Technical Advisory Council September 2003 Update

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Technical Advisory Council

September 2003 Update

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Urban League Mission

The Urban League of Central Carolinas, Inc.'s mission is to promote economic self-sufficiency among African-American families and racial inclusion in our communities. It is a multi-service, non-profit Agency, organized in 1978.

The Agency fulfills its mission by providing services in four target areas: Workforce Development, Youth Development and Education, Home Ownership Education, Certification and Counseling, and Diversity Management and Consulting. In addition, the Urban League conducts research and programming to promote racial inclusion and advocacy.

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Objectives of the TAC

The Technical Advisory Council (TAC) was formed in November 2002 to serve as the key executive advisory council to the Urban League to provide advice and support on all of its Information Technology (IT) needs.

These needs include assistance in maintaining and improving IT equipment and software related to administration and program operations, and assistance in building collaborations that can secure ongoing IT resources.

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TAC Participants

The TAC is a volunteer team comprised of senior IT leaders from several prominent Charlotte companies, including:

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Activities Underway

Acentron Technologies jump-started our planning work by providing a current state assessment of the Urban League’s IT environment, along with issues and recommendations for improvement.

Accenture provided a strategic technology planning framework to help the TAC define a prioritized Technology Plan.

Microsoft has engaged a team of 6 engineers that are working on tuning the performance and security of the Urban League’s network.

IBM is investing in the Urban League’s mission by providing 4 new NetVista PCs, with a request for another 10-15 PCs pending.

Wachovia’s eCommunities First program is planning a site visit during the week of Sept 15th to evaluate the agency’s request for infrastructure and software to provide basic computer training along with financial management education.

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Strategic Technology Planning Process

The team adopted a strategic planning framework provided by Accenture to define a prioritized Technology Plan that ensures a prioritized focus on improvement initiatives that will yield the greatest benefit with the greatest probability of success.

The output of the strategic planning framework was a set of project initiatives placed on a matrix of “pain relief” and “feasibility to fix” that indicates the best places to focus our initial improvement efforts.

While approximately 35 separate initiatives emerged from this strategic planning work, we identified 9 projects that will be pursued immediately.

The prioritized technology plan provides a starting point as well as a long-term roadmap for current and future TAC volunteers to follow.

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Current Environment

Target Environment

Gap & Impact Analysis

Prioritized Technology

Plan

Current Initiatives

May - June June - July July - August

As-Is DepictionArchitecture AssessmentProcess AssessmentApplication AdequacyHardware Adequacy

3-Year DepictionGuiding Principles“Organization”

InventoryTarget Alignment

Gap AnalysisImpact AssessmentInitial Prioritization

BenefitEffortSkillsTimeframeDependencies

Strategic Technology Planning Framework

We are here

8 “Pain Relief”

Feasi

bili

ty t

o E

xecu

te

High

Low

HighLow

• Recruiting Volunteers

• Org Definitions

• Governance

• Security Mgmt

• User Admin.

• Backup / Storage

• DR Processes

•UPS / GeneratorOutput Mgmt. / Queue

Output / Printer

Competency Dev.

• Inventory Mgmt / Assets & Licenses

• Configuration Mgmt

• Standard Desktop Image

• Software Distribution

• Change Control

• Reporting

Data Consolidation & Integration

Network Performance Monitoring & Tuning

Application Mgmt.

IT Strategic

IT Capability

Executive Expectations

Project & Program Mgmt.

Vendor Mgmt.

Communications

Database Mgmt.

Database Backup

Policies / Standards

Financial Admin.

Demand Mgmt. / Priorities

Regulatory Compliance

Capacity – Data Capture

Capacity – Data Collection

Service Desk / SD Database

Resource Forecasting

Wiring / Cabling

Service Desk – SD Reporting

Service Desk – SD Workflow

Service Desk – Incident Querying

Capability Dev. – Build & Test

Capability Dev. - Analysis

Capability Dev. - Design

Operations Data Arch.

“Pain Relief” & “Feasibility” Matrix

The projects in bold boxes indicates Wave 1 & 2 Projects that will be pursued immediately. Other initiatives will be pursued later.

9 Input: Summarized Gaps & Impacts

Process: Prioritize based on Feasibility & Impact; Lay out plan based on capacity and skills

Output: Summarized IT Initiative Plan

HighInfrastructure

Development Management

Legend

Wave 2

Wave 1

“Fe

asib

ilit

y”

(rel

ati

ve)

Low

High

ConfigurationMgmt

Recruiting Volunteers

StandardizedProject Mgmt

Data Consolidation& Integration

Wave 1 Prioritized & Organized Projects

1. Technology Backup / Disaster Recovery

2. Infrastructure Security

3. Inventory & Asset Management

4. Network Performance Tuning

Wave 2 Projects

• Recruiting Technology Volunteers

• Project / Program Management

• Configuration Management

• Data Consolidation & Integration

• Executive Expectations Management

InfrastructureSecurity

“Pain Relief”(relative)

Plan

Develop Rotation Schedule

2003Jul Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec

2004Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4

2005Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4

2006Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4

Develop Plan

Ongoing Operations

Educate / Inform UsersUpdate User Profiles

Begin New Rotation

Define Security StandardsUpdate Router & Server Settings

Verify Tape Drives

Technology Backup / Disaster Recovery

Infrastructure Security

Network Performance Tuning

PR

OJE

CT

S

Verify Volume Defn’s

TBD

Inventory & Asset Management

SAMPLE DELIV

ERABLE

Next Step: Execution Plan for Wave 1

Backup / DRInventory & Asset Mgmt

Network PerformanceTuning

ExecutiveExpectationsMgmt

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Initiative Priorities – Wave 1

Technology Backup / Disaster Recovery Verify backup scope, schedule and offsite rotation plan Verify appropriate backup power source Document Disaster Recovery processes

Infrastructure Security Define and update network security & passwords Improve user security administration

Inventory & Asset Management Inventory the Urban League’s hardware and software assets Inventory and manage software licenses

Network Performance Tuning Evaluate network performance and design Update network configuration to optimize performance

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Initiative Priorities – Wave 2

Recruiting Technology Volunteers Define required roles & skill sets Define skill qualifications for screening volunteers Equip TAC and other agency members with marketing tools Define point of contact and engagement process

Project / Program Management Define project mgmt processes and templates Define program mgmt guidelines

Configuration Management Define processes & tools for software distribution, file transfer,

maintenance of standard desktop image, change control and reporting

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Initiative Priorities – Wave 2 (cont’d.)

Data Consolidation & Integration Analyze data collection processes and tools in place today Define systems for consolidation & integration Evaluate and select target database environment & schema Define user interface for integrated systems

Executive Expectations Management Develop and update management communications regarding TAC

progress and plans Present updates to agency executive management as needed Coordinate with the Urban League’s Strategic Business plan

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Volunteer Skills Needed

Currently, based on our list of projects, we are seeking qualified volunteers with skills in the following areas:

Disaster recovery planning Windows server administration IT asset inventory tools & process Network wiring, design and performance tuning Symantec anti-virus administration CISCO Router Administration MS Exchange MS Office MS Access / SQL Server / Database Administration Project & Program Management Expertise

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Enablers

Several processes must be defined prior to engaging volunteers:

Recruitment materials must be finalized and distributed We need a process to qualify candidates (TAC Review) We need some minimum project guidelines

• Project Manager named for each initiative• Scope & Definition• Technical Design• Roster• Schedule

All volunteers must be assigned and all work must be coordinated through the project managers, until Configuration Management and a Service Desk process are in place. At that time, we will have a process for issuing trouble tickets and matching tickets with available support resources.

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How to Get Involved

1. Ensure that you have at least 2 hours per week (or 1 day per month) available to dedicate to the effort.

2. Contact Sheila Funderburke or Gene Buccelli at (704) 373-2256 ( [email protected] , [email protected] ) to let us know you’re interested and which project you’d like to work on.

3. Submit a skills inventory or resume and times that you are available to work

4. The TAC will assign you to your requested project team or may suggest other projects that need your help.

5. The project manager for your project will contact you to schedule time for you to volunteer.

6. You’ll help improve the effectiveness of the agency’s IT environment, and benefit all of its stakeholders!

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For More Information Contact…

Name Company Phone Email

Gene Buccelli Urban League of Central Carolinas 704-373-2256 [email protected]

D. Grayson Blair Accenture 704-370-5645 [email protected]

Dwayne Bradley Acentron Technologies 704-382-7142 [email protected]

Sheila Funderburke Urban League of Central Carolinas 704-373-2256 [email protected]

Aaron Gani Wachovia 704-590-0376 [email protected]

Kimberly Hanson Microsoft 980-776-6525 [email protected]

Mary Ann Haskett Acentron Technologies 704-335-0030 [email protected]

Kim F. Johnson Premier, Inc. 704-733-5487 [email protected]

Tom Mataconis Accenture 704-370-5612 [email protected]

Aaron Means IBM 704-594-3522 [email protected]

Robert Ortega Wachovia 704-715-8060 [email protected]

Stacey Pinson SAN Direct 704-423-5765 [email protected]

Vern Scoggins Microsoft 980-776-6524 [email protected]

Dan Springer Acentron Technologies 704-335-0030 [email protected]

Bill Taggart Wachovia / Info-One 704-943-4215 [email protected]

Gunhan Tatman Microsoft 980-776-6548 [email protected]

Brian Williams Bank of America 704-388-8034 [email protected]

Theresa Wilson Wachovia 704-383-9256 [email protected]