How TO Get Started:

EDI Step-BY-Step

Date: 3/2/2007 1pm – 2pm

Session ID: 329

Tuan Anh Do
DBA/Systems Analyst
San Francisco State University
1 Doey@sfsu.edu
 My Experiences with EDI

• Member SPEEDE Committee since April 2005.

• Using EDI Transcript Exchange since 1995.

ƒ Currently feeding EDI into DARS

ƒ Beta Tester for CCCTran Project

• Current Main Trading Partners

ƒ DeAnza, Foothill, Community College of San Francisco, College
of Marin, Southwestern Community College.

2
 Session Objectives

• Steps to EDI Implementation:

• Understanding EDI

• Evaluate Your Situation

• Identify Trading Partners

• Develop Project Plan

3
Steps are the same for XML!
 Session Objective (Cont.)
• Define Your EDI Process
• Choose EDI Translation Software
• Mapping Data To and From EDI
• Application Development, Integration, and
Automation
• Establishing Trading Partner Agreements
• EDI Testing
• EDI Implementation

Steps are the same for XML!

4
 Get to Know EDI (Cont.)

• Attend Sessions

• WEB Sites

• ListServes

• SPEEDE Implementation Guides

• Understanding Acronyms

5
 Acronyms
• EDE – Electronic Data Exchange
• EDI – Electronic Data Interchange
• SPEEDE – Standardization of Postsecondary
Education Electronic Data Exchange
• both an AACRAO committee and the standards the
committee created
• EXPRESS – EXchange of Permanent Records
Electronically for Students and Schools
• secondary school data
• ANSI – American National Standards Institute
• X12 – ANSI Committee responsible for electronic data
6 standards … it comes after X11
 Acronyms cont’d…
• PESC – Postsecondary Electronic
Standards Council
• XML – eXtensible Mark-up Language
• AACRAO – American Association of
Collegiate Registrars and Admissions
Officers
• More E-Commerce Terms in Handout!

7
 Electronic Data Interchange

• Computer-to-computer exchange of
standardized business documents
• An electronic replacement for
• Mail
• Fax
• Courier
• Eliminates or reduces
• Delays
• Re-keying of Data
8 • Errors (both in keying and interpretation)
 SPEEDE
Standardization of Postsecondary
Education Electronic Data Exchange

The standards are the key … they act like a

common language.

9
 Evaluate Your Situation

• Institutional Commitment
• Management

• Technical

• End User

• Determine Benefits
• Cost Analysis
10
 Evaluate Your Situation (Cont.)

• Assess Student Information System

• EDI Capable? To what extent?
ƒ Data Extraction/Data Mapping (EDI or XML?)

ƒ Communication Capabilities

ƒ Document Management

ƒ Reporting Capabilities

11
 Identify Trading Partners

• Top 10 Feeder Schools

• Regional Project

• EDI Internet Server Registrant Table

• AACRAO Activity List

• State EDI Status Report and Contact

12
Report
 Develop Project Plan
• Staffing
• EDI Coordinator?

• Part-time?

• Roles, Responsibilities, Deliverables,Timelines, etc.

• Testing

• Ongoing Operations Maintenance

13
 Define Your EDI Process
• Define the Scope of Your Project

• Identify Documents to Exchange

ƒ Transcripts, Applications, Etc.

• Will You Send?

ƒ Less labor intensive

• Will You Receive?

ƒ Print and/or Update Student Information System

14
 Define Your EDI Process (Cont.)

• How will documents be exchanged?

• Transmission Methods/Protocols to consider

ƒ Dial Up
ƒ Leased Line
ƒ Van
ƒ Internet
ƒ EDI Internet Server
• Email
• FTP

15
 Choose EDI Translation
Software
• What is Translation Software?

• Bridges the gap between EDI (or XML) and your

Application Software
ƒ Translates transactions in/out of EDI format
ƒ Provides the electronic envelope
ƒ Provides Transmission Capability
ƒ Manages EDI Documents
• Receives/Reconciles Acknowledgments
• Reports
• Archiving
16
 Choose EDI Translation
Software

• Build EDI Translation Software?

• Time and Resource Intensive

• Vulnerable to Staff Turnover

• Version Updates

17
 Choose EDI Translation
Software

• Buy EDI Translation Software?

• Can be costly

• Training/Support

• Hardware Issues

18
 Choose EDI Translation
Software

• Criteria for Vendor Selection

• Years of Experience
• Stability of Company
• Support/Help Line
• Reports
• Document Management Capabilities

19
 Choose EDI Translation
Software (Cont.)

• Criteria for Vendor Selection (Cont.)

• Supported Transaction Sets
• Standards/Version Updates
ƒ Method and Time
• Communication Protocols Supported
ƒ Internet (FTP or e-mail) or Dial Up
• Reconcile outgoing documents with
incoming Acknowledgments
• References
20
 Choose EDI Translation
Software (Cont.)

• EDI Translation Software Vendors

• SCT EDI Smart
ƒ Integrated into SCT Banner, SCT Banner Plus
ƒ Can be used with other SIS
• PeopleSoft (partially integrated)
• Inovis (TrustedLink)
ƒ Standalone
• 1 EDI Source
ƒ Standalone
• UT Austin (Quick ‘N Easy Software)
21
 Mapping Data
• Process of associating your data with the
EDI (or XML) Standard and vice versa

• If You Are Sending Documents

ƒ Map your data to EDI (or XML) Standard

• If You Are Receiving Documents

ƒ Equate EDI (or XML) Transaction Set to your data
and/or print format
ƒ More complex

22
 Mapping Data (Cont.)

• Time and Resource Intensive

• Critical to success of project

• Crosswalk Table/Institution Codes

(FICE,ETS,ACT,etc.)

23
 Application Development,
Integration, And Automation

• Example: Integration into your system

• Flag Institution as EDI partner in database

• Existing transcript program writes data to
separate flat file for these institutions rather
than to print file
• Flat file loads into Translation Software
• Translation Software produces EDI file
24
 Application Development,
Integration, And Automation (Cont.)
• Automate Process
• Send
ƒ Data Extraction to Flat File
ƒ Translate Flat File to EDI
ƒ Send EDI data
ƒ Receive Acknowledgments
ƒ Reconcile Acknowledgments

25 ƒ Report/Archive
 Application Development,
Integration, And Automation (Cont.)

• Automate Process
• Receive
ƒ Receive EDI Data

ƒ Translate EDI data to Flat File

ƒ Upload into SIS and/or Print Transactions

ƒ Generate and Send Acknowledgments

26
 Application Development,
Integration, And Automation (Cont.)

• Security Issues
• Authentication
• Acknowledgements (131’s and 997’s)
ƒ Identify process for reconciling your
transcripts
• Site Security
• Privacy
• Encryption
27
 Establishing Trading Partner
Agreements
• Agree that document is ‘official’
• Define the decision making process
• Determine which version should be used
• Identify problem resolution

• Include Mapping Issues specific to the trading

partners involved
• List version, protocol, security, etc. used

28
 Testing

• Test Scenarios
• Create document identifying all the different
test cases…
• Test Period
• Identify Transactions as ‘TEST’
during this period
• Test Agreement
29
 Implementation

• Parallel Processing

• Ongoing Operations Management

• Send/Receive documents

• Reconcile acknowledgments

• Review error and activity reports

• Final Trading Partner Agreement

30
 Session Review

• Steps to EDI (or XML) Implementation:

• Understanding EDI

• Evaluate Your Situation

• Identify Trading Partners

• Develop Project Plan

31
 Session Review (Cont.)
• Define Your EDI Process

• Choose EDI Translation Software

• Mapping Data To and From EDI

• Application Development, Integration, and

Automation

• Establishing Trading Partner Agreements

• EDI Testing
32 • EDI Implementation
 Web Sites
• AACRAO SPEEDE
• http://www.aacrao.org/speede
ƒ Who is is doing SPEEDE
ƒ SPEEDE State Contacts
ƒ SPEEDE State Status
ƒ SPEEDE-L Listserv

• Postsecondary Electronic Standards Council

• http://www.pesc.org
ƒ Implementation Guides (‘Standards & Info’)

33
 More Web Sites

• Internet EDI (UT Austin) Server

http://www.utexas.edu/student/giac/speede/ediserv.html

• ‘Quick ‘N Easy Software’

• White Papers on EDI
• PGP Beginners Guide
• Recommended Best Practices (‘RIPS’)

34
 How TO Get Started:
EDI Step-BY-Step

Thank you! Date: 3/2/2007 1pm – 2pm

Session ID: 329
Please Fill Out
Evaluation
Forms!

Tuan Anh Do
DBA/Systems Analyst
San Francisco State University
35 Doey@sfsu.edu