Project: Kuali Financial System (KFS)
Primary UITS contact: Jim Thomas
Last update: August 25, 2008
Description: Indiana University, along with Cornell University, Michigan State University, San Joaquin Delta College, University of Arizona, University of California, Davis, University of California, Irvine, University of California, Santa Barbara, University of Hawaii, University of Southern California, and Colorado State University, formed a collaborative community source partnership to build an enterprise financial system based on Indiana's Financial Information System (FIS). Developers from each of the participating institutions are contributing to the development of the Kuali Financial System (KFS) based on FIS functionality, business rules, and data model. The KFS is dedicated to providing and maintaining a richly featured enterprise financial system for use by all types of higher education institutions. The KFS adheres to open source standards and Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) practices and can be implemented on a top-to-bottom open source technology stack.
Outcome: Upon completion of the KFS development project, Indiana University will begin implementation of the new system, eventually replacing FIS. The existing FIS functionality will be retained in the KFS along with many new enhancements and features developed as a part of the KFS initiative. The new system adheres to standard J2EE web-based technologies and architecture supported within UITS.
Milestones and status:
- October 20, 2006: KFS Release 1.0, including core functionality,
General Ledger, Chart of Accounts, and Financial Transactions
- November 13, 2007: KFS Release 2.0, including Purchasing/Accounts
Payable, Contracts and Grants, Labor Distribution, and Research
Administration modules. Release 2.0 also includes additional
enhancements to the Release 1.0 core modules.
- Fall 2008-fall 2010: Phased implementation of IU's KFS,
incorporating new modules over time, with scheduled completion by the
end of calendar year 2010
- December 15, 2008: KFS Release 3.0, including Capital Assets Management, Accounts Receivable, Budget Construction, and Effort Reporting modules. Release 3.0 also includes additional enhancements to previously released modules.
Benefits:
- Major technological upgrades to financial system
- Use of standardized, virtual J2EE environments, moving away from Citrix hosting environments, which will soon be retired
- Shared ownership within the higher education community for ongoing maintenance and support
- Many new features and enhancements
Related information: Kuali Foundation web site
Risks: The user interface is changing from client-server to web. The web experience will be substantially different, and it will take users some time to get used to the differences. Effective communication and training will be important.
Issues: There will be a gradual cutover from using FIS to KFS. Although much of the screen content and business functionality will be the same, the user interface is different. Users will have questions and will need effective support.
Primary client: Staff and faculty currently using FIS and EPIC
Client impact: While the content and functionality is very much the same as in FIS and EPIC, the user interface is different. Clients will need to learn how to access and use the new system.
Project team: The project team is made up of selected technical and functional staff from each participating institution, with more than 30 developers and more than 100 functional subject matter experts (SMEs). The project manager is Jim Thomas.
Governance: Project strategy is governed by the Kuali Financials Board, made up of representatives from each founding institution. The chair of the KFS Board is Brad Wheeler.
Project scope is governed by the Kuali Financials Functional Council, made up of representatives from each founding institution. The chair of the KFFC is Kathleen McNeely.
