WaveWorks!
Latest News - January 2025
State of the University
The State of the University is a landmark yearly event at Tulane – a welcome opportunity for colleagues to meet and hear from President Fitts about the strong state of our institution, notably our continued growth and success for the benefit of our students, faculty, research community and staff. Initially postponed when Hurricane Francine passed through part of Louisiana, these sessions were held on each of our three campuses, Uptown, Downtown and the National Primate Research Center.
Borrowing a page from the great David Letterman (with attribution!), President Fitts – now in his tenth year leading Tulane - highlighted the top ten reasons he loves Tulane. One of these was the continued building we undertake, but not just new physical infrastructure. He notably explained how building our new IT platform would improve efficiency across operations. “We are transforming the way we work through a massive project called WaveWorks,” said President Fitts. “We are moving to an Oracle Cloud-based system that will be continually enhanced and updated.”
These events were another opportunity for the WaveWorks team to connect with Tulane faculty and staff to ensure that colleagues know about the project.
Employee Appreciation Showcase
In October 2024, Tulane hosted the Employee Appreciation showcase event in the Kendall Cram & Qatar (LBC). As this event showcases so many of the fantastic programs and resources for Tulane faculty and staff, it was a terrific opportunity to connect with the Tulane community, learn about services and professional and personal development opportunities, and – especially - help expand awareness about the WaveWorks! Project.
The WaveWorks team shared insights about the project, with colleagues stopping by the stand, who also took home flashlights and lip balm, branded with the WaveWorks logo, along with brochures explaining the project.
It was great to observe that many who stopped by were familiar with the project and some of the key changes we will all experience in January 2026, when the project goes live. In all, an enjoyable opportunity to connect with colleagues in many different roles at Tulane and share information about the project benefits!
Milestone Completed - November 2024
In October, members of the Tulane WaveWorks Team gathered to celebrate the successful conclusion of a major milestone in the project: the completion of the App 1 phase.
Tulane President Mike Fitts, Senior Vice President and Provost Robin Forman, and Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Patrick Norton attended the event to congratulate the team and emphasize the importance of the project. They were joined by executives from Oracle and our system integration partner Drivestream, who also shared their enthusiasm and support for this transformative initiative.
See event photos at bottom of the page
President Fitts commended the project team for their hard work, noting that this initiative will have major, beneficial impacts for Tulane - even beyond what we know today. He then led the enthusiastic group in a rousing cheer of “Roll Wave…Works!”
Building on President Fitts’ comments, Provost Forman emphasized that implementing Oracle Cloud will give us powerful tools while also freeing up our time from administrative burdens, thereby giving all Tulanians opportunities to do what we can’t yet do today, all of which will contribute to our ability to grow our impact. He added “what a great team we have working on WaveWorks, not only for the work being done but also for team members’ belief in the project.”
COO Norton echoed these remarks and highlighted the great collaboration among the team and with our partners Oracle and Drivestream. He also emphasized the impact WaveWorks will have on thousands of Tulane end users who, through Oracle Cloud, will benefit from cutting edge technology vital to our institution’s success.
What is an App Review?
As the celebration highlighted the project accomplishments, here's a closer look at what the App 1 phase entailed.
The WaveWorks! Project development and configuration phase is an iterative process, with three App phases, which allow us to refine our requirements and system configurations to meet our business needs. Each App release can thus be considered a “beta version” of Oracle Cloud at Tulane, with each iteration an improvement from the previous version.
In the now-completed App 1 phase, our Tulane subject matter experts in the ERP (Finance) and in the HCM (HR) workstreams enjoyed the opportunity to be introduced to our first version of Oracle Cloud. These presentations provided team members an in-depth presentation of the platform and hands-on experience in the system to validate desired functionality and identify enhancements for future iterations.
These in-depth review sessions totaled over 225 hours of meeting time – so, well done project team members!
This massive project takes a village to bring to life. The team currently includes the Executive Sponsors, Steering Committee, Workstream Leads, and team members from Drivestream and Oracle Cloud.
The 80+ Tulane workstream members bring significant professional experience to the project – over 900 years total of Tulane work experience, as remarked at the kick-off event by Judy Vitrano, the General Manager of the WaveWorks! project. Their work to-date was recognized, as they were called to stand as teams during the kick-off event.
Jai Shankar, Assistant VP of Tulane’s Office of Project Management and Strategic Consulting, further added that these teams will play a critical role in the project during the design workshops, in the iterative development sprints, and during testing, as well as by supporting their colleagues when we go live. Moreover, he added that the project team will seek input from all stakeholders during the development and testing processes.
Many of these project team members at the kick-off have already been heavily involved in getting us to this stage. In 2022 and 2023, a core group researched potential vendors, heard presentations by vendors and attended their annual conferences, and organized reference calls with other universities. Then, during the formal Request for Proposal process, some 160 colleagues participated in vendor presentations. Altogether, these sessions totaled over 197 hours of zoom meetings. Fortunately, only a few had to attend all those zooms!
After these Tulane stakeholders weighed in with their thoughts, comments and preferences, the recommendation was clear: to select Oracle Cloud as our new platform. In fact, senior Oracle Executives joined us and spoke at the March 7 launch event about the partnership we have built and will continue to strengthen.
Similarly, to select our system integration (SI) partner, the core team led a rigorous selection process, after which we chose Drivestream as our SI. The project team has been working alongside the Drivestream team since January to prepare the project plan and team structure. This close partnership continue through go-live in early 2026 – and beyond.
At the kickoff, Drivestream’s Executive Vice President shared his thoughts on the journey we now embark on together, reminding all that we will likely face challenges at times in such a complex project but which we can surmount with effective communication and collaboration. The firm’s project manager shared her perspectives on the project plan.
With the project now kicked off, the workstreams are working hard across the three core Oracle Cloud modules in Interactive Design Requirement Workshops (IDRWs) to highlight configuration and functionality requirements. These core Oracle Cloud modules are:
- HCM, an abbreviation for Human Capital Management (HR)
- ERP, an abbreviation for Enterprise Resources Planning (Finance), and
- EPM, an abbreviation for Enterprise Performance Management (budgeting, analysis and forecasting
Celebrating WaveWorks! Contributors
On the afternoon of June 10, numerous workstream team members gathered at Copper Vine to celebrate the incredible efforts of everyone who has contributed to the WaveWorks initiative thus far.
It was a delightful event filled with good food, drinks, and great company, all in appreciation of the hard work and dedication that has driven our project forward. Executive Sponsors, Provost Robin Forman and COO Patrick Norton, expressed their gratitude to everyone for the successful conclusion of this key phase of the project.
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Who is involved in this project?
Our Executive Sponsors, Steering Committee and project Team members are all apart of this project.
What support will be provided to us for our move to Oracle Cloud?
Tulane will be closely supporting all our users in the Oracle Cloud journey with training, embedded learning right in the Oracle Cloud modules, training of super user coaches in schools and departments, reference materials, and a dedicated support team to answer queries.
Do we really need to replace our current systems?
Yes! Tulane is currently managing financial and operational needs through Oracle EBS, which reaches end-of-life in 2030. There will be minimal vendor investment in this legacy product in the next 10 years. Likewise, the current financial system setup utilizes multiple applications in silos, which hampers our ability to do business in a streamlined, integrated fashion. Some units have had to create shadow systems for data retrieval and reporting to mitigate these issues. In a recent assessment, 50% of HR-related and 30% of Finance-related processes were noted as pain-points for end users and/or central administrative staff. Finally, our systems for finance, as well as for HR, were designed and configured sub-optimally, resulting in platforms that hinder process effectiveness and efficiency, do not provide necessary analytical tools, and negatively impact the services provided to all Tulane colleagues.
Oracle Cloud will offer leading edge functionality to support our HR, finance, and budgeting processes as well as the end-user experience.
What does the term "ERP" mean?
ERP stands for “Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP),” and while this term sometimes generally refers to business enterprise-level IT platforms (and indeed we used it in this way in the past), in Oracle Cloud “ERP” has a very specific meaning: it is the Financial Module of Oracle Cloud. Therefore, at Tulane the ERP will refer specially to this Oracle Cloud finance module.
Isn’t Oracle the existing system we want to replace?
The Oracle Cloud platform is a completely different system than the Oracle EBS system in use at Tulane, a legacy Oracle product which reaches end-of-life in 2030. Oracle Cloud will offer transformative functionality to enhance our work and professional lives at Tulane. You can view the key benefits to learn more.
When will the new systems be implemented?
We anticipate going live with Oracle Cloud in January 2026. You can view the project timeline to see more.
Will I be able to contribute my thoughts, ideas, and suggestions to this project?
Absolutely! We will offer a myriad of ways for faculty and staff to contribute their thoughts, reactions,ideas, and suggestions throughout the project. In fact, we invited over 160 colleagues across Tulane in representative roles to give their input on the selection of the vendor. There will also be frequent opportunities and multiple ways for everyone to provide suggestions and comments on new work processes related to the system. Opportunities to participate will include contributing to project work streams, system testing, events such as in forums and town halls, as well as occasional user surveys. You can also reach the project team on this email: WaveWorks!@tulane.edu
What is Drivestream?
Drivestream, an Oracle Cloud Partner, has over 20 years working with 200+ organizations on transition to the cloud and has performed over 270 Oracle Cloud projects for clients. Drivestream will support us across the all phases of the project, including preparation, development, testing, launch and post-go-live support.
Advisory Committee
The Advisory Committee for the WaveWorks! Project will be composed from across all of Tulane, notably from our schools, centers, and department. The Advisory Committee will meet periodically upon achievement of milestones, to hear updates on progress. to provide important input on the direction of the project and to advise on key decision points and project plans.
ADKAR
The Prosci ADKAR® Model is one of the two foundational models of the Prosci Methodology. The word “ADKAR” is an acronym for the five outcomes an individual needs to achieve for a change to be successful: Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability and Reinforcement.
Apps
"Apps” refers to the multiple interactions of Oracle Cloud for Tulane which will be reviewed by Workstream members to ensure that the functionality meets Tulane’s needs and that our data is successfully migrated or integrated with the Oracle Cloud platform.
Drivestream
Given the breadth and complexity of the WaveWorks! project, we are partnering with a leading systems integration firm, Drivestream. We chose Drivestream as our partner after an in-depth selection process to support us across the all phases of the project, including preparation, development, testing, launch and post-go-live support.
Drivestream Academy
Drivestream Academy is a key resource for all of us at Tulane to learn more about Oracle Cloud and the core modules of the software we are deploying.
EPM
EPM is an acronym for Enterprise Performance Management. In the Oracle Cloud environment this is a module which offers functionality to support budgeting, reporting and planning. Process supported include: annual budgeting, account reconciliation, production of financial statements, multi-year forecasting, Integrated multi-system reporting and analytics, and productivity reports. The other core modules are ERP and HCM.
ERP
ERP is an acronym for Enterprise Resource Planning. At Tulane and within the Oracle Cloud environment, ERP refers to the Finance module of the Oracle Cloud suite of solutions which support all finance functions, such as grants management, expense processing, accounts payable and receivable, capital projects, procurement, and general ledger. The other core modules are HCM and EPM.
(Note, sometimes this term is used to refer broadly to an entire suite of business management software to collect, store, manage and interpret data from many business activities. But at Tulane it refers specifically - and only – to the financial software of Oracle Cloud.)
Executive Committee
The WaveWorks! Executive Committee is the ultimate leadership group leading the project. It is composed of our project’s Executive Sponsors: Patrick Norton Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer and Robin Forman Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs and Provost, project leadership, senior executives from Oracle, and leaders from Drivestream. The role of the Executive Committee is to set strategic direction for the project, provides active and visible sponsorship, communicate regularly to the project team and to the Tulane community, and to provide our Executive Sponsors with insights to make strategic decisions on issues escalated by Steering Committee.
HCM
HCM is an acronym for Human Capital Management. At Tulane and within the Oracle Cloud environment, HCM refers to the human resources module of the Oracle Cloud suite of solutions. HCM supports all HR functions, such as compensation and labor distribution; payroll, time & attendance scheduling; recruiting, talent management, and learning; employee onboarding and off-boarding; and centralized employee data/profiles. The other core modules are ERP and EPM.
IRDW
IRDW is an acronym for Interactive Requirements Design Workshop. The goal of an IRDW is to identify and validate core requirements for Tulane in each module of Oracle Cloud (ERP, HCM and EPM) so that these requirements can be integrated into the configuration of these modules for the university. Numerous IRDWs have been held at Tulane, and participants are the project.
Module
We refer to the specific functionality within Oracle Cloud as modules. For example, modules would include functionality such as accounts payable or procurement within ERP or recruitment and benefits within HCM.
Oracle Cloud
Oracle Cloud is the cloud computing service and platform offered by Oracle Corporation providing servers, storage, network, applications and services through a global network of managed data centers. After extensive research by Tulane and our intensive and rigorous request for proposal (RFP) process, involving many hours of demonstrations with the leading cloud vendors, we chose Oracle Cloud as the best fit for Tulane’s strategy, requirements and mission.
Prosci
The Prosci Methodology is recognized as a leading change management methodology utilized my organizations around the world and is being rolled out across Tulane as part of the WaveWorks! project. It is a structured, adaptable and repeatable approach to enable the people side of change and deliver organizational results. Change practitioners apply the Prosci Methodology to create change management strategies and plans that increase adoption and usage on their critical change projects and initiatives. (Source: Prosci, Inc.)
