Formed in 1996, the M-Pathways Project was charged with the design and implementation of new administrative information systems for the University of Michigan, which had previously used the Michigan Terminal System (MTS). As part of this project, the University was a Beta partner for the development of the PeopleSoft Student Administrative System. Includes Strategic Data Plan, project charter, scope documents, project methodology, performance support plans and project design and implementation deliverables relating to the organization and processes of the M-Pathways Project. Also contains archived websites and snapshots of the Lotus Notes databases used to store the design deliverables for the project. The databases include information related to the technical infrastructure, technical issues, and development of technical standards.
When the M-Pathways Project started in the Fall of 1996, several decisions were made about the way the design and implementation of the five new information systems would proceed. One of these decisions was how to organize project documentation. It was decided to centralize the team's work in a number of Lotus Notes databases. While project communications within Lotus Notes indicate that using "Notes" was very new for most project members, however, it was considered the most useful electronic storage format at the time. Several databases were initially set up, and over the course of the project additional databases were added. The earliest databases include the Big Ten Discussion and the Strategic Data Plan Documentation Library. For each of the databases, whether stored in paper or electronic format, the archivist has documented the original structure and views available within the database. This documentation includes title of database, date created, quantity, bulk dates, preservation format, and database views. This information is in a folder titled "Archivist's Documentation on Lotus Notes Databases" located in Box 1 of the record group. The record group consists of six series: Communications, Organizational, Student Administration, Technology Administration, Videotape, and Website.