current systems and fill in knowledge gaps
Interview IT directors and stakeholders at schools going through change
Interview IT directors at schools *not* electing to change right now
Watch a truly painful amount of product demos
The legwork

8. Interview consultants involved in transition and non-tech stakeholders
Know the players involved (what is the style of the leadership & tech directors involved in each decision)
Determine what our actual options are for a school of our size/complexity
Get background info on status of companies offering products
Have products reviewed by our Network Security Engineer
The legwork

9. Factors to consider Product Company
Can it meet the needs of a school our size and complexity?
How is data stored and how easily can we run reports against it?
Can it simplify some of our workflows?
Can it evolve to meet future needs?
Company
What is their growth rate?
How well-funded are they (stability)?
How experienced is their development and support staff?
What is their outlook?

10. Factors to consider Pricing Technical What is initial cost to migrate?
What is cost over time (annual)?
What costs are associated with customizations?
Technical
Security
Storage
Speed
Access
Mobility of data

11. Factors to consider Peer benchmarking
What are other schools our size doing?
What are their experiences with change (or no change)?
What are the leadership styles of people involved in the decisions?

12. Current status (approved by Alexander Pope)
“Be not the first by whom the new are tried, Nor yet the last to lay the old aside.”

13. Are we more comfortable with the risks associated with action or inaction?
The big question

14. Option 1: Wait and see (inaction)
Risks
No changes or improvements to current workflows--commitment to arrested decay for several years
No real sense of when Senior will be shut down
Will be forced into change, and not on our timeline
Rewards
Avoid risk of making a decision

15. Option 2: Delay one more year (Fall 2019)
Risks
No changes or improvements to current workflows--commitment to arrested decay for 2 more years
Live without some features for 2 more years
Admin changes could derail/disrupt
Cost increase up from negotiated discounts
Rewards
A bit more time to evaluate Radius and Veracross
More time to see how schools are performing on new platform

16. Option 3: Go with Radius (phased 2018/19)
Risks
Some modules are still in development & have been for years
TBD whether buyup (Ravena, TADS, DiamondMind) will result in seamless integration or retirement of those tools
Blended model: core database with best-of-class
Rewards
Immediate access to better modules (Ravena)
Cost
Stability of company
Support from Senior
Experience of company in our environment
Support escalation
Belle of the ball

17. Option 4: Go with Veracross (phased 2018/19)
Risks
Cost
Data access & control (roles)
Need to fully integrate for it to be worth it (all in or don’t bother)
Account manager model
Mixed feedback by department
Compromises for integration
Rewards
Fully integrated SIS would simplify tools and data flow
The way they handle individuals vs households make sense for us
Interface and functions seem to meet needs of most members of community