In regards to Glyn's email. Charles is an IT consultant in the
States.
Ce. Ottenweller

--- "Ottenweller, Charles" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Subject: RE: IT Strategy / Policy
> Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2003 10:33:50 -0600
> From: "Ottenweller, Charles" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: "Cecelia Ottenweller" <[log in to unmask]>,
>       <[log in to unmask]>
>
>
> Glyn,  This definitely sounds like a case of needing to be careful
> what
> you ask for.
>
> A few quick suggestions...
>
> Be conscious of how your plan will develop over time. Set the
> expectation that it will take 2-4 months to develop a plan, but
> that you
> will try to recommend resolutions to any short-term problems as you
> find
> them.  After a month or two you should be able to produce a draft
> plan
> for comment on the longer-term agenda, but that includes a first
> phase
> of recommendations.  These initial recommendations should be things
> that
> can be implemented in a few months to improve the working
> environment,
> while the later phases are being planned. Breaking the plan down
> into
> manageable phases and identifying what actions need to precede
> other
> actions is one of the keys to success.  From the beginning, set the
> expectation that the plan will need periodic review and assessment
> of
> whether it is meeting people's needs.
>
> Your plan will want to consider where your hardware and software is
> in
> its life-cycle.  Some equipment has a 3 year life-cycle, while
> other
> items can be expected to be providing value for 5-6 years.  In the
> USA
> our taxing body allows firms to depreciate the value of equipment
> as it
> ages and to take this decreased value as a liability. In other
> words,
> your accounting group that manages physical assets/capital
> equipment may
> have some ideas, and it is an easy way to add value to your
> recommendations. They are also a good source of old invoices from
> key
> equipment vendors, which is often the easiest way to determine the
> history of assets.  By some means, you will want to determine what
> equipment is still covered by a manufacturers. The longer-term
> projection of the plan should set the expectation that, as an
> annual
> expenditure, the organization needs to replace x% of the $y total
> value
> of its capital equipment, so the organization needs to budget on
> average
> $z every year just to maintain the level of equipment.  Divide the
> capital equipment budget by the number of people who use it to show
> that
> it costs $X per year per person to keep people productive.  This
> number
> is usually reasonable when it is compared with a persons salary.
>
> You will want to evaluate where you software fits in the revision
> cycles
> of key manufacturers, like Microsoft.
>
> Get the support of the key people in the organization, especially
> those
> people who control the purse strings.
>
> The #1 thing to consider is that less than functional IT
> environments
> don't become that way in a vacuum.  There are usually underlying
> managerial or organizational issues that cause IT to become a
> problem,
> and IT never improves without understanding those issues.  This
> doesn't
> mean that you plan for a blood bath, but that there needs to be an
> understanding of the unique challenges that the organization faces
> in
> providing IT.  For example, your organization may receive funding
> from
> multiple sources who have different purchasing and practices that
> IT or
> a central management will never control. If this is understood and
> acknowledged, additional resources can be planned to support these
> systems. Some issues you may choose to confront and others everyone
> will
> need to accept, but their impact needs to be appreciated.
>
> In short, this is how our firm helps organizations reform unwieldy
> IT
> environments.  This is mostly the financial items to consider, but
> we
> find that having a budget is an amazingly helpful tool.  Knowing
> your
> current assets is always a good starting point, because it
> highlights
> things that need to be improved. When we are engaged by a new
> client we
> start by spending a few days talking with people about their
> frustrations and wishes and performing a physical inventory. This
> includes assessing whether each core system is properly configured,
> which is a technical task.
>
> It was interesting to condense this information and consider how I
> would
> advised someone in a short correspondence, when there was not a
> realistic possibility of a business relationship.  Good luck to
> you, and
> if you would like an outsider's opinion of your process, feel free
> to
> contact me.
>
> Regards,
>
> Charles
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Cecelia Ottenweller [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Monday, November 24, 2003 9:04 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: IT Strategy / Policy
>
>
> Dear Glyn,
>
> My expertise is in other areas, BUT my husband works for a firm in
> the
> states that does consulting for these kinds of issues. Whether you
> talk
> to him or to someone else, I highly recommend contacting someone in
> that
> field who comes with good references.
>
> I've been in museum environments before where IT was almost a
> *throw
> away* issue, and it battered productivity rather than enhanced it.
> As a
> museum, you probably have a conglomeration of different platforms
> and a
> real hodgepodge of applications that will all have to talk to each
> other
> with no loss of data.
>
> My husband's firm specializes in law firms, but he may know of who
> you
> should contact. His name is Charles Ottenweller, and he can be
> reached
> 713-224-1717, #5641.
>
> Good luck!
> Cecelia
> --- Glyn Balkwill <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> > Hi Listers
> >
> > For my sins in criticising our IT Department I have been asked to
> put
> > together a strategy / policy detailing where IT should be going
> in our
>
> > organisation.
> >
> > We are a group of 8 national museums (formal and site museums)
> > situated over a geographical distance of about 150 km. We ahve
> > approximately 11 million items in our collections. There are 3
> major
> > collections and the history collection in particular is shared by
> six
> > of the museums.
> >
> > We have a head office that deals with HR, finance,etc. Exhibition
>
> > design and production is also handled centrally.
> >
> > We are heavily involved in Environmental Impact Assessment,
> besides
> > the normal museum activities.
> >
> > While I have many ideas of what should go in such a document, I
> don't
> > have any formal IT training and have not seen an example of a
> policy.
> >
> > I am wondering if there are museums out there who have produced a
>
> > similar document and would be prepared to share it with me / the
> list.
> >
> > Indigo - is there anything on your document website - I have lost
> the
> > instructions on how to access it.
> >
> > I will of course also check Roger's Global Museum.
> >
> > Thanks in advance for your help.
> >
> > Glyn
> >
> > --
> >
> >  Glyn Balkwill
> >  Collections Manager
> >  National Cultural History Museum
> >  PO Box 28088
> >  SUNNYSIDE
> >  0132  RSA
> >  Tel(w):27 (0)12 324-6082; Tel(h): 27 (0)12 664-1973; Cell: 27
> (0)82
> > 770-7826
> >  Fax   :27 (0)12 328-5173; Email : [log in to unmask]
> >
> >  Any opinions expressed are strictly my own
> >
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