ALLENTOWN, Pa., Oct. 18, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CAI, a global technology services firm, today announced that the University of Pittsburgh, a leading public research university, improved its IT operations while employing neurodivergent individuals with CAI’s neurodiversity employment program, CAI Neurodiverse Solutions. The neurodiverse team has created more than 150 tests that are run and reviewed daily. As a result, the university automated 83% of Salesforce functional testing, reducing the processing time from several days to only a few hours.
The University’s growing technology ecosystem, which includes Salesforce, required manual, time-consuming testing by Quality Assurance (QA) staff that required several days to complete. After identifying opportunities to innovate automated solutions, the university sought expanded bandwidth to keep pace of Salesforce updates.
Cindy Wertz, chief of staff at University of Pittsburgh’s information technology department, brought CAI Neurodiverse Solutions to Jamie Craig, associate director of enterprise applications. “It was a lightbulb moment, and we began to see several areas within IT that would benefit from the program,” said Craig.
The neurodiversity employment program hired and mentored neurodivergent individuals to form a dedicated QA team. The team automated test executions while creating customized reports for root cause analysis. Additionally, the team created a framework for three areas in Salesforce:
- Salesforce Philanthropic and Alumni Engagement to track donations to the school
- Salesforce CoVax to document student vaccinations records
- Salesforce Federated Authentication to record approvals for access to university resources
"The efforts made by both our team and CAI Neurodiverse Solutions have greatly improved our IT operations,” said Craig. “But more importantly it has provided invaluable career development opportunities for talented individuals who might otherwise be overlooked."
The announcement of the university’s success comes during National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM), underscoring the significant contributions people with disabilities or neurodiverse conditions bring when in a supportive work environment. With CAI Neurodiverse Solutions, the University of Pittsburgh improves their digital infrastructure through automation while championing career development opportunities for neurodivergent individuals.
“Stories like the University of Pittsburgh’s encourage us to be more innovative when it comes to solutions in IT,” said Anthony Pacilio, vice president of Neurodiverse Solutions at CAI. “During NDEAM, and throughout the year, we reflect on how we can provide rewarding and long-lasting careers to the neurodiverse community.”
To learn more about University of Pittsburgh’s success, visit https://www.cai.io/resources/success-stories/cai-neurodiverse-solutions-university-of-pittsburgh-testing-automation
About CAI
CAI is a global technology services firm with over 8,500 associates worldwide and a yearly revenue of $1 billion+. We have over 40 years of excellence in uniting talent and technology to power the possible for our clients, colleagues, and communities. As a privately held company, we have the freedom and focus to do what is right—whatever it takes. Our tailor-made solutions create lasting results across the public and commercial sectors, and we are trailblazers in bringing neurodiversity to the enterprise.
Learn how CAI powers the possible at www.cai.io
About University of Pittsburgh
Founded in 1787, the University of Pittsburgh is a top 10 recipient of NIH funding and repeatedly ranked as the best public university in the Northeast. Home to 16 undergraduate, graduate and professional schools — and four regional campuses located throughout Western Pennsylvania — Pitt offers nearly 500 distinct degree programs, serves more than 33,000 students, and employs more than 14,000 faculty and staff. The University’s central IT department, Pitt Information Technology, provides a wide range of innovative IT services and systems that support all of the learning, teaching, research, and business taking place at the University.
Contact
Derek Herman
Executive Director of Communications
CAI
derek.herman@cai.io
