Date: Fri, 25 Oct 96 15:55:49 EDT From: dania@MIT.EDU (Daniela Aivazian) To: itlt-notes@MIT.EDU, ilead@MIT.EDU Subject: ITLT Vision Statements 10/21/96 - Pt 1 The appended vision statements were background material for ITLT's Five Year Planning session at Endicott House this past Monday, 21 October 1996. The ITLT members' visions should be viewed within the context of their assignment's original instructions, which were: Develop a SHORT vision of where you see your process or practice or area on July 1, 1998. Focus on the critical success factors for getting there from here. To frame a discussion of the "big issues" in your area, consider these three questions: a. What are the drivers of IS change? b. What are the likely impacts of that change -- possible threats and opportunities? c. What capabilities and assets do we have in IS to address the threats and to take advantage of the opportunities? In conveying their visions, the directors were asked to be as succinct as possible. ________________________________________________________________________ Visions for MIT Information Systems on 1 July 1998 ITLT Planning Session 21 October 1996 ________________________________________________________________________ Vision for Information Systems Over the next 18 months, Information Systems will continue to focus on "operational excellence" in delivering services to the MIT community. We will be widely recognized in the community for the quality of our services; all service metrics - e.g., the time required to install a network drop, the number of unresolved problems in a queue, the effort to deliver a new application, etc. - will have decreased substantially. Information Systems will be the organization against which other MIT organizations benchmark their service functions. At the same time, we will be seen as appropriately innovative, introducing new technology and services to the community to meet its information technology needs. Further, the customer who has special needs will be seen as an opportunity to partner with, rather than an adversary to battle. Drivers of Change 1. New technology - desktop hardware will continue to drop rapidly in price for the same performance - new devices - e.g., the network based computer will become available - faster networks 2. New applications - SAP, Student Services, etc. - distance education 3. Human resources - IS as a process-centered organization - staff technical and behavioral competencies Threats 1. That we will not be able to move sufficiently fast to improve our productivity and increase our operational excellence to have staff time to meet increased demand, and for innovation and meeting special customer needs.That staff and leaders will be resistant to efforts that move us further towards a process-centered organization. 2. That we will be unable to compete successfully for the brightest and best staff. Opportunities This is a unique moment of time in MIT's history. The way the Institute does its business is being blown wide open. There are unparalleled opportunities for our processes and for individuals to excel within them in the delivery of I/T services. James D. Bruce ________________________________________________________________________ Vision for IS Administration and Finance It is July 1998, and Information Systems is well entrenched in the Process-driven organizational structure. The advent of SAP, along with the new IS structure, has had a significant effect on the roles of the Administrative and Financial personnnel. The SAP system has significantly reduced the work needed to produce timely and accurate financial and operational reports to the teams, processes, and practices. Basic financial data, as well as some previously paper-intensive administrative tasks, are now electronic and are performed on-line by the teams themselves. The F&A staff are now more focused on providing a Business Analyst-type function, such as developing and tracking new types of metrics and analyzing business processes with an eye toward strategic planning and process improvement. Through negotiations with Software and Hardware manufacturers the MCC model has been reengineered to ensure that MIT students and administrative departments are receiving up-to-date technology at competitive prices with delivery within 24-48 hours. I. Drivers of Change a) Process Oriented IS Structure b) SAP c) Shrinking Margins in the Personnel Computer Market II. Impacts Threats - SAP Functionality Delayed / Compromised - Continued squeezing of the margins on desktop devices without relief from the vendors; margins at the MCC go from slim to negative Opportunities - Start negotiations with vendors immediately to ensure a new viable solution is in place before margins at the MCC become negativ, draining MIT funds - New MCC model could be coupled with ECAT model. Capabilities & Assets - Segregation of Finance & Administrative duties from operational duties; this allows competencies to be more focused and allows IS to gain economies of scale. - IS as SAP Pilot site will help drive functionality of SAP to ensure IS needs are met. Thomas Mullins ________________________________________________________________________ Vision for IS Academic Computing Practice Drivers of IS Change - Increasing interest in understanding and applying IT to enhance/transform teaching and learning (content and clientele, methods and management) - Pedagogical directions greater coupling of workplace and education: tools and processes increased proximity of research-teaching - Technology developments and options presenting opportunities to exploit as well as diversity virtuality, multimedia, networks, OSes, WWW, VBNS - Several agencies involved in IT/IR services (library, AV, ESPs) - Staff need to innovate and accomplish - Ed Tech Council's work a declared priority Likely impacts - more IS involvement in technology/application exploration - greater engagement in academic forum - demand for more 3rd party software specialized facilities - Advanced Visualization.; supercomputing; electronic classrooms - infrastructure=physical+virtual - expectation of specialized support (resources and services) - collaborative projects with other agencies (internal and external) - engagement with wider segment of vendors - lack of resources to meet needs of projects and specialized support - uneducated demand and unplanned supply (fragmented) - central management of distributed diversity with reliability and efficiency - equitable access for extended community: ilgs; distant network capability/management - increased communication with customers - protocols for increased seamlessness and directed flow between practice-processes - standard systematic processes for efficient management of projects and resources - software, lockers, licenses (fewer custom solutions) - multiple service configurations: public ws; docking; quickstations IS Capabilities and Assets - organizational structure with potential to leverage resources and influence strategic directions - competent and energetic staff - experience with developing, deploying, and managing sophisticated distributed computing environment - interest and capability to execute complex projects. - credibility and some history of success with customer community ******************* Snapshot of ACP during the week of 1 July 1998 Information Systems is fully engaged in supporting an institutional effort to enable MIT be a model of information technology use for academic excellence, as evidenced by the following snapshot of the events-calendar for the week of July 1, 1998: Week of July 1, 1998 Meeting of AC Advisory Group to finalize selection of 3-4 projects for IS support. 2 of these projects are multi-department initiatives. Demonstration in the Advanced Visualization facility: 3D modeling software for studying ripples; a new virtual environment for chemistry. Video-conference with collaborators on the Virtual Infrastructure Project Project Meeting : Humanities curriculum using video-segments from the Goethe Institute and images from the library. Committee on classrooms (AV+IS+faculty+Registrars) meeting to review feedback from faculty and utilization data and develop plan for expansion and modernization. Crosstalk: Faculty forum. Topic: Has the picture been worth a Thousand Words?: looking at the effectiveness of animated electromagnetism. Results of a Web-based satisfaction survey show high degree of satisfaction with services. Center for educational Technology - positive response to initial draft of proposal. ACMG meeting to review Athena order and deployment status. 6 vendors have responded. New institutions, (one a design school in Australia and the other in California, have joined the design studio collaborative w/ participating univs also on a high b/w network). ITLT meeting agenda item: implications of new service request to support videoconferencing with groupware links. Process: Status of pending projects in the pipeline from project database scrutinized; discussion on improving flow-control between practice-processes. ACS Meeting: Team members report on being able to spend more time with faculty support on specific initiatives because of efficiencies in software and course locker management operations. Representatives from Stanford and Michigan visit the New Media Center to see some of the projects and discuss how this center is being managed. Interview for project technicians. IS SUMMER is HERE picnic - celebrating successful transformations! M.S. Vijay Kumar ________________________________________________________________________ Vision for IS Office Computing Practice It is July 1, 1998, and the following has occurred: - SAP has been rolled out to the entire Institute - The nature of the new work has been defined, and there is a clear plan as to how units will move to the new work model - Over 500 new desktops have been deployed to the departments and are being used by the "power-users" of SAP - Many upgraded desktops have been redeployed to upgrade other Office staff within the departments - Over 1000 new network drops have been installed within the Office environment - Local IT staff (local experts) have had a year of direction and training by IS teams - Many of the IT community attend and participate in OCMG and ACMG meetings - IS has on-going training for the IT staff, as well as Core training for the Office customers - ECAT has been in production for eight months, two new partners have been added, and release 2 is in the planning stage - There is a clear renewal plan for Office computing which encourages the use of a common base set of hardware, software, and connectivity - There are defined strategic goals for the coming year - There are resources dedicated to assure achieving the goal set forth - There is an ITC (Information Technology Committee) in place under the direction of the IS/VP which validates the computing direction Diane M. Devlin ________________________________________________________________________ Vision for IS Voice, Data, and Image Networking Practice - We have the right mix of services available to our customers. - Our customers can make one call and get the service they need (e.g., an office move). - We work with customers to understand their needs, match current services to them, and develop or acquire new services to meet future demands. - Our buildings are logically pre-wired for voice, data, and video services. - We know what "businesses" we are in and have strong financial models and rational rates for them. - We are using SAP and other tools to efficiently manage our businesses. - We obtain the best rates possible for services we acquire from outside. - Our operational teams function efficiently so resources are freed up to rapidly deliver new services and systems. - We actively monitor technological advances and identify opportunities to apply them to support MIT's educational, research, and administrative missions. - Our customers understand the new IS well enough to feel comfortable dealing with a team-based, process-driven organization. - Our teams communicate directly with each other and work together to solve cross-team issues. - Our staff is flexible, has broader experience, and looks for new challenges and responsibilities. - "We" and "our" transcend the boundary of IS. Dennis Baron ________________________________________________________________________ Vision for IS Competency Groups - An I/T staff with.. expertise, commitment, organizational alignment effective team-based processes - Staff selection... competency-based methods high rate of "intake" internal placement external recruiting exit interview process - Development and Training... competency-based development access to mentoring easy access to formal training options emphasis on project management and other strategic development directions a strategic direction for tech and behavioural development, anticipating future departmental needs team effectiveness initiatives communities of practice links to training and pubs group, or CG-based group to facilitate - Performance Multi-source assessment process in place Satisfaction with process, consistency - Reward begun to address compensation issues foundation for salary case(s) to senior administration - CG Strategic workplan and ongoing revision process developed, approved our team - full complement, effective, leveraging I/T "partners", links to advisory group people and projects database as technical foundation for team staffing, performance monitoring, prioritization, and results reporting good handle on budgetary and resource needs for future fundamental links to Process and practice units in place so that we can monitor and understand ongoing process to review competency model ******************** Critical Success Factors CG team must gel, roles must be defined Workplan must be developed and approved We must win confidence and trust of I/T staff We must develop a comprehensive understanding of I/T work, organization, customers for today/tomorrow Must address high-profile issues : compensation, N42 Must streamline and accelerate recruiting process IS Big Issues - Change drivers technology industry trends cultural trends in computing/communications change in support for research/instructional computing University initiatives - SAP, HRPT, Student Svcs, etc local I/T staff - quantity, skills, responsibilities - Threats & Opportunities work overload, ability/inability to migrate into new areas attitude, trust, loyalty dissipation, staff turnover rate ability/inability to attract quality staff work environment issues : appreciation, space, compensation accountability gaps organizational ambiguities, flexibility - Capabilities and assets talented staff willingness to experiment commitment, desire for improvement capacity for intellectual engagement and creativity new leadership, new perspectives Erin Rae Hoffer (and Shirley M. Picardi) ________________________________________________________________________