HomeMy WebLinkAboutFCS-11-143 - Corporate Technology Strategic Plan Update
REPORT TO:
S~a~'Re~port
finance and Corporate Services department
DATE OF MEETING:
SUBMITTED BY:
PREPARED BY:
WARD(S) INVOLVED:
DATE OF REPORT:
REPORT NO.:
SUBJECT:
RECOMMENDATION:
For information only.
BACKGROUND:
Council
June 27, 2011
www.kitchenerca
Dan Chapman, DCAO, Finance and Corporate Services
Rhonda Bunn, CIO/IT Director
All
June 22, 2011
FCS-11-143
Corporate Technology Strategic Plan Update
On September 7, 2010, the Corporate Technology Strategic Plan titled "Plotting the Course to a
New Partnership" was presented to City Council. The Plan identified the need for Information
Technology (IT) to move to a more "Business Centric Strategy", meaning that it will increasingly
help the City identify opportunities to be leveraged through technology. Moving to a "Business
Centric Strategy" will support, innovate and improve the City's businesses, and can be
accomplished by:
Identifying a new IT decision making model to ensure that IT decisions and investments
are aligned with broader corporate priorities
• Re-organizing the IT Division to support the new partnership and governance model
Upon receiving the report, Council approved the following five major recommendations that
were outlined in the report:
• Endorse, consolidate & leverage enterprise (core) applications
• Integrate Technology into the business planning cycle
• Implement a Technology Governance Framework
• Consolidate technology funding/budgets
• Align IT Division to support this new environment
Staff were directed to review the recommendations of the report and, in 2011, present Council
with an implementation plan to address these five recommendations as well as the longer-term
strategic directions outlined in the report.
Staff Re~p~r~
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This report will highlight some of the key deliverables already achieved by the IT Division in
order to better move to a more Business Centric Strategy. It will also reference the linkages
between IT Governance, Strategic Planning, Business Planning and the Budget process.
REPORT:
This following section provides an implementation update on the five Recommendations that
were approved on September 7, 2010 as well as the longer-term IT Strategic Directions that
were outlined in the Corporate Technology Strategic Plan and which will be included in the
Business Plan.
The five Recommendations were approved by Council and speak to the change in how
IT operates, and the processes and guidelines to support these changes.
Four Strategic Directions were outlined in the Corporate Technology Strategic Plan and
outline along-term course of action that supports the achievement of corporate strategy.
Recommendations
The IT Management Team has reviewed the five (5) major recommendations and has
developed an implementation plan to address these initiatives. In order to ensure that the
division achieves these objectives, they have been divided into 3 areas:
1. Setting the Foundation
• Align IT Division to support this new environment
2. Building the Foundation
Integrate Technology into the business planning cycle
• Implement a Technology Governance Framework
3. Enhance and Optimize
• Endorse, Consolidate and Leverage Enterprise (core) Applications
• Consolidate technology funding/budgets
The focus of the attached presentation is on the recommendations under Setting and Building
the Foundation. These recommendations are critical to successfully implementing a robust IT
operating model. The IT Division has also completed a re-alignment using existing staff
complement in order to support the new IT direction and IT Governance framework that will be
highlighted in the powerpoint presentation. This framework will allow IT to determine resource
capacity and allocations, to determine what projects can be managed with existing staff.
The prioritization process ensures that IT works on projects which add the most value for the
City, and is supported by a decision making criteria matrix. The advantage of this matrix is that
IT, along with key stakeholders in the business, are together determining the importance and
urgency of each request. The IT Governance Committee, which is made up of the Corporate
Leadership Team (CLT) members, approves the priority of each project. As the CLT is the
senior team that oversees the work plans for each area, this team is at the right level to make
these decisions. All of this work is subject to Council direction through the business planning
and budget process.
S~a~ff Re~p~r~
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All aspects of the IT Governance model will be rolled out and fully functional by the end of
December 2011.
IT Strategic Directions
In order to maximize technology and align with Business directions and strategies, the following
four (4) longer-term IT Strategic Directions were outlined in the Corporate Technology Strategic
Plan and will be included in the Business Plan.
1. Endorse, Consolidate & Leverage Enterprise (core) Applications (Capitalize on Existing
Investments) -simplify the technology environment and exploit existing investments by
rationalizing processes and standalone applications into the city's current enterprise
systems where appropriate
2. Mobile Working for Staff on the Move -improve efficiency and service levels by
broadening the use of mobile technology throughout city departments to make enterprise
applications available to staff in the field
3. Enhance Customer Service -improving the service provided by the City to its customers
by using technology to harmonize processes across departments and expand online
services
4. Internal Collaboration - to facilitate better communication between individuals and teams
by expanding the use of social and collaborative technologies within the organization
Implementation Plan
Below is a snapshot of the implementation plan timelines for the Recommendations and IT
Strategic Directions.
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Next Steps and Timing
The IT Division will continue to complete all the areas of IT Governance by December 2011, and
will then begin to focus on endorsing, consolidating and leveraging enterprise (core)
applications as well as determining the feasibility and next steps for consolidating technology
funding and budgets.
IT will provide reports and measures of success and ensure that the work supports the City's
strategic initiatives. IT will continue to meet monthly with the IT Governance Committee and will
continue to build new competencies in the area of project and process management.
The business plan will provide additional information with respect to the timing of these
initiatives.
ALIGNMENT WITH CITY OF KITCHENER STRATEGIC PLAN:
Community Priority -Leadership and Community Engagement -With the use of technology, we
will work together to ensure that we support new initiatives that will enable the community to be
more engaged and active in decision making.
People Plan - A Culture of Accountability -through IT Governance, we will ensure that we are
working on the right projects, that have the largest impact on the City and its residents, and that
we monitor and measure how we are performing against the Strategic Plan.
Efficient and Effective Government -Technology investments support our work and ensure that
priorities and decision-making align with strategic goals and objectives.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:
None at this time.
The Corporate Technology Strategic Plan recommended 10 new staff positions over the next 5
years to support achievement of the objectives of the plan. During this period of fiscal restraint,
management is not recommending an increase in staff complement. The IT Division has
instead been realigned to support the approved recommendations to the extent possible within
current resourcing levels. The limitations of working without an increase in staffing levels
include:
Project managers have an excessive number of projects to manage resulting in lower
levels of due diligence or deferrals of high priority projects as a result of staffing
constraints;
Client Services will continue to operate with temporary staff to address the volume of
work in this area; and
The Manager role for IT Planning & Projects /Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
are combined, thus limiting the City's ability to make improvements to either portfolio
recognizing that each position justifies full-time attention
IT management will continue to evaluate the impact of not operating at the recommended
resourcing level and will update Council as necessary.
Staff Re~p~r~
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COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT:
n/a
ACKNOWLEDGED BY: Dan Chapman