An Coiste Feabhais Riaracháin agus Seirbhísí
The Committee on Administration and Services Quality Improvement
The Administration and Services Quality Assurance Programme 2004-2005
Report to Údarás na hOllscoile
Review of
Computer Services
Self-Assessment
Review Group Visit
Follow Up Meeting
June to September 2004
16 – 18th November, 2004
6th April 2005
th
This Report was compiled for members of Údarás na hOllscoile, NUI Galway and its
committees as a readily accessible but comprehensive source of information on the above
review, its context and its outcomes.
Professor Jim Gosling, Director of Quality, September 2005
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Report to Údarás – Review of Computer Services 2004–2005
1. Overview of Department
1.1 Background
After more than 25 years, Computer Services is in a time of transition. Old models which have
served the University well must now be updated or replaced. Computer Services must do this
against the further challenges provided by the rapidly growing and changing NUI Galway
environment. It is through success in meeting this challenge that Computer Services can make
its own contribution to the success of the University, its students, its teaching and its research.
The challenge now is to adapt and respond to the challenges facing the University. The
University’s response to these challenges is documented in the Strategic Plan 2003 –2008 and
the closely related Academic Plan.
1.2 Planning
During the Self Assessment process it was recognized clearly that two key deliverables need to
put in place:
• A departmental strategy for Computer Services, aligned with the University’s own
strategic plan. This strategy will focus on Computer Services as a service provider, on
the services which it should provide and on the most appropriate alignment of resources
and capabilities to provide these services;
• An ICT strategy for the University. This strategy needs to focus on the wider needs of
University stakeholders, and how these needs might best be addressed in the changing
external and internal University environment.
1.3 Staff and Facilities
In October 2004 there were 36 fulltime equivalent staff in Computer services, including the
Director and four senior managers.
The Computer Services department currently occupies office space on the University
campus, largely configured as private individual offices. The Computer Room accommodates
servers, printers and network equipment used to provide network, email and desktop services. It
also accommodates a point of presence for HEAnet (Ireland’s national research and education
network) as well as servers used by other University information services providers including
the James Hardiman Library and CELT.
Network equipment is accommodated in cabinets in many locations across the campus.
A main network node is located in the Martin Ryan Institute for disaster recovery purposes.
2. Review Group Visit and Report
The Review Group consisted of: Mr. Tony Callaghan, Director, Professional Services, Accendo
Technologies, Galway (Chair), Ms. Linda McCormick, Director, Computing Service, University
of Glasgow, Mr. Martin Hayes, Director of Computer Services, University College Cork, Dr.
William Golden, Senior Lecturer, Department of Accountancy & Finance, NUI, Galway, Mr.
John Cox, Deputy Librarian, James Hardiman Library, NUI, Galway (Rapporteur),
2.1 Introduction to Report
Computer Services had already prepared and submitted a Self-Assessment Report which, with
other documentation, was made available to the Review Group. The Group found the report
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Report to Údarás – Review of Computer Services 2004–2005
extremely helpful, honest and reflective of a commitment to service improvement on the part of
staff.
The review comes at a time of particular change and challenge for Computer Services. A
change of Director has taken place for the first time in 25 years. The new Director took up
office in February 2004 and had already initiated a process of analysing and reviewing activities
prior to the visit of the Review Group. The post had been vacant throughout 2003, a year during
which severe difficulties with the delivery of core e-mail and network services compromised
user confidence and staff morale. The user community at NUI, Galway has grown rapidly in
recent years and continues to grow, not only in number but also in its range of demands and its
dependence on a reliable, high quality computing service.
Such dependence notwithstanding, it is a matter of concern that the University’s
strategic plan makes no reference to the role of IT in delivering its mission. This would seem to
reflect low visibility and a lack of recognition of Computer Services’ activities and indeed the
importance of these activities. Computer Services has achieved a number of successes,
consistently acknowledged by service users whom we met. These include PC suites, wireless
network access, anti-SPAM e-mail measures and support for the Blackboard Virtual Learning
Environment. Individual members of staff are widely perceived as helpful, willing and
delivering personalised service to academic staff especially. The flipside of this willingness to
meet a wide range of user needs as they arise is that staffing resources are too thinly spread,
resulting in service delays and customer frustration. There is an urgent need to review service
provision and to define those core services which can be reliably sustained, while ensuring that
new services are introduced in a structured way which emphasises clear communication with
users. Achieving an appropriate staffing structure is essential to successful delivery and the
introduction of a new structure immediately preceded the Group’s visit. It is therefore premature
to comment on the effectiveness or otherwise of this structure.
The Group endorsed fully the major proposals in the Self-Assessment Report, while adding
recommendations which it considers appropriate based on:
• A visit to computing facilities within Computer Services and at other campus locations
• Meetings with:
o Managers and other members of Computer Services staff individually
o All members of Computer Services staff collectively
o Members of the University Management Team
o Academic and research staff
o Administrative and support staff
o Students’ Union officers
o Some student class representatives.
These recommendations constitute the majority of the report and are grouped according to
actions required at departmental and University levels. One of the central themes of both the
Self Assessment report and of the Review Group report is the need to put in place defined
systems of working. These are centrally important in the effective and economic development
and delivery of services which meet stakeholder requirements in the University.
[The detailed recommendations made cover eight pages and would be very difficult to
summarise accurately. For the most part they are mirrored closely by the action plans below.
Copies of full Report may be obtained from the Quality Office (quality@nuigalway.ie).]
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Report to Údarás – Review of Computer Services 2004–2005
3. Action Plans
9.30 a.m.Wednesday, 6th April, 2005
in Hynes Boardroom (A132)
Present: Professor Jim Ward – Vice-President, Professor Jim Gosling - Director of Quality (Chair), Dr Seamus
MacMathuna – Secretary for Academic Affairs, Mr John Cox – Review Group Rapporteur, Mr Martin Hayes, Mr
Tony Callaghan, Dr Kieran Loftus, Ms Sarah Long, Ms Sinead Ni Fhaolain, Mr George Deacy, Ms Evelyn Bohan,
Mr Pat Dempsey, Ms Colette McGuinness, Ms Sinead Coyne, Ms Louise Melvin, Mr Seosamh MacCarthaigh, Mr
Murchadh O’Tuairisg, Mr Martin Eagleton, Mr Conor McMahon, Ms Martina Faherty, Ms Maureen Linnane (in
attendance).
3.1 Action Plan for the Department:
1.
Key Actions for the Director:
ƒ The Director will work with the UMT and the Department of Human Resources to
promote staff mobility within the University and skills development among Computer
Services staff (September 2006),
ƒ The Director will continue to lead the revision of the organisational structure of
Computer Services (December 2005),
ƒ The Director will work with the VP for Physical Resources and the Professor of
Information technology (IT) to end the shared management of one of the PC suites in the
IT Building (September 2005).
2.
Key Actions for the Head of Student Services:
ƒ The Head of Student Services will lead initiatives to provide better information about
average PC suite utilisation (allowing better estate utilisation decisions), and to provide
real time suite utilisation information (December 2005).
ƒ The Head of Student Services will identify opportunities to consolidate, standardise and
otherwise rationalise the configurations of PC suites (ongoing).
ƒ The Head of Student Services will also identify (September 2005) and implement
(January 2006) improvements in the processes for registering students and staff for the
wireless computing service.
3.
Key Actions for the Head of Staff Services:
ƒ The Head of Staff Services will lead definition and delivery of a programme of work to
make available to academic staff an e-mail service based on the MS Exchange platform.
Substantial progress will be achieved during 2005.
ƒ The Head of Staff Services will also lead work to develop and promote a central filebackup service for academic staff (September 2006).
ƒ The Head of Staff Services will work with the Registrar’s Office, the HR Department,
the Admissions Office and MIS to achieve speed and quality improvements in the
desktop provision process, working at the same time to promote greater standardisation
(ongoing).
4.
Key Actions for the Head Infrastructure Services:
ƒ The Head of Infrastructure Services will lead e-mail service improvements, including
deployment of the “back end” infrastructure for the MS Exchange platform, and
provision of a more acceptable student Webmail solution (September 2005).
ƒ The Head of Infrastructure Services will also introduce stronger management controls,
particularly in respect of the VLAN network partitioning project and the management of
the Computer Service response to network performance issues (December 2005).
5.
Key Actions for the Head of Strategic Services:
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Report to Údarás – Review of Computer Services 2004–2005
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
The Head of Strategic Services will promote a more formally managed approach to
Computer Services’ customer relationships (December 2005).
The Head of Strategic Services will ensure that a rolling Computer Services work
programme is formally defined and maintained, that service definitions exist and are
published, and that a framework for customer communication is defined and agreed
(December 2005).
To support this within Computer Services, the Head of Strategic Services will lead the
implementation of defined processes for project management and change control, and
will initiate planning for the replacement of Computer Services departmental systems by
standard industry solutions (ongoing).
The Head of Strategic Services will also have a co-ordination role in respect of business
continuity planning and improving availability of operational services to support 24*7
working (ongoing).
3.2 Action Plan for University Management:
1. The Registrar and Deputy President will arrange for the Director of Computer Services to
make a presentation to UMT early in the first semester of 2005–06 on the role of Computer
Services in enabling (or limiting) the strategic development of the University. In this context
UMT will consider the strategic aims and needs of Computer Services.
2. The Registrar and Deputy President is aware, and anticipates being kept fully informed, of
the increasing loads on IT services and infrastructure resulting from cost-effective
developments in other areas, such as the use of Blackboard to support teaching, provisions
of general services to remote students and on-line administrative processes.
3. The Registrar and Deputy President will support the Director of Computer Services in
preparing, agreeing and promoting a strategic plan which also has the agreement of his
customers. The 'agreement of customers' is to be achieved through consultation with the
reconstituted Computer Strategic Planning Committee and the Deans of Faculties.
Approved by: Director of Computer Services, Dr K Loftus, 13th July 2005
Approved by: Registrar, Professor J Browne, 15th July 2005
Approved by: Vice-President, Professor J Ward, 22nd July 2005
Approved by: Director of Human Resources, Mr C McNairney, 22nd August 2005
Jim Gosling, Director of Quality
Finalised: 29th August 2005
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