Optimization Roadmap

A Phased, Actionable Plan for Maximizing Student and Staff Success

What Is the Optimization Roadmap?

The Optimization Roadmap is a strategic, phased plan designed to align PeopleSoft capabilities with the needs and priorities of NSHE institutions. It translates insights from ThinkSpace sessions and the P3S2 Study into actionable recommendations, providing clear guidance on how to remove friction points and enhance the student and staff experience.

Summary

The Optimization Roadmap synthesizes data from across NSHE, including feedback from leadership, IT, functional leaders, and frontline staff. It categorizes friction points by their root causes—policy, procedure, people, system, and structure—and offers prioritized solutions for each. The roadmap is organized into three categories:

  • Short-term wins (2025–2026): Quick, high-impact optimizations that can be implemented rapidly.

  • Urgent/important/high-impact optimizations (next 2–3 years): Medium-term improvements that address critical needs.

  • Longer-term/nice-to-have optimizations (5-year horizon): Enhancements to be pursued as resources and priorities allow.

This roadmap helps business managers and IT leadership decide which optimizations to pursue, whether at the institution or system level, and supports effective resource planning.

Why It Matters

The Optimization Roadmap is essential for ensuring that NSHE’s technology investments directly support student success and operational excellence. By providing a clear, phased approach to improvement, the roadmap enables NSHE to:

  • Make informed decisions: Prioritize initiatives based on data and stakeholder input.

  • Align resources: Allocate financial and human capital to the most impactful projects.

  • Drive institutional effectiveness: Streamline workflows, reduce administrative burden, and create a more seamless digital experience for students and staff.

  • Plan for the future: Establish a sustainable, scalable strategy for ongoing technology enhancements.

Our Approach

Our approach to developing the Optimization Roadmap is collaborative and data-driven:

  1. Gather Insights: Conduct ThinkSpace sessions with leadership and frontline staff to capture diverse perspectives and identify key challenges.

  2. Analyze Friction Points: Use the P3S2 framework to assess gaps and inefficiencies across policy, procedure, people, system, and structure.

  3. Prioritize Solutions: Categorize recommendations by impact and feasibility, ensuring that immediate, medium-term, and long-term needs are addressed.

  4. Develop Actionable Plans: Translate findings into a structured, phased roadmap with clear execution strategies for each recommendation.

  5. Align with Institutional Goals: Ensure the roadmap reflects the unique priorities and objectives of each NSHE institution while supporting system-wide alignment.

The Optimization Roadmap is designed to be a living document, adaptable to changing needs and priorities, and serves as a foundation for ongoing improvement and innovation at NSHE.