1. Middleware Planning and Deployment 102: Mapping Out Your Strategy Internet2 Spring Meeting 6 May 2002

2. Internet2 Spring 2002 Meeting2 Panelists Tom Barton, University of Memphis Mark Crase, California State System Louise Miller-Finn, Johns Hopkins University Jack Seuss, University of Maryland, Baltimore County Ann West, Internet2/Educause/NSF Middleware Initiative

3. Internet2 Spring 2002 Meeting3 A Bit About Middleware Middleware makes “transparent use” happen, providing consistency, security, privacy and capability Identity - unique markers of who you (person, machine, service, group) are Authentication - how you prove or establish that you are that identity Directories - where an identity’s basic characteristics are kept Authorization - what an identity is permitted to do

4. Internet2 Spring 2002 Meeting4 Topics Not Covered Middleware’s: Business Case Utility Long-term Value Technology details

5. Internet2 Spring 2002 Meeting5 Topics To Be Discussed Middleware is steadily moving out of the test-bed environment and into the mainstream. Implementation challenges at higher education institutions are a reflection of the idiosyncrasies of that environment.

6. Internet2 Spring 2002 Meeting6 Factors for Success Institution LeadershipImplementation

7. Internet2 Spring 2002 Meeting7 Institutional Environment

8. Internet2 Spring 2002 Meeting8 Institutional Environment: Public vs. Private Institutions Public and private institutions will be subjected to different governance pressures that may impact how Middleware might be developed and deployed. – Legal – Financial – Organizational Politics – Governance Structure

9. Internet2 Spring 2002 Meeting9 Institutional Environment: Collaborative vs. Competitive Effective middleware development will require participation from all quarters. Development in a culture of cooperation and information sharing will require less effort than in an environment where information is hoarded or success is judged on departmental gains or losses.

10. Internet2 Spring 2002 Meeting10 Institutional Environment: Institutional Vision vs. Local Control Is there a strategic vision for the institution or is business done an a day-to-day, year-to-year basis? Are business practices and applications well- coordinated? How “hardened” are your silos? Is there an ERP project underway?

11. Internet2 Spring 2002 Meeting11 Institutional Environment: Strategic vs. Tactical Planning Middleware development and deployment will require both approaches. Strategic planning to define the implementation “road map,” ensure long-term success and ongoing alignment with the institutional mission Tactical planning and project management to ensure implementation stays on time and on budget

12. Internet2 Spring 2002 Meeting12 Institutional Environment: Risk and Change Risk Averse vs. Thrill Seeking Changing the way we do business involves risk. Commitment of resources that might be used elsewhere Shifts in control of services and/or applications Reliance on unfamiliar/untested technologies Change Readiness Simply put, change is tough! How ready is your institution?

13. Internet2 Spring 2002 Meeting13 Institutional Environment: Entrepreneurial vs. Structured Free agents are frequently the source of innovation, but command-and-control is required to ensure the “trains run on time.” Both are needed Balance is required What incentives will you use to ensure that everyone is engaged?

14. Internet2 Spring 2002 Meeting14 Institutional Environment: Acceptability of Outsourcing Some middleware solutions might best be provided by the commercial sector, but institutions with represented employees may find this approach unacceptable. What are the options? Are required resources available in-house? If not, are consultants available for the short term?

15. Internet2 Spring 2002 Meeting15 Institutional Environment: Role of IT Perceived Value of Central IT Is Central IT seen as adding value, or as a barrier to progress? Will it accepted in a coordinating role or will a surrogate be required? Strategic Resource vs. Tactical Tool Are strategic decisions made with IT in mind, or is IT a bolt-on after the fact? Are funding decisions made with IT input?

16. Internet2 Spring 2002 Meeting16 Institutional Environment: Policy & Legal Constraints Ownership of Data Is data stewardship well-defined? Is it centralized or distributed? Access to Data Formally or loosely governed? Access authority centralized or distributed? Data Administration Centrally managed or distributed? HIPPA and FERPA compliant?

17. Internet2 Spring 2002 Meeting17 Institutional Environment: Resources Requirements Financial Resources Centrally managed or distributed? Multi-year or annual budgets? Human Resources Centrally managed or distributed? Communications “Mass Media” for accuracy “Personal Touch” for context

18. Internet2 Spring 2002 Meeting18 Institutional Environment: Middleware and its Role Middleware Must Be Defined Do the stakeholders understand what it is? Have the components and their relationships been defined? Benefits of Middleware Described Do program managers understand how middleware can help improve/increase service? Do end-users understand how it will affect their activities?

19. Internet2 Spring 2002 Meeting19 Institutional Environment: Middleware and its Role Business & Academic Drivers Defined Internal drivers: –Transactions between members of campus community –Transactions between members and institution External drivers: –Transactions between institutions Mapping Benefits Against Drivers Match priority applications against the appropriate middleware components

20. Internet2 Spring 2002 Meeting20 Preparing for Implementation

21. Internet2 Spring 2002 Meeting21 Preparing for Implementation Issues, factors and choices that determine how to do the implementation. The previous section examined the institutional environment and how it will influence your middleware implementation. Now the rubber starts to hit the road…

22. Internet2 Spring 2002 Meeting22 Preparing for Implementation: Organization Culture & Structure Number of IT departments outside of central IT MW is an integrative infrastructure. The more existing services are balkanized, the slower will progress be and the more effort will need to be spent on organizational engineering. Consolidated organizational functions or separate reporting structure ? Build or reinforce communication & coordination channels among service providing groups. “Wormholes.”

23. Internet2 Spring 2002 Meeting23 Preparing for Implementation: Organizational Culture & Structure Competitive or collaborative? Anticipate challenge to “ownership” or feeling of disenfranchisement in a competitive environment. Anticipate need to be especially clear and to continually keep everyone on the same page in a collaborative one. “Two forms of entropy.” Willingness to change Moving to MW is a fundamental change in technical infrastructure. Formally or informally, organizational structure must change too.

24. Internet2 Spring 2002 Meeting24 Preparing for Implementation: Skill Sets & Roles Technical architecture planning Grasps the breadth of databases, applications, security, and their interrelationships. Understands organizational needs and values and can map those into functional and security requirements for MW. Project management This person needs to have a level of influence equal to being near the top of the central IT org chart. Might be the same as the technical architect.

25. Internet2 Spring 2002 Meeting25 Preparing for Implementation: Skill Sets & Roles Systems analysis & interpersonal communications Interacting with data stewards. Ensuring that detailed designs mesh with real practices in business & academic offices. Systems, database & application development People who can implement the selected technologies and who understand the details of how they must be integrated into the existing infrastructure.

26. Internet2 Spring 2002 Meeting26 Preparing for Implementation: Staff Resources FTE required HeadCount/10000 + numberPlatformTypes/3 + numberApps/4 + numberCBSs/2 Increase for shorter implementation time or for complex policy requirements. It depends…. “Bridge for sale – good condition.” Ongoing staffing >= initial level Anticipate success. More MW services will be built to integrate more apps over time.

27. Internet2 Spring 2002 Meeting27 Preparing for Implementation: Staff Resources Use staff-in-residence, hire new staff, use consultants? Org culture & structure, extant skills, non-elective ongoing workload, time & money available for training all impact whether you must hire outside. Sharing the vision Key technical people must share the vision of the strategic value of the project. This alone might determine whether the project can be “assimilative” or instead must be a “new activity” – perhaps a technical leader must be hired.

28. Internet2 Spring 2002 Meeting28 Preparing for Implementation: Project Resources “Assimilate” or fund a “New Activity”? This is a summary question. Are your existing skills, time, and money sufficient to permit assimilating a MW project into “overhead time”, or must new funding be sought to cover missing skills, insufficient staffing levels, lack of a natural “home” within your existing organizational structure, or just because it’s convenient to use the project to vie for additional resources?

29. Internet2 Spring 2002 Meeting29 Preparing for Implementation: Communication Plan The Champion Must share the vision at meetings/presentations and be supported from the top. Tailor the message; financial officer, data owners (SORs),IT stakeholders, techies. Emphasize ROI, identity management, security. Since buy- in essential from all fronts, use Public Affairs, PR offices if available A Website Continual flow of info for a diverse audience

30. Internet2 Spring 2002 Meeting30 Preparing for Implementation: Technology New vendors or technologies needed? Plan up front for time to assess what you already have and see how that meshes with the proposed technical architecture. Metadirectory processing Expect your technical architecture to include a “metadirectory”. Spend some time to carefully consider its design and component technologies – you will have to live with this for a long time.

31. Internet2 Spring 2002 Meeting31 Preparing for Implementation: Technology New hardware needed? Meeting performance & functional requirements, avoiding side-effects that can occur with multiple services being co-hosted, and security provisioning will likely entail new hardware. Plan on it. Provision for scalability, it will payoff. Solid network infrastructure If the network isn’t working flawlessly, remediate before you start a MW project. MW relies completely on the integrity and performance of message channels over the network.

32. Internet2 Spring 2002 Meeting32 Roles of the CIO

33. Internet2 Spring 2002 Meeting33 Roles of the CIO Developing an Enterprise Directory is akin to implementing an ERP project. The role of the CIO is similar: Executive leadership Developing campus support Change management Managing expectations

34. Internet2 Spring 2002 Meeting34 Roles of the CIO: Executive Leadership Unlike ERP, a CIO can’t expect other executives to “sponsor” middleware. A CIO must make the case, meaning justifying the ROI, of middleware Identify the tangible benefits from middleware that matter to your campus Make certain you treat this as a major project with a well-defined system development life cycle (SDLC)

35. Internet2 Spring 2002 Meeting35 Roles of the CIO: Developing Campus Support Laying the groundwork: Meet privately with key leaders and explain middleware and discuss what it means to their unit. Include faculty leaders in this Use the bully pulpit a CIO has to discuss the project with faculty, staff, and executives Don’t forget to build consensus in your internal IT organization

36. Internet2 Spring 2002 Meeting36 Roles of the CIO: Change Management Like ERP, middleware cuts across divisions and requires broad support Create a sense of urgency to the project, why is it important? It isn’t possible to over-communicate Identify ways to involve stakeholders in the decision making process Make certain you develop some quick wins

37. Internet2 Spring 2002 Meeting37 Roles of the CIO: Managing Expectations and Budget Like ERP, middleware development is an on- going process: A well-written project plan with quick wins defined at appropriate intervals is key to managing expectations and budget Life-cycle budgeting needs to be identified Middleware’s benefit is often found in productivity gains or through self-service. Identify ways to measure this ahead of time.

38. Internet2 Spring 2002 Meeting38 Roles of the CIO: Final Comments CIO’s are responsible for IT architecture, of which, middleware is a fundamental component. No one else will do this for you. Every campus has leaders that must be brought on board for major projects, seek them out. Make certain you develop formal plans, identify quick wins, and communicate the benefits.

39. Internet2 Spring 2002 Meeting39 What’s next? Break into discussion groups on Institutional Factors Implementation Factors Leadership Factors

40. Internet2 Spring 2002 Meeting40 Questions and Comments? Tom Barton, tbarton@memphis.edu Mark Crase, mcrase@calstate.edu Louise Miller-Finn, lmiller@jhmi.edu Jack Seuss, jack@umbc.edu Ann West, awest@internet2.edu

41. Internet2 Spring 2002 Meeting41 www.internet2.edu