IT Action Plan
Progress
December 4, 2008
When I last wrote for this newsletter in September, the main subject was the transition at the Interim CIO position and a focus on IT initiated by President Machen. In that letter, I briefly described an action plan process that would soon be started. It was not called an action plan process at that time but the key elements of what was to come were broadly described. I tried to emphasize that we would proceed with all deliberate care and in as open and consultative manner as possible – keeping in mind that our task at hand was large and the amount of time we had to complete it was small. I concluded by saying the process would begin soon and I would provide more information through a variety of communications mechanisms and this newsletter. The remainder of this letter is intended to summarize what has happened since September and, as best I can, forecast the next several months.
IT Action Plan Process and Summary
The IT Action Plan process was approved by President Machen in late September. It involved two groups working in consort. The first group appointed by the President is called the IT Steering Group. It is comprised of seven senior administrators, the Faculty Senate President, and me as ex-officio. The President’s charge to this group was to help guide the action plan process with an eye to priority setting and ultimately to screen and approve recommendations to be forwarded for his consideration. The second group is called the IT Action Plan Task Force (ITAP). It was empanelled by Senior Vice President Kyle Cavanaugh. The ITAP is comprised of nine members representing core areas of IT, large units serving under a senior vice president, a faculty representative, and me as chair. The “task” of the task force is to develop a set of actionable recommendations that will structure UF IT to operate under a CIO and build a strong base for further development. In particular, we were asked to address issues such as sustainable funding, efficiency and performance measurement, IT governance and priority setting, combining like functions and services, and cost effectiveness. Finally and significantly, we were asked to complete this task by the end of the first week of January, '09.
The ITAP met for the first time on October 10th and we have met formally twice a week since then. We have tried through various means to get out the word and to solicit input. That process is ongoing. To date, there has been good communication with the ITAC divisional groups (ITAC - Data Infrastructure, ITAC- Network Infrastructure, ITAC - Academic Technology, ITAC - Information Security, and ITAC - High Performance Computing) and each has submitted a short list of priorities they wish the Task Force to consider. There have been meetings and communications with the Faculty Senate, the Senate Infrastructure Council, Deans and Directors, senior administrators, centrally reporting IT groups, and student government. More open meetings and town hall meetings are scheduled in the next two weeks. These will provide an opportunity for large groups from the broad IT community, faculty and staff and some smaller more informal focused sessions as well. You should have received notice of the dates and times of these already. Beyond that, we have set up a website for your input (www.it.ufl.edu/itactionplan/). There you will find copies of the minutes from the ITAP meetings, a schedule for town halls and small forum meetings, documents we are drawing upon, recommendations from the ITAC divisional groups, a suggestion box, and a wiki. I am also trying to accept as many invitations as I can to address groups about our work.
In a university the size and complexity of UF, it goes without saying that this engagement and communications plan has been and still is imperfect. I know we have not gotten information out in ways that all of you can easily see it or in ways that give you the full sense of what is involved. That is not because we do not understand or because we do not care. The ITAP members are very cognizant of the anxieties that can be produced by a change process of this magnitude and one being done in such a short time frame. We are doing, and will continue to do, our best to reach out to you and to give careful consideration to your comments and suggestions. Please keep ideas and suggestions coming.
Where do we go from here?
As noted above, our original charge was to have actionable recommendations in the hands of the IT Steering Group by the end of the first week in January. That time frame has been set back a bit by changes beyond our control. The largest and most significant came when we learned Senior VP Kyle Cavanaugh would be leaving UF in February to take a new position at Duke University. For a period of a few weeks, this change distracted some of our work and certainly contributed to halting management on my part for a time. During those few weeks, I had to answer many of you saying that it was not altogether clear to me what the state of the IT action plan process was. Losing a senior leader and the person through whom the CIO reported required some time to regroup and time to reconfirm our charge and plan. I am happy to report now that all that has been completed. The Interim Senior Vice President for Administration, Brian Beach, began immediately working with Kyle and me to firm up the process and assure others that the plan was still on. Owing to travel schedules of the President and others, getting all the key affirmations took a while—even though the resolve was undiminished from the beginning.
The short story in all this is that President Machen and Interim SVP Brian Beach are fully committed to this focus on IT and to us continuing IT action plan as originally conceived. Kyle Cavanaugh will continue to facilitate our work until his departure time around the end of January. Great news all around. And there is some added good news. Our deadline for completing a report has been extended for a month. We are now shooting for submitting our recommendations to the IT Steering Group in the first week of February. This is still a crunch schedule no matter how you look at it. But, it is a schedule we think we can meet. We hope you will all understand and will help in any ways you can. The best way to help is to give us your considered input in the one or more of the various open communications channels.
October 10, 2008
At the direction of President Machen, UF is placing a major focus on information technology this year. To this end, two advisory committees have been formed. The first is a one charged by the President called the IT Steering Group. This committee is comprised of senior administrators and the Faculty Senate President. A second group comprised of IT leaders and a faculty representative from the Senate Infrastructure Committee was empanelled by Senior Vice President Kyle Cavanaugh. This second group is called the IT Action Plan Task Force. The charge for the Task Force is to develop a set of actionable recommendations that will structure UF IT to operate under a CIO, and build a firm base for future IT service improvement and development. Issues to be examined will include sustainable funding, efficiency, IT governance and priority setting, combining like functions and services, performance measurement, and cost effectiveness.
The IT Steering Group and the Task Force are expected to produce results and specific recommendations by the end of January, 2009. This will require that the Steering Group and the Task Force work at an accelerated pace. During this period the Task Force will seek input from faculty, staff, students, and from IT and business unit service providers. The Chair will appoint and draw on the expertise of subcommittees where possible or necessary. As Interim CIO, I am meeting with and talking with as many groups and people as I can to get input. During the proceedings of the Task Force, the Chair will be meeting with the Steering Group to keep them informed of discussion and input as well as to ensure proper alignment and focus of the two groups. By the end of the first week of January, 2009, recommendations from the Task Force will be submitted to the Steering Group for review and evaluation. Upon acceptance, the recommended actions will be submitted to the President as a joint product of the two groups.
To ensure broad and open communication with the UF community, this web site was created to provide information on the scope and charge of the Task Force and its proceedings. More importantly, the website includes a suggestion box and a wiki to facilitate participation and input from anyone in our community. Your suggestions are not only welcome, they are needed.