Plug pulled on ISIS

DANIEL McCABE | Don't get too attached to ISIS, the year-old human resources information system that took several years to put into place. ISIS, it seems, isn't long for the world. Come 2001, the plan is to replace ISIS with another HR records system, one that will be purchased from SCT Inc., the U.S. company that sold McGill the software systems that comprise McGill's Banner Information Systems Project. The Banner team aims to have new accounting and student records systems up and running within the next two years. A new HR system is now officially part of that package. Vice-Principal (Information Systems and Technology) Bruce Pennycook says he's already receiving irate phone calls and e-mails. "People are saying, 'We already spent all that money on ISIS. Why are we doing it again?' or they're complaining about how they've just managed to learn how to use ISIS." Pennycook sympathizes with these concerns, but he has no doubt that ditching ISIS, which stores information on such matters as staff benefits, pensions and job classifications, is the right thing to do. The technological landscape has altered significantly since ISIS was first planned, explains Pennycook. "It took a long time to finish. Certainly longer than was anticipated. The platform it was designed for has become obsolete." ISIS functions off McGill's old mainframe computer. The University is moving away from relying on its mainframe, opting for what it believes is a more user-friendly, Web-based technological approach that is increasingly becoming the norm. "ISIS does the job it was built to do. It could even be enhanced. But it exists in an older mainframe '80s image of what corporate computing looked like," says Pennycook. "One thing is for sure -- that IBM mainframe is going out the door some day. Then what?" With the Banner Project's large-scale information systems about to become operational, ISIS would have had to be significantly altered in order to integrate with them. Such an upgrade was considered, says Pennycook, but the administration decided against it. "At this point, it's a no-win situation to keep investing in ISIS." He says it makes much more sense to just buy a new HR system from SCT. "They have an HR system that speaks the same language [as the other Banner systems]. It's fully integratable right out of the box. It might cost a little less to patch up ISIS. Not much less, though." He adds, "An external vendor is a more comfortable place to be. With an outside company, you're not responsible for upgrades. They are. We'll always have the newest version, guaranteed." Building major systems in-house is a losing proposition, Pennycook believes. You're doomed to forever be playing catch-up; modifying the system as the technology evolves around you or as the demands of the institution shift. "That's not a university's core business. We're not here to compete with the software development companies. It's true that, historically, institutions like McGill built their own. When there was no industry to build things for us, we didn't have much of a choice. Now we do. We don't write our own word processing system, we buy it from Microsoft. They're better at it than we are." There are other advantages to buying from a company, says Pennycook. "By using a commercial product, you get to share experiences and insights with other institutions who are using the same thing. And these systems are widely used by universities." SCT has sold its Banner software to a variety of universities, including Yale, Dartmouth, Memorial, Wilfrid Laurier and Dalhousie. "One university in the Maritimes that is already using Banner technology wants to build a French-language interface. Obviously, with our large number of French staff, that's something we would be very interested in." Pennycook says there is another important advantage to having the financial information, student information and HR systems all be in the same family -- as opposed to having both ISIS and Banner. "We're going to have to train a workforce of close to 5,000 to use [these systems]. Wouldn't it be nice to have one common viewpoint?" One technology specialist familiar with ISIS, who asked not to be named, understands the reasoning behind the decision to replace the system with one from SCT. "Getting something that integrates into all the other [Banner systems] does make sense." He adds, though, that the programmers from Information Systems Resources who toiled on ISIS for years "might feel as if the rug is being pulled out from under them." ISR and the Computing Centre "have a bad reputation", in some quarters for taking too long with projects, the specialist warrants. He quickly adds, "But a lack of resources guarantees failure. "We're losing people all the time and it's not just about salaries," he says, citing frustration among many technologists who believe they don't have the resources to complete projects properly. If large-scale projects like ISIS are a thing of the past for McGill's programmers, what will they be doing in the future? "We'll be able to move to a much more service-oriented approach and find out what our managers, deans and chairs need from us," says Pennycook. ISR programmers might fashion "custom-built interfaces" that could mine existing technologies and databases for specific information crucial for a faculty's strategic planning, posits Pennycook. "There won't be fewer things to do, just different things." With the implementation of the Banner systems looming in the not-too-distant future, Pennycook makes one promise. "There will be lots of training," pledges Pennycook. "Trust me, we know how important well-managed, well-focused, appropriate training is to the success of this." Technophobes might be dreading the new systems, but Pennycook is clearly excited. "This is going to have an enormous impact on how we all work and on how students interact with the University." He says that the Web-based Banner project heralds a new type of relationship between McGill and its students. The University will be focusing a lot of attention on how to use the Web from here on in. "Students will be paying their fees, booking a squash court, buying their books -- all using the Web. Some might be doing their degrees on the Web, too. "Our job is to make these things as convenient to use as the telephone."