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IPMA News : September 2004
Edited By Mary Ellen Bradley and Dennis Jones
IPMA News : September 2004Edited By Mary Ellen Bradley and Dennis Jones |
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ContentsPartnership applies technology leadership to help save the lives of abducted children Profile: Tom Boatright, CIO, Department of Community, Trade, and Economic Development |
"Sponsor's Corner"(Editor's Note: No contributions were provided for the Sponsor's Corner this month.) |
-- by Todd T. Hattori, Department of Information Services, Communications Office
A 1997 study by the Washington State Office of the Attorney General found that "…74 percent of abducted children who are murdered are dead within three hours of the abduction." FBI statistics show that 2,100 children are reported missing every day. (Case Management for Missing Children Homicide Investigation, a report by the Office of the Attorney General of Washington and the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.)
Law enforcement officials have long understood the need for an efficient, failsafe method to distribute critical information immediately to save the lives of abducted children. Washington state recently led the way to a groundbreaking solution with the implementation of an important enhancement to the AMBER Alert system – the AMBER Alert 911 Web Portal.
"The AMBER portal offers an unprecedented opportunity to help save children's lives and deter the abduction of children within our states and across the nation," said Washington Governor Gary Locke as he announced the Portal with four other Governors at the National Governor’s Association annual meeting.
Montana Governor Judy Martz agrees. "We all know that when a child is abducted, time is of the essence," said Martz. "In states like Montana where distances are great and populations sparse, this project will be an even bigger help to get the word out faster and to more people than ever."
The portal – sponsored by a consortium of organizations – is a public/private partnership consisting of states, law enforcement, the broadcast media and private corporations. Private corporations support the portal through sponsorships, which cover recurring operational costs, thus making the system available to states, law enforcement, broadcast media and the public at no cost.
Partners overcome technology, communications challenges During the development phase, consortium members surfaced several issues regarding the AMBER Alert system, chief among which was the fact that once an AMBER Alert message was broadcast over the Emergency Alert System, there was no single, universal source for broadcasters or the public to obtain additional information. Compounding this difficulty was the fact that local law enforcement agencies lacked the ability to add information, update and/or cancel alerts from their community in real time and get this up-to-the-minute information out to the media and public.
The new AMBER Alert 911 Web Portal uses a variety of alerting capabilities including e-mail, pagers, text-enabled cell phones and faxes to alert thousands of people simultaneously of an abducted child and the kidnapper. At the same time, the Portal automatically distributes the same information to other law enforcement agencies, broadcast media, 9-1-1 call centers, lottery commissions, highway signs, transit authorities and utility companies who in turn alert vast numbers of people with accurate, up to date information. This quickly enables them to be the eyes and ears of law enforcement on every street corner and highway throughout the state. The Portal dramatically speeds the process of getting the word out, thereby enabling more people to look for and increase the likelihood of finding the missing child.
Bringing an innovative vision to life The Department of Information Services (DIS) partnered with the Washington State Patrol, Department of Transportation, Emergency Management Division, Washington Sheriffs and Police Chiefs Association and the Washington State Association of Broadcasters to bring the portal to life. Together, these agencies created an innovative new vision for the AMBER Alert system and developed the concept of an AMBER Alert Web Portal for statewide and nationwide use. These stakeholders streamlined business processes, led the pilot testing of the portal, structured a nationwide partnership for states and non-government sponsors and brokered a new statewide agreement between state and local law enforcement, broadcasters and state agencies.
In October 2003, the National Alliance of State Broadcaster Associations passed a resolution strongly supporting the AMBER Alert 911 Web Portal. The consortium is working in cooperation with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children as it makes the portal available to states across the nation. Connecticut, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maine, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, Oklahoma and Oregon are scheduled for implementation in the near future.
Members of the public and media can go to http://www.amberalert911.com to sign up to receive AMBER Alert notifications.
-- by Mary Ellen Bradley, IPMA Communications Co-Chair
Tom began his new job at the CTED on August 25, 2003.
Tell me a little about your background. (Where you grew up, high school,
college etc.)
I was born and raised in Highland, California. Our family
relocated to Olympia when I was a sophomore in high school. I attended Tumwater
High School and went to The Evergreen State College.
How did you get involved in Information Systems?
I first got involved in
Information Technology when I went to work at the Department of Health. The
focus of my studies in college was Information Technology, but you don’t really
start understanding IT until you get out of school and start doing it. I worked on a
project to implement a pilot PC network. We used Arcnet technology and had to
manually set each card's address before we installed them in a machine. I bet
that takes a few networking people back a ways.
How did you get started in state Government?
What agencies have you worked
at?
I started my career many years ago with the Department of Health. Ron
Seymour was the Technical Services Manager at that time. Ron was very
instrumental in my development path and was a great mentor.
What do you see as the role of technology in State Government?
There is so
much we can do as technology professionals to help extend the services that this
state offers. I think Washington State should be particularly proud of our
accomplishments with Information Technology and with the strong community of IT
professionals we have committed to building a better future. The citizens have
reason to be very optimistic.
What are the problems that you see with technology and government?
The
biggest problem is having the ability and support to collaborate with partner
agencies. I believe our work together and our efforts to continue to build one
state technology support structure is where our future seems the brightest.
Working together is the only way I believe we will realize the next steps in
Washington State Information Technology Services.
What do you want to accomplish at the CTED?
My primary objective is to
empower CTED users through the use of technology. One of the first steps that we
have taken is to build our partnership with the Department of Information
Services. Again, the success of CTED, as is true of any agency is how we can
partner with other agencies and leverage the whole. I have been at CTED for
almost one year and a great team of Information Technology professionals is
starting to assemble here. I believe we have taken great strides in become a
very strong partner agency to other agencies in the state and DIS. We are also
very invested in Enterprise Architecture and will use DIS and other agencies
direction to develop an EA model for CTED.
What are you most proud of in your career?
Probably work at the Attorney
Generals Office now that I look back on it. Jim Albert and the team at the AGO are
as strong a group of Information Technology professionals as I have worked with.
We accomplished a great deal in five years and it’s an experience I will carry
with me throughout my professional career.
Family?
I’m married to my wonderful wife Anna of 14 years. We have three boys
- Nate 12, Nick 9 and Eli 3, and our blessed addition Sara is 2 months.
Hobbies – Activities?
Love to teach and coach soccer, which is one of my
other passions. Enjoy spending time watching the kids' activities.
-- by Sheryl Hall, IPMA Professional Development Chair
For the second year in a row, the IPMA Professional Development held its summer seminar with a luncheon and networking opportunity at no cost to the attendee. Similar to last year, the room was configured to hold 12 round tables with eight attendees per table. This format encouraged group networking and collaboration during the lunch period and the team and group activities.
The idea behind this year’s theme was to stay in sync with the upcoming IPMA Executive Seminar, "Redefining the Enterprise During Transition" to be held on September 20-22, 2004. The next few months will bring opportunities and challenges as we transition into the elections and most likely leadership changes, welcoming the new human resource system implementation and, work through another legislative session, while continuing to manage operations, meet deliverables, reach milestones, and keep staff on board.
The seminar, "How to Lead Your Team and Stay on Board When Change Comes in Waves," was held at the Saint Martin's College campus on August 12, 2004. The program was presented by Molly Gordon, MCC of Shaboom, Inc. www.mollygordon.com. Ms. Gordon is an internationally recognized Master Certified Coach, writer, and workshop leader. Her coaching practice is formed by over two decades as a business owner and artist as well as her lifetime passion for learning. Her strength is providing theoretical frameworks, development practices, and structural insights that support meaningful change and effective action.
Ms. Gordon introduced Mapping the Waves, a model for understanding how different people experience, interpret, and react to change. She also introduced a tool for overcoming immunity to change developed by Robert Kegan and Lisa Laskow Lahey (Harvard School of Business), which is detailed in their book, How the Way We Talk Can Change the Way We Work. http://www.gse.harvard.edu/news/features/kegan01012001.html
The Mapping the Waves model identifies four "waves" or ways of seeing the world and therefore four ways of experiencing change. These are:
Depending on which "wave" an individual or department "rides," they will have certain biases, needs, and strengths when it comes to adapting to change. When managers understand what wave or waves are at work in their area of responsibility, they will be better able to design effective ways to implement change, to support employees through the change process, and to leverage the strengths of each wave.
Ms. Gordon emphasized that human beings are complex and that we need to be careful not to stereotype people based on the wave we think they are riding. A person may relate to his or her work in an Expert manner while relating to parenting as a Strategist. In addition, waves have nothing to do with intelligence. Rather they can be thought of as the predominant clusters of values that shape how we set priorities, establish that we are doing a good job, and measure our satisfaction and success. Naturally, when change seems to require us to move off of our wave, we are going to experience that as very unsettling.
After presenting the wave, Ms. Gordon introduced the Kegan/Lahey "Immunity to Change" process based on the notion of discovering the values or commitments that are often concealed in complaints. When someone complains about office gossip, for example, they may have an underlying commitment to teamwork or efficiency or respect. Notice that in this example there are several quite different values that could be behind the complaint. We cannot assume we know from hearing someone’s complaint what the underlying value is.
As we all know, often we complain over and over about things that we can’t seem to change. The rest of the Immunity to Change process reveals why. In brief, we often live in what Kegan and Lahey call a "dynamic equilibrium," a pattern of hidden, competing commitments that keeps us stuck. In order to get unstuck, we worked through steps to find a Big Assumption – an unexamined belief that something dire will occur if we change. Once a Big Assumption is out on the table, we can see how it is influencing our choices and limiting our options. We can also take careful, systematic steps to challenge the Big Assumption, often reducing its hold and sometimes dissolving it altogether.
In addition to helping us identify our own Big Assumptions, Ms. Gordon encouraged us to use our experience to be better listeners when staff or colleagues have complaints. Instead of reacting to the complaint as an attack or dismissing it as inconsequential, we can look for the commitments and values behind the complaint. Once we’ve tapped into these positive forces, we are in a position to be more pro-active about change.
Ms. Gordon ended the 3-hour workshop with the message to Listen, Inquire, and Reframe:
Listen
Inquire
Reframe
The Microsoft PowerPoint slide show is available at: http://www.ipma-wa.com/prodev/2004/change_mgt_20040812.htm
To learn more about past IPMA professional development events, see http://www.ipma-wa.com/prodev/prodev_past.htm.
5 Years Ago -- September 1999 IPMA Newsletter
10 Years Ago -- September 1994 IPMA Newsletter
15 Years Ago -- September 1989 IPMA Newsletter (not available at this time)
20 Years Ago -- September 1984 Association of Data Processing Managers Newsletter (not available at this time)
25 Years Ago -- September 1979 Association of Data Processing Managers Newsletter
30 Years Ago -- September 1974 Association of Data Processing Managers Newsletter
Members Present: Mary Ellen Bradley, Phil Grigg, Sheryl Hall, Dennis Laine, Andy Marcelia, Christy Ridout, Darrel Riffe, and Shelagh Taylor. Phil Coates, CFO was also present.
Christy Ridout, IPMA Chair, opened the August 2004 meeting of the IPMA Board of Directors at 7:35 a.m. The minutes from the July 2004 Board meeting were approved.
Secretary/Treasurer's Report: The Board approved the July 2004 financial status and activities reports.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Forum 2004/2005: Dennis Laine reported that planning for the 2005 Forum will begin in September or October.
Communications: Mary Ellen Bradley reported that there had been a problem that resulted in the loss of the registration data bases for both the Executive Seminar and the August 12th Professional Development Seminar. The organization that provides the web hosting service lost the data and to everyone’s surprise they only back up once a month. Mary Ellen also reported that the August issue of the IPMA News containing a very interesting article about L&I’s Patch Management for Desktops Project, would be released within a couple of days. Phil Coates noted that the laptop computer that he uses to maintain the IPMA books is on its last legs. He asked if Mary Ellen could check with Bob Monn to see if he might be ready to replace the unit he uses to maintain the IPMA web sites.
Professional Development: Sheryl Hall reported that approximately 115 people have registered for the August 12th seminar titled "Surfing for Managers: How to Lead Your Team and Stay on Board When Change Comes in Waves." She also reported that the planning is proceeding for the October seminar entitled "Testing, Testing, 1-2-3," with Solutions IQ. Panel members from state agencies will also participate. The committee will meet later in August to match topics with the 2005 reserved dates.
Executive Seminar 2004: Phil Grigg reported on the status of planning for this year’s Executive Seminar.
Budget & Finance: No report
MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM: No report
OTHER BUSINESS:
Elections: Andy Marcelia will lead the Nominating Committee effort to determine which board positions are up for reelection and the incumbents plans. They will then begin the search for the appropriate number of candidates for presentation to the board at the October meeting. If Andy feels there is a need for input from the board prior to the October meeting, he will call available board members together at the Executive Seminar in Chelan.
January Board Planning Meeting: Christy Ridout noted that the Vice Chair should begin planning the board planning session and perhaps bring some location options to the board in October. Several members suggested the newly remodeled Alderbrook Inn might be a good choice.
Next Meeting October 14th.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:10 a.m.
IPMA, P.O. Box 1943, Olympia, WA 98507-1943