| ABAP |
Advanced Business Application Programming: the programming language of SAP's ERP software. |
| ABAP Query |
A native SAP reporting tool. |
| Ad Astra |
The company from whom Purdue is purchasing its event-management and room-scheduling software, Astra Schedule. |
| application developer |
A member of a IT/Enterprise Application or local application-development team that provides second- and third-level resolution with system application incidents, problems and change requests. |
| Ariba |
Purdue's legacy Web-based, electronic procurement system. It was replaced by SRM (Supplier Relationship Management), an SAP product. |
| as-is |
Purdue business processes before switching to the SAP and Banner applications. |
| ASAP |
Accelerated SAP: a methodology developed by SAP to speed up ERP-implementation projects and keep costs under control. |
| Ascential |
A suite of tools used to convert data. |
| Astra Schedule |
Event-management and room-scheduling software Purdue is buying that will replace the current
Room Scheduling and Event Management legacy system. Astra Schedule which will be “bolted on” to SAP. |
| Banner |
A package of software modules from SunGard Higher Education that will comprise the bulk of OnePurdue's new student systems. |
| Basis |
The underlying technology base that allows SAP's functional applications and modules to interoperate. |
| business application user |
A OnePurdue user who is using an application system to support the needs of the business. For example: ordering supplies, entering budget information, running reports, entering payroll changes, entering grades, etc. |
| Biller Direct |
SAP's e-commerce module. |
| Blackboard |
The online course environment that used to be called WebCT Vista. |
| blueprint |
Also known as a “business blueprint,” this document basically defines what OnePurdue will look like once fully implemented. |
| Blueprint Phase |
Phase 2 in the ASAP implementation process. |
| bolt-on |
A separate application that can be integrated with the SAP and Banner software. |
| Brio |
A business intelligence reporting tool currently used at Purdue. |
| browser |
An application program that searches the Internet, interprets language and presents a Web page. Popular browsers include Mozilla's Firefox, Apple's Safari, Microsoft's Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator. |
| Business Blueprint |
Phase 2 of the ASAP process. During this period, the finance and HR teams identified Purdue's organizational structures, designed new business processes, installed the new financial and HR software and received training in it. |
| Business Explorer |
A native SAP reporting tool. |
| business
intelligence |
Business Intelligence (BI) is a broad term for software reporting tools that use the same databases as the SAP applications to generate customizable reports for administrators and other decision makers at Purdue. Basically, an ERP gets data into the system, while BI gets it out. |
| business warehouse |
SAP's term for what Purdue has referred to as a “Data Warehouse,” where University data will be stored. |
| BW developer |
BW Developers are members from the IT/Business Warehouse team and can help the BW Super User in publishing, developing or changing queries. They are responsible for developing InfoCubes for meeting future reporting needs, including authorization objects that are key to query definitions. |
| BW power user |
A Business Warehouse Power User can create queries in the production environment and save them in his or her “Favorites” folder. This user's access is usually restricted to one management or functional area. |
| BW super user |
A Business Warehouse Super User is responsible for publishing or broadcasting (i.e., share with other users) queries into production and has access to all the functional areas. |
| CARS |
The legacy accounts-receivable (AR) software at the West Lafayette campus that was replaced by SAP. The Calumet, Fort Wayne and North Central campuses have their own AR systems, and will continue to use them until 2008, when they also will be replaced by SAP. |
| change management |
The process of developing a planned approach to change in an organization, dealing primarily with the human aspect of change. |
| COEUS |
A legacy application that
provides pre-award functionality for sponsored programs.
A bolt-on application that works in concert with SAP,
it is primarily used to develop proposals for submission to sponsors for external funding. |
| configuration |
With OnePurdue, this refers to the process of setting up the SAP and Banner software — using their own built-in features — to best meet the needs of Purdue. |
Customer Information
Control System |
CICS was a part of the legacy application system that acted as a gatekeeper of sorts between the mainframe and databases; OnePurdue has eliminated the need for CICS.
|
Customer
Relationship
Management |
CRM refers to methodologies and software that will lead to the coordination of information about Purdue's many contacts outside of the University, including businesses, prospective students, alumni and donors. |
| customer service center |
A centralized help desk handling technical questions and problems. It will provide call tracking and escalation to Application Support when a question or problem can’t be handled on first contact. |
| customization |
Altering a system's software code to include functionality specifically wanted by an organization, although not originally included in the package itself. OnePurdue will not be doing this with SAP and Banner ERP products, but will be incorporating smaller “bolt-on” applications that will provide any additional features it is determined that the University needs. |
| data cleansing |
The analysis and review of existing data that checks for incomplete records, invalid entries and duplicates. |
| data cube |
See “Info Cube” below. |
| data warehouse |
See “Business Warehouse” above. |
| DbConnect |
An SAP utility that can connect with non-SAP databases and pull data from those sources. |
| Enterprise
Applications |
The division of ITaP that develops, installs and maintains the computer software and databases that support Purdue's core administrative processes and information needs. Commonly referred to as ITEA or EA, this department also provides general standards and guidelines for administrative software and consulting for departmental software development, installation and maintenance. |
| Enterprise Core Components |
Called R3 in an earlier version of the mySAP ERP software, ECC is the underlying technology upon which all its individual parts are built. The name of this component was changed with the release of mySAP ERP 2005, which is the version Purdue initially installed in 2007. |
| ePlus |
An electronic catalog product used in Ariba. |
| end user |
Individuals who will directly depend on and use information contained in the new systems. These users will utilize OnePurdue tools for entering data, viewing sets of information, running reports and managing business processes, among other tasks. |
| Enterprise
Resource Planning |
Commonly referred to as simply “ERP,” this is a collection of software applications that use a common database to integrate an organization's business processes. |
| Final Preparation |
Phase 4 of the project. During this time, OnePurdue's finance and human resource teams will complete their last activities before each module “goes live.” These will include final testing of the new systems and training those who will be using them. |
| FMIS |
The legacy accounting system that was used by Purdue prior to SAP. |
| functional expert |
A staff member within a functional business area designated to assist Self-Service Users and Business Application Users with business process questions, data entry questions and other functional support. (A more formal help desk may exist in some areas.) Such questions might include: My United Way deduction is incorrect; My grade was posted incorrectly; How do I complete the screen to process a cash document? |
| fsaATLAS |
A reporting tool for international student offices. |
| gap analysis |
A comparison of the “as-is” to the “to-be” processes that occur during the Blueprint phase (Phase 2). A gap analysis helps the OnePurdue Team identify which processes from one does not fit with the other; the business blueprint at the end of Phase 2 will offer proposals to resolve these issues. |
| Go Live & Support |
The fifth and final phase of the ASAP process. This is when the new financial and human resource systems were moved into actual production. At this point, most of Purdue’s financial and HR “legacy” software applications were retired and their counterparts in the new OnePurdue systems became fully functional. |
| GUI |
Graphical User Interface. Popularized in the 1980s by Apple Macintosh computers and later by Microsoft Windows, GUI-based operating systems replaced complex text commands with icons, windows, drop-down menus and a staging area called a desktop to make computers a more intuitive process and easier to use. |
| InfoCube |
Previously known as a “data cube” — Both InfoCubes and Operational Data Stores are separate information stores (i.e., ways in which the business warehouse stores data). |
| IT administrator |
A member of a IT/Infrastructure or Basis team that provides second- and third-level resolution with IT system incidents, problems and change requests. |
| legacy applications |
The numerous and dated computer programs that have been or will be replaced by the SAP and Banner ERP software. |
| local IT computer support |
A local IT computer support area within a business or academic area that provides technical support (e.g., ECN, Business Services Computing, regional campus computing, etc.). |
| Maximo |
The legacy software that was used at the West Lafayette campus to track work request orders prior to SAP. |
| metadata |
A definition or description of specific data; data about data. |
| mock month |
A quality assurance exercise that tests all the OnePurdue systems and processes needed to conduct a typical month of University business. |
| mySAP ERP 2005 |
The name of the product that includes SAP's financial and human resources ERP components. |
| NetWeaver |
The SAP module that consists of infrastructure tools, including process infrastructure (PI), the enterprise portal and business intelligence. |
| OnePurdue |
The University’s three-year, systemwide initiative that is changing the way Purdue does business by integrating mission-critical enterprise data, information and business processes. Once fully implemented, OnePurdue applications will be used by virtually everyone in the University. |
| OPUS |
OnePurdue User Support. This is a separate project led by ITaP in partnership with OnePurdue to plan for and deliver training and support for users of the new systems — both during and after their implementations. This support will include installing and running a help desk for OnePurdue-related questions and managing necessary desktop support for all Purdue computers to make sure they have everything they need to fully benefit from the new systems. |
| Pcard |
Purchasing Card (i.e., a credit card used for making purchases for the University). |
| portal |
A Web interface that serves as the point of entry to the new OnePurdue systems. The OnePurdue portal is used to access Employee Self-Service and the SAP financial and HR applications. Faculty and students will use a separate portal, myPurdue, to access the new student systems. |
| Position Budget Control |
An SAP process for managing and keeping track of salary budgets. |
| Project Management Office |
A group composed of project leadership from both OnePurdue and BearingPoint. |
| Project Preparation |
Phase 1 of the ASAP processes, which concluded June 30, 2005. During this period, the project team was organized, various team-building activities took place, the project kicked off (July 1, 2005), and initial planning began for OnePurdue. |
| PUID |
Purdue University Identification number, a unique ID code for each individual associated with the University. PUIDs will eventually replace Social Security numbers as a means of identifying people at Purdue. |
| R/3 |
Realtime System 3: the core component of earlier versions of SAP's ERP software upon which all its individual parts are built. The name was changed to ECC (Enterprise Core Components) with the release of the newer mySAP ERP 2005. |
| Realization |
Phase 3 of the ASAP methodology. During this time, the project team configured the finance and human resource modules and implemented processes defined in those teams' “blueprints,” which were developed during Phase 2. This is when Purdue's legacy financial and HR data was converted from its pre-OnePurdue location to a new database. |
| report user |
A report user has access to and executes reports. |
| Resident Expert |
A Business Application User within a departmental area who has been identified as someone who understands the system well enough to assist other users who need help with a particular function or business process in a OnePurdue application. |
| Resumix |
Purdue's legacy job applicant tracking system; retired in 2007. |
| roadmap |
A key component of the ASAP process, this defines a systematic approach that incorporates a project plan to an SAP implementation, in this case for OnePurdue's financial and human resource applications. The ASAP Roadmap is a step-by-step guide that is comprised of five specific phases: Project Preparation, Business Blueprint, Realization, Final Preparation and Go-Live and Support. |
| RWD Info Pak |
A suite of applications OnePurdue uses to develop documentation for user training. |
| sandbox |
A safe, pre-development environment — a completely separate group of servers — where the OnePurdue team tests new software installations, features and upgrades to see how they function before adding them to the actual OnePurdue systems. |
| SAP |
The ERP software vendor selected to provide OnePurdue's financial and human resource systems. (Although SAP's German name translates into five English words — Systems, Applications and Products in Data Processing — it is known simply as “SAP.”) |
| SAP GUI |
The graphical user interface (GUI) application that allows users to access specific SAP software in the OnePurdue environment for human resource and financial functions. SAP GUI users, who will comprise a small minority of the Purdue staff, will launch it from within the OnePurdue Portal. |
| scope |
A measurable definition of OnePurdue's goals, resources, timing and desired outcomes. |
| self-service user |
A OnePurdue user using Employee Self-Service for personal business needs. |
| stakeholder |
A person, department of organization that has an interest in the success of a project. |
| statement of work |
A document that sets forth services to be performed. |
| subject matter expert |
A member of a OnePurdue functional team that provides second- and third-level resolution with configuration and business process incidents, problems and change requests. |
| SunGard Higher Education |
The ERP vendor selected to provide OnePurdue's new student systems, a software package called Banner. |
| Supplier Relationship Management |
The Web-based SAP module that replaced Purdue's legacy e-procurement system, Ariba. SRM includes contracting, bidding and requisitioning components. |
| system test |
An implementation activity that tests the interfaces between sets of applications or functional areas in a new system. It verifies the ability of the system to handle data and operating requirements common to more than one area, and to verify the impacts from one department to another. |
| team lead |
An individual who leads one of OnePurdue's functional and technical teams. A list of the primary teams can be found here. |
| to-be |
The new OnePurdue business processes. |
| unit test |
A test used to verify the acceptable functionality of a single program, operation or process that does not test the impact and integration points with other applications or operations. |
| WebCT Vista |
Now called “Blackboard,” this is an online course environment that allows instructors to deliver class material, communicate with students and create learning activities. It is an integral part of OnePurdue training. Click here to learn more about this tool. |
