ictc meeting (1) paul jeffreys, 23 november 2006 ict strategy programme final consultation paul...

(1) Paul Jeffreys, 23 November 2006ICTC Meeting

ICT Strategy ProgrammeFinal Consultation

Paul Jeffreys

http://www.ict.ox.ac.uk/strategy

http://www.ict.ox.ac.uk/strategy/plan

http://www.ict.ox.ac.uk/strategy/plan/plan.xml.ID=route_planner


Remit

“The overall aim of the ICT Strategic Plan is to enable colleges, departments, faculties and divisions to offer their users the best and most cost-effective ICT services and resources, to ensure that local ICT investment results in maximum benefits and to provide the best possible environment and support for academic life within the University of Oxford.”

If asked to summarise in one line:-“… to enable academic community to determine strategic priorities

in ICT, and to constrain overall financial envelope”


ICTC Consultation

Set of presentations/consultations:-– ICTC: 9 June 2005

– ICTC: 19 January 2006

– ICTC: 2 March 2006

– Open Meeting: 26 May 2006

– ICTC: 8 June 2006

Members of SG: – Jo Ashbourn, Pete Biggs, Bill Dutton, Stuart Lee, Stephen Parkinson, David

Popplewell

Member of WTs: – Peter Baker

ICTC been very much part of process of creating ICT Strategic Plan– Thank you for important contributions

– Now – time for ICTC to stand back and appraise the current status …


Status and Background


Status

Last meeting of ICTS SG, 1 June 2006:– Later than expected, meant that consultation period in TT missed

Presentation to PRAC in TT– Content fine, need to improve style and language

Over summer:– Completed Draft ICT Strategic Plan

• Produced online version– Access to individual paragraphs

– Numerous attempts at Summary/Consultation Document…

14 November – momentous day!– Consultation document (circulated) agreed by PRAC

– Consultation period started the next day

– Closes on Friday 26 January 2007

Final ICT Strategic Plan will be submitted to PRAC near the end HT


Strategy - Fundamental Principles

1. The prioritisation and development of ICT services must be driven by Oxford’s teaching, learning, research and administrative requirements• Oxford Corporate Plan used to ensure alignment with institutional goals:

http://www.ox.ac.uk/gazette/2004-5/supps/corporate.htm

2. The provision of ICT services must be both flexible and responsive as requirements change

3. The framework for the delivery of ICT must ensure that tailored local ICT support and management is retained

4. The working environment of the 600 ICT Staff who are employed around the University should be one which enables them to work together more closely so that best practice is shared. A clear career development route should also be provided for ICT staff

5. There must be an effective mechanism to appraise centrally funded ICT provision in order to ensure that overall central ICT expenditure is contained within an agreed budget specified by the University. Priorities should be determined by the academic community and take into account local ICT requirements and planning

6. “Principles and processes necessary to deliver optimal, cost-effective ICTwhich will satisfy the University’s performance standards”


“Strategy developed by consensus”An adventure!Try something new

– Bottom-up approach through set of Work Tasks (WTs)– More than fifty contributors from across collegiate University– Organic process!– Many of which – addressing top-down issues

– Build scenarios

Biggest challenge:-– Bring together outputs from WTs coherently– Iterate ideas - whilst retaining shared responsibility– Strawman Strategic Plans crucial – Companion ICT Strategic Programme Formal Record

Everything available at: http://www.ict.ox.ac.uk/strategy – Available across Oxford and beyond


Conclusions of Programme


Draft ICT Strategic Plan - contents

Executive SummaryDocument Route Planner

Purpose1. User-Oriented ICT Requirements2. Strategic ICT Requirements3. Oxford ICT Structure4. Integration of Enterprise Activities5. The ICT Budget and Priority Plan6. ICT Structure for Coordinated Decision Making7. ICT Strategy Implementation -- Phase 2Conclusions

Appendix A: ICT Investment – Five Year RoadmapAppendix B: Terms of Reference of the PRAC Sub-Cttee StructureAppendix C: Role and Responsibilities of the Director of ICTAppendix D: Organisation Structure for ICT ProjectsAppendix E: Scenarios for SuccessAppendix F: Glossary Appendix G: Consultations and References

• First two Sections describe the current state of ICT services across the University and provide the context for the recommendations which follow

• Sections 3-5 set out the case for ICT change in Oxford

• In order to effect this change, a new structure for the governance of ICT is required, which includes the creation of a new sub-committee of PRAC and a new post of Director of ICT; Section 6

• Assuming that a new structure and the other recommendations are approved, it will then be necessary to move on to the implementation of the plan; Section 7

Online document – accessible by paragraph

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Paul Jeffreys, 23 November 2006ICTC Meeting

Section 5 highlight

•Single consolidated view of ICT investment by the University with spending priorities specified by the academic community

•Create a definitive 5-year expenditure plan for Oxford’s central ICT investment

•Ability to set ICT priorities in order to constrain overall central expenditure while at the same time ensuring that ‘mission critical’ applications are appropriately resourced

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Section 6 highlightProposed new converged governance structure for ICT across collegiate University

Principal elements of the structure are :– ICT Sub-committee to the Planning

and Resource Allocation Committee– GPC for more detailed work– User Forum to ensure engagement

with ICT users across the University– Architecture Group – Post of Director of ICT

• single point of contact for ICT• providing leadership and coordination for ICT strategic planning and implementation

NB – ICT Forum feeds into GPC

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Additional Comments

1. The University of Oxford internal auditors assessed our ICT Strategic Plan against the National Computing Centre’s and JISC’s best practice guidelines and we received a clean bill of health

2. Received advice from many other Universities (UK, US and NZ)• Manchester (Mark Clark) and Auckland (John Hosking) - in particular

3. Gartner consulted on a regular basis

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Questions1. Is the strategy the correct one for the collegiate University and will it deliver

the ICT services which you would expect in a leading international University?

2. Is the proposed ICT decision-making structure sufficient to ensure that the academic community can set ICT strategic policy and priorities?

3. Does the ICT Strategic Plan provide the right balance between a devolved ICT structure and a coordinated approach to the development of ICT services?

4. Does the ICT Strategic Plan provide appropriate mechanisms to ensure that services within the three-layer model described in the Plan can work together?

5. Does the ICT Strategic Plan provide a basis on which the collegiate University can identify overall central ICT expenditure, set the priorities for ICT investment and do so within the context of competing priorities and financial constraints?

Feedback encouraged, use online form

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End of presentation

Questions

http://www.ict.ox.ac.uk/strategy/

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Scenarios for Successhttp://www.ict.ox.ac.uk/strategy/plan/plan.xml.ID=appE Brief scenarios intended as illustrative examples of:

– benefits which might result from the identification and prioritisation of shared ICT services for Oxford

– their implementation within a coherent information environment

Scenarios derive their priorities from user feedback and connect those requirements with the ICT priorities given as outputs

Roles represented by scenarios:– Undergraduate Student – Graduate Student – Part-time Taught Postgraduate Masters Student – Researcher – Lecturer – Department Administrator – Head of Division/Department – IT Support Officer – College Alumni Officer

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Section 1Summarises the changes that have been requested by users

Principal aspirations include:1. Easy access to the network for members and authorised visitors;2. A single method for accessing online resources, from any location and at

any time;3. Systems to support teaching, research and administration which talk to one

another, are continuously available, and can be tailored for, and evolve with, individual requirements;

4. A means to determine the technical feasibility for new requirements (e.g. plagiarism detection, secure electronic submission);

5. Secure online storage for personal files and a digital repository for the outputs from research, teaching and administration;

6. Improvements to Oracle Financials, including an efficient purchasing interface, more flexible general ledger reporting, and better grants reporting; and

7. Provision of training and support associated with each ICT service or development.

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Section 2Consider Oxford’s strategic ICT requirements to achieve the objectives of

the University as set out in its Corporate Plan

In order to benefit from local ICT provision within a devolved ICT structure, there must be:– improved coordination and interoperability – Oxford must be in a position to respond effectively to statutory requirements

RecommendationR3. Recognise that Oxford’s devolved ICT infrastructure should be a

heterogeneous but coordinated set of ICT services, some run centrally, some locally and many shared

Benefits– ICT policy and investment determined by research, educational and

administrative needs – An ICT framework capable of underpinning world-class research using

innovative ICT to improve efficiency, functionality, and communications

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Section 3A proposal to refine and develop Oxford’s devolved ICT structure

Identify three distinct types of ICT provision and principles which determine allocation– ‘local’ (within college or department and generally provided without central ICT funds)– ‘standards-based shared services’

– ‘enterprise-wide services’ (central service provision)

An ICT Forum which will coordinate and represent all ICT staff in the University and report into a new Co-ordinated ICT Decision Making structure

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Section 3 continued

Recommendations R9. Refine the devolved Oxford ICT structure through the application of a three-

layer model comprising local services, standards-based shared services and enterprise-wide services

R12. Specify and implement the required standards for interoperability so that local units will be able to make judgements regarding the most cost-effective means of delivering services to their users within the three-layer model

R14. Create an ICT Forum in which all IT support staff within Oxford are represented, coordinated, and allocated a small but sufficient budget in order to develop a secondment scheme and fund other small-scale relevant activities

R15. Develop the structures necessary to enable Oxford to benefit from coordinated purchasing of ICT hardware, software, and consumables

Benefits Agreed set of principles and criteria for the development, maintenance and

evaluation of ICT servicesValue-for-money gained through improved support for coordinated purchasing of

ICT hardware and software and a reduction in the replication of services

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Section 4Oxford’s enterprise applications (i.e. those that operate across the University) to

interconnect seamlessly and effectively and to interoperate with local applications.

Recommendations

R16. Ensure the integration of enterprise and shared ICT services through the development of an over-arching interoperability policy, including both organisational and technical aspects

R17. Base the interoperability of enterprise systems on standards agreed via an Architecture Group (part of a new Governance structure)

R20. Develop supporting structures for the planning and management of ICT projects, including the definition and use of appropriate methodologies

Benefits

Procurement of centrally-provided systems which match the requirements defined by the part of the collegiate University sponsoring the activity;

Availability of University-wide services which provide a single means of accessing online systems and resources for students and staff, whether part-time or full-time and whether or not they are resident in Oxford

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Section 6 continuedRecommendations R28. Develop a committee structure as proposed which should provide strategic

direction for ICT, determine ICT policy and agree the priorities for central ICT investment. The committee structure will also ensure mission-critical ICT services are resilient and reliable; identify and manage risks; ensure Oxford complies with relevant legislation; and put in place quality assurance standards for optimal ICT operational delivery

R31. Establish an Architecture Group to develop and maintain an interoperability framework for Oxford together with the monitoring of ICT projects' adherence to appropriate standards

R32. Create a User Forum with a cross-section of Oxford ICT users

Benefits The new structure will be able to establish the academic requirements and so

determine the strategy and policy framework for ICT across the University. It will also formulate, review and oversee the University’s programme of ICT projects;

The Director of ICT will be able to promote ICT across the University, to provide leadership and coordination for ICT strategic planning, to ensure that mission-critical services are delivered and to implement the ICT Strategic Plan;

ictc meeting (1) paul jeffreys, 23 november 2006 ict strategy programme final consultation paul...

Documents

ictc meeting

ict staff

delivery of ict

ictc consultation

provision of ict services

development of ict services

final ict strategic

draft ict strategic