FAQs | One Washington

General

What is One Washington?

The state’s current project, One Washington, is intended to modernize the enterprise administrative functions for finance, procurement, budget, human resources and payroll. These functions will move to a cloud-based tool that the tech industry calls an “enterprise resource planning” (ERP) system. Washington’s modernization effort will touch all state agencies, the three branches of state government, institutions of higher education, businesses that sell goods and services to the state, and many state residents – which makes the project an enormous undertaking. The initial priority for the project is the state’s financial reporting system (AFRS), built on 1960s-era COBOL technology. Interruption of AFRS’ ability to make $4.3 billion in monthly payments is a risk and would impact more than 60,000 employees, over 35,000 vendor payments, and the 70,000 individuals who rely on critical support -- and in many cases, this would have consequences upon our most needy and vulnerable populations. Recovery could take days, if not weeks to resolve, and be costly.

The state legislature’s first investment on this journey occurred in 2013 with the authorization for a business case. The final report was the foundation for subsequent strategic planning and research in which the Legislature has continued to invest. The program office is now ready to begin multi-biennia implementation activities. The program has selected Workday as the subscription-based solution vendor as well as Deloitte Consulting as the system integrator to lead the effort to connect the SaaS solution to state systems. Implementation activities kicked off in January of 2021 and the new finance system will go live in fiscal year 2023.

One aspect of the effort includes updating how the state purchases items and streamlining the process into one centralized system. This will allow the state to leverage billions of dollars in annual buying power across the variety of goods and services it buys, and magnify the ability to be even more responsible with taxpayer resources.

What is an ERP?

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is a set of common business practices and a software system that implements core business practices across an organization. A complete ERP system combines business functions (finance, procurement, budget, payroll and HR) across an organization’s main resources – its people, money, information and assets – and provides decision makers with real-time enterprise information.

By implementing an ERP solution and transforming the processes that support the state’s business, One Washington will help ensure decision makers have access to data that is accurate and timely, standardize common business processes across agencies and improve service delivery. Our ERP 101 guide will provide you with additional details and information.

Why is the state doing this now?

The state is modernizing its core administrative systems to address the inefficiencies of old technology, the inherent and compounding risks of aging systems, and to improve its ability to deliver services in an on-demand world. The state and its agencies can expect thorough research into individual agency needs and support and transparency throughout this change. The change will take place in a phased, 6-year implementation starting with the state's outdated financial systems.

Washington state’s financial accounting systems (such as AFRS and TRAINS) are obsolete, expensive to maintain, are supported by a shrinking pool of resources, and expose the state to risks. Procurement systems are fragmented and not integrated, causing extra work and hindering the state’s ability to take advantage of best practices and negotiate best possible pricing. Likewise, budgeting systems are not well integrated, compromising the ability to analyze data and information. The HR/payroll system (HRMS) will soon be 15 years old.

For more information about why the state has chosen to pursue this change now, please see our AFRS case for change one-pager.

Is the One Washington program supported by Governor Inslee and Legislature?

Yes. The governor first requested funding in 2013 for a business case. A final report to the Legislature was delivered in early 2014. Then came funding for research and planning. In 2019, attention turned to implementation funding. The Legislature has been investing in One Washington since the initial request.

More recently, Governor Jay Inslee signed an executive order that directs Washington state agencies to update many of the state’s technology systems via the One Washington program. These systems help the state continue uninterrupted services to Washingtonians and are overdue for important and more current technology updates. The order comes in support of the One Washington program to modernize the enterprise administrative functions for finance, procurement, budget, human resources and payroll.

How much money did One Washington receive from the supplemental budget request?

On April 3, 2020, the governor signed the supplemental budget bill providing $20.065 million to the One Washington program.

Can you tell me about oversight of the modernization effort – what is in place to make sure this is a success?

An executive steering committee provides strategic oversight and direction for the state's modernization efforts. Because the modernization includes aspects of information technology the legislature designated the project as part of the Office of the Chief Information Officer's responsibility to ensure the success and transparency of business-driven major IT investments, which maintains a dashboard for One Washington activities here. Additionally, One Washington benefits from the services of an independent quality assurance contractor, Bluecrane, which produces monthly reports that are also available on the OCIO's One Washington dashboard.

Does my agency have the option to opt in/out of using the new ERP?

Executive branch agencies may not opt out of preparing for the One Washington systems modernization. More information can be found in the governor’s executive order laying out the vision and expectations. To varying degrees, the other two branches of state government and higher education will also be impacted, primarily because they will share data with core enterprise systems.

Each state agency/institution has identified an Agency Support Team (AST) lead who can provide more information about the specific impacts at the agency level.

Why is this change necessary for the state and my agency?

Replacing the Agency Financial Reporting System (AFRS) and WSDOT’s Transportation Reporting Accounting and Information System (TRAINS) with a modern system is necessary in order to take advantage of the latest technology, attract and retain employees to make their jobs easier, and provide better access to data for more efficient decision-making. The back-office systems that support the missions and functions of the state of Washington and serve the needs of its constituency were built during a time of smaller budgets, less personnel and fewer constituent needs. The systems are aging, poorly integrated with one another, require heroic efforts by staff to operate and pose identifiable risks. Today’s expectations of “on-demand” decision-making and greater transparency and accountability are hard to achieve with the current systems in place.

We have pursued this initiative in the past, what is being done differently to complete the project this time?

We now have: (1) Increased executive sponsorship, including (Executive Order 19-04), (2) Engagement with agencies through the OCM program (e.g. agency readiness and engagement meetings, Agency Support Teams (ASTs), (3) In-depth research and analysis into leading practices from other statewide ERP/ Workday implementations, (4) Engagement with industry partners and experts in the ERP implementation space, and (5) A strong program team with a focus on one cohesive vision for the future and a solid case for change.

In addition to the new ERP software, will the One Washington program make business process changes? How will these changes be shared?

Yes. Since the selection of the state's new ERP software vendor, Workday, was made, the state's enterprise business owners, in collaboration with their stakeholders, are in the process of completing a comprehensive review of business processes. This includes a focus on people, processes, policies and technology under the umbrella of improving business outcomes. Changes to business processes will be documented and communicated to impacted stakeholders through change management and training activities.

Is there a summary of events/decisions/work that took place in the last month and a list of tasks for the next quarter?

Sign up for the One Washington monthly newsletter to get the latest information that includes completed and upcoming milestones, an update from the executive director, and helpful links to additional resources.

Also, the modernization roadmap includes:

high-level upcoming project milestones,
business functions by implementation phase: phases 0-3 through 2025,
an implementation timeline,
an operations overview, and
a systems replacement timeline.

One Washington is moving at a rapid pace and our timelines are frequently evolving. Check out the modernization roadmap for the latest dates.

Where can I get more information?

You can learn more by contacting us directly at OneWa@ofm.wa.gov or by subscribing to our email list to receive program updates.

Agency initiatives and resources

How and when will I get training?

Prior to go-live in July 2022, One Washington will provide training to impacted employees so that they have the knowledge and information to work in the new system on day 1. Training is conducted as close to when you start to use the new solution and processes as possible, and also provide enough time to go through the learning process. Training will include both business process information and how to use Workday to do your jobs. We will communicate and post the training schedules in advance to make sure that all impacted employees are aware of available training and can plan ahead for attending their required sessions.

What is the project timeline for One Washington?

The enterprise administrative systems modernization is in process now through 2026. The modernization roadmap includes:

high-level upcoming project milestones,
business functions by implementation phase: phases 0-3 through 2025,
an implementation timeline,
an operations overview, and
a systems replacement timeline.

One Washington is moving at a rapid pace and our timelines are frequently evolving. Check out the modernization roadmap for the latest dates.

Why is the timeline so long for this initiative?

The timeline is comparable to other state government ERP implementations of this scale. Properly preparing employees for Workday is crucial to an effective transition at and beyond go-live (e.g. training, user adoption, understanding, etc.). With limited funding, we also want to prioritize the systems that need to replaced first, and build on a solid foundation that proves we can be successful.

How are you planning for project disruptions?

An agile approach and planning the project into phases allows us to work toward milestones on an iterative basis that can better accommodate changes to project schedules. Effective project planning, managing to a detailed plan, evaluating contingency options, and supporting agencies through the Agency Support Team will help to mitigate disruption. The use of formal risk management through a risk/issue log and use of a quality assurance partner, Bluecrane, and Deloitte quality assurance processes also helps the program to identify and mitigate risks.

What will this cost the state and what will this cost my agency?

The cost to modernize and implement finance, procurement, budget, HR, payroll and business intelligence business processes is projected to be $303.9 million. The estimate does not include agency costs or maintenance and operation.

During implementation, One Washington will coordinate with agencies to ensure they are able to identify potential impacts and associated costs and follow budget instructions published by the Office of Financial Management.

After deployment, the maintenance and operations costs will be shared by agencies, but approach options are still being considered. The program is working to update the total project cost with the assistance of ERP industry experts.

What staff resources will be required?

The One Washington program is working to identify agency resource needs, based on the data collected through current initiatives with agencies, including the baseline readiness assessment and systems/interface inventory effort. We will have more information about required staff resources when the system inventory is completed and this information will be communicated to your agency's respective AST sponsor.

Budget preparation

How have you explored ways to keep costs down?

The program is committed to being cost-sensitive while not shortchanging the quality and efficiency of the enterprise resource planning system. We are taking a number of steps to help manage costs including close management of contractors to hold them accountable for deliverables and timelines, implementation of performance metrics, use of gated funding, quality assurance management and oversight from a third party firm, and early implementation of change management to mitigate against potential delays due to stakeholder resistance. The program is utilizing a software as a service (SaaS) solution service model, which will provide predictable costs as a result of management subscriptions. Finally, long-term cost savings will be realized through access to better financial data and information leading to better money management and increased efficiencies. To date, One Washington has remained on budget.

How much money did One Washington receive from the supplemental budget request?

On April 3, 2020, the governor signed the supplemental budget bill providing $20.065 million to the One Washington program.

What is the One Washington technology funding pool?

The One Washington technology pool is for those agency resources that will either not be replaced by the ERP solution or require some level of modification to function. Eligible agencies were able to request resource needs for systems and interfaces that relate to One Washington finance functionality if those systems and interfaces:

Will not be replaced by the ERP system.
Need to be modified to interact with the ERP system.
Do not have agency internal resources to support the necessary modifications.

What is the OCM funding pool?

Agencies that qualify for the OCM funding pool will receive some portion of resources who will be responsible for working with the One Washington program team and assigned to agencies to provide support for agency readiness activities and prepare employees for the implementation of the ERP system.

The One Washington budget request for the 2021–23 biennium includes resources for an agency organizational change management funding pool. This pool of resources will provide funding for change management resources within eligible agencies to help manage agency readiness activities throughout the duration of the project. Eligible agencies will submit a business case to One Washington to request an OCM resource.

Contracts and procurement

How is One Washington working with vendors remotely?

One Washington's team of vendors have experience working virtually and will continue leveraging virtual collaboration tools such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, ThinkTank, and SharePoint. Over the last year in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the team did not miss a beat adhering to deadlines, delivering high-quality products, and moving the program forward. We have confidence that this trend will continue moving forward as the procedures and processes of remote work have continued to be refined over the last year.

How did One Washington choose the software vendor and system integrator?

For selection of the software vendor, OFM used the NASPO ValuePoint program, available through the master contract developed by the Department of Enterprise Services. For selection of the systems integrator, they used a formal Request for Proposal (RFP) process that included follow-up questions and oral presentations. A thorough and detailed set of criteria was used in the evaluation process for both the software vendor and system integrator, and members of the evaluation committee scored each vendor based on the criteria.

What was the due diligence process in selecting vendors?

To learn more about the due diligence process, please see additional information about the due diligence process.

What Enterprise Resource Planning solution was selected for One Washington? Are you changing business practices and leveraging technology?

With the help from our agency partners, Workday was selected as our ERP system vendor. Workday delivers it's ERP solution as a Software as a Service (SaaS) where the software is accessed online via a subscription. Workday employs world-class security and has proven its success in similar implementations among many public sector organizations. Using Workday allows for mobile solutions, ongoing software maintenance, regulatory compliance updates, secure data backups, disaster recovery etc. For more information, please reference the Why Workday resource found on One Washington's agency resources webpage.

The Workday ERP solution will allow business systems to "talk" to each other and shift to an “enterprise view” of processes (versus an agency-specific view) which will result in greater standardization and efficiencies. During design sessions, agency SMEs will help to define “to-be processes” with the goal of eliminating unnecessary activities and process steps. Informatica will be used as a middleware solution to connect to Workday. New technology will allow workers to access the system from any device anywhere. See our why workday one-pager for a description of why the state selected Workday as our enterprise resource planning system vendor.

Who is the system integrator for One Washington?

Deloitte Consulting has been selected as our system integrator partner. Washington is embarking on a once-in-a-generation program to implement Workday Cloud ERP to lay the foundation for a new way of conducting operations across the state. Washington needs a trusted partner with a proven track record of working with states to collaborate with agencies, big and small, to co-create and deliver success.

Deloitte is a market leader in Workday implementation. Independent research firm Forrester named Deloitte a global leader in Workday implementation services in their report titled - The Forrester New Wave: Workday Implementation Partners, Q3 2019. They have significant work experience with Workday having completed more than 500 Workday implementations globally and have more than 1,900 Workday professionals. Within Washington state itself, Deloitte is implementing, or has implemented, the most complex Workday Cloud ERP implementations for government entities, including Washington State University (finance, HR, payroll) and University of Washington (finance).

Governance

What does One Washington oversight and governance look like? What quality assurance measures are in place to make sure this program is a success?

Governance exists to increase transparency and align decision making for planning, policy and operations to meet business objectives, ascertain that risks are managed appropriately, and verify that resources are being used responsibly and strategically. The One Washington program touches all aspects of the state's government. Accordingly, the program governance structure includes a diverse set of agency representatives.

The One Washington program governance includes the executive sponsor - Pat Lashway, OFM Deputy Director - the Executive Steering Committee, the Business Transformation Board, Advisory Committees for Change Management, Data Governance, Technical, Finance, Procurement, Budget and Human Resources & Payroll. Additionally, we have partnered with an independent quality assurance contractor, Bluecrane, who is responsible for producing reports that are available on the OCIO's One Washington dashboard.

For a detailed list of individuals who are directly involved in the ESC, BTB and advisory committees, please see our governance membership chart.

What responsibilities does the executive steering committee have?

The executive steering committee (ESC) provides strategic oversight and direction for the state's One Washington efforts. They are responsible for managing the scope, schedule and budget for the program, as well as milestones. They are also responsible for resolving inter-agency issues. The ESC is comprised of individuals from a variety of agencies who are affected by the One Washington Program. The Chair of the ESC is the One Washington Executive Director, Vann Smiley.

For a detailed list of ESC members, please see our governance membership chart.

Agency support team network

What happened to the POC network and what is the AST network?

During the planning phase of One Washington, the POC network played an important role in communicating key messages across agencies. Implementation requires us to create a different support structure - one where the agency needs to complete more activities and also engage with their leaders and staff more often while also coordinating with One Washington. The AST is comprised of staff who understand agency systems and business practices. They will help coordinate and complete readiness activities (people, process, and technology) in conjunction with the One Washington program team and agency leadership so that agencies are ready and prepared for One Washington. The purpose of the AST structure is to strengthen leadership, sponsorship, and engagement for the program while formalizing finance and technical subject matter expertise.

What are the benefits of an AST network?

Benefits of the agency support team network include enhanced knowledge-sharing and collaboration among agencies, improved communications channels between One Washington and agencies, well-defined roles and responsibilities to improve efficiency in completing One Washington tasks, and ability of agency to take ownership of One Washington activities.

What are the various options for an agency's AST network?

The AST network's composition is determined by the size of your agency and required support. The most comprehensive option for an AST structure is an AST sponsor, AST lead, and AST supporting members as applicable (various functional/process SMEs, IT and data experts, and organizational change management resources). The AST structure is mainly centered around the AST sponsor and the AST lead.

What is the role of an AST sponsor?

The AST sponsor is a senior-level leader within an agency (i.e. director or deputy director). Sponsors serve as the main advocate for the agency and are responsible for mobilizing agency staff, setting priorities, clearing obstacles and mitigating risks. The sponsor is accountable for the business transformation within the agency and to provide the resources necessary to complete program activities.

What is the role of an AST lead?

The AST lead is responsible for executing agency-specific tasks in support of One Washington. In collaboration with agency leadership, they work with agency staff to complete One Washington activities. The AST lead attends monthly AST meetings, reviews and reports on agency’s progress for One Washington activities on a monthly basis, facilitates communications between the agency and One Washington, acts as an early-adopter to learn about One Washington and support activities, advocates for One Washington and builds support and buy-in among agency staff.

Technical information

What is Tech Talk Live?

Tech Talk Live! is a meeting hosted periodically by the One Washington technology team to meet and discuss various technology activities and identify potential technical challenges before the start of the SI implementation.

What is a system integrator and why do we need it?

The One Washington ERP transformation project is an extensive undertaking that requires time, labor, and technical expertise. The state of Washington and the One Washington program do not have the technical capacity to facilitate the synchronization of ERP activities for all state agencies while still maintaining daily operations. By selecting a third-party system integrator with knowledge of the state’s new and existing systems, essential agency functions are maintained while the software integration is managed in the background. The state has selected Deloitte Consulting as the system integration for the duration of the One Washington project.

What is SaaS?

SaaS is a software licensing and delivery model in which a service provider hosts applications for customers and makes them available to customers via the internet. Software is licensed on a subscription basis and is centrally hosted on a cloud server. Many private and public sector organizations are using SaaS solutions to outsource software maintenance and control costs. This type of system delivery model is helpful because it is quick to deploy, requires no infrastructure (accessed via the internet), delivers automatic updates and manages all backups and data recovery. SaaS vendors recognize that there each implementation requires a unique solution and will work with the state to design the best system for its needs.

What are the benefits of an ERP solution?

Washington’s core financial system is more than 30 years old and is due for an overhaul. The One Washington program is implementing Workday to modernize the state’s core administrative functions through process improvements supported by technology. Benefits include: improved money management, increased accessibility with the cloud, integrated business processes, and an enhanced user experience.

Read our One Washington benefits one-pager for more information.

I am concerned about data security and integrity. What can Workday do to address this?

Applications designed specifically for the cloud, such as Workday, have been proven to meet the requirements of organizations in the most heavily regulated and risk-averse industries worldwide. You can be confident that Workday’s security model will also meet the needs of your organization. Because all Workday customers are on the same version of the software, any security improvements for one customer, will benefit all customers and is a model for shared success. The cloud offers secure gateways for data access to protect sensitive information and a simple security model mitigates risk in creating an environment where the right people have access to the right data via security role mapping.

What is a business intelligence solution?

Business intelligence combines a broad set of data analysis from applications, including ad-hoc analytics and querying, enterprise reporting and online analytical processing.

How will I access the new system?

The new ERP solution will be accessible from any authorized agency device connected to the internet and will be enabled through a secure web browser or via a dedicated application on mobile systems (like tablets or smartphones).

What other options are being considered for authentication?

The team is not planning on creating a new identity management solution for One Washington. The plan is to leverage the existing identity management solution to help manage costs.