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WINNIE the Scoop! Newsletters
May 2, 2024
As we move closer to pilot and roll-out, we are reimplementing the “WINNIE the Scoop!” newsletter to help communicate about all things WINNIE.
Reports to Help Prepare for WINNIE
There are a number of Infoview reports that need to be run to ensure you are prepared for WINNIE. The following reports and how to use them have all been provided in previous HuBERT Hints.
- INCOMPLETE CERTS & INCOMPLETE MCAS – clean up incomplete certification records, which cannot be completed in WINNIE if they were started in HuBERT. While MCAs can be completed in WINNIE, to ensure a smooth transition, we are encouraging you to resolve both incomplete certs and MCAs in HuBERT.
- WIC CARD AND/OR PRIMARY CARDHOLDER NOT ASSIGNED TO REPRESENTATIVE – clean up households that currently have their WIC Card and/or Primary Cardholder incorrectly assigned to a row that begins with the State WIC ID in the EBT Household Demographics screen. In WINNIE, the rows that begin with the State WIC ID no longer display, and if not fixed you will not be able to see the Primary Cardholder or card number in WINNIE. This makes it look like a card is not assigned and you are unable to deactivate or assign another card. These records must be corrected prior to your WINNIE roll-out.
- STAFF IDS AND NAMES – deactivate HuBERT users who should no longer have access. Updating users for WINNIE is a time-intensive back-end project necessary to get your agency ready for WINNIE. The cleaner the user list is, the easier it will be to complete the process. In addition, as indicated in the WINNIE Readiness Guide, each Local Agency will need to run and provide this report, including additional information, to the State office one month before rollout
We have created a new folder in Infoview to house the most updated version of these reports for easy reference. They can all be found in the INFOVIEW TEMPLATES >> WINNIE Readiness folder.
WINNIE Training
We continue to create “draft” training modules and post them to the WINNIE Training page. The modules were not created in the order they should be viewed, but instead we started developing those that were most unlike HuBERT first. However, the hyperlinked list of topics at the top of the WINNIE Training page are in the order the modules should be watched.
All agencies should prepare for CPA staff to have 3 x 8-hour days to review all the modules. Review will be most helpful if completed closer to your agency’s roll-out.
Currently, we are tentatively planning to have the WINNIE Training Environment for hands-on practice available by the end of May.
Questions & Answers
Please see WINNIE Questions & Answers to view questions that have been previously submitted from local agencies about WINNIE. You can submit your own question using the WINNIE Questions for the State WIC Office form.
October 5, 2023
WINNIE Training
Although we are still developing the WINNIE training modules, those that are currently available can be found on the WINNIE Training page (navigation: Local Agencies page >> Staff Resources section >> Information System dropdown >> WINNIE Information System).
Reviewing the modules will take 2-3 full 8-hour days, and agencies should prepare to provide staff with adequate time to review them prior to roll-out. However, we encourage staff to begin reviewing them at any time.
Most modules are between 10-15 minutes long and do not have to be viewed in one sitting. The training modules have Tables of Contents that allow easy navigation back to certain sections or topics. The modules are currently in the order they should be viewed but there are gaps in topics, as we’ve prioritized some of the topics based on the functionality being different from HuBERT.
We will continue adding modules as soon as they are completed.
HuBERT Reports Environment Retired/New WINNIE Office Environment
Since WINNIE does not have on-demand reports we have renamed the HuBERT Reports Environment to WINNIE Office Environment. The Office Environment, like the Reports Environment will house all of Minnesota WIC’s participant data.
Currently, we have more than 300 State and Local Agency staff that have access to the Reports Environment in HuBERT. However, with the transition to the WINNIE Office Environment we anticipate the need for access to this environment will be much lower with only a limited number of staff from an agency with access.
Staff that may need access to the Office Environment are those that DO NOT have access to the WINNIE production environment and need to view participant information or those that need to regularly review older historical participant data.
As part of the WINNIE Readiness Guide, Local Agency Coordinators will be asked to indicate which WINNIE production role is needed for each staff member as well as if access to the Office environment is needed.
Questions & Answers
These have also been added to the WINNIE Questions & Answers webpage.
Q: Will the HuBERT issue that allows over-issuance of formula when switching to another type of the same formula (ex: switching from powder to RTF) be resolved in WINNIE?
A: WINNIE’s Adjust Benefits, which is the Food Adjust Wizard equivalent, does not have this issue. If you issue the powdered formula and need to exchange it for RTF, you “recover” (remove from the account/WIC Card) the powdered formula and select the new RTF. When selecting the RTF, there is a Formula Item Calculator that shows you the reconstituted values for both formulas and what is remaining. The Quantity allowed for reissuance is based on the reconstituted ounces made available by the recovered powdered formula.
Q: In WINNIE, will we be able to enter blood lead levels with a decimal point?
A: A: Yes. WINNIE accepts lead values with one decimal point. The validation for the Lead field is any value between 1.0 to 99.9 (inclusive).
June 15, 2023 - Updated 11/1/2023
WINNIE PILOT & ROLL-OUT
User Acceptance Testing (UAT)
UAT Phase 2 was successfully completed in May. All bugs identified during UAT 2 were prioritized by MN and other members of the SPIRIT User Group (SUG). The SUG contractor has developed a schedule to fix the bugs, which was based on whether they were prioritized as needing resolution before we started our pilot (as the first state in the SUG to pilot) or before our statewide roll-out. Some bugs, identified as having minimal impact, will be fixed once roll-out has been completed.
Pilot & Roll-out
The Pilot agencies, Dakota, St. Paul-Ramsey, and Hennepin will be the Pilot agencies for WINNIE. These agencies were selected because they have enough staff to be able to provide feedback on training and roll-out materials, enough caseload and participant variety to thoroughly test all features in the software and have enough system users to ensure user impact on the software’s performance is thoroughly tested before rolling out to all users statewide.
Readiness Guide
The Readiness Guide (PDF) is a document that provides a list of activities or tasks that should be completed based on the amount of time before you are scheduled to roll-out. It begins 4 months prior to roll-out and ends on the day you begin your roll-out. One of the responsibilities of the Pilot will be to review and help ensure the document is complete.
Transition Guide
The Transition Guide (PDF) is a document detailing functionality that users must be aware of as agencies transition from HuBERT to WINNIE, and while both systems are in use. This is a working document that will also be reviewed by our Pilot agencies and will be added to as they identify information that should be included. This document will also provide a list of existing bugs and their work-arounds.
Roll-out
A schedule for the statewide roll-out will be provided once the dates for Pilot are determined.
Training
Drafts of WINNIE Training modules are being posted as they are completed. They are available on the WINNIE Training page.
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
The following questions were submitted. Please see the WINNIE Questions & Answers page to view the answers.
- Will there be a way to track Release of Information in WINNIE? It would be nice to have a tab or something that we can document when Release of Information forms are signed – this would allow us to run Infoview reports and better track who agreed to have data share with which program.
- In WINNIE, when staff are certifying a postpartum woman, will they be able to change between breastfeeding and non-breastfeeding during certification?
October 27, 2022
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
The following question was submitted. Please see the WINNIE Questions & Answers page to view the answer.
- Will CPAs be able to access files scanned into the participant’s folder when completing a cert/midcert?
WINNIE USER ACCEPTANCE TESTING (UAT)
The first round of UAT for WINNIE began on September 19, 2022, and will end on November 11, 2022. UAT is a combined effort that includes the other states in the SPIRIT User Group (SUG). For Minnesota, over 30 Local Agency and State staff have been working to complete over 400 scripts. To date, there have been 128 defects identified, which is a relatively low number for being 5 weeks into UAT. For reference, we had over 400 defects identified during UAT 1 for HuBERT. The WINNIE development contractor will determine the dates for the second round of UAT once round 1 has been completed. The UAT 2 start date will be dependent on the total number of defects and the time needed to implement corrections. Once the dates for UAT 2 are known, we will be able to provide pilot and rollout plans. The MIS & Data Unit will continue to provide updates in future WINNIE the Scoops!
A very big “THANK YOU” to all Local Agency and State staff who have contributed to this huge testing effort!
WINNIE the Scoop! Newsletter #22 (PDF) - 9/29/22
Contents: Phase 1 of UAT; Prepare for WINNIE by Cleaning Up Incomplete Certs & MCAs Questions & Answers
WINNIE the Scoop! Newsletter #21 (PDF) - 7/21/22
Contents: Efforts in Preparation for Phase 1 of UAT; Questions & Answers; Adjust Benefits Overview #3 Module (HTML5/7 minutes); Adjust Benefits Overview #3 Script (PDF)
WINNIE the Scoop! Newsletter #20 (PDF) - 6/16/22
Contents: WINNIE Information on MDH WIC Website; Information Provided in Previous WINNIE the Scoop! Newsletters
WINNIE the Scoop! Newsletter #19 (PDF) - 5/26/22
Contents: Adjust Benefits Overview #2 Module (HTML5/16 minutes); Adjust Benefits Overview #2 Script (PDF)
WINNIE the Scoop! Newsletter #18 (PDF) - 4/27/22
Contents: WINNIE (and HuBERT) Information Coming to Your Inbox on Thursdays Starting in May 2022!; Questions & Answers; Adjust Benefits Overview #1 Module (HTML5/18 minutes); Adjust Benefits Overview #1 Script (PDF)
WINNIE the Scoop! Newsletter #17 (PDF) - 3/16/22
Contents: Timeline for Phase 1 of UAT; Benefit Issuance Overview #2 Module (HTML5/10 minutes); Benefit Issuance Overview #2 Script (PDF)
WINNIE the Scoop! Newsletter #16 (PDF) - 2/16/22
Contents: Timeline is Being Revised; Questions & Answers; Benefit Issuance Overview #1 Module (HTML5/7 minutes); Benefit Issuance Overview #1 Script (PDF)
WINNIE the Scoop! Newsletter #15 (PDF) - 1/19/22
Contents: Requirements Validation Testing (RVT) for Cycle 7 Extended Two Weeks; Questions & Answers; Overview of Usernames, Password Requirements, Logging into WINNIE, Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), Locations Modal, Module Launcher, Permissions and Roles
WINNIE the Scoop! Newsletter #14 (PDF) - 12/15/21
Contents: Requirements Validation Testing (RVT) for Cycle 7 Began December 1, 2021; WINNIE and End-of-Month (EOM) Reports; Questions & Answers
WINNIE the Scoop! Newsletter #13 (PDF) - 11/17/21
Contents: Requirements Validation Testing (RVT) for Cycle 7 Begins December 1, 2021; Overview of Risk Factors; Overview of Certification History
WINNIE the Scoop! Newsletter #12 (PDF) - 10/20/21
Contents: Overview of Food Prescription & Changing the Infant's BF Amount; Overview of Food Prescription & Food Package III
WINNIE the Scoop! Newsletter #11 (PDF) - 9/15/21
Contents: Overview of Food Prescription & the Participant Folder; Overview of Food Prescription & Certifications
WINNIE the Scoop! Newsletter #10 (PDF) - 8/18/21
Contents: Overview of In State Transfers; Overview of Out-of-State Transfers or VOCs
WINNIE the Scoop! Newsletter #9 (PDF) - 7/21/21
Overview of Manage Alerts
WINNIE the Scoop! Newsletter #8 (PDF) - 6/16/21
Contents: Schedule for SPIRIT Web Project - Still Being Developed; Overview of Manage Notes
WINNIE the Scoop! Newsletter #7 (PDF) - 5/19/21
Contents: Revised Tentative Schedule for SPIRIT Web Project; Questions & Answers; Overview of Beginning Certifications and Mid-Certification Assessments (MCAs)
WINNIE the Scoop! Newsletter #6 (PDF) - 4/21/21
Contents: Development Is Behind; Schedule Will Be Revised; Questions & Answers; Overview of WINNIE Demographics ; Overview of WINNIE Navigation in the Participant Folder
WINNIE the Scoop! Newsletter #5 (PDF) - 3/17/21
Contents: WINNIE Questions Form Now Available; Statewide Roll-out Tentative Draft Now Available; WINNIE Overview ; Overview of WINNIE Navigation; Overview of WINNIE Screens (in General); Overview of WINNIE Participant Search
WINNIE the Scoop! Newsletter #4 (PDF) - 2/17/21
Contents: Project Status: Cycle 7 RVT, UAT, Hardware Assessment, Readiness Guide
WINNIE the Scoop! Newsletter #3 (PDF) - 1/20/21
Contents: ACTION ITEM! Minnesota WIC Clinic Locations Form; SPIRIT Web Project & Enhancements: Overview, Local Agency Enhancement Suggestions.
WINNIE the Scoop! Newsletter #2 (PDF) - 12/16/20
Contents: WINNIE and Reports: Assessment of Local Agency Reporting Needs, Report Requirements table
WINNIE the Scoop! Newsletter #1 (PDF) - 11/18/20
Contents: SPIRIT Web Re-Engineering Project: Overview; Project Status: Development, Requirements Validation Testing (RVT), User Acceptance Testing (UAT); Overview Training, Pilot, Statewide Roll-out, Timeline