Alicia Meza is a Software Application Developer for the Office of Information Technology. Her role in the Financial Systems modernization project is with the Teacher Retirement System (TRS) team and testing workstreams. Phase 1 of the project aims to move the existing mainframe process off the mainframe. This process is currently split into two components: a mainframe process and a Structured Query Language (SQL)/SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) process. Alicia is part of the team replacing the current mainframe process with SQL processes. The existing SQL processes generate end user files delivered to each member’s file depot. Each member then uploads their files using a web interface developed by TRS. Phase 2 will be done in short sprints and includes enhancements already agreed upon by The Texas A&M University System members.
Alicia says her biggest obstacle has been understanding the overall knowledge and scope of the Financial Systems modernization project. She is well versed in the tools she is using but had to get up to speed quickly on the TRS team, and there were dependencies she did not foresee or plan for that delayed deliverables.
Alicia is impressed with the A&M System project team; they are a dedicated and hardworking vault of knowledge willing to learn new technology/methodology. She has been on similar projects at other employers, and these tasks are never trivial. Alicia thinks the A&M System has done well, not only in selecting their partners but also in all aspects of their projects.
The first phase of the project is to get it to the users as-is without “enhancements” other than the conversions. As a developer, Alicia thinks the team’s natural inclination is to want the improvement or enhancement in the users’ hands as soon as possible. The modernization stage is what she looks forward to most. Alicia thinks the most significant benefit for the end users will be ease of use. Experienced Financial Systems users are comfortable with the user interface and can interact with it because most of them have used it for a long time. The end users probably don’t remember the initial interactions and growing pains involved with learning the system. Any new user or experienced Windows user learning to operate a mainframe application always experiences application shock when faced with systems such as FAMIS; it is outside of their norm. From a maintenance/support standpoint, Alicia believes it will be easier to recruit personnel to support the modernized system, which in turn will benefit the end users.