University of California, Irvine

ContractPro University of California, Irvine

Application of the 2009 Larry L. Sautter Award for Innovative Information Technology

Project Submitter David Cortez, Employee Relations Consultant Human Resources Department 111 Theory, Suite 200 Irvine, CA 92697-4600 [email protected], (949) 824-7276 [email protected], (949) 824-0076

1 Project Team David Cortez (leader), Employee & Labor Relations, Human Resources Department Christa Chen (leader), Programmer/Analyst, Administrative Computing Services Maria Teider, Business Analyst, Compensation, Human Resources Department.

To generate campus support and meet customer demands a campus wide workgroup was created. The members were Harriet Whitmyer, University Extension; Kristine Evans, Facilities Management; Phil Wang, Athletics; Michelle Johnson, Design and Construction Services; and Alice Uyekawa, Student Health Centers.

Summary ContractPro, an employment contract web tool, streamlines and improves compliance with policy in the creation and approval for employment contracts. This self-service interface utilizes workflow to automate the creation and approval of standard employment contracts. ContractPro features include:  Contract templates  Look up icons  Customization options  Tracking  Electronic signature for Human Resources approval

Prior to 2008, departments at UCI created employment contracts using different contract templates with many variations in provisions and benefits levels. Consequently, Human Resources representatives noticed increased litigation and compliance issues. This tool is designed to standardize our language and practices and thereby reduce complaints, and reduce campus liability.

Project Description ContractPro facilitates the creation of employment contracts based on web templates that save time for managers and ensure compliance with UC policies. This web tool includes contract templates, look up icons, customization options, tracking feature for the contract submitter, and an automatic Human Resources signature for standard contracts. Also, ContractPro routes contract to the appropriate HR representative when the customization triggers a review and provides contract renewal alerts to ensure contracts are renewed in a timely basis.

The Contract Tool Data Flow Diagram (Exhibit 1) displays the contract review process including the key steps such as contact creation, submission to approval, electronic approval, HR Consultant review, and approval notification. Exhibit 1

2 ContractPro features include:

 Creation of an efficient and time-saving contract wizard application, with friendly self documenting and flexible user interface. Exhibit 2 displays the Contract Details page and the corresponding contract language page. Exhibit 2

3  Creation of look up icons such as salary pay range information to save time for managers who don’t have salary ranges memorized or drop down option such as the notification options termination or renewal of contract. Exhibit 2 and 3 display the look up icon salary grade (PSS-L) and the drop down options (30 days or 60 days) for termination notice.  Creation of a rich data visualization for customization of templates  Creation of an uncomplicated amendment process  Creation of an electronic signature and routing of contracts to create a seamless workflow. Exhibit 4 shows tracking information so contract submitter may monitor the date contract was submitted and the date approved by HR.  Implementation of reporting functionalities for better management of contracts

Exhibit 3

Exhibit 4

4 URLs: HOW TO: Use Contract Pro- for Hiring Managers http://snap.uci.edu/viewXmlFile.jsp?resourceID=3162 Note: includes a five minute electronic demonstration. The link is located at the bottom of the HOW TO procedure.

Electronic Demonstration of Contract Pro http://apps.adcom.uci.edu/expresso/econtent/Content.do?resource=3259

ContractPro https://apps.adcom.uci.edu/expresso_hr/quickreq/ContractWizard.do

Expresso Open Source Application Development Framework http://www.jcorporate.com/

LiquidBPM Drala Workflow Engine http://www.cardiff.com/products/liquidbpm_sdk/index.html

Job Title and Pay Plan for Staff http://datawarehouse.uci.edu/HRTitlePay/main.jsp

QuickReq https://apps.adcom.uci.edu/expresso_hr/apps/components/quickreq/jsp/home.jsp

Data Warehouse http://datawarehouse.uci.ed

Technology Utilized ContractPro runs on Apache Web Server and Tomcat Java Application Server environment and uses Microsoft SQL Server for database storage. Java was selected in large part for its platform portability and vendor independence, which also makes it more feasible to implement ContractPro at other sites. Although Microsoft SQL server is the current database server for the application, the implementation could migrate to other relational database with very few changes in configuration as stored procedures, database triggers, and other vendor-specific calls are not used.

Web pages are generated using a variety of technologies including HTML, XML, XSLT, JavaScript, JSP and Tag Library. Contract templates are stored in XML, which is the standardized method of storing structured data that is both human and machine readable. Contracts stored in XML are then formatted by XSLT to be displayed on the web. Separating content from its formatting makes it easier to reuse the content in other applications or for other presentation environment.

ContractPro is J2EE compliant, built on top of the Expresso open source application development framework and followed the Model-View-Controller architecture which

5 allows the user interface to be separated from the business rules. Access control is maintained by SAMS (Security Access Management System), a system built in Java to support campus de-centralized security access management. Access authorization is delegated to security officers in campus departments.

ContractPro also utilizes the DRALA Workflow Engine to manage the lifecycle of a new, as well as renewed contract. Automating processes using workflow results in improved efficiency, tracking, and throughput. It also provides the availability of an audit trail. ContractPro also relies on OpenLDAP and uPortal to surface the workflow tasks to campus Portal users.

In addition, ContractPro is coupled with other homegrown online tools for compliance with UC policies. For example, QuickReq is used to ensure the contract has passed budget and classification review. Job Title and Pay Information for Staff is queried by ContractPro to validate salary and grade inputs. Data Warehouse is used to look up and populate user related information.

Timeframe of Implementation Phase I and II of ContractPro was released to production. An enhancement request has been submitted to incorporate customized Athletic Department contracts in the future.

Phase I release: 01/16/2008 Major features: manage the life cycle of an employment contract, automatic signature.

Phase II release: 02/04/2009 Major features: contract renewal, reports.

Phase II enhancement target release date: 08/2009 Customize templates for the Athletic Department.

Customer Satisfaction I have used ContractPro several times and found it a very useful tool. There are two main advantages. First, I only have to fill in pertinent information- all other verbiage is there and consistent with University policy. Second, the HR authorization (signature) comes back electronically- this is huge, as in the past I had to send it over to central HR and on occasion the paperwork got lost.

Kristien Evans Facilities Management Human Resources Manager (949) 824-9392 [email protected]

6 ContractPro has been very convenient. When it first came out, there were a few glitches, but we were able to work around them with the help of the HR office and the programming staff from Administrative Computing Services. This time around, it has been very easy. I especially like the renewal application. That has made it incredibly easy to revise the contract slightly and renew it. Plus, the turn around time from HR is very fast. All in all, it's a great program and the enhancements have made it even better.

Peggy Munhall Personnel Manager Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences Irvine, CA 92697-3425 Phone 949-824-1963 [email protected]

I’ve used ContractPro and was very excited when this was developed. The template is great and I love the fact that we can edit to suit our individual needs. The salary calculations from monthly to hourly is definitely a plus. This certainly is better than the old cut and paste system we’ve had in the past.

Alice Uyekawa Administrative Assistant UCI Student Health Center Ph: 949-824-7010

ContractPro has streamlined our contract creation process in a several ways. The wizard makes it easy to input data and by linking it to the requisition I feel that the potential for errors is reduced. Additionally, ContractPro offers us an immediate turnaround from HR for signatures on standard contracts. I also like having the flexibility to customize the contract if necessary. It’s been a very valuable process improvement tool. Michelle Johnson Office Coordinator Design & Construction Services 949-824-7998 phone | [email protected]