CAPPS — ERP in Texas

Current Implementation — CAPPS Financials

ProjectONE has implemented CAPPS Financials at four Texas state agencies, laying the foundation for the state’s Financial ERP effort. Those agencies include:

• Department of Information Resources (DIR)
• Central Texas Turnpike System (CTTS), an enterprise fund of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT)
• Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts (CPA)
• Texas Department of Insurance (TDI)

See Appendix B: Benefits by Module for a description and list of benefits for each CAPPS Financials module.

DIR

ProjectONE implemented CAPPS Financials at DIR on Sept. 1, 2011. The implementation allowed DIR to eliminate databases with redundant information and helped to support DIR’s cost-reduction efforts. CAPPS not only improved system data management and enhanced data integrity but, for the first time, allowed reporting that interfaces between the agency’s databases, thus supporting more timely information for decision makers.

DIR has been able to integrate data used to manage agency business into CAPPS. This data was previously maintained in spreadsheets outside of DIR’s old accounting system.

Before CAPPS, DIR inventory was managed in a separate system. With CAPPS, the agency is able to manage inventory in the same system of record (CAPPS) throughout its many departments. These departments are able to view each other’s inventory information in CAPPS, leading to more integrated reporting and processing.

CTTS

ProjectONE implemented CAPPS Financials at CTTS on Sept. 1, 2011. Initially, TxDOT was slated to be an inaugural agency in implementing CAPPS Financials. This plan changed when the complexity of the modifications required for the agency’s Financials functionality proved too great for the current project budget. As a result, only CTTS, an enterprise fund of TxDOT, implemented CAPPS Financials. The CTTS implementation prepares the way for full TxDOT implementation in the next phase of CAPPS deployment.

Preparing TxDOT for CAPPS

Additional steps have been taken to prepare TxDOT (11,470 employees) for CAPPS implementation, including:

• Prior to CAPPS go-live for DIR and CTTS, TxDOT worked with the ProjectONE team in the development of statewide and TxDOT-specific requirements, process designs, fit/gap analyses and functional design specifications and was involved in user acceptance testing.
• After implementation of CAPPS for DIR and CTTS, CPA and TxDOT worked with the CAPPS vendor to develop a TxDOT Prototype to demonstrate specific functionality and customizations necessary to support transportation project-related financial functions.
• TxDOT engaged Boston Consulting Group (BCG) to review CAPPS functionality and TxDOT-specific requirements, process designs, fit/gap analyses and TxDOT Prototype information to produce a readiness assessment for implementing a comprehensive financials and HR/payroll ERP solution for TxDOT. The initial recommendations include implementation of CAPPS Financials and CAPPS HR/Payroll for TxDOT.

Note: In fiscal 2012, TxDOT submitted a request to the Legislative Budget Board and the Governor’s Office of Budget, Planning and Policy (approved September 2012). The request asked that $26 million of its fiscal 2012-13 unexpended appropriations from other capital budget items be moved into the appropriate capital budget strategy to support ongoing work with CPA upgrading TxDOT’s financial management system as part of the state’s CAPPS project. The $26 million was originally appropriated for fiscal 2010 Management Information System expenditures.

CAPPS Financials at DIR/CTTS — baseline for all state agencies

ProjectONE’s creation of CAPPS Financials for DIR and CTTS has resulted in a baseline Financials platform for moving forward with statewide implementation.

See Appendix A: Timelines for a list of events leading up to implementation.

CTIC implements CAPPS Financials at CPA/TDI — further refinement

Less than a year after the DIR/CTTS CAPPS implementation, the CPA and TDI implementation of CAPPS Financials went live on July 2, 2012, through the efforts of ProjectONE’s CPA/TDI Implementation on CAPPS (CTIC) project team.

CPA programs include the internal Texas Prepaid Higher Education Tuition Program, State Energy Conservation Office (SECO) and Texas Procurement and Support Services (TPASS). TDI programs include the Office of Injured Employee Counsel (OIEC).

In preparation for this second wave of CAPPS deployment, CTIC further refined CAPPS Financials, resulting in the current robust, secure platform ready for deployment across all state agencies.

CAPPS Financials — security refinements

As part of CPA/TDI implementation, the CTIC Project refined the security structure of CAPPS Financials to allow for full deployment at all state agencies. Due to the decentralized and independent structure of agencies, CAPPS is a multi-tenant application that requires extensive security measures to be included to properly segregate agency data.

CAPPS Financials maintains a high level of security by clearly defining roles and permissions within the system. A security role is an identity granted to users or groups based on specific conditions. Multiple users or groups can be granted the same security role and a user or group can have more than one security role.

The CTIC Project expanded the security structure to over 850 roles to provide for the necessary flexibility for adding agencies statewide to CAPPS. This knowledge will be instrumental in building the same robust security functionality into CAPPS HR/Payroll and will allow for the secure statewide implementation of this critical component of CAPPS.

ISAS — First CPA legacy system to be retired

In preparation for the launch of CAPPS Financials on July 2, 2012, the Integrated Statewide Administrative System (ISAS) previously used by CPA and TDI became the first of seven CPA legacy systems (HRIS, ISAS, SPA, SPRS, TINS, USAS, USPS) to be retired as a result of implementing CAPPS.

CPA has discontinued support and ongoing maintenance of the ISAS application and baseline. The elimination of ISAS allows these agencies to:

• Receive and carry out support for only one processing environment and database (CAPPS).
• Leverage efficiencies already achieved by existing CAPPS agencies, including training and support operations between CPA and TDI and the agencies currently on CAPPS.
• Benefit from centralized security management due to CAPPS sophisticated security tools that satisfy agency application security needs while allowing data to be accessible to maintain transparency.
• Retire the ISAS ASP and the statewide ISAS baseline (retired in 2012).

An external agency version of ISAS will continue to be used by several agencies that host it internally until they convert to CAPPS. Like CAPPS, ISAS was built around a PeopleSoft-based application and provides a solid and familiar basis for those agencies using ISAS to transition to CAPPS.

See Appendix G: Legacy Systems for a description of each statewide system or project.

Reaching out to agencies about CAPPS

• CAPPS User Group meetings are regularly conducted live and via teleconference to keep CAPPS agencies informed on current and future service requests (SRs) and provide a forum for prioritizing SRs.
• CPA invites CAPPS and non-CAPPS state agency heads, chief fiscal officers, chief information officers, human resource officers and information resource managers to semiannually participate in the Statewide ERP Update for Agency Executive Management Meeting to share information and receive ProjectONE updates.
• CPA also reaches out via FMX — CPA’s Fiscal Management website that provides current system news and information, meeting minutes, resources, contacts and other helpful links. Find important project information for agencies interested in participating in ProjectONE at www.TxProjectONE.org.

Testimonials

See Appendix C: CAPPS Agencies’ Testimonials for a description of how each agency has benefited from CAPPS Financials.