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Cornell University: Putting a New Face on a Familiar System
2/27/2003
Cornell University is known for
excellence, and the school prides itself on ensuring that its high standards
are met across all departments and functions. Purchasing is no exception. Cornell's
busy decentralized, distributed purchasing environment involves 4,000 people
processing approximately 60,000 purchasing requests each year to keep the private
university running.
The school recently enhanced its purchasing systems—streamlining and modernizing them to create a user-friendly interface, while retaining the power of the robust, mainframe-based back-end. The new system brings a completely re-engineered interface to Cornell's mainframe-based purchasing system. With an intuitive menu structure, backed-up by self-guided online tutorials and pop-up help windows, the new system simplifies the purchasing process—a definite plus for requisitioners as well as for university management.
The Customer is Always Right
Cornell's Office for Purchasing Services views the university's faculty and
staff as customers, with support and responsiveness being a critical focus of
the department's mission. Feedback from these customers made it evident that
something had to change with their homegrown, green-screen application, the
Automated Procurement and Payment System (APPS). Despite training and support,
customers accustomed to the look and feel of the Web and Windows-based applications
found it difficult to navigate the multiple layers of screens, function keys,
hidden text boxes, and special commands of the APPS. With nearly half its subscribers
using the system on an infrequent basis, usability was a constant issue. The
Office for Purchasing Service's help-line staff spent a great deal of time walking
occasional users through the purchasing process. While they've done an admirable
job, it has been time that could be better spent on a litany of other tasks.
"The APPS system d'es an excellent job of managing the purchasing process," explains Vince Patriarco, Cornell University's Director of Purchasing. "But for people who don't get into the system often, it can be confusing. When the University made the decision to keep APPS in place, we knew that making improvements to its user interface would create the largest possible positive impact for the user."
The University's APPS system is typical of other character-based, green-screen applications, characterized by complex navigation menus and cluttered screens filled with unused fields and confusing abbreviations—and access was another issue entirely. For control and security purposes, only about 1,200 personnel were authorized to access the 10-year-old system. Other users submitted paper requisition forms, which would then be entered into the system by a department secretary or administrative staff. Some even created shadow systems to handle parts of their purchasing needs. The inherent redundancy not only resulted in wasted effort, but it slowed the entire process, stressing resources and increasing the chance of confusion, miscommunication, and error.
Mapping the Course
To transform APPS into a more efficient and usable system—while retaining its
strengths—Cornell decided to go with the outside integration firm, MODCOMP Inc.,
of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. "We realized that hiring on the expertise was the best
way for us to go," says Patriarco. "Resources are tight, and we knew if we contracted
it out, we could keep our internal priorities on track."
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