march 21, 2006 nercomp 2006 worcester, massachusetts 1 copyright sunny donenfeld, 2006. this work is...

March 21, 2006 NERCOMP 2006 Worcester, Massachusetts

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Copyright Sunny Donenfeld, 2006. This work is the intellectual property of the author. Permission is granted for this material to be shared for non-commercial, educational purposes, provided that this copyright statement appears on the reproduced materials and notice is given that the copying is by permission of the author. To disseminate otherwise or to republish requires written permission from the author.

The IT Managers Council at Cornell University Improving Communication and Coordination Between Central and Local IT Staff and Operations

NERCOMP 2006 Worcester, Massachusetts

March 21, 2006


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A Decentralized Environment

Only a third of IT staff and operations at Cornell located centrally Central IT FTEs: 297/822: 36% of total IT Central IT Budget*: $25.4/68.9M: 37% of total IT

Cultural gap between Cornell’s central and local IT Pedestrians vs. drivers

* Does not include benefits


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Cultural and Organizational Context Current, historical communication and

coordination issues across IT at Cornell Gap between central and local IT

“CIT is isolated from the schools seemingly by institutional design.”

Mutual respect at the individual level Distrust at the organizational level

But, relationships are changing


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Effects of the Gap

Ineffective purchasing Duplicate technologies Additional staffing Impact beyond IT

Administrative Systems


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How to Bridge the Gap?

Fundamentally change the relationship between central and local IT Central IT must better understand units Units must articulate needs and constraints Align expectations Build communities of communication Develop and promote standards


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IT “Workforce Planning” History

2001-02 University hiring freeze; beginning of WFP Goal: $20M/year to the academic side

2003 IT WFP surveys: who and how many? External Team Review for Administrative

Computing IT WFP Recommendations Gartner Estimates

No staff targets


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Critical Outcome: IT Managers Council Recommendation Improve communication

Intra-unit Across IT units

Share information Plan together Help CIT and units become less isolated from

each other


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Critical Outcome: IT WFP Unit Plan Reviews

Unit response to the IT WFP recommendations Purpose: Alignment on roles and responsibilities Process: Meeting with Dean/VP, Business Officer,

and ITMC representative Next Steps


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ITMC Structure

One representative from each major college, administrative unit, and CIT area A large, eclectic group You’re not “you”, you’re your unit Theoretically, all Cornell IT is in the room

A note on positive side effects…


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ITMC Goals

Collaborate on substantive issues that will benefit Cornell as a whole Improve software and hardware acquisition Promote career development, advancement, and

training Recommend standards Build connections with HR, Purchasing, others

The ITMC will compel units to “take responsibility for the success of their programs as well as improve the likelihood that their

needs are met.”


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ITMC Challenges

The makeup of the group Various levels of authority within the units Different sized units

The size of the council Intra-unit communication

Don’t count on it!


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ITMC in Action: Disaster Recovery Planning Board of Trustees query: Cornell

preparedness for a Tulane-like disaster Original response from central IT Task force set up Charge

Backup software and off-site copies Cold site Quick-ship


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ITMC in Action: Help Desk Issue Tracking System Central system replacement Identification by ITMC Best Practices

Committee Collaborative project


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Recent Issue: E-Mail Client

Central neglected to inform campus Local abstained from the blame game How and when to leverage the ITMC?


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ITMC Committee Evolution: Focus on Tangible Change

ITMC Operational Procedures IT Professional Development Software Acquisition IT Proven Practices


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Operational Procedures Committee Responsible for developing a set of

structures and procedures that enhance the effectiveness of the ITMC and thereby maximize the contribution of this council.


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Operational Procedures Challenges Size and makeup of the ITMC

36 Campus IT Leaders 12 Central 15 Academic Units 9 Administrative Units

Managing discussion at monthly, 90 minute meetings

Building trust despite history


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Professional Development Committee

Responsible for exploring and recommending optimal strategies to facilitate the development of IT professionals in alignment with Workforce Planning and other university initiatives.


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Professional Development Initiatives

IT professional training Professional development conference Cross-divisional job exploration


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Software Acquisition Committee Responsible for exploring and

recommending optimal strategies for the campus-wide acquisition of computer software. Develop and recommend policies for software

acquisition that maximize efficient and cost-effective software purchase and use and that minimize university risk

Work to ensure good communication of software purchase choices and trade-offs throughout the Cornell community


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Software Acquisition: Current Discussions

Improving communication between CIT Software Licensing and the rest of campus

Advising the Purchasing Office and CIT's central software acquisition team on policies and strategic directions

Exploring whether cost savings created by central licensing are accurately reflected in funding


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Proven Practices Committee

Committee’s charge is to collect and document internal IT practices in order to: promote their use when they would help increase

IT effectiveness and efficiency facilitate inter-unit communication and

collaboration establish and promote Cornell standard best

practices identify and prioritize technical areas in need of

campus-wide solutions


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Best Practices Initiatives

Focus on desktop support University-wide help desk system Departmental IT policy library

Job description library


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[email protected]

http://itmc.cornell.edu

march 21, 2006 nercomp 2006 worcester, massachusetts 1 copyright sunny donenfeld, 2006. this work is...

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