The University of Maryland is moving toward an electronic workplace. The Business Process Redesign/Information Technology project (BPR/IT) is in the implementation phase after several years of planning and OIT is playing a major role.

The new electronic workplace will offer such features as the electronic entry of employee timesheets, a personnel data verification form, an online travel request process, and the FRS Fixed Assets system, and it will run primarily on hardware operated by, and with software developed by, the Administrative and Enterprise Applications unit of OIT.

BPR/IT is redesigning existing university processes to make them more efficient, more expedient, and more friendly to the user. The project is being rolled out in phases, with a preliminary concentration on Finance and Procurement in the Financial Records System (FRS), Payroll/Human Resources (PHR), and Travel Services. Many new processes are already available, streamlining the way the university does business, while more are to come.

The redesign employs cutting-edge technology, mixing application servers with power and data warehouse flexibility, blending prevailing programming languages such as Java and C++ with state of the art database technology, and presenting it all through a simple, user friendly, online interface.

OIT is also heavily involved in preparing the university community, directing ongoing training and readiness efforts, aiming to enhance personal computing skills, and seeking to ensure that adequate equipment will exist to handle the changes.

One major tool developed for use with the process redesign is the ELectronic Forms system, or ELF. This is a forms routing system that moves request and approval forms electronically, instead of by paper, cutting costs and slashing processing time with each form incorporated into the system, as well as reducing paper use. A growing number of university forms will be added to ELF over time.

The Administrative Resource Enterprise Services (ARES) (http://www.ares.umd.edu) provides one-stop access to services for faculty and staff, and Testudo (http://www.testudo.umd.edu) does the same for student services.

For more information on the university business process redesign efforts, please visit http://www.bpr.umd.edu.