Copyright John Borne, Robin Ethridge, and
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What if We Changed Everything?
EDUCAUSE
Southeast Regional Conference
June 2007
Cynthia Hadden
cindy@lsu.edu
John Borne
jcb@lsu.edu
Robin Ethridge
robyn@lsu.edu
How did we get here?
• State-of-the-Art
– Customized / Tailored
– Highly Integrated
– Serve LSU well today
• Maybe, not
– Proprietary
– Tightly coupled
– No competitive advantage
Timeline 2005/2006
New
CIO
SelfStudy
Peer Information Systems Costing
PeopleSoft
Reality
S
t
a
f
f
i
n
g
Major Univ 1. – >150 FTE
‘Home-Grown’
Major Univ 2. – 80 FTE
LSU Flex level
LSU Post Flex
L
e
v
e
l
Linear
(Mythical)
LSU Current staffing
5K
25K
50K
Student Headcount (FTE)
80K
100K+
Timeline 2005/2006
New
CIO
Katrina
& Rita
SelfStudy
Katrina & Rita
Changed Perspective:
Is integration an asset or a liability?
Changed Priorities:
Delayed reorganization of IT
Delayed initiation of the FITS process
Eliminated immediate “staffing up” option
Old approaches will not work. Outside of the box
thinking is demanded.
Timeline 2005/2006
New
CIO
Katrina
& Rita
SelfStudy
FITS
What & Why
FITS Message
Access to the right information at the right time
improves performance and decision making.
Sustain, transition and EMPOWER
Fast and Good
Timeline 2005/2006
New
CIO
Katrina
& Rita
SelfStudy
InfoSys
2010
FITS
What & Why
What is InfoSys 2010?
• Response to FITS and UIS feedback
• UIS operational plan
• A new culture of…..
– Working
– Learning
– Doing business
InfoSys 2010 Themes
Business Stakeholder
Focus Relationships
OLD
Information
Technology
Service
Provider-to-Client
NEW
Higher
Education
Peer-to-Peer
(Partnership)
Solution
Emphases
Solution
Delivery
Customer
Service
Process-Oriented
High Quality
Measured Delivery
In-house
Development
Hand-Holding
Information-Oriented
Integration /
High Quality
Customization
Fast Delivery
Empower
InfoSys 2010 Goals
Stewardship:
• Flagship IT Strategy (FITS)
Facilitate a maximal return on IT • Strategic and Operational Partnerships
investments
Technology:
Transition to a 21st century
technology environment
Human Resources:
Evolve skill sets and
philosophies
Process:
Implement an expert model to
speed deployment of quality
systems
• Proactive vs Reactive Environment (Road maps)
• Standards-based Interoperability
• Transition to Generally Accepted Practices and Technologies
• Smaller, Highly Skilled Team vs. Massively Expanded Staff
• Broader Institutional Capabilities / Responsibilities
• Borrow-Buy- Build Approach
• Expertise-Centered vs. Jack-of-All-Trades Workflow
• Campus Community Empowerment
InfoSys 2010 Goals
Technology:
Transition to
a 21st
century
technology
environment
• Proactive vs Reactive
Environment (Road maps)
• Standards-based
Interoperability
• Transition to Generally
Accepted Practices and
Technologies
The Technology Gap
DB2
COBOL
IMS
Lotus Domino
Procedural
CSS
JCL
HTML
SAS
JavaScript
The Technology Gap
.Net
SOAP
ANT
UML
Java
DB2
Flash
SOA
WSDL
xHTML
MVC
xSLT
COBOL
Lotus Domino
LAMP
EJB
IMS
Procedural
CSS
JCL
HTML
AJAX
xHTML
SAS
JavaScript
Object-Oriented
Technology Change at LSU: Today
LSU Application Architecture
Browser
Presentation Layer
Web / Application
Layer
Lotus Domino
MQ Series
DB2
Connect
Communications
Layer
IMS Transaction Manager
Application Layer
LE/390 COBOL
DB2 Data Objects
Database Layer
Technology Change at LSU: Tomorrow
LSU Application Architecture
Browser
Presentation Layer
Microsoft .Net
Commercial J2EE & Open Source
Web Service Layer
Web / Application
Layer
Lotus Domino
MQ Series
DB2
Connect
Communications
Layer
IMS Transaction Manager
Application Layer
LE/390 COBOL
DB2 Data Objects
Database Layer
Technology Change at LSU: Tomorrow
LSU Application Architecture
Browser
Presentation Layer
Microsoft .Net
Commercial J2EE & Open Source
Web Service Layer
Web / Application
Layer
Lotus Domino
MQ Series
DB2
Connect
IMS Transaction Manager
New Applications
Communications
Layer
- Community Source
(borrow)
- 3rd party apps (buy)
Application Layer
- In-house dev (build)
LE/390 COBOL
Data Objects
Database Layer
InfoSys 2010 Initiatives
1. Enterprise Server Upgrade
–
–
–
–
–
FITS 8.04, 8.05, 8.07
Central Processor Upgrade
New Architecture Test Environment
Storage Infrastructure Upgrade
Backup Expansion
2. Portal/Single Signon
–
–
–
–
FITS 8.04, 8.07, 8.10
Identity Management Assessment
New Portal / Web SSO
Disaster Recovery Enhancements
3. Academic Analytics
–
–
–
–
–
FITS 8.05
Basic Infrastructure
Analytics Consulting
Knowledge Capture
Training and Tools
4. 21st Century Tools
–
–
–
–
–
–
FITS 8.07
Basic Infrastructure
Disaster Recovery Enhancements
Knowledge Transfer
Community Sources
eCommerce
Proposed Systems Policies
The Transition
Current System
Proposed System
10 gallons of water in a 5 gallon bucket
No centralized process
No sizing involved: varies
from running a single job to a
multi-year development
project
No differentiation on types of
requests (operational vs.
strategic, one-off vs.
enterprise impact, etc)
REQUESTS
STAFF
Information Systems Resources
Maintenance / Infrastructure Support
94% of our workload reflects
mandated, non-discretionary
efforts
New Systems / Enhancements
Leadership
6% of our staff is available for
discretionary development
70-80% of application work is
simply “keeping the lights on”
We have a 10-year backlog of
requests.
29
9
5
FTE
InfoSys 2010 Goals
Human
Resources:
Evolve skill sets
and philosophies
• Smaller, Highly Skilled
Team vs. Massively
Expanded Staff
• Broader Institutional
Capabilities /
Responsibilities
Option 1: Increase the bucket size
Hire more people
REQUESTS
Contract for a complete business or
academic function (ASP)
Contract to develop a complete
software system with custom
requirements
STAFF
Contract development services
Contract for specialized skills
Outsourced Application Services
(Software as a Service model – SaaS)
Definition
Considerations
Pros
ASP (Application
Service Provider).
• Time to delivery greatly
reduced
• Lower demand for in-house
IT staff
Cons
Contract for a
complete business
or academic
function.
• Costs tend to rise over time
• Increased time to research
fit of service to requirements
• Increased time for
procurement
Examples
Blackboard
Recruitment Plus
People Admin
Outsourced Project Development
Definition
Considerations
Example
Pros
Contract to develop a
complete software system
with custom requirements
•Faster delivery
•Expands IT capacity over a fixed
time period.
•Lower demand for in-house IT
staff
Cons:
RFP process
•Increased time to prepare
specifications and analyze
responses
•Increased time for procurement
Travel System
Contract Development Services
Definition
Contract with software
developers to
supplement or
substantially staff new
development projects
Considerations
Pros:
• Just-in-time staffing
• IT staff “flexes” according
demand for solutions
Cons:
A contract services
approach
Example
• Increased time required for
procurement.
Supplement staff on
HR development
project
Professional Services Augmentation
Definition
Contracting to
provide critical and
expensive IT skills and
services as needed
Considerations
Pros:
• Purchase skills as needed
rather than maintaining
specialized personnel
Cons:
Support agreement /
contract services
• Increased time for
procurement
Examples
Systems
infrastructure
upgrades
Database systems
performance tuning
Option 2: Decrease the amount of water
Review / value requests
according to institutional
objectives (ISPAC)
REQUESTS
Establish liaison office
for all functional areas
STAFF
Understand and manage
constraints
Option 3: Increase the rate of flow
Develop
applications
more
efficiently
using different
methodologies
REQUESTS
STAFF
Infosys 2010 Goals
PROCESS
Implement
an expert
model to
speed
deployment
of quality
systems
• Borrow-Buy- Build
• Expertise-Centered vs.
Jack-of-All-Trades
• Client Empowerment
Change Preferred Solution Types
Borrow (Customize)
Buy (Integrate)
Build
10%
30%
90%
60%
5%
5%
2007
2010
Infosys 2010 Goals
PROCESS
Implement
an expert
model to
speed
deployment
of quality
systems
• Borrow-Buy- Build
• Expertise-Centered vs.
Jack-of-All-Trades
• Client Empowerment
Adopt an Expert Model
Focus
Business
• Financial
• Student Enrollment
Technology
•
•
•
•
Interface development
Application programming
System support
Academic analytics
Benefits
Subject matter experts
Faster development
Clearly defined career path
Simplifies hiring process
Simplifies training requirements
Areas of Expertise
Interface
Designer
Presentation
Programmer
Application
Programmer
DBA
Application
Analyst /
Programmer /
Project Leader
Server
Admin
Old
Systems
Support
Usability
Specialist
Business
Analyst
Graphics
Designer
Server Admin
Systems
Support
DBA
New
Cross-functional Team Example
Student
Enrollment
Systems
Interface
Development
Graphics
Designer
Registration
Business
Analyst
Usability
Specialist
Presentation
Programmer
Application
Programming
System
Support
Server
Administrator
Application
Programmer
(by
technology,
function,
phase,
service)
Academic
Analytics
Reporting
Specialist
Database
Administrator
Data Manager
Software
Administrator
Identity
Management
ETL Analyst
Infosys 2010 Goals
PROCESS
Implement
an expert
model to
speed
deployment
of quality
systems
• Borrow-Buy- Build
• Expertise-Centered vs.
Jack-of-All-Trades
• Client Empowerment
Empower Our Clients
Enterprise view
Partnership,
not service
provider
Standardization
across
departments
Informationoriented
Building a Travelocity-Like
Registration System
Functionally-Driven
Technology-Driven
Travelocity-like Registration System
Degree Path
Advising Tool
Wait Listing
Course Inventory
Enhanced
Registration
Decision
Support
Building a Decision Support System
Functionally-Driven
Technology-Driven
Decision Support
Operational
Reporting
Analyze Data
(OLAP/Mining)
Prepare/Store Data (ETL)
Advanced Analytics
(Trending/Predictive
KPI Dashboards/Scorecards)
Data Portal
Identify/Collect Data
Metadata Repository
Timeline 2005/2006
So, where are we now?
New
CIO
Katrina
& Rita
SelfStudy
InfoSys
2010
FITS
What & Why
Timeline 2006/2007
Initial Successes
Enterprise
Server
Upgrade
FITS
How &
When
Budget
People
&
Projects
$1.7 M
Budget
Hardware
& Software
$6.7 M
ISPAC
Information Systems Priorities & Allocations
Committee (ISPAC)
• Role
1. To construct policy for making allocations of resources
and setting of priorities for work on university
information systems
2. To manage the ongoing process by which priorities for
delivery of systems are set and the allocation of scarce
resources to their completion is made.
The Organizational Realities of Change
• It won’t happen overnight – but we have to start now.
• We want to leverage the software assets we’ve built
over the past 25 years.
• However, we must also embrace the new technologies
that have developed in the past 10 years.
• Over time, replacement rather than re-factoring
becomes the optimal solution.
• Change is hard, but can be used to energize the
organization.
Lessons Learned Thus Far
• Don’t just communicate; engage.
• Leave your ego at the door and your worst
critics may become your staunchest allies.
• Some people are blue; others are political.
• Be flexible.
• Take risks. ***ACT***
Lessons Learned Thus Far
• It takes (at least) two.
• Look for an entrepreneurial perspective.
• It will be messy. There will be resistors.
• It’s important. Do it anyway.
Lessons Learned Thus Far
• It is about the journey; the destination
will change.
• It is about the best solution for the
University; not the best solution.
• Look for opportunities. Ask “why not?”
• Have fun!