by Lia Scott
Welcome to the first installment of a monthly column dedicated to the Davis Financial Information System (DaFIS). DaFIS is the campus-wide electronic financial system that was implemented on July 1, 1997.
This column will feature practical information aimed at improving efficiency and ease of use. In future installments you can expect to see hints and tips, answers to commonly asked questions, user profiles, and news about system upgrades.
Recently, a task force was assigned to assess the performance of DaFIS, and make recommendations for improvements. The need for more communication to the users was identified as one significant issue. Although there are many sources of information about DaFIS, surveys and feedback show that users are often unaware of these resources and what they offer. Profiled below are several resources that are important to DaFIS users.
DaFIS Web Page
By far the bulk of DaFIS information is disseminated electronically. At the heart of this system is our Web site that includes both operational and informational services. When you visit our Web site, you will find information on:
- Classes: find out what classes we offer and check your training history;
- DaFIS Training documents. As the documents are revised, they are also updated on the Web. You can compare the revision letter (e.g., Rev A) of the document you currently have against the version available on the Web. If you do not have a copy of the Table of Contents for the training manual, you should definitely visit our site;
- Informational Documents, including handouts and questions and answers from all the DaFIS forums;
- Technical issues: software installation, system troubleshooting, current system status;
- The DaFIS Customer Advisory Team: a list of representatives and minutes from their meetings.
- A "What's New" page detailing changes and upgrades to DaFIS;
- A Tip page with an indexed list of the tips sent daily to the dafis@ucdavis.edu list;
- More user friendly features and navigation aids.
Email Lists
There are currently two email lists that provide information to DaFIS users. The original list, dafis@ucdavis.edu, is moderated and provides updates and tips to users. The traffic on this list is low, but the information is important. Announcements of system upgrades, database availability, and training schedules are all made on this list. Since March 23, subscribers have also been receiving daily tips ranging from system shortcuts to profiles of Decision Support queries.The newer list, dafis-share@ucdavis.edu, is unmoderated. This list is intended as a source of information exchange. Users are encouraged to post questions and share personal tips. This list is still growing. The current subscribers are amazing in their willingness and ability to answer posted questions.
To subscribe to either list, send a message to listproc@ucdavis.edu. Leave the subject line blank, and turn off any active signature. In the body of the message type: subscribe listname yourfirstname yourlastname. (Example: subscribe dafis-share Lia Scott)
Printed Resources
In an effort to reach everyone, we will be using this column and regular articles in Dateline to broadcast information about updates and changes.I welcome your feedback and suggestions for topics and issues you would like to see discussed in this column.
Lia Scott, from Accounting and Financial Services, can be contacted by email at liascott@ucdavis.edu.
Contact Information for DaFIS:
- Email: dafishelp@ucdavis.edu
- Phone: (530) 757-3355
- Web: http://accounting.ucdavis.edu/DaFIS/