The IT Strategic Plan: Top Down and Bottom(s) Up

Andrea Chappell, ISTProject Leader

The Evolving Plan• Top down approach: Strategy Map• Bottom up approach: Consultations• Examples of what’s emerging• Bringing it together, with Prioritization• Are we (getting) there yet? Alignment with

measures

#watitis2012

The IT Strategic Plan Project

To create an Information Technology (IT) Strategic Plan to advance the state of IT to meet the opportunities for University of Waterloo over the next 5 years.

A uWaterloo IT Strategic Plan, not an IST plan! Where IT should head together.

Top down: Strategy Map• Visual representation of main elements of

strategy:– Mission, Vision– Strategic Objectives (where/how you want to

go)– Values

• Also, associates performance indicators

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Our Purpose (Mission): Evolve an exceptional, innovative IT environment to enable

engagement, creativity, and impact.

Our Goal for 2018 (Vision 2018): Enable the University’s mission through exceptional

learning, teaching and research environments.

V4.1 Draft uWaterloo

IT Community

CORE VALUES

Stakeholder

Internal Process

Organizational Capabilities

Resource Management

Our Promise to Our Stakeholders: Inspiring and supporting the University of Waterloo through technology leadership and excellence.

Enable the optimization of administrative processes across campuses

Enable the achievement of uW teaching and student life-learning objectives

Enable the achievement of uW research and scholarship objectives

Optimize the user experience

Exchange accessible, high quality data and information when, where, and how needed

Enable timely access to the right integrated, cutting-edge information technologies

Build a cohesive, knowledgeable IT community across the campus

Build a culture of pro-active support and technology leadership

Take an University-wide perspective to IT

Build collaborative relationships with our Stakeholders and each other

Make the necessary technology infrastructure and resource investments

Optimize the allocation and use of our financial, technology, and human resources

Understand the needs of our Stakeholders

Continuously improve and optimize IT processes,

workflow, and platforms

Define IT accountabilities, responsibilities and authorities, available resources, and supports, and

clearly communicate this to our Stakeholders

Maintain a secure, reliable, and useable information and technology environment

Understand, foster and leverage trends and

innovations in information technologies

Ensure data security, integrity,

and privacy

Provide knowledgeable, pro-active insights, advice,

and solutions through effective governance

Service Openness & Collaboration Knowledge & Creativity Operational Excellence

Take a design approach to IT development and implementation

Be easy to do business with

Enable University outreach activities

Balanced Scorecard• Performance measurement for the four

main perspectives– Stakeholders (people who use IT services)– Internal Processes (what we do)– Organizational Capabilities (skills, capacity)– Resource Management (the money)

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Stakeholder Perspective• Our identified stakeholders:

– Faculty– Students– Staff– Outreach areas (employees, alumni,

prospective students, etc.)• How well satisfied and served they are by

IT processes directed to them

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Stakeholder Perspective

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Stakeholder Enable the optimization of administrative

processes across campuses

Enable the achievement of uW

teaching and student life-learning objectives

Enable the achievement of

uW research and scholarship objectives

Optimize the user experience

Enable University outreach activities

Internal Processes• Internal Processes

– how IT runs at Waterloo– metrics help determine whether services are

answering requirements (mission)

#watitis2012

Internal Processes

#watitis2012

Internal Process

Exchange accessible, high quality data and information when,

where, and how needed

Enable timely access to the right integrated, cutting-

edge information technologies

Understand the needs of our

Stakeholders

Continuously improve and optimize IT processes,

workflow, and platforms

Define IT accountabilities, responsibilities and authorities, available resources, and

supports, and clearly communicate this to our Stakeholders

Maintain a secure, reliable, and useable information and technology environment

Understand, foster and leverage trends and

innovations in information technologies

Ensure data security, integrity, and privacy

Provide knowledgeable, pro-active insights, advice, and solutions through effective

governance

Take a design approach to IT development and

implementation

Be easy to do business

with

Organizational Capability• Organizational Capabilities

– employee development and IT overall improvement; people are the main resource

– where to focus training, mentoring, communications

#watitis2012

Organizational Capability

#watitis2012

Organizational Capabilities

Build a cohesive, knowledgeable IT community across

the campus

Build a culture of pro-active support

and technology leadership

Take an University-wide perspective

to IT

Build collaborative relationships with our Stakeholders and each other

Resource Management• On what you spend money (people

salaries and development, computers, software, etc.)

• Timely and accurate funding data needed

#watitis2012

Resource Management

#watitis2012

Resource Management

Make the necessary technology infrastructure and resource

investments

Optimize the allocation and use of our financial, technology, and human

resources

Bottom up: Existing Data• Mid Cycle Review data (lots of IT

comments)• CIO search (interviews with ~100 area

leaders)• Faculty Strategic Plans (Eng, Math done)• Evolving departmental Strategic Plans• Various student feedback

#watitis2012

Emerging Themes for IT1. Enabling Research – common services, local specialty

support2. Supporting Student-Life – services, support to

student use of technologies in life and study, environment for expanding learning

3. Enabling the Learning Environment –IT services and support for technologies in their application to the learning environment

4. Information Management –access to information to facilitate use of data, while maintaining security and privacy

Emerging Themes for IT5. Governance – transparent, effective, participatory

decisions6. Supporting Business Processes – support admin

functions by providing effective, efficient, and user friendly applications

7. Re-focusing Client Service – focus our decisions, support, and evolution of technologies in collaboration with our users

8. Campus Integrations (Design/Architecture) – opportunities to enable collaboration in IT support and development; federated

“Reputation” – embedded throughout

Bottom up: Consultation so farAdmin areas:• Environment Admin Group• Housing Managers• Library• Registrar’s Office• Student Info Sys Cross

FunctionalStudent groups• Engineering Student Society• FEDS• Grad Student Assoc.

IT Groups:• Arts• Engineering• IST (7 groups)• Math, CS (MFCF, CSCF)• Science• IT Committees: CTSC, Student

Technology Advisory, FACCUS• Upcoming:

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Emerging “things to do”

• Some ideas in theme areas from existing data

• Other “Things to do” examples have come from consultations

• NOT complete or final, examples only!

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Example “Things to do”• Supporting students at risk & student success, with broad data• Equalization and standards in the learning environment • Open(ing) data• Business Intelligence plan• Document management plan• IT portfolio management and alignment• Horizon technology planning• Software licenses/procurement and online distribution• Community communication strategy• Training and development for IT staff growth and campus benefit• Knowledgebase

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Bringing it together• End January 2013, a first draft of the Plan• Mid February, published to Waterloo

community– Another opportunity for feedback on what we

heard, what is in the draft• April – final first plan, “living document”

that will be reviewed and renewed

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How will we know if we’re “there”?

• Measurements!• How do we measure what we do?• How will we measure what progress we’re

making (or not)?• Next step is to identify these measures

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How to get involved!• Contact us:

– dave.wallace@uwaterloo.ca (CIO)– andrea.chappell@uwaterloo.ca (Project lead)

• Web site:– https://uwaterloo.ca/it-strategic-plan– Survey on the site

• Open House tomorrow: DC1302, 10:30