Institutional Strategic Plan IT Revision 2-15-06
PLEASE CONTRIBUTE!!
Note about the document; the goals highlighed in yellow were specifically flagged for wordsmithing by the ITCH core group.. although in retrospect, this could be done to any of the goals.
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| Strategic Plan 2-15 v3_2.doc | 48.5 KB |
I read over the modified strategic plan that Rip sent out earlier today and had a couple of comments. First, it seems that one of the goals of this modified strategic plan is to reduce duplication of goals, and to winnow out goals in themselves from strategies for achieving these goals. Goals 6, 11 and 13 were all rethought in these ways and melded with goal 3. With this in mind I thought I might further suggest that goals 5 and 12 seem to be strategies for achieving goal 1, rather than goals in and of themselves. Goal 4 might also be seen as a strategy, but it highlights the specific need to focus on security which probably should stand on its own, because it is a Big Deal.
Goal 1: "Manage resources effectively". We are a small school, with limited resources. We have big plans, but we don't have the big money to back them up. Because of this we need to pay close attention to what it is we are doing, how we are doing it and what we want to be doing and thoughtfully make the most of the resources we do have.
Goal 5: "More predictability for IT projects". I see the usage of project management tools to stabilize our development process as a means of managing our resources effectively more than as a goal in itself. Like we say in the software world, "this is not a design issue, it is an implementation issue". <A small nit-pick in the wording for the description of this goal. In this sentence "Cost, scope and outcomes will be more predicable..." I would substitute the word 'may' for 'will'. It's a dangerous assumption to believe that project management tools automatically improve IT projects>.
Goal 12: "Use available IT solutions to improve the efficient management of college business systems". This is really just an expanded version of goal 1 applied to a specific domain (business systems). Yes, we have a significant investment in IT infrastructure for administration, but should we, as a goal, seperate the effective management of these business systems from the effective management of campus IT as a whole?
Goal 4: "Increase security of networks, software, hardware and data". Again, this is an implementation issue, though it is front-loaded with specific security related goals we must achieve to meet state requirements. Security of the system is a part of effective, sustainable management. The fact is that a part of the limited resources we have to achieve goal 1 must be allocated to achieving this goal. Like I said, though, I can see how this has more of a cause for being set apart.
-isaac
I realize that I was not at the meeting so I may lack the context for this item but I would like to suggest a wording change.
"Cost, scope and outcomes will be more predictable through the expanded usage of standard IT project management tools."
By adding IT to the definition we can take in to account that IT project management tools add functionality that is more specific to IT. Componets like bug (defect) tracking, version control , build control tools , customer requests (feature request) , automatic information push (emailing of bug, file changes , deadline) in addition to the general project management componets like Gantt charts and the like.
I know my participation in this process up to now has been "intermitent" only in the loosest sense of the word. I would like to try to be better and actually throw my hat in once in a while. I'm afraid I might initially cause more problems than I solve, so I hope you will be patient with me while I blunder around in an attempt to catch up.
One thing I noticed while going through the modified strategic plan is the frequent references to "sustainability" as a goal for IT projects and systems. My understanding is that the notion of sustainability is a very specific concept, especially here at Evergreen, that relates to the human presence on earth and the effects our decisions have on the sustainability of our environment both now and in the future. I understand that "sustainability" can also apply to IT projects in that we can think about the impact our decisions have on IT infrastructure and its use and plan for the future, but I think that using this word in this way at this school seems like it might be a little touchy.
Again, being that I've been mostly out of the loop I could really be putting my foot in my mouth here. Maybe at the very least we should clarify what we mean by "sustainable".
-isaac