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

CAMP Directory Workshop Feb 3-6, 2004Topics  Enterprise Directory Implementation Roadmap –Business Case –Project planning

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

CAMP Directory Workshop Feb 3-6, 2004

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 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 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 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 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 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 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 Positive Business Drivers  Enterprise course management  Collaboration tools – calendaring, lists based on roles, video conferencing  Resource sharing, distribution  Workflow  PKI

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

CAMP Directory Workshop Feb 3-6, 2004 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 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 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 accounts?

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

CAMP Directory Workshop Feb 3-6, 2004 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  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? Strategies: Know your environment! Guiding questions

CAMP Directory Workshop Feb 3-6, 2004 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 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

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 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 Begin Communication Plan

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