Case Study III-4 The Kuali Financial System: An Open Source Project
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Teaching Note on Case Study III-4
The Kuali Financial System: An Open-Source Project
Objectives
This case study provides an example of the successful development of a large, complex enterprise
application system development by seven different universities spread geographically from New
York to Hawaii. It also provides the opportunity to discuss open-source software, including its
advantages and limitations.
Overview
Over the past several years higher education institutions have been caught between growing
dependence on information technology and increasing financial pressure. Many of these
In 2005, the universities of Indiana, Cornell, Michigan State, Arizona, Hawaii, and San Joaquin
Delta College, with support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, banded together to develop
a comprehensive suite of financial applications to serve the needs of all Carnegie Class higher
educational institutions. The applications included were Chart of Accounts, Financial
The founding group agreed to share the cost of this development and to make the resulting
This case describes the organizational structure, the policies and procedures adopted, and the
management approaches that were used to develop this very large and complex system on time
Case Study III-4 The Kuali Financial System: An Open Source Project
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The development process was deadline driven and iterative. It recognized that when problems
arise and the development falls behind schedule you can do three things: extend the due date, add
The discussion in the section on legal issues in this case is pertinent to the section on patent
protection in the discussion of intellectual property issues in Chapter 15.
At this time (January 2011) the Kuali Financial System (KFS) is being implemented at most of
the sponsoring institutions and some others as well. The success of the KFS development has
Questions for Discussion
1. –
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2. Discuss the advantages of adopting open-source software.
For application software like a financial system the major advantage may be the freedom that you
3. Discuss the disadvantages of adopting open-source software.
You do not have the support of the software vendor in installing and maintaining the software.
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4. Why did the Kuali Project partners decide to make this an open-source system?
First, in addition to concern for the welfare of their own institutions they are committed to the
5. Why did the Kuali partners establish the Commercial Affiliates Program?
6. Discuss the major success factors for the Kuali Financials development effort.
The following factors were contributed by the case author and some of the managers involved in
this development. You may identify others.
Enlightened self-interest. All participants believe that they are receiving more than they are
contributing.
A well-defined, agreed upon, and attainable product or outcome. In this case, providing the
functionality of the IU FIS in new technology.