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Sailing the Seven C’s with a Campus IT Project: A Voyage of Epic Proportions

Sailing the Seven C’s with a Campus IT Project: A Voyage of Epic Proportions. The Players: Monisha Shukla Simone Knapp Rick Bunt. The Challenge of Central IT. Local units. Central IT. A fable about engaging a campus community in technology projects. Our Saga Begins.

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Sailing the Seven C’s with a Campus IT Project: A Voyage of Epic Proportions

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  1. Sailing the Seven C’s with a Campus IT Project: A Voyage of Epic Proportions The Players: Monisha Shukla Simone Knapp Rick Bunt

  2. The Challenge of Central IT Local units Central IT

  3. A fable about engaging a campus community in technology projects

  4. Our Saga Begins An epic journey in which a hearty band of IT adventurers sail the troubled waters of campus culture, battling challenges of mythical proportions—storms, monsters, temptation—to introduce a campus portal.

  5. For a portal named PAWS to set sailIt needed to blaze a new trailIt travelled the seaNow listen with meAs we recount this wonderful tale!

  6. The good ship PAWS sets out on its noble quest. … and the adventures begin!

  7. The sea god Poseidon lashes the sea into a storm with his trident … • Storms of mistrust … team’s credibility threatened by campus experiences with unsuccessful technologies. • Scylla: the 6-headed monster that’s hard to kill. Need to build trust through effective partner engagement.

  8. Sweet singing sirens lure sailors to their doom … • Sound like vendor promises? Odysseus plugs the ears of his crew with wax so they can pass …

  9. Charybdis swallows the sea in a whirlpool … • Scope explosion will suck you into the abyss. Need to maintain focus.

  10. And just when you think you’re almost there … Aeolus (the keeper of the winds) releases a hurricane that blows the ship back to where it started …

  11. Three days before our launch date …

  12. In September 2003 we went live with a campus-wide portal (PAWS).

  13. What have we learned from our journey?

  14. Our Seven C’s Co-development Communication Consolidation Coordination Customization Credibility Community

  15. Co-development • Local unit develops the application, central team integrates • Co-development requires transparent processes and clear guidelines

  16. Some of our Co-developers • Student & Enrolment Services • Arts & Science • IT Services • Library • Financial Services • Human Resources • Alumni • Medicine

  17. Why does co-development work? • Idea generation from the broad university community • Deeper sense of ownership and engagement • Improved standardization and campus-wide acceptance. • Frees up central resources • A mutual win-win

  18. Communication • Monthly meetings with co-developers (service providers) • Regular feedback from users and developers • Matured from “pushing out” communications • Seize opportunities to “make a connection”

  19. Why is Communication Important in an IT Project? • No news is good news – NOT! • May discover better ways of doing things • A key part of effective communication is listening

  20. Consolidation • Consolidation is not about empire building • An opportunity to eliminate redundancies and reduce confusion • Needs effective central leadership

  21. Customization • Customization provides the opportunity for targeted, value-added applications and content.

  22. Tabs for targeted audiences • Time-sensitive tabs • Even the PAWS banner changes often to reflect the current campus mood…

  23. Credibility • People mistrust technology and those who provide it • Build trust

  24. Incremental change • Nothing beats proven effectiveness • Reliable election results • Robustness during a blizzard • Analytics and statistics build credibility

  25. Coordination • People working together to achieve a common goal • Competing agendas among collaborators can make for a formidable challenge. • Essential to have a champion in senior administration.

  26. Portal Services Manager Portal Steering Committee Portal Policy Management Committee PAWS Technical Lead Personnel from Help Desk, Training, Systems and Database, Instructional Services Plus Content Back-up PAWS Content Lead PAWS Developer Targeted Announcers The PAWS Team PAWS Stakeholders (Academic and Administrative Unit Co-developers)

  27. Community • To serve a community, we need to become a community • Campus-wide IT projects are community projects. • Implementing technology is as much a social exercise as a technical one.

  28. Over 500 community groups • 260 bulletins posted on bulletin board in its first year • 57,560 classified ads in our classified ads channel • 1,686 active today • 16,000 unique users daily • 2,100 concurrent sessions • 1.2 million page hits daily

  29. Communities share common interests, common goals, a common purpose.

  30. Engaging the campus community in our IT projects… • Encourage co-development • Communicate effectively (two-way) • Consolidate through “persuasive standardization” • Balance the needs of service providers and end users • Embrace customization • Build trust and credibility • Strive for mutual success

  31. …the gift that keeps on giving! Community building pays dividends: “They came first for the food, now they come because they’re engaged…”

  32. Building engagement may seem obscureWhen many monsters you have to endure. So, learn from our fableAnd soon you'll be ableTo sail through your C’s for sure.

  33. Questions? Monisha Shukla:Portal Services Manager, Information Technology Services monisha.shukla@usask.ca Simone Knapp:Communications Officer, Information Technology Services simone.knapp@usask.ca Rick Bunt:AVP Information and Communications Technology rick.bunt@usask.ca

  34. PAWS - Activity Growth

  35. PAWS - Growth in Channels

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