Module 7 Mis

8/14/2019 Module 7 Mis

1/14

Management information system

Choice of IT

Information Technology Implementation Plan

September, 1997 Page E 1

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IMPLEMENTATION PLAN

The final chapter details an implementation plan that lays out the initial actions needed torealize the strategic IT direction recommended in the previous chapter. These are actionsto be taken over the next year. We will organize these actions in three sections thatcoincide with those in the strategic direction chapter. The first actions are related to datamanagement, the second to applications development and management, and the third tonetwork support. Various IT support function recommendations are included whereappropriate in each of these sections.

Data Architecture

To effectively identify and manage priority data such that it can be easily accessed andshared, distributed and presented with in and across organizational boundaries requires acoordinated set of actions. A series of actions must be undertaken both to establish a datamanagement infrastructure and then to develop the corporate data warehouse. Theseactions are listed below:

Establish a data management team (DMT).

Membership/tenure: The team would be composed of seven members including arepresentative from the IRMB and representatives from each of the programareas, and would be staffed by the departmental data administrator. The IRMBrepresentative would chair the Team and provide regular updates to the IRMB.Members would rotate on an off the team in a staggered manner. The initialmembers would remain on the Board for a year. Two members would step downafter the initial year, two more after a year and a half, and the remainder wouldstep down after two years. The staggered departure is intended to encouragecontinuity which would be very important for a team with the responsibilities ofthe data management team.

Key responsibility: The principle responsibility of this Team would be to

establish a departmental data management strategy. This strategy would includethe prioritization of shared data needs, the identification, high-level design, andoversight of data-related projects, and the development of data-related policyrecommendations for review by the IRMB.

Hire a departmental database administrator.

Page | 119MIT- Maharaja Institute of Technology


2/14


Choice of IT

This position would staff the Data Management Team, oversee the detailedspecification and implementation of data-related projects, and would recommenddepartmental, data-related policy for review by the Data Management Team andby the IRMB. It would be located in ITS and would provide data modelingservices to major applications development teams. This position would

Information Technology Implementation PlanSeptember, 1997 Page E 2

coordinate data modeling for and overall construction of the corporate datawarehouse. Finally this function would furnish technical assistance for divisional

database developers to assure secure, well-designed databases.

Select data management tools

In conjunction with representatives from the Systems Development Team, theDatabase Administrator would review and recommend enterprise and desktopdatabases or database standards, data clean-up tools, data extraction tools, anddata repository tools to be reviewed and approved by the IRMB and adopted bythe entire department. (The front-end development tools selection is included as astep in the Applications Architecture section.) This selection of common toolsis an essential component of the overall migration to an N-tier applicationdevelopment environment.

Establish departmental data-related policy

The DMT should develop recommendations for review and approval of the IRMBregarding the following data-related policy areas: 1) user access - who is grantedwhat kind of access to which data; 2) security what tools and procedures shouldthe department and divisions adopt to adequately secure data; 3) dataaccountability who is responsible for updating data, assuring its integrity, andpromoting the consistent interpretation of data, and 4) design reviews - designreviews evaluate the data requirements of an application development project andidentify whether a data requirement in the proposed application can be satisfied

using existing data warehouse data. They determine whether data collected in theproposed application should be supplemented and/or included as part of anevolving data warehouse. Finally, design reviews are also intended to ensure thatshared data is defined consistently across applications.

Develop the initial iteration of the corporate data warehouse data model and



3/14


Choice of IT

design and implement a database repository.

The database administrator would design and develop a data repository. Thisrepository is a database documenting metadata for the data warehouse. It is theprinciple enterprise data administration tool. Storing shared enterprise data in acentral repository incrementally builds the enterprise data model and helpspromote data reusability, reliability, and sharing across the enterprise. Therepository must be actively maintained (e.g. changes to metadata occur in therepository before the changes occur in operational application systems). (Onepossible repository solution is to augment the existing Catalogue of ElectronicDatabases.)

The Data Management Team would immediately initiate three phases of thedepartmental data management strategy.

Information Technology Implementation PlanSeptember, 1997 Page E - 3

All of these phases focus on the data needs of the regulatory divisions (i.e. thosedivisions that issue and monitor regulatory permits like the divisions of Air andWater Quality). The first phase is the definition of a primary key or developmentof a cross-walk table that enables the common location of pollution dischargesources across divisions. As an example, this identifier would be used to identifyan incinerator for both the Division of Waste Management and for the Division ofAir Quality. This phase should begin with a comprehensive review of similarefforts conducted by the EPA. The second, parallel phase would be theidentification of priority data needs to model and to populate the first iteration ofthe corporate data warehouse. The final phase would be the designation ofsystems of record which are the systems from which the corporate datawarehouse data would be pulled. A system of record is an authoritative source fordata. Data in a system of record is trusted to be accurate and up-to-date. All otherdata stores should synchronize to the system of record. All of these phases wouldrequire substantial, systematic input from the departmental user community, andthe final solution will require solid, sustained senior management support.

Clean and extract data to populate the corporate data warehouseFirst, the owners of the systems of record would review and clean data that is tobe held in the corporate database. (It should be noted that this is often a lengthyand tedious task that will often require a material dedication of resources.)Second, the database administrator would coordinate the development of dataextraction/population applications by members of the SDT staff. Finally, the



4/14


Choice of IT

database administrator would test the quality and performance of the applications.

Design and build user interfaces and query features for the corporate datawarehouse

An SDT project manager would direct the design and development effort. Thiseffort would include significant participation by senior and divisionalmanagement as well as participation by SDT programmer/analysts and by thedatabase administrator.

Pilot the data warehouse application then establish and implement a distributionplan for the data warehouse application

The DMT would select a small number of departmental end users to test andmake recommendations regarding the data warehouse application. Theserecommendations would be documented and incorporated into applicationrevisions by the SDT project manager. In parallel, the database administratorwould monitor use by the pilot group, and in conjunction with NetworkEngineering representatives devise use projections and platformrecommendations. The DMT would then develop a deployment strategy for theapplication.


These steps are intended to establish and distribute the initial iteration of the corporatedata warehouse. The warehouse itself will be an evolving store of information withsubsequent phases that will extend the database and its user community.

Systematically review current data gathering forms and practices for possibleredesign

Each Division Director would assign staff to a review current data collectionprocedures and forms requesting recommendations on ways to accelerate, moreeffectively target, and more appropriately assign resources to data entry.

Require the regular use of the Catalog of Electronic Databases

The Catalog of Electronic Databases provides information about the departmentalapplications and databases. It is an extensive compendium of metadata about thedepartments electronic databases that complies with the Public Records Law.



5/14


Choice of IT

This compendium, if used regularly by the divisions to describe their databases

would be an excellent resource for staff and for external customers to know whatinformation the department currently holds. Widespread, regular use will requirestrong, consistent senior management support.

Applications Architecture

The application architecture sections delineate actions that refer to the selection andadoption of departmental development tools, the resolution of the Year 2000 problem,and recommendations regarding the development of priority applications.

Systematically review and select departmental development toolsThe Systems Development Team in ITS (SDT) should establish a tools selectiongroup (TOOLs) to evaluate alternative tool sets and to make recommendations tothe IRMB. The IRMB would then establish tool standards for the department as awhole. The team should consist of SDT staff, IT professionals in the divisions,and divisional power end users. To position the department for an eventualmigration to an N-tiered architecture, this group should select tools, (i.e. interfacetools, business rule tools, data access tools) that are portable across platforms.Any of the following approaches can be adopted:Best of breed. Separate, specialized tools are used for each tier of anapplication. Middleware must be used to support communications betweenthe different tiers.

Front end/back end. Two different tools are used: a specialized userinterface development tool and an integrated tool set that also providesmiddleware for the business rule and data access tiers. Middleware must


be used to support communications between the user interface and othertwo tiers.Integrated. Integrated tool sets, or CASE tools, are used that generate codefor all tiers of the application. These tools provide the middleware

necessary to support communications between all tiers of the application.

Systematically review and select departmental systems management softwareThe TOOLs group should add representatives from the Network EngineeringTeam, and as an expanded group, it should identify and consider alternative runtimesoftware management tools. (In a networked environment, these tools are



6/14


Choice of IT

many of the same tools used to monitor network activities.) It should select and

evaluate this software through literature searches and the review of assessments.For final selection, evaluation copies should be obtained and tested for expectedfunctionality. These evaluations would then be passed and reviewed for adoptionby the IRMB.

Establish system design standards and fold them into the departmentalmethodologyAs a final assignment, the TOOLs group should specify design standards thatwould be reviewed and adopted by the IRMB. These standards would revolvearound ease of use, the evolution of the department application architecture to anN-tier architecture and related flexibility in application development andmaintenance, and the timeliness and functionality of applications. Once thesestandards have been adopted by the IRMB, they should be included as part of thedepartments application development methodology.

Provide training in the use of new software tools

As the tools are adopted, the SDT and Network Engineering section chief s shouldcoordinate with the training section of the HR/P division to identify vendors, toselect and schedule courses for ITS staff, and to arrange any necessary contractrelationships to provide required training to divisional IT personnel.

Hire a systems integrator.

This position would be located in ITS and play a key role in the development andmaintenance of a coherent, supportable distributed computing environment. Toexpedite and simplify the implementation of the distributed computerenvironment, this position would work with the TOOLs group to recommendpolicies and tools that would address such things as client to serverinteroperability, server to server interoperability, task partitioning and allocation,and service brokerage guidelines. This position would also provide guidance onthe selection of middleware. In addition to the systems integrators role in


September, 1997 Page E - 6

developing and recommending standards, this position would provide expertassistance to developers, helping them implement selected standards, interfacehardware and software components, and effectively use development tools.



7/14


Choice of IT

Establish Year 2000 conversion/test environment and adopt rigorous testing

practices

Before the conversion of any application can start, there are certain "one-time"tasks that need to be accomplished as part of the baselining effort. These tasksshould be undertaken by both ITS for departmental, cross-divisional, and smalldivision applications and by larger divisions for their applications. These tasksare: 1) acquisition, installation, and training on the appropriate testing tools andrepositories (e.g. defect trackers, module trackers, testing trackers, automatedtesting tools, data extraction tools, etc.), and 2) capacity planning to ensureenough CPU horsepower as well as adequate storage capabilities for the setup ofthe year 2000 conversion regions.Testing regions include the: alpha region where unit testing will be conducted, thebeta region where subsystem, module integration, system, and regression testingare conducted, and the production-like region which mimics that of the "real"production region. This is where the initial acceptance testing is conducted. EachYear 2000 region should be set up with its own sets of test data (using possibly adata extracting tool). A baseline snapshot of the originally extracted test bed iskept aside to be used to periodically refresh the test data which may be corruptedduring the testing.

For each noncompliant application, document the application's current functionalbehavior. To do this, create test scripts capturing the functionality of theapplication. The scripts should be designed with the users and developers'

assistance. These scripts are documented, run, and captured (using possibly anautomated testing tool) against the actual current production release. Specialconsideration is given to those test scenarios that are date sensitive.The different steps in the testing lifecycle include: 1) unit testing that applies toone application module at a time and is performed by the developer whoconverted the application module, 2) module integration testing to measure thelevel of correctness of these related modules as they interact with each other, alsothe sole responsibility of the developer, 3) subsystem testing, performed by a teamof testers who have an understanding of the workings of the subsystems(examples of subsystems: all on-line screens, all reports, all database-storedprocedures), 4) system testing is also performed by a team of testers and isadministered in the beta region using the regression test scripts that were capturedduring the baselining process. The system is judged to be tested successfullywhen all of its regression test scripts are run successfully, and 5) acceptancetesting demonstrates the accuracy of the conversion of the entire system. Userrepresentatives are responsible for conducting this testing in the production



8/14


Choice of IT



region. Once satisfied with the behavior of the application, the conversion teamcan safely conclude that the year 2000 conversion did not adversely affect theapplication for current business processing. User sign-off is required at this stage.Finally, record completed conversions, and make regular reports to thedepartmental Year 2000 project manager.

Identify, evaluate, convert, test and deploy non-Year 2000 compliant crossdivisionaland enterprise applications.Once non-compliant applications have been identified, dedicate an ITS project

manager to the Year 2000 project for the noncompliant applications that do notbelong to individual programmatic divisions, determine and assign staffresources that can either be pulled from lower priority projects or can becontracted, assign priorities to non-compliant applications, determine appropriatefixes for each application given such things as the age and repair of theapplications, the relative resources required for replacement and other fixes, andthe anticipated time requirements and constraints associated with alternative fixes.Develop conversion plans for each application, convert applications, and testconversions. Finally, record completed conversions, and make regular reports tothe ITS director and to senior DENR management.

Provide support services for departmental divisions as they address the Year 2000

compliance issue.

Select an SDT staff member or contract an individual: 1) to develop and conducttraining for divisional IT professionals based on Year 2000 standards andprocedures approved by the IRMB and 2) to provide technical assistance todivisions who are converting noncompliant applications. This individual wouldassist divisions in designing their conversion/test environment, in developingprocedures to evaluate and assign priorities and fixes to a divisions applications,and in designing a full set of tests.

Hire project managers and initiate feasibility studies for two mission-critical,

highly visible divisional applicationsTwo highly visible, mission critical applications that are essential and have notyet been initiated include the Division of Environmental Health (DEH) drinkingwater revolving loan fund project, and the Division of Soil and WaterConservation (DSWC) cost-share program project. Given the size andcomplexity of these projects and their overall visibility, project managers should



9/14


Choice of IT

be hired to initiate the feasibility study and the high-level design for each of these

projects. It is important that the project managers are hired as soon as possible.

Develop high-level functionality descriptions, rationales, and develop fundingmechanisms for possible applications


These descriptions and rationales would be developed by those divisions that havean interest in the possible applications presented in the previous chapter. Fundingmay result from collaborative development efforts. Four possible applications

that are responsive to important information requirements identified in theBusiness Case chapter are the decision-tree application permitting system, thecomplaints database, the part-time employee tracking application, and thecoordinated divisional rules migration to a single site on the Internet.

Networking Architecture

The final set of implementation recommendations refer to networking activities andinfrastructure. These tasks are intended to position the department to bolster its currentnetworking infrastructure and support services to accommodate the more demandingneeds of a truly distributed computing environment.

Evaluate current configuration of servers and if necessary, develop a migrationplan to relocate server software such that different server functions reside ondifferent computers.

These evaluations would be conducted by ITS and by divisional networkengineers and are intended to avoid potential performance and reliabilityproblems.

Evaluate their current computer configurations and upgrade servers whereappropriate

These evaluation would be conducted by ITS and divisional network engineers.Guidelines that can be used to benchmark the existing configuration are includedin the previous chapter. In many cases these upgrades will be relativelyinexpensive but would provide significant improvements in performance andreliability. Invest in technologies that enable 100mbps data transmission speeds



10/14


Choice of IT

Network engineers in those divisions with category 3 cable should develop

migration plans to move to category 5 lines where feasible and should coordinatewith divisional management to replace lower capacity cable when officerenovations permit. Fast network interface cards should be included with thepurchase of any new computers, and where appropriate, should be purchased forexisting computers. Those divisions with token-ring protocols should developmigration plans to switch to Ethernet. Finally, divisional network engineersshould consult with ITS network engineering and SIPS to evaluate the benefits ofintroducing fast Ethernet switches.

Establish an ad hoc team to evaluate, prioritize and select network managementtool standards for the department


ITS Network Engineering would establish the network management team andcoordinate its activities. This team which would include divisional networkengineers, a networking expert from SIPS, and ITS representatives. Theevaluation and selection effort should be closely coordinated with the selection ofsoftware management tools. Initial evaluations may rely on industry reviews intrade magazines, and final evaluations should include acquisition of evaluationcopies and on-site testing of expected functionality. Recommendations should bedeveloped and passed to the IRMB for review and adoption as departmental

standards.

Determine which organizations should purchase and use which tools and locateresponsibility for various monitoring activities.At one end of the spectrum, a single set of tools could be purchased and used tomonitor all networks in the department. At the other, each division couldpurchase and use its own set of tools. The network management team shouldconsider the location of tools and monitoring activities and makerecommendations to the IRMB for review and adoption.

Install network management tools and provide necessary training to use the toolsNetwork Engineering should assist divisional LAN managers with the installationof network management tools where necessary. As the tools are adopted, theNetwork Engineering section chief should coordinate with the training section ofthe HR/P division to identify vendors, to select and schedule courses for ITS staff,and to arrange any necessary contract relationships to provide required training todivisional IT personnel.



11/14


Choice of IT

For divisions that practice continuous monitoring, evaluate the use of electronicdata capture devices

Staff assigned by the Division Director would select a pilot monitoring site andtest electronic capture devices. Use the site to test: 1) termination systems thatread monitor sensors, 2) data acquisition systems that interface with thetermination system and transfer the data to a host, perhaps to a database and 3)I/O software to process, analyze and display the data acquired remotely by thedata acquisition system. The preferred solution should acquire and transmit dataover any Ethernet or Internet network using built-in industry-standard TCP/IPprotocol. This feature would provide a non-proprietary interface to virtually anyhost enabling integration of acquired data with the divisions networked resources

(e.g. PCs, databases). Based on positive findings, phase in remote data capturefor division monitoring sites. This could be a collaborative effort across divisons.

Install a centrally located application server for administrative and small divisionapplications


During the planning process, it became apparent that a large number of small buthelpful applications have been identified by management in the smaller divisions

and in administrative divisions. A consistent roadblock to the implementation ofthese applications is the lack of an available application platform. To address thisneed, ITS should secure and maintain an application platform. The platformwould include a high-powered Pentium II processor(s), adequate RAM, harddisk,and high capacity storage, and use Windows NT as the operating system. Thisapplication server may be used initially to provide a conversion/testingenvironment for Year 2000 application conversions.

Adopt and distribute the SIPS guidelines for data/network securityThe IRMB should review the SIPS guidelines for data/network security, make anynecessary revisions, and adopt these guidelines for all departmental divisions.

Establish and distribute disaster recovery plan guidelinesThe IRMB should establish guidelines for divisional disaster recovery plans andrequire that such plans be documented for each of the departments networks.Below are a draft set of guidelines that should be considered when developing orrefining these plans:



12/14


Choice of IT

Make a list of potential disasters that could affect the network (e.g. diskcrashes, physical component failure, computer viruses, hackers, physicaldestruction from disaster or disgruntled employees), consider the kinds ofresponses necessary to address these disasters, and estimate the maximumamount of downtime that each could cause.

Prioritize automated applications. The network engineer in conjunctionwith division/departmental management must determine which systemfunctions must be up and running immediately after a disaster and whichcan wait. Where possible, use the Year 2000 inventory as a catalog ofapplications. Otherwise interview managers and ask them to describeexactly what their departments do and what applications they use. Beforedoing so, develop categories of criticality that can then be used to assign toeach application (e.g. essential, full-time function, vital part-timefunctions, routine operational tasks, development functions).Identify and implement preventive measures. At a minimum, familiaritywith and implementation of data protection measures is necessary. Datashould be backed up regularly, organized properly, and stored securely.Second, to avoid downtime, upgrade to Redundant Arrays of InexpensiveDisks, or RAID, which is a specification for clustering multiple diskdrives. (These drives share data and enable a server to continue operatingeven if one of the drives malfunctions.) Third, inventory or have quickaccess to important network components. Forth, ensure that automatic

virus scanning is in place for each workstation as well as for each server.


Fifth, provide UPSs that provide power backup to a system (e.g. servers,routers, peripherals) for hours during a power failure. Finally, explorecontracting with an alternative data center, ensuring that space andequipment are available if a disaster renders the current site unusable.Disaster recovery service vendors can provide this service in the form of ahot site or cold site.

Document recovery instructions. Prepare detailed instructions explainingexactly what to do when any system needs to be recovered. Be sure toinclude information about the following:Whom to call within the division, in ITS, in other divisions, and inexternal agencies. When developing this list remember that certain critical



13/14


Choice of IT

personnel may not be available and make contingencies.

How to retrieve backup tapes and copies of other needed media. Theseinstructions are particularly important when storing data offsite. The DRplan should include a list of all the details about offsite storage, includingwhether the storage vendor separates clients' materials into specific bins orlockers, and what containers or tape sets are associated with each platformor server.

Names and contact information for vendors who can supply newcomputers with information about level of service. Names and contactinformation for vendors who can supply consultants to perform recoveryoperations.

Test recovery plan periodically (e.g. every six months). At a minimum practicebackup/restore drills.

Maintain the departmental Internet presence and establish a departmental intranetTo create and manage these Internet and intranet services requires a series ofcoordinated activities: 1) enforcement of web policy, 2) maintenance ofDENR/divisional homepages, 3) creation and maintenance of other constituentweb pages, 4) installation and maintenance of a web server(s), and 5)administration of the intranets.

The following units or teams should perform these functions respectively. PublicAffairs would be responsible for monitoring and, in conjunction with the IRMB,enforcing departmental Web policy. Public Affairs would also be responsible formaintaining the departments home page, establishing and maintaining a coherentdirectory of pages, and selecting and introducing search engines.

Members from throughout the department would have authority to author webpages subject to departmental policy. As noted in the existing policy, authors areresponsible for maintaining information in the pages. Should the policy be



ignored, sanctions including dissolution of the page should be implemented byPublic Affairs.

ITS Network Engineering would be responsible for installing and maintaining the



14/14


Choice of IT

departmental web server(s) for both the Internet site and for the intranets. If

possible the departments intranets and Internet site should reside on the sameplatform (though perhaps on different machines), and they should use the samedevelopment tools. Given that the department is moving toward a Windows NTapplications development environment, and given the increasingly prominent rolethat Internet application solutions will play with the emergence of the intranet, itis recommended that a Windows NT server be the web server of choice for thedepartment.

Finally, the administrative intranet would be administered by ITS SDT andsystems integration staff. Intranet administration would include the selection,installation, and upkeep of the intranet management software, the structuring andmanagement of intranet information, intranet security, and expert assistance todevelopers of Internet/intranet based applications.

Conclusion

The department is well-positioned to undertake many of the proposed data management,application development and maintenance, and networking initiatives. While incrementalresources will be necessary to undertake these initiatives, the benefits that would derivefrom these investments would be considerable and would represent a moderate thoughmaterial step toward the proposed state information technology architecture. If theseinitiatives are undertaken, the department can anticipate dramatic improvements in therate of information exchange across the divisions, in access to information by

departmental staff and by external constituents, and in the time required to developdistributed applications


Module 7 Mis

Documents

Transcript of Module 7 Mis