Value & Excitement
University Technology Services Oakland University
Information Technology Strategic Planning
Theresa Rowe October 2004
Copyright Theresa Rowe 2004. This work is the intellectual property of the
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Vision: Value & Excitement
 Does IT add value to the university organization &
experience
 What IT activities generate excitement about
teaching, learning & research
 What is the value added at each customer service
point
 Can IT contribute to successful administration
Vision: Value & Excitement
 Emphasize projects providing a competitive
edge, while still delivering projects that meet
business necessity.
 Seek innovation
 “Creativity is thinking up new things.
Innovation is doing new things.”
Theodore Levitt
IT Vision: Value & Excitement
 New technologies require a willingness to
change.
 Change must be supported through a process
of release, refocus, prioritize and commit
steps.
 “The difficulty lies not so much in developing
new ideas as in escaping from old ones.”
- John Maynard Keynes
Create New IT Strategic Plan
 Plan based on vision
 Committed to 3 year framework
 Collaborated with independent constituent
groups
 No blended single strategic planning
committee
Constituent Process
 Constituent groups were already established
 Constituent groups were already interested in
and excited about their technologies
 Constituent groups understood the value of
technology in their area
Negative History of Strategic
Planning Committees
 Lack of constituent connection made IT value hard
to discern
 Difficult to generate excitement about another
area’s IT initiative
 Focus on “what should be on the plan” and not on
value & excitement of IT
 Suggested operational plans, not strategic
statements and directions
Participating Constituent
Groups
 Students: Helpdesk student employees,
Residence Halls Council, Student Congress,
technology-focused classes
 Facilities: Capital Planning & Design
 General Campus: Facilitated sessions,
Employee Suggestion Program, Human
Resources Advisory Council, Tuition & Fees
Committee
Participating Constituent
Groups
 Academic: University Senate Academic
Computing Committee, Academic Council
 Security: IT Security Advisory Committee, Internal
Audit
 Enterprise Systems: Banner Operating Committee,
Shared Data Committee, functional module
committees
 Technology: Central IT teams, Distributed IT
Support Committee
External Constituent Groups
 University partners: Community colleges
and others academic partnerships
 Educause
 Government
 Vendors
 Consultant reports already on file
 Professional IT organizations & literature
Leadership Review
 Campus leaders
 University Strategic Plan: Vision 2010
 President, Cabinet
 Including funding and priority review
Evaluate Funding
 Identify funding sources and levels
 Clear understanding of what can be funded
with current budgets
 Identify sustainable economic models
 Review Educause Funding Strategies task
force findings
Funding strategies
–
moving beyond “budget dust”





Prioritizing, Reallocating, Realigning
Setting and enforcing policies
Building awareness for the slide into high reliability
Identify known cost increases, like license costs
“Get in shape, lose weight, increase agility.” –
Laurie Antolovic, Indiana University
Varying Processes - SWOT
 Process used matched to the constituent
group


Facilitated extended SWOT session with
Helpdesk student staff, central IT teams,
Distributed Technology Committee
Presentation and limited SWOT session in an
open campus forum
Varying Processes –
Focus Groups
 Open focus group discussions with
Residence Halls Council, Student Congress,
technology-focused classes
Varying Processes –
Incorporating Existing Plans
Received plans and wish lists from Human
Resources Advisory Council, Tuition & Fees
Committee, IT Security Advisory Committee,
Internal Audit, Banner committees, Capital
Planning & Design, Classroom Improvement
Committee
Analyzed External Constituent
Group Material
 Reviewed partnership agreements and plans
 Government: Reviewed status of government
mandates
 Vendors: Analyzed vendor directions for current
implemented product base
 Incorporated consultant reports, material from
professional IT organizations & literature
Educause
 Analyzed Current Issues:

Funding strategies, ERP systems, security &
identity management, maintaining networks &
infrastructure, web-based services, technology
culture shifts
 Completed analytical comparison to
Educause Core Data, peer group strategic
plans
Grouped Outcomes
 Studied results and grouped into common themes
tabled with constituents:








Attitude, Initiative & Motivation
Communications
Knowledge & Skills
Organizational Alignment
Project Management
Resource Management
Security & Risk Management
Systems & Services
Review
 Reviewed grouped outcomes, themes and
representative topics with:




All constituent groups
University Senate Academic Computing
Committee
Academic Council
Campus leadership
Outcomes
 Strategic plan separated themes into three
areas:



Mission: ongoing purpose, responsibilities,
principles
Core competencies: services, skills, knowledge
and areas of expertise
Strategic goals: list of initiatives to accomplish
From Here to There
 Completed information gathering
 Created grouped outcomes
 Reviewed with constituents
 Developed thematic areas
 UTS wrote plan
 Annual Goals - Annual goals list tactics
aligned with the strategic plan
So Where is Technology
Going?
 “The best way to predict the future is to create it.”
-Peter Drucker
 Next steps are to get more detailed planning for academic
technologies – an area identified as needing more work
through the planning process
 What future do we want to create? Our strategic plan is the
first step.
 Plan:
http://www.oakland.edu/uts/strategicplan/20042007.pdf