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CalSTRS says major technical testing complete for Benefit Connect; UAT behind plan but training underway
Summary
CalSTRS reported completion of 18 months of system integration testing for its Pension Solution/Benefit Connect project, closure of many defects, and that user acceptance testing (UAT) is in progress though behind target; staff expects an 8–10 business‑day conversion blackout during cutover and will present further budget/HR requests at the May meeting.
CalSTRS project leadership and independent oversight updated the board on the Pension Solution implementation (Benefit Connect).
Ashish Jain, chief technology officer, and Anthony Sweeney, project director, said system integration testing (SIT) concluded after an 18‑month effort that executed about 3,250 test scripts and validated roughly 99.5 percent of those cases by February; project staff reported resolving approximately 9,000 defects during the testing period. Anthony said 11 change requests added over 200 test cases, largely due to new legislation (including tax‑reporting and overpayment rules).
User acceptance testing (UAT) remains in progress: the team has executed about 85 percent of approximately 4,435 test cases, with several hundred failed scripts being triaged across major business areas (financial services, disability, survivor benefit and service retirement). Staff described corrective actions: additional test environments, faster triage and closer vendor collaboration to prioritize defects and deployments.
Training and transformation readiness are advancing: all end‑user training materials were completed and a train‑the‑trainer program is underway with a planned schedule of end‑user training through September. Anthony said cutover dry runs are planned and that data conversion will require a blackout window the project estimates at about 8–10 business days (typically 8–10 business days for extraction, conversion and re‑validation); project staff said they will provide advance notice to members and employers and will capture notes to allow backdating of transactions where needed.
Staff also notified the board of a planned noncompetitive contract extension request for Guidehouse (independent project oversight) to continue through go‑live and at least six months of maintenance and operations.
Next steps: Staff will continue UAT and triage, run dry runs and bring a budget/HR plan for a post‑implementation program division to the May meeting.
