A Maturity Model for Digital Data Centres Lucia Lötter, Martie v. Deventer, Heila Pienaar, and Wim Hugo

# 1 … “I needed a password eight characters long – “ “So I picked Snow White and the Seven Dwarves”

# 5 … "I was playing chess with my friend, and he said, 'Let's make this interesting‘.” “So we stopped playing chess."

Not considered for a prize … “Blondes have more fun.” “They laugh when they hear a joke;“ “They laugh when they re- tell it;” “and they laugh when they finally catch it.”

Problem Statement #1 Not all jokes are equally funny to all people, and how funny it is depends on situation, mood, culture, age, and so on. The same problem exists for all qualitatively assessed comparisons, and there are many well-documented approaches to making such assessments objective.

National Platform Collaboration and Security Services Spatial Data Other Data Documents and Publications Meta-Data and Data Management Functions Content Visualisation and Presentation Data Analysis and Processing Main Platform Services Main Stakeholders and Initiatives SAEOS Portal SAEOS Portal NSIF Application NSIF Application SAEON Nodes and Initiatives CSIR Risk and Vulnerability Atlas World Data Centre for BHH … … SAEOS WDC CSIR SAEON RAVA NSIF …. Meta-Data and Data Services NSIF Portal Governance, Security, Systems Engineering, Liaison, Hardware

National Platform Collaboration and Security Services Spatial Data Other Data Documents and Publications Meta-Data and Data Management Functions Content Visualisation and Presentation Data Analysis and Processing Main Platform Services Main Stakeholders and Initiatives SAEOS Portal SAEOS Portal NSIF Application NSIF Application SAEON Nodes and Initiatives CSIR Risk and Vulnerability Atlas World Data Centre for BHH … … SAEOS WDC CSIR SAEON RAVA NSIF …. Meta-Data and Data Services NSIF Portal Governance, Security, Systems Engineering, Liaison, Hardware ‘WDS Starter Kit’

National Platform “Shared Implementation” – a framework containing architecture guidelines, abstract specifications and user requirements, recommended interoperability standards, and reference implementations. – a directed open source community that contributes to, extends, and maintains the shared implementation. – National funding provides a baseline of operations and activity. – not domain-specific, but function-specific. – Range of engagement options. Almost all knowledge portals share a base set of functions that are re-usable.

National Platform “Shared Meaning” – meta-data standards selection – crosswalks (inter-standard translations) – controlled vocabularies, thesauri, and ontologies associated with standards – these are often domain and region-specific

National Platform “Shared Processes” – coordinated training and awareness creation on the importance of meta-data – data sharing and meta-data provision policies / guidelines to be implemented at research institutions and as a condition of funding – coordination of and assistance with contributions to national infrastructure – creation of forums for the validation of decisions and guidelines

Maangement Framework Implementation and Operations Implementation and Operations Planning and Coordination Planning and Coordination Governance Strategic Alignment Business Engineering Function Systems Engineering Function Institutional and Organisational Development Function Institutional and Organisational Development Function Risk Management Function Programme Management Function IT Strategy IT Strategy Master Systems Plan IT Governance and Management Frameworks Policies Master Systems Plan IT Governance and Management Frameworks Policies Implementation Plans and Sub-Strategies Contracts/ Service Level Agreements Corporate Strategy, Goals, And Corporate Objectives Alignment and Liaison Corporate Strategy, Goals, And Corporate Objectives Alignment and Liaison Audits and Assessments Security Policy Security Policy Business Unit Coordination Business Unit Coordination

Problem Statement #2 How do we make an objective assessment of a complex, multi-faceted situation? How do we know where we are in terms of performance, and how do we account for multiple sets of objectives and criteria for compliance? What do we need to do to improve? Will someone else reach the same conclusion?

Maturity Models A set of structured levels that describe how well the behaviours, practices and processes of an organization can reliably and sustainably produce required outcomes. – a place to start and ‘join the club’ – the benefit of prior experiences – a common language and a shared vision – a framework for prioritizing actions. – a way to define what improvement means for your organization. Useful as – a benchmark for assessment Qualitative metrics – and as an aid to understanding – For comparative evaluation.

Maturity Matrix With increased maturity comes increased concretisation of – Goals and objectives (governance, steering, planning, …) – Commitment (political support, institutional frameworks, …) – Ability (resources, capacity, funding, sustainability, …) – Measurement (M&E, reporting, quality assurance, …) – Verification (audit, accreditation, peer review, …) InitialRepeatableDefinedManagedOptimised

Alternative Classifications

Scope of Management Populated from an ‘Objective Hierarchy’, KPA’s, etc.

Objective Hierarchy … All Governance Networking & Sharing Policies and Procedures Infrastructure

Objective Hierarchy … All Governance Vision & Planning Vision & Planning Networking & Sharing Expertise Oversight Mandate … … Science Committee Tech Steering Committee Tech Steering Committee Network of Experts … … … … … …

… or Objective Network All Governance Vision & Planning Vision & Planning Networking & Sharing Expertise Oversight Mandate … … Science Committee Tech Steering Committee Tech Steering Committee Network of Experts … … … … … …

Large and Complex Matrix …

… each with Metrics Supported by relevant user requirements, specifications, standards, and reference implementations. “Good” or “Best” practice Supported by relevant user requirements, specifications, standards, and reference implementations. “Good” or “Best” practice

Current Performance

Self-Assessment ‘Trusted Digital Repository’ ‘WDS’ ‘NESTOR’ ‘OAIS’ … ‘Trusted Digital Repository’ ‘WDS’ ‘NESTOR’ ‘OAIS’ … Limited Impacts ‘GEOSS’ (Technology) ‘APA’ (Preservation) … Limited Impacts ‘GEOSS’ (Technology) ‘APA’ (Preservation) …

Milestones and Goals Use Matrix to Develop Milestones for Continuous Performance Improvement

Quality Assurance Extent to which I am meeting my Own Goals ‘Internal Audit’ Extent to which I am meeting my Own Goals ‘Internal Audit’

Audit External Measurement Against Published Criteria ‘Audit’ & ‘Accreditation’ External Measurement Against Published Criteria ‘Audit’ & ‘Accreditation’

Immaturity Model … 0 : Negligent – The organisation pays lip service, often with excessive fanfare … -1 : Obstructive – Also known as ‘Stupid’. -2 : Contemptuous cf. Lunatic – While processes exist, they are routinely ignored … -3 : Sabotage – Actively undermining all and every effort of management … faking their own performance and those of others … Some Organisations Celebrate Reaching Level 0