Enterprise Directory Services: Project Planning

1. Enterprise Directory Services:Project Planning A. Michael Berman, VP, Instr. & Info Tech, Cal. Poly, Pomona Keith Hazelton, Sr. IT Architect University of Wisconsin

2. Topics • Enterprise Directory Implementation Roadmap • Business Case • Project planning CAMP Directory Workshop Feb 3-6, 2004

3. Tech and Policy Tracks CAMP Directory Workshop Feb 3-6, 2004

4. CAMP Directory Workshop Feb 3-6, 2004

5. Project Planning, Preparation and Requirements Policy/Management • Develop Business Case & Secure Support • Develop Project Plan • Assemble Resources • Strategize for success in policy matters CAMP Directory Workshop Feb 3-6, 2004

6. Planning: The Biz Case • Educate yourself and organization on need for middleware • Assemble drivers for campus • Assess strengths, weaknesses, and critical success factors • Develop business case • Secure support CAMP Directory Workshop Feb 3-6, 2004

7. Educate yourself and others… • You’re here • Materials on CD • Excellent articles in Educause publications • Written for a range of audiences • You don’t have to invent from scratch, but… • You will have to tailor for your campus CAMP Directory Workshop Feb 3-6, 2004

8. Assemble Business Drivers • You need to know why you’re undertaking this effort • It’s probably bigger than you think • Focus on outcomes • Outcomes need to be meaningful for your target audience – who needs to support the project to make it a success on your campus? CAMP Directory Workshop Feb 3-6, 2004

9. Drivers for Directory Implementation • Technology Drivers • Improved service • Reduced costs • Positive business drivers • Enable new applications • Support better collaboration, sharing resources • Negative business drivers • Improved security and protection of confidential information CAMP Directory Workshop Feb 3-6, 2004

10. Technology Drivers – Improved services • Account provision – speed, accuracy • Providing identity information to non-central “customers” • Customer self-service • WebISO • Better integration for portals, ERP systems CAMP Directory Workshop Feb 3-6, 2004

11. Technology Drivers – reduced costs • Server consolidation • Reduce help-desk calls • Simplify implementation of new applications • Reduce/eliminate proxy servers CAMP Directory Workshop Feb 3-6, 2004

12. Positive Business Drivers • Enterprise course management • Collaboration tools – calendaring, email lists based on roles, video conferencing • Resource sharing, distribution • Workflow • PKI CAMP Directory Workshop Feb 3-6, 2004

13. Negative Business Drivers • Use directory to consolidate, control access to sensitive information • Tie to SSN access control • Reduce risk • Auditing risk – e.g. password control • Compliance risk • Liability risk CAMP Directory Workshop Feb 3-6, 2004

14. Assess Strengths, Weaknesses, and Critical Success Factors • Do key campus and IT leaders have a good understanding of purpose and role of Enterprise Directory? • Do key technical staff members have good understanding of core middleware and directory technologies? • Have you identified campus business drivers that are compelling & linked to strategic needs of the campus? CAMP Directory Workshop Feb 3-6, 2004

15. Assessing… • Have you identified an executive sponsor or champion with enough clout? • Do you know who are the stakeholders outside the IT organization? • Do you know who the “data owners” are, and can you get their support? • Do you have project management expertise available? CAMP Directory Workshop Feb 3-6, 2004

16. Assessing… • Does your campus have appropriate policies for ownership and management of the information you will put in your directory? • Can you make changes in policies if necessary? • Have potential roadblocks – organizational, political, legal, procedural – been identified? CAMP Directory Workshop Feb 3-6, 2004

17. Assessing… • Is the core campus IT infrastructure in a stable configuration that can support the directory? • Is there continuity in IT and campus leadership sufficient to sustain the effort required by the project? • Do you have communications expertise available to you? CAMP Directory Workshop Feb 3-6, 2004

18. Developing a Business Case • Depending on the size, complexity, and cost of project and campus environment, may need to develop a more-or-less formal business case • Purposes: • To focus your own thinking • To gain executive buy-in • To rally campus support CAMP Directory Workshop Feb 3-6, 2004

19. Potential elements of a directory project business case • Most important – explain the need or drivers for the directory project, and how the project will address the need • If possible, explicitly tie to the strategic objectives of the institution • Typically includes a rough cut of project timeline and budget – address funding strategy • Most important: executive summary CAMP Directory Workshop Feb 3-6, 2004

20. Can you do a “stealth” directories project? • May be possible for the first pass or as a prototype • Current focus on protection of confidential information increases risk of stealth project • Good strategy in some cases – embed within a larger project, e.g. ERP CAMP Directory Workshop Feb 3-6, 2004

21. Secure Support • Stakeholders • Champion • Funding Sources • Business and Policy Process CAMP Directory Workshop Feb 3-6, 2004

22. Planning: Develop Project Plan • Do implementation groundwork on strategy, timing, and organizational approach • Develop communications and PR plan • Discuss with stakeholders when appropriate • Develop project plan CAMP Directory Workshop Feb 3-6, 2004

23. Implementation Groundwork • Clarifying relationships between individuals & institution. When does admitted student become a student able to access online library resources? Are they “students” for all purposes? • Determining who manages, who can update and who can see common data. How does an address get changed? Who is responsible for its accuracy? CAMP Directory Workshop Feb 3-6, 2004

24. Implementation Groundwork • Structuring information access & use rules between departments & central administrative units. What data sets should particular staff positions get automatic custodial permission to use? • Reconciling business rules & practices. Do the existing business practices for new hires support early provisioning of email accounts? CAMP Directory Workshop Feb 3-6, 2004

25. Develop Communication Plans • Use to help manage expectations • Publicize quick wins, a shared vision, support from the executive levels • Use combination of face-to-face conversations & presentations & web/hard copy communications CAMP Directory Workshop Feb 3-6, 2004

26. Develop Communication Plans • Tailor message to disparate audiences • Keep the overall message consistent. • Identify ways to involve stakeholders in decision and policy making process. • Need to reiterate overall goals & business case many times before directory is deployed & apps are enabled. CAMP Directory Workshop Feb 3-6, 2004

27. Project Plan Considerations • Quick wins early in process to demonstrate value. • Identify ways to measure benefits (productivity gains, self-service) ahead of time. • Success enables more success. Make sure later requests can be accommodated to keep enthusiasm • Over provision first infrastructure to accommodate growth for first applications & addition of new ones. CAMP Directory Workshop Feb 3-6, 2004

28. Project Plan Considerations • Develop overall guidelines for directory & project to help in decision making later • Be prepared to redefine responsibilities of people as workload changes. • Recognize directory as mission-critical infrastructure; provide for life-cycle support & mgmt CAMP Directory Workshop Feb 3-6, 2004

29. Planning: Assemble Resources • Decide on funding model and secure funding • Develop technical, policy, executive and organizational project structure • Begin communication plan CAMP Directory Workshop Feb 3-6, 2004

30. Funding • Costs • staff time: in acquiring data, establishing policy, and implementing the technical infrastructure. • capital and operational costs • Securing Funds; • depends largely on existing staff, their expertise, available resources for outsourcing, & level of commitment to other production systems. • Funding Options • absorb cost of project into existing initiatives underway, or within ongoing operational budgets • Submit to mgmt. for funding as a standalone project CAMP Directory Workshop Feb 3-6, 2004

31. Project Structure • Project Champion(s) • Ideal is a pair, one IT, one senior admin • Know, communicate value • Negotiate hazards, maintain momentum • Project Manager • Trusted vet; technically acute • Collaborative style • Proactive communicator CAMP Directory Workshop Feb 3-6, 2004

32. Project Structure • Core Team • Small, agile • Represents core functional areas • Detail oriented • Formulates issues, recommendations for steering group • Big Team • The stakeholders collectively CAMP Directory Workshop Feb 3-6, 2004

33. Project Structure • Steering Team • Smallest, most powerful • Composed of key decision makers • Lays foundation for ongoing Dir. Governance Board • Technical Team • Nuts & bolts of design and deployment • Technical architect, systems developers, database technologists and app developers CAMP Directory Workshop Feb 3-6, 2004

34. Strategies for Success in Policy Matters • Know your environment • Establish core principles CAMP Directory Workshop Feb 3-6, 2004

35. Strategies: Know your environment! Guiding questions • Is campus governance centralized or distributed? • How has central administration demonstrated commitment to policy leadership? • What partnerships are in place to support policy development among, e.g., IT, Legal, internal audit, police, Student Affairs? CAMP Directory Workshop Feb 3-6, 2004

36. Strategies: Know your environment!Guiding questions • Are there best practices already defined for your campus? Processes to create best practices? • Are there existing policies that just need to be interpreted to cover the e-World? • What resources are available to support policy development and implementation? CAMP Directory Workshop Feb 3-6, 2004

37. Strategies: Core principles • Guiding philosophy of new infrastructure • Defined before design and implementation phases • Rooted in view of data as a strategic resource • Enterprise directory • Link to all people of interest • ..and all the needed identity information CAMP Directory Workshop Feb 3-6, 2004

38. Strategies: Core principles • Sample core principles • Data infrastructure serves more than one institutional application • Data is protected and requires permission for its use unless declared “public” by the data custodians or owners • Access to private directory data must be granted for each application and be approved by the data custodians. • Applications using that data should meet the security and data definition guidelines put forth by the technical service administrators. • Data will be made available for all valid administrative and educational purposes CAMP Directory Workshop Feb 3-6, 2004

39. CAMP Directory Workshop Feb 3-6, 2004

40. Strategies: Core principles • Directory (UDS) Inclusion Guidelines • There should be a process by which new elements of institutional data are proposed, considered and selected or rejected for addition to the UDS collection. • This process should be clear, well publicized and it should handle requests in a timely manner. • Some users and applications will need access to a larger set of institutional data than that available in the UDS. The UDS must provide a way to map between a person entry in the UDS and that person's entry in other participating repositories. CAMP Directory Workshop Feb 3-6, 2004

41. Strategies: Core principles • Oversight and ownership • Data and technical service may be different • Application and infrastructure may be different • Create, read, update, and delete matrix • On-going legal, source system, and policy changes • Requires business functions to be involved • Requires changes in the infrastructure CAMP Directory Workshop Feb 3-6, 2004

42. Begin Communication Plan CAMP Directory Workshop Feb 3-6, 2004

43. Q & A CAMP Directory Workshop Feb 3-6, 2004