INFORMS

IT Strategic Planning Project and Committee Report

Bjarni KristjanssonAugust 2011 Board Meeting

INFORMS IT Goals and Strategic Priorities

To provide up-to-date online systems, that enable and encourage access, collaboration, and effective exchange of information, content, services, and benefits to and among our members, potential members, and those interested in knowing more about OR/Analytics.

Overall Strategic Priority:Develop and support up-to-date online systems that enable and encourage access, collaboration, and effective exchange for information, content, services and benefits.

Current Major Trends in IT

1. Mobile Devices2. Social Media3. Social Networking4. Online Collaboration5. Cloud Computing6. Messaging7. Online Videos8. Online Publishing9. Virtual Education and Meetings10.Personalized and Engaging Web sites11.Mashups and API Integration

Current Major Trends in IT

1. Mobile Devices are taking over personal computers2. Social Media is replacing traditional news distribution3. Social Networking is changing how people work together4. Online Collaboration tools are replacing standalone software5. Cloud computing is replacing traditional file-based documents6. Messaging is replacing emails as effective communication tool7. Online Video services are replacing television viewing8. Books and published materials are going online9. Education and meetings are going virtual10.Web sites are now expected to be personalized and engaging11.Mashups and API Integration for software development

INFORMS needs to adapt to this new changed world and should effectively leverage new IT technologies to accomplish its strategic goals

Comparison INFORMS Online vs. AnalyticBridge

Comparison INFORMS Online vs. AnalyticBridgeINFORMS Online AnalyticBridge

Society 10000 members 12000 members

Web site35 Community Web Sites

INFORMS BlogMembers Forum

550 blog posts500 discussions

170 groups

LinkedIn6000 members2-3 discussions

Analytic Section: 270 members

25000 members30-50 discussions

Twitter800 Followers1400 Tweets

60 Lists

1950 Followers5500 Tweets

210 Lists

Facebook1500 Likes

50 posts / month2400 Likes

50 posts / month

To effectively compete with community sites like AnalyticBridge, we need to be more engaging with our members, and utilize social networking to the fullest extent possible to expand our reach to members and non-members alike.

Social Networking and Social Media

• Social Networking is about connecting and actively engage with other people online

• Social Media is about disseminating news, information, and content online through Social Networks 

We need to leverage social networking and social media within all levels of INFORMS (including the Board) to:

o Reach young people coming up through the schools nowo Promote O.R. and Analytics to the outside worldo Promote initiatives and projects to memberso Disseminate news and information onlineo Leverage members to build up content onlineo Engage with our members and non-memberso Seed and actively participate in online discussions

Social Media & Networking Challenges

• Aren't we already doing Social Media and Networking?• I can already do everything I need to with existing tools• We are already busy doing other important work• People are mostly using Social networking for trivial things• Social networking takes too much time• Should we not wait until we know more?• I do not know which social network to choose• Would we not get into trouble if we do something wrong?• There are not enough people yet using Social Networking• Its too complicated to learn all these new things

Most of these challenges are either based on mistaken perceptions or people not wanting to leave their comfort zone.  Social Media and Networking are here to stay and will only grow in popularity.  We need to avoid having a disconnect between the online and real world.

What Does IT Need to Accomplish?

• Receive recognition from the Board and the staff that IT is critical to the long-term success of INFORMS

• With the current IT trends and fast-moving changes, we need to adapt quickly and prepare for new technologies

• We need to leverage social networking and social media within INFORMS to be able to reach young people coming up through the schools now and effectively promote O.R. to them

• IT needs to have the resources to effectively support both long-term goals and strategic priorities of INFORMS

• In order to succeed with this, we will need to build up and reallocate IT resources to accomplish our goals for the future

IT Strategic Priorities and Projects

• Develop a Single Login ID system that allows integration of different IT Systems (Member, Conf, Pubs, JPS, etc.)

• Build Community Web Sites that are interrelated and share information from all other INFORMS IT Systems. 

• Enhance Conference Systems to provide better user experience, program development, search, interactivity, content sharing, and social networking.

• Embrace Social Media at all levels of INFORMS to distribute news, publish information, collaborate, and engage with its members

• Develop Member Dashboards to provide live feeds from other IT Systems, share information and content, and build communities

• Develop Online Meeting and Content Sharing capabilities to provide collaboration and education/training to members

• Optimize INFORMS Online to make it more findable, engaging site for  its members where they can network and collaborate with others

• Build our own Publications Online Database with paper metadata that can be searched, filtered, and accessed from other IT systems.

Main IT Goals and Priorities Selected

• Single login ID (1.6)• Community Web Sites (4.1)• Conference Web Systems (4.1)• Social Media & Networking (6.1)• Member Dashboards (6.4)• Online Meeting/Education (6.4)• Online Content & Collaboration (6.5)• INFORMS Online (7.0)• Publications - Access (7.6)

The goals and priorities were determined by the IT Committee after various online discussions and conference calls for the past 2 months.The final voting process was all done online using Google Docs.

IT Goals and Priorities Selection Spreadsheet

IT Projects - Importance vs. Effort Required

Seven High-Priority Projects Selected for Now

• Single Login ID• Conference Web System Ease-of-Use• Online Videos and Distribution• Social Media News and Networking• Conference Slide Sharing• Document Sharing Online• Mobile Conference App

These seven high priority projects were specifically selected as they require only Low to Medium effort by INFORMS and can be relatively easily implemented with existing resources

Current IT Projects Already in Progress

• Online Videos and Distributiono Analytics Conferenceo Speaker Program

• Using Social Media platforms to:o Provide news and informationo Engage members

• IOL Landing Pageso Analytics Section

• Web site for Annual Meetingo Registration form design

• Conference Mobile Application• New Conference Abstract System

o ICS Conference 2013• Researching AA System API for Integration

Project: Single Login ID

• Create secure database for storing login ID information• Each person interacting with INFORMS will have an account

o Memberso Non-members

• Necessary groundwork for integrating various IT Systemso Conferenceso Publicationso Job Placemento OR-Exchange

• Enables access also to common social networks & content sites• Provides integration to other systems through secure API

service

High priority project - Medium effort required 

Project: Conference Web System Ease-of-Use

• Easier registration process through more intelligent forms• Enhanced search and listing capabilities• More integration with Social Networks (like, embed, tweet)

Other Selected IT Projects that also involve Conferences:• Regular news and information provided through social media• Slide-sharing for speakers to make available for attendees• Selected videos made available online after the conference• Mobile friendly application for accessing conference program

High priority project - Low to Medium effort required (Conferences)

Project: Online Videos and Distribution

INFORMS already implements video hosting online through:• Informs Online - Youtube channel

o Free but each video is limited to 15 minuteso Rendering and uploading done by INFORMS Staff

• Video Learning Center - BlueSkyo High quality production but expensiveo Costs about $200/year per video to host

Alternatives being researched for future online videos:• Vimeo Pro: Similar to YouTube but no limit on video length• Sprout Video: Advanced hosting service, cost $600-$3000/year• Examples: Conference Videos and INFORMS Speaker Program

High priority project - Low to Medium effort required (Marketing)

Project: Social Media and Networking

• Provide members with regular news through Social Mediao LinkedIno Twittero Facebooko Google+o OR-Exchange

• Systematically collect and dispatch news/information from:o Conferenceso Publicationso Subdivisionso Committees and the Boardo Various INFORMS initiatives and programs

• Actively engage members through Social Networking platforms• Multiple social networking activities are currently driven by members

 High priority project - Low effort required 

Project: Conference Slide & Document Sharing

• Implemented through Slideshare Pro account• Gives speakers the ability to upload slide presentations• Access to the slides before, during, and after the conference• Conference attendees and others can:

o Search for specific presentationso View the slides onlineo Download the slideso Embed the slides

• Connected to speakers accounts through Single Login• Mashup with other INFORMS IT Systems through API's• Document sharing implemented in similar fashion

through Scribd or Docstoc accounts  High priority project - Low effort required 

Project: Conference Mobile Application

Expected to include some or all of the following features:• Session Descriptions• Speaker Bios• Exhibitor Details• Schedules• Session Slides• Social Networking features• News / Scheduled Alerts• Contact Sharing• Email event report• Maps & Videos

Compatibility with iPhone/iPad, Android, and Blackberry

High priority project - Medium effort required (Conferences)

Project: New Conference Abstract System

INFORMS Computing Society (ICS) will holding its next conference in New Mexico, January 2013• The conference chair William E. Hart, Sandia Labs is a member of

the IT Committee• The goal is to implement a new conference abstract system

as Open-Source developed by ICS and INFORMS volunteers• Key design ideas include:

o Designed using modular components using RESTful API'so Connected to a Single Login system through API'so Leverage Social Networking sites through API'so Flexible Program Scheduling with sophisticated web interfaceo Leverage existing Open Document Management systemso Good analytics and extensive easy-to-use reports

High priority project - Low effort required (most work by volunteers)

New Members of the IT Committee

• Bjarni Kristjansson, Chair

• James J. Cochran• Owen P. Hall • William E. Hart • Warren Lieberman • John Lucas• Laura A. McLay • Anna Nagurney• Marianela Pereira Cea (New)• Paul Rubin• Matthew J. Saltzman

• Aurelie Thiele (New)• Michael Trick • Wayne Winston

Ex-officio members• Melissa Moore• Kevin Geraghty (IOL)• Ann Fishkin• Patricia Shaffer• Gary Bennett• Shirley Mohr• Mary Magrogan

IT Committee Motion

MOTION: IT IS MOVED that the INFORMS Board approve the appointment of two new members of the Information Technology Committee, Aurelie Thiele, Lehigh University and Marianela Pereira Cea, AMEC Americas Ltd., for terms beginning August 2011 through December 31, 2012.

IT Committee Work and Activities

• Regular Webex conference calls for the past few monthso Each call automatically video recorded and published onlineo Crowdsourcing: Most documents published online

• LinkedIn group INFORMS IT Committee and Friendso All active members of the committee joinedo Group open to anyone else interested in INFORMS ITo Video recordings and reports/documents published o Discussion and comments from members solicited

•  Twitter account @InformsIT createdo Used to report news on committee activitieso Questions posed to Twitter followers

• Google+ account INFORMS IT createdo Also used to report news on committee activities & pose questions

IT Committee Document Collaboration 

Google Docs used for all collaboration writing and editing• Full control over who can View and Edit each document• Multiple people can edit simultaneously• Documents, Spreadsheets, Presentations, Drawings• Can easily be converted into MS Office or PDF Files• Easy to make certain documents available through Links

Experience on Using Google Docs: Overall very beneficial and effective way of collaborating, but some members of the committee still prefer sharing and editing the documents the "old-fashioned" way through MS Office and Email attachments.

Potential New IT Staff Requirements

• Additional Software Developero LAMP Platform (Linux/Apache/MySQL/PHP)

• Potential projects and tasks where more seriousprogramming capabilities will be needed:o Mobile computing for Meetings & Publicationso Implement Social Networking/Web 2.0 platformso Implement integrated platforms for content sharing o Implement strategy for Member Dashboardo Integration between existing IT systems

Potential IT Budget Savings

• Reduce Consultingo ACGI special requests ($45K)o INFORMS Consultants ($59K)

• Reduce Hosting Feeso ACGI Leasing & Hosting ($65K)o PTG Hosting ($22K)

• Do we need an IT Director?o Full-time IT Director ($100K+) 

• Other Potential Reductionso Email Archiving ($12K)

For each item, we need to answer the following question:

Are we getting good ROI for the money spent?

IT 2012 Budget with a Possible AlternativeINFORMS IT Budget

2011Budget

2011 YTDProjection

2012 Budget

Alt. 2012 Budget

ACGI Consulting & Hosting 175 131 175 105

INFORMS Online 50 50 40 40

Software 25 56 25 25

Miscellaneous 30 23 30 30

Expenses 280 260 270 200

IT Labor 436 398 480 550

Overhead 45 47 45 45

TOTAL EXPENSES 761 705 795 795