Projects

Planned, inflight and operational work related to IST projects is available in the tables below. Project related resources, including methodology information, tools and templates, facilities, and information about the Portfolio Management Office, can be found on the Project Management Office website.

IST project portfolio

Project details last updated March 18, 2024

Summary

Description

Assignee

Start date

Project Type 

Project link

EDI Data

This project involves creation and implementation of an enhancement to the student record in Quest to enable the capture of equity data. It also involves implementing a governance structure to support requests for access to the data.

Wendy Hague

21/Mar/22

Business Process & service

 

IT Energy Optimization Project

The Green IT Committee has identified an ‘IT Energy Optimization’ project as a strategic priority. The project purpose is to identify available internal and cloud metrics (e.g. AWS, Azure) to measure, assess and monitor IT energy use related to IT system assets with the goal to optimize IT energy usage.

In addition, the project will conduct informational interviews around IT energy optimization at external peer institutions to identify additional operational activities. With this information, a recommendation report will be produced outlining proposed IT Energy Optimization activities, their feasibility and suggested timelines for implementation.

The term sustainability is commonly defined as the responsible use of resources to meet the needs of today, without compromising the needs of future generations. The goal of this project is to ensure the responsible use of resources to meet the needs of today by reducing carbon expenditures tied to IT energy use on campus.

Stasia Poriz

10/Apr/23

   

RFP to identify a strategic partner and service provider for WIL projects

The Centre for WIL is looking for a partner to provide end-to-end sourcing and facilitation of Work-integrated-learning projects for students participating in WIL programs. The partner must have a deep well of industry contacts and sources, the ability to source large numbers of WIL projects quickly and regularly, and the capacity to manage and facilitate students' WIL experience. This project is for the RFP process to select a partner.

Bob Wallwork

11/Mar/24

Business Process & service

 

Endpoint Management - Implementation

This project will focus on implementing the outcomes from the Endpoint Management – Consultations project.  It will concentrate on the knowledge acquired from the Consultations project with regards to the UW community’s business needs and requirements to implement an endpoint system. 

Diana Timmermans

01/Mar/23

Business Process & service

 

Evolving the Edtech Ecosystem

This project involves implementation of various improvement initiatives identified by the Teaching & Learning group at their biennial planning session.

Wendy Hague

01/Mar/21

Business Process & service

 

Athlete & Coach Management System (Univerus AIS)

This project undertakes to implement a case management system to meet the operational needs of the university’s Athletics Department. Currently, Athletics is performing case [Athlete & Coach] -management operations without a case management system. The Current Process being used rely heavily on various tools, the Athletics website [http://athletics.uwaterloo.ca ], desktop tools (MS Excel, MS Word, etc.), and manual effort to track data submitted. The goal of the present effort is to migrate the relevant operations/Processes to a comprehensive case management system that allows for the secure storage, tracking, and management of the sensitive information they handle. Consolidate registration process for student-athletes, serve as database for S.A[Student Athletes]. information, receive travel requests, schedule custom courses for S.A.’s + coaches, track AFA submissions, act as communication tool between coaches/S.A.’s, Transfers athlete data year-over-year until the student-athlete graduates

Chijioke Momegha

12/Jul/22

Information System

 

Sustainable IT Procurement Guidelines

Identify and create Sustainable IT requirements guidelines to include in the software and hardware procurement process

Stasia Poriz

25/Apr/23

Organization Governance Policy & Standards

 

e-Procurement System Implementation

The project includes the implementation of the finance system modules for eProcurement/Invoicing/Digital Invoice Capture and the integrations between Jaggaer and Unit4. The new system will deliver a fully functioning and automated process to increase efficiency and generate cost savings in Procurement and Accounts Payable activities

Stasia Poriz

20/Nov/23

   

OnBase Replacement 2.0

The purpose of this project is to complete the remaining work to remove any dependencies for OnBase, a document management tool, for Finance, Grad Awards, Grad Records and UG Records.

Dolapo Oladiran

30/Nov/23

   

Media Services transfer from IST to Library

The purpose of this project is to transfer media acquisition, media collections and resources that support curriculum, instruction and research from IST to the Library.

Maher Shinouda

29/Nov/23

   

LEARN Infrastructure Improvements

LEARN is the University’s learning management system, administered by ITMS in IST. When LEARN was implemented many good decisions were made. As we look to the future and we look toward the next phase of use of LEARN, we want to see what areas can be improved for the future. This project will focus on infrastructure opportunity for improvement and investigate whether there are achievable solutions. If there are solutions, this project will document them. A next phase of the project will implement the solutions.

The five opportunities for improvement this project will focus on are:

  1. Email – When LEARN was implemented, the solution did not support Waterloo’s recommended configuration. However, a number of years have passed, and it is anticipated this might have changed. It is worth investigating to see if this possible. This will need to be investigated with the vendor, ITMS, and TIS.
  2. WatIAM – LEARN has an Active Directory integration rather than a WatIAM integration. Since this is the case, we want to look at the code and possibly start anew with a WatIAM integration if that would produce benefits. The first step is to investigate and understand the current integration. Also, the existing code inaccurately assumes that user identities don’t get reused or changed. It will be investigated whether this can be rectified.
  3. External email addresses – the current process is to use UWaterloo email addresses for notifications generated within LEARN. This process will be investigated further to learn if it is possible to integrate external email addresses as well. There are several advantages to enabling the sending of email to external addresses but there are also concerns that need to be addressed. If LEARN could send to external addresses, departments that do not have students in academic programs could receive email through LEARN. Concerns about external emails address the lack of ability to affirm if the email was received. The solution we would look for is the use of UWaterloo email addresses when they are available, and for cases where the user does not a working external email would be used.

4. Giving LEARN access to community members who do not yet have UWaterloo email accounts – the team will examine possible opportunities for improvement. It is not unusual for the LEARN team to receive requests for potential students to receive access to LEARN to view relevant videos or training materials before matriculation. It would be beneficial in many circumstances to be able to accommodate this request.

5. The team will examine whether integration with the student administration system, Quest, may be helpful. Currently, grades need to be entered manually in Quest from LEARN. Automation of grades between Quest and LEARN would address concerns such as accuracy and the amount of time it takes to re-enter grades into Quest.

Tara Hillis

17/Nov/23

   

Public Website Accessibility Remediation

Public websites at the University of Waterloo are required to be AODA compliant by December 31, 2024. This project will support to work to achieve and maintain compliance. The project starts with planning and the purchase of a web accessibility monitoring solution that will be used to actively monitor and report on University of Waterloo webspace for AODA compliance.

Connie van Oostveen

03/Apr/23

   

Security Awareness Training

Based on recommendations in the 2019 review, and the prominence of phishing and other cybersecurity threats our University community faces, this project will look at the implementation of mandatory security awareness training modules for staff, faculty and students.

Maher Shinouda

12/Apr/22

   

EDGE Certificate Program - System search

RFP process to select a system to support EDGE business processes. Initiative includes system acquisition, implementation, and related system- and data-interfaces with campus systems. Core business functionality is identifying, validating, managing, and reporting on students enrolled in EDGE-certificate program.

Bob Wallwork

30/Jun/23

Information System

 

Fusion(Transition to cloud) & FusionPlay (module change)

Fusion is moving their application to a SaaS platform and slowly moving all On-Premises instances to Cloud solutions. Moving the application and database servers away from the University data center and over to the Fusion environment (AWS)

Also, Fusion (Innosoft) is ending their Intramural Product (FusionIM) and replacing it with a product called Fusion Play.

Chijioke Momegha

27/Feb/24

   

SIS Projects Winter 2024

This initiative contains items being worked on in SIS Projects during the Winter 2024 term.

Aarik Vander Eyken

01/Jan/24

   

Faculty Lifecycle Information Management System RFP

The goal of this project is to select a system that would act as a single source of truth for faculty lifecycle information management for use across all faculties. Utilizing a shared solution across faculties will aid in cohesion and improve aspects of efficiency, redundancies, and unforced errors.

Stasia Poriz

15/Jan/24

   

Emergency Notification System Procurement and Implementation

Based on the outcome of the ENS process and system review project, a decision was made to proceed with a Request for Proposal (RFP) through an expedited procurement process. This project will focus on the procurement and implementation of Waterloo’s new emergency notification system.

Funmi Onikan

20/Nov/23

   

Evaluate Campus Incident System Replacement Options

The purpose of this project is to evaluate the cost and benefits of possible options for replacing the CIS and make a recommendation of which option should be pursued.

Dawn MacDonald

26/Sep/23

   

IST-IS Power Apps Investigation

Power Apps is a part of the Microsoft Power Platform which also includes tools like Power Automate, Power BI that many of us on campus may already be familiar with. In the past the licensing costs for Power Apps has been quite prohibitive but as the pricing model appears to have changed to make it more accessible, it would make sense to understand the value the tool could bring to our campus community.

This initiative will look to understand the:

  • Functionality of Power Apps to see where it could fit as part of the IST-IS centralized toolkit
  • Features that are included as part of the licensing and/or if there’s any different levels of license that would impact exactly what feature we could use

If possible, prototyping a relevant use case would be ideal.

Annie Au

26/Jul/23

   

Outline Implementation Project

Increase the awareness and adoptability of the Outline application developed by Faculty of Science among all faculties to provide better user experiences by having course syllabi in a centralized repository, and to provide a consistent look and feel to faculties and students. This project will also investigate whether Outline can track the type of course offerings to have a clear glimpse of the university’s overall course portfolio. 

Pavol Chvala

02/May/23

   

WatCard OneCard to Cloud

Move the OneCard system from on-prem to the vendor’s cloud offering.

Dawn MacDonald

03/Feb/23

   

Immigration Consulting CRM

The Immigration Consultants handle a variety of student cases and management of processes for international students related to visas, study permits, work permits, etc. They are in need of a case management tool to assist them with the storage and organization of this confidential information. The goal of the Immigration Consultants CRM project is to provide the Immigration Consultants with a tool that allows them to easily keep track of student information, case notes, documents, and decisions, share these with colleagues while keeping them secure. This will increase efficiency, improve confidence in decision making and reporting, and allow for easier transition of cases between staff.

Melissa Blewitt

09/Sep/22

   

Classroom Technology Renewal Project

This project commits funding and resources towards technology in the University’s centrally funded Registrar’s Office classrooms. The improvements and upgrades of these spaces are planned over a period of at least 3 years, having started in 2021. 

The renewal work, which will occur over different periods of time, has been covered through a combination of university funding and the Ministry of Colleges and Universities Training and Equipment Renewal Fund (TERF). Upgrades will include hybrid collaborative AV technology, upgraded projectors and other AV system components, classroom renovations, an active learning classroom, and the creation of an educational technologies (EdTech) sandbox classroom. 

Pam Fluttert

01/Dec/21

   

Next Generation Access Control

The Access Control project was developed to address the growing concerns of security at the University of Waterloo.  Under the Ontario Health and Safety Act, the University is committed to safeguarding the well-being of its employees, students, and campus visitors.  This project aims to modernize and improve physical access security on campus through a structured approach with a vision and goal to formalize access control.

Diana Timmermans

01/Nov/23

   

Network core refresh

Refreshing end of life equipment in the network core, performance/speed improvements will be gained.

Matthew Verlis

01/Nov/23

   

IT Governance Refresh

The purpose of the “IT Governance Refresh” is to first develop specific recommendations related to the IT governance model on how to enhance the University of Waterloo community's IT experience by addressing concerns related to decision-making processes, committee structures, and prioritization approaches. Following recommendation endorsement, activities will occur to contribute to updating the current IT Governance framework.

By fostering a cohesive, federated approach to IT Governance, the aim is to empower our user community and ensure effective decision-making, ultimately delivering enhanced value, streamlined processes, and improved visibility of IT activities to both central and distributed units and staff.

Nathan Lee

08/Jan/24

   

The Centre Queuing RFP

The purpose of this project is to put out an RFP and evaluate options for software that can provide queuing and appointment-booking support to The Centre. These two key components of The Centre’s service model, appointment booking and queueing, are currently being delivered by Q-nomy’s Q-flow system. The current Q-flow contract expires in 2023. Procurement has informed the project team that a new RFP must begin in early 2023.

Melissa Blewitt

02/Jan/23

Information System

 

Governance Portal RFP

The University of Waterloo’s Secretariat team requires Governance Portal Software to assist in providing support to Board, Senate, and administrative committees on a regular basis.  The software platform/portal will store and manage meeting materials and related governance documents, resource/reference materials and it will assist in transparent, asynchronous communications.

Dawn MacDonald

29/Nov/23

   

OHS Software RFP

The purpose of this project is to transform the operational management of the Safety Office. This transformation involves procuring a unified and efficient system that integrates a broad spectrum of functionalities. Ultimately, this system will become the central hub for addressing all safety-related matters within the university.

Chijioke Momegha

01/Nov/23

   

Update CVNAT

Update the CVNAT (Copyright Violation Notice Automation Tool) to use current UW networking tools and information sources so that it is more robust.

Dawn MacDonald

 

Business Process & service

 

Email Improvements

The purpose of this project is to implement the recommendations on email routing at the University as defined by a technical working group. These recommendations are intended to address audit requirements, improve the reputation of uwaterloo.cain the terms of email, and enhance overall email productivity and efficiency at the University.

Wendy Hague

31/Jan/20

Business Process & service

https://uwaterloo.ca/microsoft-365/

Co-op Interview Paging Services Upgrade

CEE hosts high volumes of on-site, in-person co-op interviews. Interview operations rest on an increasingly unstable and unsupportable paging technology. This initiative aims to replace this technology with a robust and supportable paging/queuing solution. The objective is to mitigate operational risks in in-person interview days as well as to enable CEE to expand interviews beyond their current physical location in the Tatham Centre.

Bob Wallwork

01/Oct/21

Information System

 

Campus Response and Support - Case Management System

Two campus response-and-support units, the Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Office (SVPRO) and the Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Anti-racism (EDI-R), are co-operating on the selection of a case management system to facilitate the services that they provide to the campus community. This initiative covers all aspects of the system search, including but not limited to: Project management, Business analysis, environmental scanning and research, procurement, selection, and system implementation.

Project co-sponsored by: Chris Read; Chris Taylor; Anne Paulson

Bob Wallwork

03/Jun/22

Information System

 

Academic Calendars and Curriculum Management

A project to replace the current Academic Calendars for graduate and undergraduate calendars, incorporating curriculum management and course syllubi functions, is being launched. The first phase of the project will include gathering of requirements, procurement, evaluation and contracting of a solution. Subsequent phases will implement the solution.

Nathan Lee

01/Mar/21

Information System

 

IT Review

With the upcoming retirement of the CIO and the need to provide continuity with a new CIO, a request to provide an update on the IT Review recommendations, and the lessening of pandemic work, it is an appropriate time to formally structure, bring accountability, visibility and awareness, and make some progress where reasonable on the implementation of recommendations.

Connie van Oostveen

07/Feb/22

Organization Governance Policy & Standards

https://uwaterloo.ca/it-review

Undergraduate Admissions Slate Implementation

The purpose of the project is to implement Slate by Technolutions for undergraduate (UG) Admissions at the university. Slate is expected to enhance the applicant experience, streamline the admissions process, improve reporting, and eliminate existing risks, such as reliance on OnBase, which is no longer supported.

Wendy Hague

01/Dec/23

   

AAS Case Management RFP

The purpose of this project is to procure a CRM/Case Management tool for AccessAbillity Services (AAS) for use once their current agreement with Accessible Information Management LLC expires in 2025.  

Traci Dow

04/May/23

   

Mercury - Housing support

Develop and support Housing operations in the Mercury enterprise system.

Ensure that the full range of student’s life in residences is supported including applying for residences, mass allocation, fee assessment, integration with other campus systems etc.

Dana Mohapl

     

Graduate Recruitment and Admissions Transformation Project (phase 2)

Slate went live in late October of 2021, focussed on a minimal viable product implementation, which was replacing the OUAC interface. The next phase of the project will be to review processes, implement workflows and other work to transform the recruitment and admissions processes for graduate students. OnBase replacement and interactions with Quest are also included.

Diana Timmermans

01/Oct/21

   

IST program portfolio

Program details last updated October 2023

Name Description Contact Start date End date Program link
Embedding Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Anti-Racism (EDI-R) in IST services The purpose of this new program is to permanently alter the ongoing operations and service delivery of the IST department in ways that incorporate EDI-R practices in the day-to-day work of IST staff. Anne Paulson August 2023  

Embedding EDI-R in IST Services