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Copyright Michael Dieckmann, Geissler Golding, Melanie
Haveard
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Does the CIO Need an ERP?
Does the CIO need an ERP?
University of West Florida
Information Technology Services
Does the CIO Need an ERP?
The Genesis of the Idea
• Central IT organization leadership realizes it is
facing a growing gap between service demands
and performance/delivery capabilities.
• Key issues revolved around knowledge
management and supporting communications
both within and between “communities of
practice.”
• Realized we were approaching 21st century work
with 19th century (or worse!) tools.
• Solution: We needed an “ERP” system that
dealt with the objects in the CIO’s universe, and
met the needs of IT professionals.
Does the CIO Need an ERP?
Concept: “The Collective”
• Theme taken from the idea of the
“shared mind” of the Borg on the Star
TrekTM series.
• We envisioned a system that would enable
information to “find” the individuals to
whom it was pertinent, and would facilitate
capturing information and understanding
currently locked in the heads of IT
knowledge workers.
Does the CIO Need an ERP?
Functional Requirements
• Capture Knowledge (internally and externally)
• Improve Work Processes
– Conducting projects
– Deploying new infrastructure/services
– Responding to service outages and other “alert”
situations
– Reporting to Human Resources (Objectives,
Performance Reviews, Accountability)
• Improve management of resources
• Improve communications (internally and externally)
• Provide an integration point for ITS tools (a “digital
workbench for ITS Staff)
Does the CIO Need an ERP?
Not to mention…
A system that is…
Highly adaptable and extendable
Generic and flexible
Does everything we haven’t thought of yet!
Does the CIO Need an ERP?
Project
Strategic Objective
Equipment
Strategic Goal
Service
These are all objects.
Project Wrap-Up
What can we do with an
Object?
Define attributes and collect information about it
Service Type:
Enterprise
Audience:
Faculty, Staff, Students
Availability:
24/7
Description:
This service provides…
What can we do with an Object?
Associate people with it
John – Service Manager
John
Sally - Trainer
Sally
Bill - Developer
Bill
in the roles they
perform.
What can we do with an
Object?
Post journal entries and discussion threads on it
What can we do with an
Object?
Guide its development through processes
Step 1: Acquire the server
Step 2: Install server in a rack
Step 3: Provide power and network connectivity
….
Step 34: Put server in backup rotation
What can we do with an
Object?
Post “Alerts” on it
Red Alert
The student e-mail service is currently down.
The direct contacts have been paged.
What can we do with an
Object?
Relate it to other objects
1) Strategic Planning
Strategic Objective
Gives the CIO an effective way to
communicate direction to the department
Aligns projects and their requirements with
established goals
Strategic Goal
2) Project Scheduling
Project
Gives us a view into what resources and time we
have already committed
Radar helps us schedule the most
important/urgent projects first
Helps us determine what resources we have
available for new projects
Places projects into the system so they become
relevant to the right people at the right time
3) Project Oversight
Keeps us apprised of progress on
projects via journals, notifications,
agents, reports and alerts
Lets us ask questions (post in
targeted threaded discussions)
about any project in progress within
the organization
Keeps us informed (agents) of
missed deadlines/milestones or of
missing information
Equipment
Service
4) Deployment of
Infrastructure
Ties infrastructure deployment with
our work-order system
Keeps us on track and helps us
deploy in a repeatable fashion (with
the right handoffs at the right time)
Equipment
Provides us with checklists for data
integrity
Allows us to post alerts on systems
informing campus and our support
center of service outages and
maintenance/upgrades
Service
5) Deployment of
Services
Notifies our support center with
sufficient lead time for assuming the
support and training burden
Helps us repeat our service
deployment the way we want it to
work, closely coupled with the
infrastructure deployment
Equipment
Provides a consistent, centralized
repository for all end-user and
technical documentation
Service
6) Reporting on Goals
Projects cannot be completed unless all
services and equipment are successfully
deployed
Ties us back to our original goals
Helps us compile “annual report” information
from project entries already posted
Strategic Goal
Project Wrap-Up
Functional Requirements implemented
• Capture Knowledge (internally and externally)
• Improve Work Processes
– Conducting projects
– Deploying new infrastructure/services
– Responding to service outages and other “alert”
situations
– Reporting to Human Resources (Objectives,
Performance Reviews, Accountability)
• Improve management of resources
• Improve communications (internally and externally)
• Provide an integration point for ITS tools (a “digital
workbench for ITS Staff)
Does the CIO Need an ERP?
Resources
http://its.uwf.edu
Does the CIO Need an ERP?