Implementing new software
can seem like a daunting task.
This can be compounded when the
steps and or timelines involved
are unknown.
This video will provide
information on the activities
which are required to implement
the Starfish Enterprise Success
Platform by Hobsons
segmented by individual phases.
Once a district has decided to
use the Starfish Enterprise
Success Platform by Hobsons,
the assessment and planning
process begins.
After the district has been
selected for the next round
of implementations,
the first step in this process
is to have a planning
meeting and demonstration.
After the meeting has
taken place,
a discovery document, provided
by Hobsons, will be given to
the district
to further gather information
about the current processes
and future needs.
Once Hobsons has all relavent
information,
a functional and technical
kickoff will follow.
After the kickoffs
have taken place,
weekly implementation meetings,
bi-weekly technical meetings,
and configuration training
will begin with the district.
These meetings begin with the
college implementation teams
signing off on program
specifications,
and transferring of necessary
data to the Starfish Enterprise
Success Platform
The implementation should
consist of representatives from:
Counselors, Admissions & Records
Scheduling, IT, Departments &
Programs, and Marketing.
During the first phase
priorities, goals, and
a timeline are established.
A Hobsons implementation
specialist will work
with each college
to build the project plan
and timeline.
The second phase of the process
consists of three concurrent
stages.
The second and third stages are
dependent on which products
the district has chosen 
to implement.
The first of these stages
is the data integration stage.
This stage involves Hobsons
building and testing
the information flow
from the district.
Once this is complete,
the integrations are
evaluated in their respective
test environments
and eventually, in
the production environment
The second stage,
system configuration,
involves
tasks required to get the
college prepared for operation.
This begins with regularly
scheduled trainings, which are
typically one-hour calls,
provided by a Hobsons 
implementation specialist
and includes the college's
functional and technical
project teams.
Following this, the 
configurations for the
Early Alert and Connect 
tools are completed.
These configurations are
verified within the test
environment,
and eventually
production environment.
Concurrently, training materials
are developed for use by
the district.
The third stage,
Program Configuration,
is only necessary if the
college has chosen to
use the Degree Planner.
Program Configuration begins 
with Hobsons building
150 of a college's programs
in Degree Planner.
Once the programs have
been built,
Hobsons and the college project
team establish a testing plan
to verify the integrity
of the data.
That team carries out testing
and data validation.
A round of edits typically
follow testing, followed
by more data validation
which usually completes this
phase of the configuration.
The final phase consists of a
last round of testing followed
by deployment.
Once the products have been
installed in a college's
production environment,
they will verify their
program configuration
in that environment.
Once the previous work has been
completed or while that work
is being carried out,
training materials will be
developed for the district
to use.
This will be followed by
end-user training and
product promotion
with district faculty, staff,
administrators and students.
At this point, the product
will be ready for launch.
Once the Starfish Enterprise
Success Platform by Hobsons
has been implemented,
a “Go-Live” Milestone Meeting
will be held to indicate
its completion.
There are two
Post-Implementation Activities
that will need to occur.
The first is an Outcomes
and Adoption Analysis.
This will be completed 90 days
from the
“Go-Live” Milestone Meeting
and again another 90 days later.
A different audience is
required for each analysis.
This has been a brief overview
of the steps involved in
implementing the
Starfish Enterprise Success
Platform by Hobsons.
For more information about the
EPI Program, please log onto
www.cccedplan.org.
There you can find additional
information as well as resources
to assist you.
