However, as a result, some "home-grown" systems, developed and maintained locally within individual Laboratory divisions and departments, may also need to be modified to retain compatibility with the Laboratory's central systems. "The 15-character project may present a challenge for some non-institutional systems," said Rich Nosek, manager of the Financial Systems section of ISS. "The problem is, since some of these systems were written without ITSD involvement, we don't have a complete inventory of where the potential impacts may be. We definitely want people to be aware of this change and to let us know if they anticipate any difficulties with it."

Although this enhancement will permit the use of up to fifteen characters for identifying projects, Nosek emphasizes that nobody will be forced to use more than six characters, nor will any of the current six-character ID's need to be changed. However, some business managers may find it easier to give projects names that are more descriptive than a mix of six numbers and letters.

Enhancements to the General Ledger feeder systems are already under way, with a targeted completion date in time for the start of the next fiscal year on October 1, 2002.

If you use a non-institutional system for tracking project information, and would like additional information or wish to provide feedback, contact Rich Nosek at RDNosek@lbl.gov or x6192.