Spring’21 Update: Revised High-Level Project Timeline and More

Since the implementation phase began, in spring 2018, we’ve learned a lot.

We’ve successfully implemented two compliance modules — Animal Care and Use and COI/NOI — and we’re well on the way to building our first two sponsored programs modules, Proposal Tracking and Award Tracking. But it’s going to take us longer than first anticipated to reach the finish line.

We recently revised our high-level timeline. As you can see above, we currently anticipate that Proposal Tracking and Award Tracking (PT/AT) — which will work in tandem to replace and substantially improve upon the functionality of RADAR — will go live in late fall 2021. Work on the Proposal Development module, which will replace PINS and allow for system-to-system proposal submissions like Cayuse and similar software, will begin just after the launch of PT/AT.

For a better look at the new graphic, visit our Timeline page.

What we’ve learned

Our initial timeline was aggressive, as initial timelines ought to be. But our existing systems work, and we’ll continue striving to minimize impacts on day-to-day operations.

“We know that our existing systems get the job done, so there’s no reason to rush things,” Project Manager Rick Liston says. “We’re going to deliver the best product possible at launch — and we’re going to keep the business of NC State research running smoothly in the process.”

While we were able to launch the COI/NOI module amidst a pandemic, the unique challenges of these unprecedented times have affected our work as much as anyone else. More importantly, however, we’ve had to allow more time than we thought to adapt our business processes to best take advantage of our new system.

And because we’re committed to the continuous improvement of the RED system throughout its lifetime, we’ve had to devote additional bandwidth to that effort. We’re excited to bring new modules online as soon as we can, but it’s equally important that we continue to ensure the Animal Care and Use and COI/NOI modules are performing as efficiently as possible.

We’ve also built more time into our schedule for user acceptance testing and acclimating core users. Moving forward, we want to do an even better job of making sure those who need to use RED every day are comfortable with the system.

Input from the NC State research community remains critical to the success of the ERA Project.

Visit our Contact page or simply send an email to era-project@ncsu.edu if you have any questions about our new timeline or would like to provide other feedback.