IT

Change Management
K ARL SU ITS
TEC H NO LO GY CO O RDI NATO R
HANGZHO U INTERNATIO NAL SC HO O L
Who currently uses
ManageBac
Open Apply
iSAMS
a staff portal
a parent portal
The Evaluation Process
The Evaluation Process
• Map out the current systems overview
• Check with other departments and stakeholders to make sure you understand how it is
working
• Is it working now or is it broken? Does it work the way everyone thinks?
• What can be gained from change and is it worth it?
Reasons for Change Continuum
Emergency Flawed Nice to Have

1. Data is incomplete or inconsistent between systems

2. School face to the public is not good enough
(functional + informative + organized + visually appealing and branded)
3. Broken or missing areas are not being performed by a machine or human
4. Re-enrollment
5. School Online Shop
6. After School Sign Ups
7. School Online Theater Sign Ups
8. Social Media Targets
9. Information on visitors to website, where they come from
10. Systems are not accomplishing what is needed
The Holy Grail
Single Sign On (SSO)
• Single Sign On between applications
• You sign in once to the web portal and you are granted access to all other
applications/systems without having to sign in again.
• Works across all devices
API Data Integration
• API stands for Application Programming Interface
• It is the highway that integrates data between programs
• It is like an Ebike Food delivery service that takes a menu item (data value) in its menu
location (key) to Homeowner’s Kitchen in its correct Pantry spot.
• Structured data that provides information
API Data Integration
Data Integration is when the different software systems communicate with one and other on a regular
basis to update data. It can be a 1 way street or a 2 way street.
Example 2-way integration
LMS API MIS
When the data field “Mother Email 1” is turned on in the API. If you update the Mother email address in
either the MIS or LMS, then it updates both

Example 1-way integration

LMS API MIS
When the data field “Mother Email 1” is turned on in the API. If you update the Mother email address in
the MIS, then it updates the LMS. If you update the “Mother Email 1” in the LMS then it is overwritten by
the MIS value. If API is turned off for that data field, then both stay separate

Downloading and uploading excel data sheets between systems as the way of maintaining data integrity between systems
Groups Driven Portal
• The constituent is a member of various groups and receives targeted news, calendars,
notifications as part of that group within the web portal.
• Example groups a parent could be a member of simultaneously
◦ All School
◦ Upper School
◦ Grade 9
◦ Model United Nations
◦ Varsity Girls Volleyball
◦ All Parents
Example Web Portal
• Single Sign On to Web Apps
• Documents
• Calendar
• Files
• Announcements
• News
• Important Links
• Student Data with a button to contact the
secretary if data is out of date (later on
this will integrate with Central Database)

• Forced funneling into a portal is certainly annoying to constituents at first, is it what is best?
• Portals must have value added
The Implementation Process
CALENDAR
Master
Schedule
Document
(shared with all
stakeholders)
Systems Implementation Schedule
Launch and Rollout
• Check and test again and again and again before launch or rollout, a failed launch is a failed
system
• Be present during the actual moment of launch and monitor
• Avoid launching mid-year
• Do not launch with a poor, difficult and not-yet-working-the-way-it-should product. If it is not
working now, it is not going to work later

When dealing with parents, appearance is essential. They don’t need to know the behind-the-scenes, the stresses or what is
happening in the future. If it is working for them now, they are already fine. Same goes for staff. Avoid upsetting people.
Working With Other Departments
Have the support of your School Head/Director of School
Create and share a schedule
Don’t overpromise
Be transparent
Listen
Organize
◦ Flow chart from enquiry to enrollment
Where the work is done initially is where it needs to stay, don’t overlap departments once your
system is implemented.
It is not about departmental work loads, it is about what makes the most sense.
Contact information