Proof of Concept Overview for Travel & Expenses
Purpose: This activity is intended to assist colleges in using the PCP environment to incorporate the Travel & Expense Task Force recommendations into their business practice when creating, submitting and processing travel transactions.
Using the provided scenarios, college staff will explore performing the process steps, take notes when these recommended changes alter the way they currently do this work and develop a plan for how these changes can be applied locally. It will be important for colleges to use this opportunity to identify where their current training materials and instructions for staff will require editing to provide guidance to their employees on how to perform these tasks more efficiently.
Another aspect of this activity is intentionally triggering error conditions to review the error messaging. One of the task force recommendations was to improve error messaging. During the testing activity, as error messages appear, testers can take note of any messaging that appears unclear and provide recommendations for re-wording. That feedback can then be incorporated into the Enhancement Request targeting system messaging improvements when it is submitted by the Travel & Expense Task Force.
Audience: Travel Coordinators and other key college staff involved in testing the recommended processes.
The Travel & Expense Task Force, led by Lia Homeister from Renton Technical College, began their work on March 12, 2025. Members of the task force met weekly to discuss issues encountered by colleges during the creation, submission and processing of travel transactions and worked to uncover underlying causes for the problems experienced. The team worked closely with SBCTC staff to better understand where configuration changes, or changes in "order of execution", could alleviate the concerns. The team then used the PCP environment to validate the process before solidifying a recommended 'best practice' use of the system that would improve the user experience and reduce errors.
Task force members volunteered or were nominated by colleagues and contributed several hours in both meeting and testing processes to verify the expected outcomes.
For an overview of the PAW Project, please visit the Project Overview section of the ctcLink Reference Center.
The Travel & Expense Task Force completed their work with a presentation of findings and recommendations at a ctcLink College Collaboration meeting. Travel & Expense Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) were invited to attend, engage in discussions, and explore the next steps necessary for achieving alignment in this process.
Presentation of Task Force Recommendations from cCCG Meeting - May 14, 2025:
Two Sessions Offered: July 14, 2025 [9:00 am or 3:00 pm]
9:00 AM Meeting Information:
Meeting Link: https://sbctc.webex.com/sbctc/j.php?MTID=mb10f37625879228a948a4bc2e2b19e92
Meeting Passcode: 2663 124 7644
Meeting Password: PymmqccE398
Meeting Dial-In Number: +1-415-655-0002,,26631247644## US Toll
Recording Link: <Link will be published once recording is rendered.>
3:00 PM Meeting Information:
Meeting Link: https://sbctc.webex.com/sbctc/j.php?MTID=mc7345cc07d2745f360c8a3e98251e051
Meeting Passcode: 2660 015 5500
Meeting Password: Aqzs52rjcv6
Meeting Dial-In Number: +1-415-655-0002,,26600155500## US Toll
Recording Link: <Link will be published once recording is rendered.>
Presentation Materials: <To be posted when available>
Sample Test Scenario Tracking Worksheet (Displayed in Kick-Off Meeting): <To be posted when available>
Tuesday Sessions: July 15, 2025- August 5, 2025 [1:00 pm-2:00 pm]
Meeting Link: https://sbctc.webex.com/sbctc/j.php?MTID=m782c98891bf8659b93a48c1313e50a09
Meeting Passcode: 2661 812 8018
Meeting Password: wfVph9r4p5i
Meeting Dial-In Number: +1-415-655-0002,,26618128018##US Toll
Recording Link: <Link will be published once recording is rendered.>
The following Travel & Expense Task Force recommendations are excluded from the Proof-of-Concept testing.
| TF # | Recommendation Title | Description | Reasoning for Exclusion |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.4 | Quick Fill Enhancement Request (ER) | ER Idea: Add the Description field on the Quick-Fill page to reduce manual entry of the description field for each line. | Effort for performing the modification exceeds the limit of data staging for the PoC effort. Needs input from Oracle on feasibility of change and long term maintenance. |
| 2.7 | Expense Lines ER | ER Idea: Add the Date and Payment Type fields to the expense line so that the traveler doesn’t need to click and open that in the Details page. If space is needed, it is recommended to remove the Currency field. | Effort for performing the modification exceeds the limit of data staging for the PoC effort. Needs input from Oracle on feasibility of change and long term maintenance. |
| 3.3 | Reference Label ER | ER Idea: Update the Reference field label "Reference" to “Travel Authorization #” or something similar, to direct travelers to enter their TA# in that field. | Requires research to determine whether Page & Field configurator can address. |
| 4.2 | Personal Expense Label ER | ER Idea: Update the Personal Expense toggle label from “Personal Expense” to “Reimbursable” (yes/no toggle) as it is more intuitive and clearer for travelers. | Code Change: Effort for performing the modification exceeds the limit of data staging for the PoC effort. Needs input from Oracle on feasibility of change and long term maintenance. |
| 4.3 | EXC4500 Report ER | EXC4500 Report: Request to be updated to reflect more detailed information needed for auditors and/or to print for reference. An alternative is to expand the details and print the screen to PDF. | Possible Code Clone/Change or BI Publisher Report (Data Services): Would need the ER with desired path to be submitted before any action should be taken. |
| TBD | Transportation Policy | Transportation Information > Transportation Identification: There may be a need for a solution for auto insurance and valid driver’s license attestation. Defining requirements is in progress. | Policy Concept outside the scope of testing. |
Want to submit an issue? Please report your issue via the Service Desk.
Request Type: ctcLink Support > Special Project Activities > PAW T&E Proof-of-Concept
Subject (begins with): [Provide the Scenario Number you are testing, e.g. Scenario #2 - Newhire traveler profile not found]
Explanation of the content that will be provided in this section:
- Issue Details: Issue details will be provided that enables all interested parties to understand what a tester might have struggled with and reported using the Service Desk ticketing system.
- Research: The Functional Analyst, sometimes with the assistance of technical staff, data services staff or our policy staff will research the issue and provide a root cause analysis in a ticket or group of tickets. A summary of that research will be visible in this section.
- Resolution: If the issue was able to be addressed in the ticket, or group of tickets, the resolution will be made transparent here for anyone participating in this activity to better understand what others may have encountered and see if the resolution that worked for them could help.
Issues & Resolutions Reported During Testing
Issues Reported During Testing:
The following issues were reported during the PoC period. Included is the resolution approach being taken or a notation if research or regression testing is still pending. Please note that the PoC testing period may been extended to allow time for colleges who reported issues that warranted major configuration updates to retest.
- No issues reported.
Once a college has completed their Proof-of-Concept testing in the PCP environment we ask that the ctcLink Point of Contact follow the link below to complete the short sign-off survey. This will signal that your college has completed exploring the recommended test scenarios and provide the PAW team with insights into your experience. The link will become active after the first follow-up session after testing has begun.
Link: Proof-of-Concept Testing Sign-Off (not active yet)
Proof of Concept (PoC) activities are taking place in the PCP Environment.
The environment was refreshed from Production on May 5th, 2025.
Personally Identifiable Information (PII) data in this environment is scrubbed and scrambled, therefore your name and PII data does not appear with your Production EMPLID.
Use the provided login credentials for each scenario to ensure greater success in testing.
To request access to the Proof-of-Concept Test environment (PCP), follow the link below and provide the name, last 4-digits of EMPLID, email, contact phone number and college.
Environment Access Instructions
Testing will occur in the PCP environment. Testers will be logging on using provided test accounts. This environment DOES NOT have Okta in front of it, therefore testers will not be able to reset their own passwords. SBCTC assistance will be required.
Login Access Link: PCP Environment - (opens on July 14th)
Having Issues Logging In? Contact the PMO Team. ([email protected])
Also, if you're struggling after regular service hours, feel free to download the Tester Login Reference Guide (below) to see if the answer you need is in here:
Colleges Confirmed They Will Engage in Testing:
- Bellevue College
- Bellingham Technical College
- Cascadia College
- Centralia College
- Clark College
- Clover Park Technical College
- Columbia Basin College
- Edmonds College
- Green River College
- Highline College
- Peninsula College
- Pierce College District
- Renton Technical College
- SBCTC
- Seattle Colleges
- Shoreline College
- Skagit Valley College
- South Puget Sound Community College
- Spokane District
- Tacoma Community College
- Walla Walla Community College
- Wenatchee Valley College
- Whatcom Community College
- Yakima Valley College
Colleges Invited to Participate in PoC Testing, But Not Yet Registered:
- Bates Technical College
- Big Bend Community College
- Everett Community College
- Grays Harbor College
- Lake Washington Institute of Technology
- Lower Columbia College
- Olympic College
Colleges Not Participating in PoC Testing:
-
<tbd>
To practice integrating these recommendations into your travel business processes, we’ve developed the following test scenarios.
Each scenario will have a login credential to be used to login as the "Traveler" to submit the requests. Any approvals or processing will be completed by using the login credentials for the "Travel Coordinator." These generic logins will allow anyone testing to work on entering requests as a traveler or to act as the travel coordinator without needing a specific account unlocked just for them in the PCP environment. Since this environment is scrubbed and scrambled, individual accounts normally used in Production or a traditional User Acceptance Test (UAT) process do not apply. If you encounter any issues accessing a page normally accessible in your current "Travel Coordinator" login in Production, please submit a Service Desk Ticket and the applicable security roles can be applied to the "Travel Coordinator" profile.
To ensure smooth testing without unexpected issues, we strongly recommend using the staged data prepared specifically for these SIX Scenarios:
VERIFY CONFIGURATION CHOICES
- Configuration Verification: Login with a security role [ZD Expenses Central Conf Inq] that allows the user to review the two configurations that the Task Force recommended to review and determine if changes are needed.
NEW HIRE EMPLOYEE - 1-DAY TRAVEL - "Mr. Newhire"
- New Hire Traveler: Onboard a new employee "Mr. Newhire" in preparation for a single day of in-state travel [e.g. Bellevue Newhire].
REMOTE EMPLOYEE - 3-DAY TRAVEL
- Existing "Remote" Employee Traveler: Using an existing "remote" employee, prepare them for traveling for a 3-day conference, in the state of Texas, where the employee lives and the hotel cost is over per diem.
INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL to HAWAII - 4-DAY TRAVEL
- Existing Employee Traveler: Using an existing employee, who resides in Washington State, prepare them for traveling to Hawaii (international) for a 4-day conference.
TRAVEL WITH STUDENTS - OVERNIGHT
- Coach Traveling Overnight with a Group of Students: Using an group of students, who reside in Washington State and are traveling for a basketball game that requires overnight stay in a hotel with a per diem and a Cash Advance (CA).
AUDITOR SYSTEM ACCESS
- Login as an Auditor: Explore what the auditor can see using the auditor security access role.
Links to T&E Reference Center Resources
To help college testers better understand how to use the ctcLink system to manage Travel & Expenses PAW has provided in the ctcLink Reference Center a Step Checklist for handling travel:
To help college testers better understand the wording used in some of the travel material, a master glossary has been provided for Travel & Expenses:
- Link to QRG: T&E Master Glossary
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