IPMA News : October 2005
Contents
- "Where is it on the Roadmap?"
- Report from the 2005 IPMA Executive Seminar
- Summary of IPMA Board Meeting
"Where is it on the Roadmap?"
--by Kathy Rosmond, Office of Financial Management
State agencies requesting funding and/or approval for financial and administrative systems can expect to hear the question; “Where is it on the Roadmap?”
What is the Roadmap Program?
The Roadmap is a long-range plan that addresses the question: "What’s next for "back office" systems after the new Human Resource Management System (HRMS) is implemented?" The Roadmap program outlines the incremental transformation of Washington State’s enterprise financial and administrative policies, processes and information systems to strengthen government's ability to achieve its results efficiently and effectively .
Executive sponsors for the Roadmap are the directors of the Office of Financial Management (OFM), the Department of Information Services (DIS), the Department of General Administration, and the Department of Personnel.
Why do we need a Roadmap?
Many of the state’s core business processes do not adhere to current "best business practices" due to lack of systems support, outdated and conflicting policies, and piecemeal approaches. The state now operates without the ability to view and manage data at the enterprise level because key operational information is maintained in a variety of locations with different formats and inconsistent meanings. In addition, many of the current statewide and agency financial and administrative systems are aging and no longer adequately meet core business needs.
What are the Roadmap goals?
- Streamline financial and administrative business processes to support more efficient delivery of services;
- Leverage the state’s investments in systems and data tools to reduce costs and achieve economies of scale; and
- Improve core management systems to align with performance management directions, provide valuable management information, and assure accountability.
What is the timeline and scope of the Roadmap?
Representatives from 17 agencies spent over a year gathering information and developing the Roadmap Solutions Framework. The Framework depicts five levels of enterprise business initiatives to be achieved over a seven-year period. Starting with a foundation of common business and data models, Roadmap projects build incrementally to optimize core transaction processing, streamline operational management, and enable enterprise performance management. Each increment is accompanied by set of business values and measures.
The Roadmap includes the financial and administrative business processes that are common across all agencies, except the human resources and payroll processes included in the HRMS project. Also outside the scope of the Roadmap are the state colleges and universities.
What does the Roadmap mean to agencies today?
DIS and OFM are now using the Roadmap Solutions Framework as a guide in their review and approval processes. State agencies requesting funding and/or approval for financial and administrative systems can expect to hear the question; “Where is it on the Roadmap?”
The preferred strategy is to “stay the course”, and ask agencies to meet their needs with policy, process, and/or minor system improvements until enterprise functionality becomes available through the Roadmap program. There will be times however when agencies are faced with urgent needs such as new regulations, unanticipated business opportunities, mandated organizational changes, or emergencies.
Instead of submitting separate budget requests, the departments of Ecology and Community, Trade, and Economic Development are partnering with OFM and DIS on a joint budget proposal to implement an enterprise solution for statewide grants and contracts payables management.
Agencies proposing new core financial and administrative systems or enhancements to existing systems that do not fit within the established scope and schedule of Roadmap will be asked to consider the following options for meeting their urgent business needs:
- Request an adjustment in the Roadmap plan to accommodate the urgent business need with an enterprise solution sooner than previously scheduled. This request can only be approved if the adjustment will not compromise other key aspects of the Roadmap program.
- Partner with the Roadmap team to implement information system components and functionality that will eventually become part of the Roadmap enterprise solution. This option requires strict adherence to Tier One enterprise information and technology architecture standards established by the ISB.
- Implement a “bare bones” solution until the Roadmap can address the business need. The agency must adhere to Tier One enterprise interface and data exchange guidelines and agree to migrate to the enterprise Roadmap solution when it becomes available.
Agencies will be required to make their business case for one of these options to the directors of DIS and OFM or other Roadmap executive sponsors.
Where can I get more information about the Roadmap and stay informed of its progress?
The Roadmap website ( http://www.ofm.wa.gov/roadmap/default.htm ) contains the program charter, meeting notices, deliverables, FAQs, and links to related sites. There is also a feedback form for comments about the program or suggestions for improving the usability of the website.
- The definition of ‘enterprise’ for the Roadmap program means all agencies in the state, with the exception of higher education. The Information Services Board’s Enterprise Architecture Committee defines “enterprise” systems as Tier 1.
- Priorities of Government, team 11 key result
Report from the 2005 IPMA Executive Seminar
--by Christy Ridout and Shelagh Taylor, IPMA Communications Committee
Reinventing the Enterprise During Transition was the theme of the 2005 IPMA Executive Seminar held at Ocean Shores September 20-22, 2005. Conference highlights included a discussion of the state’s economy, and emerging technology trends and strategies. The following is a recap of the seminar agenda with links to the speakers’ presentations.
Greg Weeks, Director of Labor Market and Economic Analysis, Employment Security Division
“Economic Forecast”
Mr. Weeks spoke of Washington’s ongoing recovery from the 2002 - 04 recession. The recession primarily affected the urban areas of King, Pierce, Snohomish and Spokane counties. Employment recovery is being driven by the increase in construction employment (housing market) and growth in professional services. While the state unemployment rate remains relatively high at 5.9%, it is a reflection of more people entering the work force. Employment in Washington state is driven by interest rates, energy prices, and core inflation. Mr. Weeks said the outlook for Washington was difficult to forecast. Continued growth of Washington’s economy will be affected by the rising energy prices, and the national budget and trade deficits.
Please see Mr. Week’s presentation at: http://www.ipma-wa.com/exec_sem/2005/weeks.ppt
Martin Reynolds, Vice President and Fellow, Gartner Research
“Emerging trends in Technologies”
Mr. Reynolds said there certain technology directions will directly affect how organizations invest in information technology (IT):
- value received for dollar spent in IT hardware is increasing;
- value received per dollar spent on IT labor is increasing;
- the amount of data stored increases ten-fold every 5 years;
- the number of interactive devices will increase dramatically over the next 10 years.
Mr. Reynolds spoke of the emergence of applications capitalizing on RFID technology such as: toll pass systems, security access processes, bank card authorization, and parolee tracking. He also spoke of the opportunities developing around the use of sensor networks where nodes can be affixed to physical devices and locations. Applications for this technology include utility monitoring, smart buildings, IT asset inventory, and personal identification devices. Mr. Reynolds said “ubiquitous wireless” is the key to these emerging technologies, and that WiMax would be standardized and “everywhere by 2010.”
Mr. Reynolds presentation will not be posted to the IPMA website, but instead will be emailed to conference attendees.
Kelly Calhoun and Lee Marriott, Museum of North Beach
“Moclips Centennial”
Moclips is a small coastal community on Washington’s west coast, approximately twenty miles from Ocean Shores. Founded in 1905 with the completion of the Northern Pacific Railroad’s extension from Hoquim, this year marks its centennial. In celebration of this event, the Moclips Centennial Project was initiated. Mr. Calhoun and Mr. Marriott gave an animated description of Moclips’ early history, particularly as a destination point for seaside adventure in the early 1900's. Mr. Calhoun and Mr. Marriott encouraged all to learn more about this unique area of Washington by visiting the Museum of the North Beach in Moclips.
Paul Farnsworth, Vice President of Technology, Safeharbor
“Maximizing Service While Lowering Costs”
Mr. Farnsworth believes we are in approximately year five of a 15 - 20 Information Age. Currently, the United States leads the world with 223 million internet users. However, there are 103 million internet users in China and that represents only 8% of their population. This illustrates the potential for enormous growth, and is forcing governments and businesses to reassess their business models in terms of developing online aspects of their business. Mr. Farnsworth stated the biggest change will be that information technology becomes the foundation for business change. Building an enabling IT infrastructure is critical as business models evolve in response to matching customer needs with appropriate business channels. Mr. Farnsworth recommended the book “Place to Space: Migrating to eBusiness Models” by Peter Weill and Michael R. Vitgale as a reference for considering business model change.
Please see Mr. Farnsworth presentation at: http://www.ipma-wa.com/exec_sem/2005/farnsworth.ppt
Victor Szalvay, Vice President of Project Services, Danube Technologies Inc.
“Project Management Agile Computing”
Mr. Szalvay and Michael James discussed the traditional waterfall approach to project management, and compared it to an adaptive project management approach called “agile computing.” The traditional waterfall approach front loads the project plan around detailed analysis and design to the task level. Mr. Szalvay stated this approach was not very successful for many IT software projects where business processes were complex, and the impacts of change were difficult to predict. Instead, Mr Szalvay and Michael James recommended a more iterative approach that focused on managing the project around business functions or features (product) the project was to deliver, and the rate at which the product was being produced. By taking periodic measurements of the project, and actively managing project priorities, necessary changes could be better incorporated into the project without sacrificing the project schedule and budget.
Please see the full presentation at: http://www.ipma-wa.com/exec_sem/2005/szalvay.pdf
Gary Robinson, Director, Department of Information Services
“Enterprise Initiatives”
Gary Robinson spoke of the Governor’s priority to improve service delivery by working together for the good of the whole of Washington state government. Promoting the concept of state government as “the enterprise,” Mr. Robinson linked current enterprise initiatives to the Priorities of Government and to Governor Gregoire’s GMAP goals. Mr. Robinson emphasized the Department of Information Services’ commitment to greater collaboration with other state agencies as it promotes and supports a number of enterprise initiatives including: HRMS, Financial and Administrative Systems Roadmap, Smartbuying, SGN, VoIP, Business Continuity Planning, and One-Stop Business Portal.
Please see Mr. Robinson’s presentation at: http://www.ipma-wa.com/exec_sem/2005/robinson.ppt
Eric Bruno, VP of Product and Portfolio Management, Verizon Enterprise Solutions Group
“Vision for Wireless”
Mr. Bruno discussed the state of wireless technology and the likely directions for its growth. Mr. Bruno discussed convergence of voice, access and network technologies. The applications driving convergence are: conferencing, IP phone-based productivity, remote access to applications and user mobility. He concluded that convergence is occurring today, and it creates efficiency and flexibility and leads to lower costs.
Please see Mr. Bruno’s presentation at: http://www.ipma-wa.com/exec_sem/2005/bruno.ppt
Josetta Bull, Vice President, Eclipse Solutions
Linda Bremer, Director, Department of General Administration
Sadie Rodriguez-Hawkins, Assistant Director, Office of Financial Management
Dave Hamrick, Chief Information Officer, Department of Transportation
“Measuring the Value of IT”
Josetta Bull set the stage for the panel discussion with a presentation addressing the problem “How does an organization quantify the value of information technology.” Ms. Bull emphasized that value is defined at multiple levels in an organization, and to answer this question the focus must be on: who defines value, what defines value, and how is value measured. Defining IT value in terms of outcomes tied to business objectives is key, and getting agreement with executives and program management on how value will be measured is critical. Panel members shared their perspectives on measuring the value of IT. Linda Bremer emphasized the need for continuous communication between IT management and their business colleagues. IT management must use “business-speak” instead of “techno-speak” and must work in partnership with their executives to develop strategic plans and determine where IT can add value. Panel members spoke to the need for business alignment with an IT value measurement program, and that GMAP provides a good framework for getting started.
Please see presentation materials at: http://www.ipma-wa.com/exec_sem/2005/bull.ppt
Deborah Bryant, Public Sector Communities Manager, Oregon State University
“Oregon State University’s Open Source Lab”
Ms. Bryant described the mission and goals of the Open Source Lab (OSL) at Oregon State University. The OSL works in partnership with several organizations that are actively engaged in open source software development. Ms. Bryant spoke of their aim to collaborate with public and private institutions to better understand and develop open source solutions. An opportunity to engage in exploring these opportunities is the first annual Government Open Source Conference held in Portland October 13th and 14th.
Please see presentation materials at: http://www.ipma-wa.com/exec_sem/2005/bryant.ppt
Summary of IPMA Board Meeting
The IPMA Board did not meet in September.