FM Global

FM Global first deployed PeopleSoft in 1999. Throughout the years, PeopleSoft was customized without undergoing any new upgrades from Oracle. FM Global set out to optimize PeopleSoft with a Fluid Deployment and major upgrade from PUM 19 to PUM 46, including a PeopleTools Upgrade from PeopleTools 8.58 to PeopleTools 8.60.07.  

The goal of this large PUM update and tools upgrade was to move toward “upgrade proof” technology that would allow FM Global to not only “get current,” but stay current moving forward. This included the implementation of Fluid Home Pages, Dashboards, Pivot Grids, Tiles, and WorkCenters across all modules. FMG also now widely uses Elasticsearch and deployed Kibana dashboards for most modules.  The team also deployed the Match Exception Collaboration Center which greatly improved their match cycle by 80%. 

Prior to this upgrade, FM Global deployed a selective adoption approach for bug fixes but had not adopted many of the new features and functionality available. FM Global used this opportunity and new model to establish a PeopleSoft update process that has lower costs and a shorter timeframe for future Oracle releases.  

As a part of this initiative, Elire and FM Global partnered to establish a standard process to take in PeopleSoft updates and compare FM Global objects utilizing Elire’s proprietary Success Delivered accelerator and PeopleSoft Update methodology. The utilization of these tools and methodology resulted in: 

• Project timeline reductions by 60% 
• Project Cost reductions including less reliance on third party contractors, a smaller update footprint, and enhanced tracking of project details 
• Continued reduction in cost and timeline for future initiatives by lowering the need for contractor support, lowering impact to the business from testing supporting perspective, and enhanced business processes with new functionality 

The initiative also included the development of an internal tracking system utilizing Elire’s Scope Object Tracker for all customized objects. This tool allows for the identification, management, and update for custom objects including > 1600 objects for 2023 upgrade including  assignment and development tracking. The identification, tracking, and evaluation of these customizations resulted in a 12% reduction in customizations, with 157 objects removed from the customization list and 42 objects moved to new “update proof” technology.   

Elire and FM Global created efficiencies for tracking and documentation, including an easily accessible repository for all PeopleSoft scope items, with FM Global able to retire disparate systems for documentation management. This also serves as a consolidated location for technical and functional designs from all previous upgrades and work efforts. The project team also developed project tracking dashboards that included technical tracking during development and defect resolution, as well as functional tracking during new feature deployment and testing.