From Strategy to Implementation: Implications for NREN Product Management. TNC 2005 Ann Harding HEAnet NOC Manager

A Brief History 1984 – HEAnet established 1992 – first employee 1997 – incorporation 2004 – HEAnet Strategic Plan or 7 connections and 2 servers to 115 connections and 51 servers

Strategic Planning Process Creation of a planning subcommittee –Representatives of the Board and management of HEAnet. Environmental Analysis –Sociological, Technological, Economic,Political, Competitive, Teaching and Learning, Research Consultation, review, evaluation –All staff workshops Outcome – HEAnet Strategic Plan –23 Strategic Objectives and Actions –

Strategic Management Cycle

Review Mechanism Strategy, Mission, Goals and Objectives 3 year cycle Budgeting, Program and Project Planning Quarterly cycles Mission, Structure and Organisation Design 5 year cycle Retention, Retraining and Recruiting Ongoing Values Communication Measurement

Strategic Objectives Customer Service –Demonstrate responsiveness to changing customer needs Operations and Services –Enhance services targeted to researchers and research institutions Marketing and Communications –Developing HEAnet's market intelligence capability Management and Finance –Evaluate the potential for outsourcing

Customer Service Objective: Recommendations Definition of customer – Computer Services Depts. –Can still communicate with end users –Use client visits, workshops and conferences to keep contact Improve editorial procedures –Editorial panel –More factsheets, website updates Formalise service evaluation –Dedicated team within existing structures –One proposal: CTO, Managed Network Services Manager, NOC Manager, Service expert(s), Service advocate(s)

Operations and Services Objective: Recommendations Engage with researchers and funding bodies –Identify networking requirements for research Leverage involvement in Géant2 Continue with an existing project for segmented bandwidth services –Be proactive

Marketing and Communications Objective: Recommendations Identify and maintain sources of Market Intelligence –Clients, industry, government, NRENs etc. Organise existing sources of information –Single CRM interface to diverse data sources Conduct a regular ‘user’ survey –Questions to come from other strategic objectives Develop a procedure for regular contact with end users –Working with existing Computing Services is key

Management and Finance Objective: Recommendations Proposed framework for reasons to outsource –Contractual, staffing, quality Proposed outsourcing procedure –Stop/go decision points –Evaluation template for outsourced services Understanding that outsourcing is not an easy way out

Lessons Learned Strategy is core work –Both design and implementation Whole organisation impact –All can make contributions –Implementation affects all –Day-to-day changes

Lessons Learned Some existing activities already addressed strategic objectives –Can now do so more powerfully Some formalisation/streamlining required –No need to start from scratch Information and communication are key –HEAnet to communicate what we do –Find out what clients and end users need –Technology is the ‘easy’ bit