The Michigan State University Board of Trustees authorized the MSU Enterprise Business Systems Project on October 20, 2006. It directed the project to replace and upgrade existing financial, research administration and human resource systems. The overall goal is to design an updated set of electronic administrative tools that can be used by faculty and staff to accomplish the business goals of Michigan State University. These tools, when combined with clear direction and effective processes, create the supporting environment needed by an advancing university.

Executive leadership has identified four core, high-level goals for the new systems to accomplish. These goals are:

• an increased flexibility pertaining to the speed and ease of implementing modifications in response to changing conditions and the ability to create new or revised organizations to deal with opportunities and challenges
• an approach to data and information that makes both appropriately open, transparent and secure for those who work with the systems
• a capacity to delegate decision-making authority to appropriate levels and roles, and
• an improved documentation process and higher degrees of standardization in the way the university accomplishs common tasks across campus.

Understanding the goals of the university and their impact on the people, processes and technology is the first step in designing the new systems. All systems must meet the needs of both the units and the university. This includes a set of business processes that work seamlessly from the unit or department to the central administration.