Space Software Migration

INSITE is UW-Madison’s current space information software. It serves as the system of record for UW-Madison’s facility and space information including facility numbers, names, and addresses; and individual room information including department assignments, square footage, and use. INSITE is no longer supported, so UW-Madison is migrating to a new software called FM:Systems.

FM:Systems will support the same core functionality and operational requirements as INSITE, and will replace INSITE as the system of record for facility and space information.

In general, they both support our core space information needs including facility- and space-level data and reporting with integrated space drawings. Users are able to query space data and view drawings via a web browser in both systems. Both systems have an online survey tool to collect space information updates from campus departments.

The FM:Systems web interface will have a different look and feel. It will also have different reporting options for both Space Management staff and campus users. The user roles and permission structure is different, so campus users may see differences in what data and drawings they can view.

FM:Systems also has some space planning and move management features that the Space Management Office will continue to explore. These are not a priority for go-live implementation, but may be valuable in the future.

Our existing space software, INSITE Net-FM, is no longer supported. The non-profit organization that licensed and supported it dissolved in September 2023. Although UW-Madison still has an INSITE license and the software is stable, we need to migrate to a new system that is fully supported and that will continue to develop as technology changes over time.

Yes, one of the key features of FM:Sytems is the Higher Ed Survey module. It will serve the same purpose as the current INSITE survey tool – collecting space data updates – although it will look and feel a little different.

We are planning for FM:Systems to go live on April 14, 2025.

INSITE will continue to be updated and available until the FM:Systems go-live date is set. After FM:Systems is live, INSITE access will be decommissioned and the Space Management Office will stop updating it. Space Management will retain the INSITE data for approximately one year.

We originally set March 3 as a tentative go-live date until we got through some final testing and configuration with FM:Systems support. We discovered we needed more time to get the software set up completed and be ready to go live smoothly.

The main drivers for this date change are: 

• Critical bug fixes need to be tested and implemented to ensure performance issues have been addressed. 

• Testing during our internal launch period revealed the need for additional data reconfiguration required before go-live. 

• Additional time will then be needed to validate data, drawings, and the user experience are working as planned after those fixes and reconfigurations are completed. 

The Space Management Office needs to update the facility and space information in FM:Systems to ensure it is current before we go live. Base data and drawings were loaded from INSITE to FM:Systems in the summer of 2024 to set up the software. We need to reconcile any changes to the records since then before we can fully cutover.

We also need to verify that data connections between FM:Systems and other campus software are working correctly. For example, we need to regularly load employee data into FM:Systems to assign staff to rooms; and we need to regularly extract data from FM:Systems to supply location information to Physical Plant, Business Services, Human Resources, and others.

Departmental space assignments will be different in FM:Systems. We will change the way we code organizational assignments in the campus space records to carry organizational assignment data in two fields instead of one.

The two fields are:

Assigned Organization

• A single value for each space to indicate which department is assigned to a space
• This value cannot be prorated

Associated Organization

• This will be used to identify the departments that are associated, or using, the space
• This could be prorated to represent shared organizational associations
• If the assigned and associated organization are the same, then both fields will list the same department at 100%

We do not have a way to identify both organizational assignment and organizational association in our current space coding system. That makes it difficult to report on which departments occupy or are associated with a given space in some cases. That is becoming increasingly problematic as space data is used more for planning and decision-making.

Some typical use cases are space on loan and centers and institutes where it is important to identify which department is assigned to the space (100%) and which departments may be associated with the space.

Yes, all the existing facility and space data, and drawings, will be loaded into FM:Systems. The Space Management Office will validate that information in FM:Systems, and may contact schools, colleges, divisions, and/or departments to assist with validation as needed.

Yes, our goal is for existing INSITE users to be automatically set up with FM:Systems access when it goes live. There may be some differences in the user roles and permissions, so Space Management may contact campus users if we have questions about how to best map your INSITE permissions into FM:Systems.

There will be. Stay tuned for demonstration and training opportunities before and after go-live.

The SMO Reports website will be decommissioned after FM:Systems goes live. Our goal is to make all facility and space information available through FM:Systems or other standard campus reporting channels (e.g., Tableau).

The space software change is not related to the ATP/Workday transition. We would have to make this space software change even if ATP/Workday wasn’t happening.

The space software will serve as the system of record for facility and space information that feeds Workday. Space Management is working with ATP to ensure Workday locations are accurate and update regardless of the space software we use.

If you have any questions or need further information, please do not hesitate to contact:

• UW-Madison Project Contact: Jim Gasparick, Space Information Supervisor, james.gasparick@wisc.edu

Space Management currently uses UDDS codes to assign space to UW-Madison departments. We plan to continue using UDDSs for the FM:Systems go-live.

When Workday goes live, we will use Cost Center Hierarchy level 7 for organizational space assignments in FM:Systems. We will communicate more about this change close to Workday go-live.