Closure Report
Project Summary
Background
The HESA Staff Return is an annual submission of staff data which are required to meet HESA requirements. This project covers any changes required to either collect the data in Oracle HR & Payroll, submit the data to HESA or fix any issues outstanding from 2017/18 return
The University is required to provide staffing information to HESA on an annual basis.
The HESA requirements change each year and the scale of known changes for 2018/19 were covered in the project brief - HRS097
Scope
- The University is required to provide HR staffing information to HESA on an annual basis.
- Each year, HR HESA provides requirements for the current submission.
- This usually involves some modifications to the existing data set
- Post-deployment support from June to mid-November 2019, for the Business Area's validation and submission process
Objectives & Deliverables
A summary of key objectives and associated deliverables for HRS097 is given in the table below:-
| Reference | Description | Priority (Moscow) | Owner | Delivered |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| O1 | To undertake all development work required to meet the changes specified by HESA consisting of this year | |||
| D1.1 |
|
Must | Software Dev, Dev Tech, Apps Supp, HR |
Yes As discussed changes needed were added into JIRA :
|
| D1.2 | All changes required for HESA Archive database for the 2017/18 database | Must | Software Dev, Dev Tech, Apps Supp, HR | Yes |
| O2 | To review the necessary carried over work from the 17/18 return to determine if the code requires updated for 18/19 return | |||
| D2.1 |
Any specific work carried over from 17/18 return that is still deemed necessary for the 18/19 submission that requires completion before the 18/19 return is completed
|
Must | HR, Project Manager | Yes as agile KanBan had been set up via JIRA |
| O3 | To support the submission of the 2018/19 HR HESA return | |||
| D3.1 | To support the submission of the 2018/19 HESA return until the final submission in 2019 (29-Oct-2019) | Must | Software Dev, Dev Tech, Apps Supp, HR, Projects Manager | Yes Delivered 25-Oct-2019 |
| D4 |
A new subject coding system - the Higher Education Classification of Subjects (HECoS) - has been developed to replace the JACS system. |
|||
| D4.1 | New values to be set up for HECOS to replace JACS codes (CURACCDIS) |
Will be in 2019/20 return not required this year Only investigation for HR |
HR |
Not delivered by IS this year. HR has no further input as yet, but may be 19/20 |
Benefits
|
Item |
Benefits |
Benefits Met |
| 1 | To meet the legislative HR HESA Staff Return requirements | Yes |
| 1.1 | This enables the university to obtain the funding required from the government |
Yes |
Success Criteria
| Item | Success Criteria | Delivered |
| To successfully deliver the HR HESA Staff Return for 2018/19 | ||
| 1 | to enable Edinburgh University and | Yes 25-Oct-2019 |
| 2 | HESA to confirm acceptance sign off | Yes 25-Oct-2019 |
Analysis of Resource Usage:
Staff Usage Estimate: 100 days proposal (90 days brief, 56 days approved 12-Sep-2019)
Staff Usage Actual: 50 days
Other Resource Estimate: £0.0
Other Resource Actual: £0.0
Other Resource Variance: 0%
Outcome
Explanation for variance
Although the Staff Return proceeded well this year and involved few issues the main concern was surrounding APEX:
Dev, Test and Live proceeded slower this year due to the Dev Tech Manager completing the manager job at the same time as accommodating APEX work. The Dev Tech Manager needed some uninterrupted time.
- The Dev Tech Manager had to complete the Apex work in his last afternoon before his fortnight's holiday.
- HR required the APEX work to enable testing to get underway
- look at possibilities of someone else taking on this APEX role with assistance from the experienced APEX developer if there is APEX work needed for the 2019/20 return
With the smooth running of the project there have been regular decreases in the budget. As is usual 20 days are reserved for post July to closure.
- the majority of this time was not required and again the budget was decreased
Key Learning Points
Above concerning APEX
- look at possibilities of someone else taking on this APEX role, with assistance from the experienced APEX developer, if there is APEX work needed for the 2019/20 return
HECOS work is likely to be covered by the 19/20 HR HESA Staff return. Not an outstanding issue but something to be aware of next year
- JACS is being replaced by HECOS but HR do not know the effect of this will be on our return. The Student return will be making the changes first and HR need to see how they align old and new before HR can make the same/similar changes. HR think that the only field in the staff return to be affected will be the CURACCDIS field as this is the only field HR uses the JACS code for at present but again this might change next year and we don’t know yet.
Archive 2018-19
- JIRA HRS097-15 left open as it includes useful information regarding archiving 2018-19 return for next year's HESA
Outstanding Issues
No outstanding issues