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.
Curious what issues are being reported by other testers? Review the Issues Reported section for more information on what your fellow testers have encountered and what we resolved for those testers.
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:
Recording Link: PAW: Kick-Off of Proof of Concept Testing Travel & Expense - Morning Session Recording
3:00 PM Meeting Information:
Recording Link: PAW: Kick-Off of Proof of Concept Testing Travel & Expense - Afternoon Session Recording
Presentation Materials:
Test Scenario Tracking Worksheet:
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]
REPORTED ISSUES & RESOLUTIONS:
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.
- Issue Details: A tester reported being unable to login as the Travel Coordinator using the provided login credentials.
- Research: Some of the provided Travel Coordinator logins were set to 'locked' on their User Profile in the PCP environment. Additionally it was discovered that some testers had logged in as the Travel Coordinator for their college and, due to that profile having an elevated access role assigned, the tester was able to rename the profile and change the password, essentially locking out others from their college from utilizing the shared access account.
- Resolution: All college test accounts for the Travel Coordinator have been confirmed unlocked. All Travel Coordinator accounts that had been co-opted by a specific tester were reset to the login credential information provided in the online materials and the security access removed from those accounts.
- Issue Details: A tester reported frustration with the Fluid entry page for Expense Reports, stating that the Fluid page generated a message requiring confirmation when deleting an expense line, in Classic this can be reduced to a single message. The user felt this was cumbersome.
- Research: After reviewing the Quick Reference Guide materials it was realized that they did not cover how to perform a multi-line delete. Deleting each line individually does generate that message for each line, however using the 'More' link allows the user to select multiple lines or all lines and perform the line deletion in bulk, thus prompting the user to confirm only once.
- Resolution: Revised the Quick Reference Guide for Create Fluid Expense Report (Tile) to include instructions for multi-line deletion. Provided the information to the concerned tester in their ticket. After this resolution was provided the ticket submitter responded that their concern was actually on the Travel Authorization. Additional research is needed to determine an optimal way to address their concern.
- Issue Details: Testers have reported experiencing Budget Checking errors when attempting to attach a TA to the Expense Report.
- Research: Although the Budget Check feature was turned off for TA's this will not prevent the system from generating an error when attempting to attach a TA that has not passed Budget Checking on the Expense Report.
- Resolution: A standard (for testing purposes only) Chartstring has been created and budgets built for all colleges to use. Material updates have been made to list the available default chartstrings for each college in each applicable scenario. If a TA has already been submitted using a non-default value and the college did not have their budgets setup for 2025/2026 by the May 5th Production snapshot date that was used to build this environment you can submit a Service Desk Ticket to ask that the Functional Analyst update the chartstring value behind the scenes to pass the Budget Check error on the Expense Report. [See below for value list]
| College | Default Chartstring [Use to pass Budget Check] |
|---|---|
| Bates Technical College | Oper Unit = 7280 Fund = 001 Approp = 101 Dept = 98389 Class = 081 |
| Bellevue College | Oper Unit = 7080 Fund = 001 Approp = 101 Dept = 98389 Class = 081 |
| Bellingham Technical College | Oper Unit = 7250 Fund = 001 Approp = 101 Dept = 98389 Class = 081 |
| Big Bend Community College | Oper Unit = 7180 Fund = 001 Approp = 101 Dept = 98389 Class = 081 |
| Cascadia College | Oper Unit = 7300 Fund = 001 Approp = 101 Dept = 98389 Class = 081 |
| Centralia College | Oper Unit = 7120 Fund = 001 Approp = 101 Dept = 98389 Class = 081 |
| Clark College | Oper Unit = 7140 Fund = 001 Approp = 101 Dept = 98389 Class = 081 |
| Clover Park Technical College | Oper Unit = 7290 Fund = 001 Approp = 101 Dept = 98389 Class = 081 |
| Columbia Basin College | Oper Unit = 7190 Fund = 001 Approp = 101 Dept = 98389 Class = 081 |
| Edmonds College | Oper Unit = 7230 Fund = 001 Approp = 101 Dept = 98389 Class = 081 |
| Everett Community College | Oper Unit = 7050 Fund = 001 Approp = 101 Dept = 98389 Class = 081 |
| Grays Harbor College | Oper Unit = 7020 Fund = 001 Approp = 101 Dept = 98389 Class = 081 |
| Green River College | Oper Unit = 7100 Fund = 001 Approp = 101 Dept = 98389 Class = 081 |
| Highline College | Oper Unit = 7090 Fund = 001 Approp = 101 Dept = 98389 Class = 081 |
| Lake Washington Institute of Technology | Oper Unit = 7260 Fund = 001 Approp = 101 Dept = 98389 Class = 081 |
| Lower Columbia College | Oper Unit = 7130 Fund = 001 Approp = 101 Dept = 98389 Class = 081 |
| Olympic College | Oper Unit = 7030 Fund = 001 Approp = 101 Dept = 98389 Class = 081 |
| Peninsula College | Oper Unit = 7010 Fund = 001 Approp = 101 Dept = 98389 Class = 081 |
| Pierce College District | Oper Unit = 7110 Fund = 001 Approp = 101 Dept = 98389 Class = 081 |
| Renton Technical College | Oper Unit = 7270 Fund = 001 Approp = 101 Dept = 98389 Class = 081 |
| SBCTC | Oper Unit = 7000 Fund = 001 Approp = 101 Dept = 98389 Class = 081 |
| Seattle Colleges | Oper Unit = 7060 Fund = 001 Approp = 101 Dept = 98389 Class = 081 |
| Shoreline Community College | Oper Unit = 7070 Fund = 001 Approp = 101 Dept = 98389 Class = 081 |
| Skagit Valley College | Oper Unit = 7040 Fund = 001 Approp = 101 Dept = 98389 Class = 081 |
| South Puget Sound Community College | Oper Unit = 7240 Fund = 001 Approp = 101 Dept = 98389 Class = 081 |
| Spokane District | Oper Unit = 7170 Fund = 001 Approp = 101 Dept = 98389 Class = 081 |
| Tacoma Community College | Oper Unit = 7220 Fund = 001 Approp = 101 Dept = 98389 Class = 081 |
| Walla Walla Community College | Oper Unit = 7200 Fund = 001 Approp = 101 Dept = 98389 Class = 081 |
| Wenatchee Valley College | Oper Unit = 7150 Fund = 001 Approp = 101 Dept = 98389 Class = 081 |
| Whatcom Community College | Oper Unit = 7210 Fund = 001 Approp = 101 Dept = 98389 Class = 081 |
| Yakima Valley College | Oper Unit = 7160 Fund = 001 Approp = 101 Dept = 98389 Class = 081 |
- Issue Details: Testers were confused by the meal per diem rates on the Coach scenario, citing confusion over the GSA rates vs. the OFM rates in the scenario.
- Research: The scenario provided the link to the U.S. General Services Administration website, which provides the meal rates for Portland, OR, but did not take into account that the Office of Financial Management (OFM) adjusts the per meal rates to embed the $5 incidentals per diem into the meal rates, thus the scenario was under-paying the total allowable per diem rate.
- Resolution: The Scenario 5: Coach Traveling with Students Test has been modified to include the OFM calculation worksheet and revised meal per diem rates.
Check Back Frequently: This section will be updated daily as issues are reported. Not seeing your recently submitted issue? This may be due to the research needed to properly address the concern.
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.
********** This testing activity is NOT taking place in the PCD environment! **********
PCP is a separate, stand-alone environment specifically established for the Proof-of-Concept 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])
Colleges Confirmed They Will Engage in Testing:
- Bates Technical College
- Bellevue College
- Cascadia College
- Centralia College
- Clark College
- Clover Park Technical College
- Columbia Basin College
- Edmonds College
- Everett Community College
- Green River College
- Olympic College
- Highline College
- Lake Washington Institute of Technology
- Lower Columbia 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 That Did Not Register for PoC Testing:
- Grays Harbor College
- Bellingham Technical College
-
Big Bend Community College
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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