Assignment: Research Paper (Organization: Mcdonald's) - 750 words
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CityofFortCollinsInformationTechnology20142018StrategicPlan.pdf
City of Fort Collins
Information Technology
2014-2018 Strategic Plan
City of Fort Collins IT Strategic Plan ����-����
City of Fort Collins – IT Department 1
Table of Contents
I. Purpose:............................................................................................................................................. 2
II. Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................................ 2
III. Strategic Plan Process ......................................................................................................................... 2
IV. Customers of the IT Department ......................................................................................................... 3
V. IT Department Strategic Plan Model: ................................................................................................... 5
VI. Vision – Mission – Values: ................................................................................................................... 6
VII. IT Department Goals and Objectives: .................................................................................................. 7
VIII. Alignment with the City’s Strategic Plan ............................................................................................. 10
IX. Environmental Scan - Technology Trends ........................................................................................... 15
X. SWOT Analysis: .................................................................................................................................. 23
XI. High-level Implementation Plan ........................................................................................................ 27
XII. Next Steps .......................................................................................................................................... 27
XIII. Future Updates to the IT Strategic Plan .............................................................................................. 28
XIV. IT Program Action Plans ..................................................................................................................... 28
XV. Appendix A - IT Department Strategic Plan Summary ......................................................................... 30
XVI. Appendix B – High Level Implementation Plan ................................................................................. 31
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I. Purpose:
The purpose of establishing a formal strategic plan for the City of Fort Collins Information
Technology, IT, Department is to provide a clear, comprehensive document to communicate the
department’s technology current state, strategies, and priorities. This plan will also serve to
demonstrate the connection between the City’s strategic plan; mission, vision and values; BFO key
results and desired outcomes; and the strategic direction of the IT Department.
II. Acknowledgements
The City of Fort Collins wishes to thank the following individuals who actively participated in the
focused development of this IT Strategic Plan and served as the IT Strategic Planning Committee
(ISPC), listed below. Also, thanks go to Wendy Chretien and Mary Siero, contributing and
facilitating consultants of Elert & Associates, Stillwater, Minnesota.
Ms. Wendy Williams, Assistant City Manager
Ms. Terri Runyan, Performance Excellence
Mr. Dan Coldiron, Chief Information Officer
Mr. Ken Mannon, Operation Services Director
Captain Cory Christensen, Police Information Services
Mr. Kraig Bader, Standards Engineering Manager
Mr. Mark Jackson, Deputy Director Planning, Development and Transportation
III. Strategic Plan Process
The IT Strategic Planning Committee (ISPC) together with the consulting team reviewed the
following as part of the strategic planning process:
1. IT Assessment Report developed as part of this engagement by E&A. The IT Assessment Report included an assessment of IT governance, management,
technology support and staffing, and infrastructure. Also included in this report is a
benchmarking analysis in which the City of Fort Collins was benchmarked against
other comparable cities.
2. IT Security Assessment developed as a part of this engagement by E&A 3. City of Fort Collins Strategic Plan (dated 6/28/2013) 4. Technology trends 5. Digital Manchester (strategic plan for the City of Manchester, England) 6. City of Fort Collins IT Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats (SWOT) Analysis
developed as part of this engagement by E&A
7. City of Fort Collins current technology initiatives
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Taking all of this information into consideration the ISPC Committee then developed technology
Mission and Vision statements along with a number of IT/technology objectives.
Those objectives were then combined into the draft High-level Implementation Plan, found later
in this document.
IV. Customers of the IT Department
Technology at the City was managed in a hybrid combination of centralized and decentralized
services until 2006. At that time, the City began the process of centralizing technology services
under the management of the IT Department. The initial effort focused on the centralization of
all infrastructure staffing and resources in order to realize support and hardware efficiencies.
Once that effort was completed and demonstrated to be successful, management of the
remaining departmental application support staff was also centralized within the IT Department.
Operations as a fully centralized department have continued since 2008.
The Information Technology Department provides services for the groups listed below:
Citizens of Fort Collins – users of services provided by the City through the variety of departments
within the organization. This would include those services funded through the direct charge of
fees, rates, etc, and those funded through taxes and other public monies.
City Council – responsible for serving as the legislative and governing body of the City. City Council
adopts laws, ordinances, and resolutions stating City policy; holds public meetings on a variety of
community issues; meets with groups and businesses; and attends local, county, regional, state
and national meetings on issues that have municipal impact.
City Manager’s Office – responsible for providing overall administration for the City in accordance
with City Council policies and issues. These responsibilities include preparing and executing the
City budget; special projects management; overall coordination of capital projects; tracking
municipal impacts of state and federal legislations; public information; and serving as key
communicators with City Council, citizens and staff. This area also includes functions of the City
Clerk’s Office.
City Attorney's Office - responsible for the general legal affairs of the City. This office provides
legal representation and advice to the City Council, the City Manager, the City's Boards and
Commissions, the City Department Heads and other key City Staff regarding the legal implications
of contemplated policy and administrative decisions. The office also prepares and reviews various
ordinances, contracts and other legal documents and conducts a variety of legal trainings and
other educational programs designed to avoid lawsuits.
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Police Services – responsible for enforcing all laws and ordinances; providing a safe environment
for the residents, businesses and visitors to the community; protecting through patrol and traffic
operations; case investigations; enhanced communications; interacting with the community to
educate them on crime prevention, criminal activity, drug activity and awareness and traffic
safety.
Planning, Development and Transportation Services – responsible for long-range planning and
land use, transportation planning and implementation; development review and historic
preservation activities; providing for safe building construction through building project review,
permitting and inspection functions; neighborhood and code enforcement activities; and
developing strategies for improving the overall quality of life. Also responsible for street
maintenance, traffic control, bus transit systems, bicycle programs, and engineering design and
project management.
Utility Services – responsible for managing and maintaining electric distribution, water and
wastewater treatment processes; maintaining storm water infrastructure; maintaining water
distribution systems and wastewater collection systems.
Financial Services - responsible for collecting, accounting and reporting financial information
related to all City revenues and expenditures; issuing and managing City debt; collecting, auditing
and enforcing City sales and use tax; managing the collection of revenues and management of
investments. Services also provided by this area include: Budget, Purchasing and Risk
Management.
Community and Operation Services - responsible for building operations and maintenance; fleet
maintenance, real estate services; responsible for acquiring, designing, constructing and
maintaining parks, trails and right-of-ways; operating multiple recreation centers, and golf
courses; and planning and implementing programs, sports leagues, senior activities and special
events; responsible for Information Technology.
Employee and Communication Services – responsible for employee training and development,
human resources, communication services, and video production services.
Sustainability Services – responsible for the management of housing and human services
programs, providing strategic economic development opportunities, and environmental services
programs.
Other Agency Services - The IT Department also provides services to a number of local and
regional entities. These include: Poudre Fire Authority, Downtown Development Authority, Fort
Collins Housing Authority, Larimer Emergency Telephone Authority, Poudre River Library District,
and Museum of Discovery.
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V. IT Department Strategic Plan Model:
The IT Department has developed a working Strategic Plan Model, shown below, that graphically
demonstrates the structure and alignment of strategies, goals, objectives, action and work plans.
As can be seen in the model, the strategic direction of the IT Department must exist and align with
the strategic directions of the broader City organization. Also, the operational goals and
objectives, budget, project efforts, and work plans of the department must exist and align with the
strategic direction of the overall department.
By way of example, the annual work plans for individual IT programs are derived from approved
budget offers and a Program Action Pan that is prepared and updated annually that outlines the
practical issues, challenges and near future plan (1-3 years). The Program Action Plan is also
directly aligned with the Goals and Objectives of the department, while also serving to provide as
input to budget offers, informing the process of that specific program’s resource needs, strategies
and metrics.
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VI. Vision – Mission – Values:
Through a series of efforts within the IT Department and in facilitated sessions that engaged
representatives of the department’s primary customers, a vision, mission and values were
developed. Key elements of the discussion were to develop statements that were broadly
representative of the whole department, but were also directly and purposefully aligned with the
City’s statements and strategies.
Tag Line:
• Customer driven, operationally excellent
Vision:
• To be the “digital utility” for the City of Fort Collins
Mission:
• Provide exceptional, innovative, and customer-driven services to enable operational excellence within the City government.
Values:
• Service Excellence • Innovation & Creativity • Trust & Respect • Integrity & Initiative • Collaboration & Teamwork • Accountable Stewardship • Dynamic & Flexible
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VII. IT Department Goals and Objectives:
Well-chosen goals and objectives point an organization in the right direction and keep it on the
right track. Departmental goals were developed in order to establish our intent to become, and
to remain a world-class IT department that provides exceptional services. Departmental
objectives were developed as a means to guide us on specific tasks and practical efforts that are
necessary for us to reach our goals.
For consistency, the IT Departmental goals and objectives are also available in a document that is
formatted to match the City’s Strategic Plan Summary. (see Appendix A to this document)
1. Goal: Provide High-Quality, Valued IT Services – Achieve World-Class IT Outcomes
Objectives:
1.1. We will continually improve foundational IT Processes: Proactively plan, implement, monitor, and measure our environment of resources, systems, applications, networks,
and communications to proactively maintain, adjust, repair, extend, and enhance in order
to increase overall system reliability, efficiency, availability and security.
1.2. We will work to ensure access to and availability of systems as this is crucial to the organization. High system availability will be an on-going performance measure for the
department.
1.3. We will replace hardware, software and network infrastructure in a planned, budgeted and scheduled manner to prevent obsolescence and reduced organization efficiency.
1.4. We will provide innovative services and solutions that take advantage of new technologies in order to ensure that the City is able to provide world class primary
services to the community and staff in a manner that is aligned with the sustainability
standards of the organization and community.
2. Goal: Provide Innovative, Creative Technology Solutions
Objectives:
2.1. We will aggressively evaluate emerging technologies to discover opportunities to enhance delivery of core services, increase organizational efficiencies, decrease cost, or
support City Council priorities.
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2.2. We will encourage and challenge ourselves to think outside the box, research new things, be open to new ideas, to be flexible and adaptable to different ways of accomplishing
things in order to be a vital, valuable and innovative IT department.
2.3. We will maintain hardware, software, network and security standards to ensure a sustainable technology environment, while embracing new technologies and exploiting
technical advances so that the City can be an innovative leader.
2.4. Current service delivery paradigms place an emphasis on Web delivery, cloud services, mobile devices, BYOD, network convergence, and a variety of virtualization opportunities.
We will actively work to engage these technologies and appropriately deploy and
support.
3. Goal: Deliver Exceptional Customer Interactions and Service
Objectives:
3.1. Customer service and satisfaction are our first priority. We will proactively track and measure our service delivery in order to monitor our performance, using the information
to assess our performance and make necessary adjustments.
3.2. We will provide our customers with well understood, transparent, and efficient methods to request IT services and to provide feedback on our efforts.
3.3. We will proactively participate in the City’s Internal Services Survey, using the results to adapt and align our services to best meet our customer’s needs and expectations.
3.4. The IT department acknowledges the importance of communication in meeting customer service expectations. We will make exceptional and effective communication a priority
element of every service delivery effort.
4. Goal: Proactively Align to Enhance the City’s Lines of Business
Objectives:
4.1. We will embrace the BFO budgeting process and proactively develop offers that maintain current services and provide for enhancements that are aligned with the City’s key results
and outcomes, as well as the priorities of each result area and line of business.
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4.2. We understand our mission as an internal service provider and wholly embrace the business needs of the City’s primary service providers in their work to the citizens of Fort
Collins.
4.3. We will frequently and proactively engage the executives, managers and staff within each line of business in order to ensure that IT services are aligned with their strategies and
priorities.
4.4. The documentation of the IT department’s services, plans, strategies and priorities is essential to maintain accountability and credibility within the organization. We will
maintain current Program Action Plans and associated measures and metrics in order to
provide this information.
5. Goal: Develop and Foster a Dynamic, Collaborative, and Supportive Team Environment that Technology Professionals Enjoy Working In
Objectives:
5.1. We will expend every reasonable effort to recruit, hire, train, develop and retain the most well-rounded, knowledgeable, dedicated technical staff in order to achieve sustainable
technology services and outcomes.
5.2. We will participate in the Q14 survey and proactively utilize the results in order to provide a dynamic, enjoyable work environment where employees are valued, honored
and engaged.
5.3. Within IT, staff will have access to the information and tools that they feel they need to be engaged and to understand how their work accomplishes City and departmental goals.
To that end, we will ensure that department staff has frequent opportunities for
communication and interaction.
5.4. As a team, the IT department strives to recognize the contributions of each and every member. We will look for opportunities to celebrate our differences, diversity and
successes, while rallying as a team to overcome our challenges.
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VIII. Alignment with the City’s Strategic Plan
One of the most important criteria for the IT Strategic Plan is that it support the strategic plan
developed for the City of Fort Collins. The ISPC reviewed the City of Fort Collins Strategic Plan
Draft dated 6/28/13 and identified technology initiatives either underway or future initiatives that
should be undertaken to support the Key Outcomes of the City Strategic Plan.
The list of items identified by the ISPC is the product of multiple rounds of a brainstorming within
that committee. The list, although covering a very wide variety of initiatives across many of the
facets of business activities that the City engages in, is not considered to be all-inclusive and fully
comprehensive. The intent of this original list is twofold. First, it was to create a medium and
format for the capture of this information for ongoing use. Second, it was to capture a breadth of
the initiatives sufficient to develop an understanding of the majority of the technology issues and
opportunities ahead of the City.
Like any useful strategic plan, this list of initiatives must become more of a living document that is
used broadly and updated frequently. The list will be used as a basis for further discussions
between the separate lines of business and the IT Department in order to further refine the
information.
a. Key Outcome One: Community and Neighborhood Livability
Strategic Goal: Provide a high quality built environment and support quality, diverse
neighborhoods
Strategic Objective Technology Initiative Implementation Year 1
1.3
Tracking online applications for
developers and property owners
for Historic Preservation
2
1.4 Title Six translation capabilities 1
1.5 Overcome limitations of SB 152 2
1 Year 1 is 2014; Year 2 is 2015, etc.
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b. Key Outcome Two: Culture and Recreation
Strategic Goal: Provide diverse cultural and recreational amenities
Strategic Objective Technology Initiative Implementation Year
2.4 Develop mobile application to
replace kiosk at Old Town Square 3
2.5 Museum expansion 5
c. Key Outcome Three: Economic Health
Strategic Goal: Promote a healthy, sustainable economy reflecting community values
Strategic Objective Technology Initiative Implementation Year
3.1 Ultra high broadband for better
business connectivity 4
3.5 Technology to support flexible office
space at business center 5
d. Key Outcome Four: Environmental Health
Strategic Goal: Promote protect and enhance a healthy and sustainable environment
Strategic Objective Technology Initiative Implementation Year
4.2
Add digital workflows; potentially
via implementing a business process
management application
1
4.2 Support for alternate vehicles 2
4.5 Virtualization 1
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e. Key Outcome Five: High Performing Government
Strategic Goal: Deliver and efficient, innovative, transparent, effective and collaborative
city government
Strategic Objective Technology Initiative Implementation Year
5.1 Conduct formal, comprehensive
business continuity and disaster
recovery planning
2
5.1
Implement testing of BC/DR plan,
either in proof-of-concept mode or
on actual DR infrastructure
3
5.1 Implement risk tracking and
investigation capabilities 4
5.2 Consolidate City FOB systems 2
5.4 Implement streamlined onboarding
and off-boarding 3
5.4 Provide for video interview
capabilities 3
5.6 Create CSU technology internships 2
5.6 Develop opportunities for CSU
technology sharing 2
5.7 Expand secure access for outsiders
to city network 1
5.7 Implement automated password
reset capabilities 2
5.7 Purchasing workflow approval 1
5.7 Project work approval 3
5.7 Implement single sign-on capabilities 3
5.7 Unified communications 3
5.7 Build out mesh network 3
5.7 Implement single phone number
that follows employees 4
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f. Key Outcome Six: Safe Community
Strategic Goal: Provide a safe place to live, work, learn and play
Strategic Objective Technology Initiative Implementation Year
6.2 Expand implementation of in-vehicle
and on-body cameras 2
6.2 Implement HALO cameras 5
6.2 Implement mobile HALO cameras 5
6.3
Implement Two Factor
Authentication (TFA) for system
access. Note: this is a State of
Colorado mandate for police
services.
1
6.3 Implement Security Incident and
Event Management technology 2
6.3 Video camera outsourcing 2
6.4 Implement Disaster Recovery site 2
6.4 Anomaly mapping software for
special events 3
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g. Key Outcome Seven: Transportation
Strategic Goal: Provide for safe and reliable multi-modal travel to, from, and throughout
the city
Strategic
Objective Technology Initiative Implementation Year
7.1 Expand usage of AVL technology 2
7.1 Mobile mapping for bike trails 2
7.1 Crowd source mapping for bike
trails 3
7.2 Real time traveler information 1
7.2 Implement technology to count
bikes and pedestrians 3
7.2 Implement “intelligent” or “on the
fly adapting” traffic 5
7.3 Automated bike share program 2
7.5 Track and schedule vehicles 1
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IX. Environmental Scan - Technology Trends
An environmental scan is meant to identify the opportunities, issues and current thinking that may
influence decisions, priorities and long range objectives. During its July planning sessions, the
Information Technology Strategic Planning Committee discussed many technology trends and
considered how those trends should be reflected in the City’s planning.
The ISPC made a determination for each technology trend listed below regarding whether it
should be Mandated, Supported, Encouraged or Tabled according the definitions below.
1. Mandate the technology - implement it regardless of available funding
2. Support the technology – implement it and provide funding for it where appropriate
3. Encourage the technology – implement it if desired, but do not necessarily allocate funding for its implementation
4. Table the technology- consider implementation of it at a future date
a. Technology Trends to Mandate:
An Those technology trends identified as Mandated by the ISPC were so identified because of
their importance in achieving the strategic objectives as identified by the City, their
penetration and proliferation into the marketplace, and technology initiatives already
underway which require those technologies to be successful.
These trends are:
i. Mobile Apps and City-Owned Tablet Computing
Mobile applications and tablet computing are exploding in the marketplace.
According to Gartner research, shipments of mobile PCs and tablets will increase
50% from 2013 to 2016 (from 400 million to 600 million), user interfaces will get
more sophisticated beginning in 2014 and integration with other consumer
impacting technologies and trends will continue to increase.
The drivers for this growth include the tremendous growth of smartphones and
tablets, improvements in mobile applications, browsers and search capabilities,
and the evolution of wireless networks which have become faster and more
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reliable. Generation Y workers have grown up in and live a mobile/wireless
lifestyle and they are demanding access to increase their productivity.
At the City of Fort Collins, mobile devices and City-owned tablets have already
permeated the workforce with the demand for more applications of these
technologies steadily on the rise.
For these reasons, the ISPC decided to Mandate these technology trends for
future initiatives beginning in Year 1.
ii. Collaboration
Collaboration technology began as document management and sharing. It’s
continued evolution to include social networking (within a business context) and
project or task management for teams has made it an increasingly effective tool
for organizations. While this trend towards integration may seem to imply an
increase in the complexity of the technical environment, the most successful
solutions will prevent that from happening.
The success of collaboration is rooted in usability, where a satisfying user
experience will drive adoption and daily use by the end users. Collaboration leads
to better communication among employees which in turn leads to faster and
higher-quality work, which, in turn, drives increased productivity. By enabling
employees to work smarter, collaboration technologies provide important context
for decisions and actions. Problems are likely to be identified sooner and fixes are
more reliable. Collaboration technology changes everything and allows the
sharing of information with anyone, from anywhere, at any time, from any device.
For these reasons, the ISPC decided to Mandate these technology trends for
future initiatives beginning in Year 1.
iii. “Big Data” Analytics
Data is growing at unprecedented rates without regard to budgets or available
resources to manage it; this is what is referred to as Big Data. It is demand-driven
and more access creates more data creating a never-ending cycle. Big Data
analytics provides the capability to explore granular details of business operations
and customer interactions that haven’t always been available in traditional data
warehouse solutions or standard reports. It includes unstructured data (i.e. data
coming from sensors, devices, third parties, Web applications, and social media)
which is typically presented in real time and on a large scale. Big Data analytics
provides tools to perform predictive analytics, data mining, statistics, and natural
language processing so businesses can understand the current state of the
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business and track evolving aspects such as customer behavior. Analytics, pattern
recognition, and social awareness are key components of a Big Data Analytics
implementation.
At the City of Fort Collins the Police Department uses some of these tools in crime
analysis, much of it with a tool called Crime View (from Omega). For the Police
Department data is key to their success, so much so that the monthly meeting is
now called Data Driven Policing.
The IT Department is currently maturing their analytic capabilities in efforts to
provide more trending data to various departments.
For these reasons, the ISPC decided to Mandate these technology trends for
future initiatives beginning in Year 1 in terms of implementing the infrastructure
to support Big Data Analytics (data marts, systems to manage performance
metrics for community reporting and AMFC data).
In Year 2 the initiatives are to provide an ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) tool to
enable making data available out of operational systems.
In Year 3 the initiative is to implement analytics for decision support and business
intelligence.
In Year 4 the initiative is to expand Big Data Analytic capabilities into new service
areas.
b. Technology Trends to Support:
i. BYOD – Bring Your Own Device
“Bring Your Own Device” is generally thought of as a policy which permits
employees to bring personally owned devices (smartphones, tablets, PCs, etc.) into
the workplace and to use them to access privileged company information and
applications. The 2013 Horizon Watching Trend Report indicates that many workers
today carry three devices (smartphone, tablet, laptop) from a variety of
manufacturers. Given a growing desire on the part of workers to determine the
devices that make them most productive, IT departments are challenged with
putting an infrastructure in place to support these workers and their devices while
at the same time protecting the organization from security breaches. This new
corporate work style must be aligned with business priorities through the
implementation of police, management tools and appropriate application access.
The City of Fort Collins IT Department is providing limited support today on
smartphones and iPads from the aspect of connectivity only. They are providing
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limited troubleshooting or problem resolution for BYOD. Some of the problematic
aspects of supporting this technology at the City include using policy based control
only and placing agents on personally owned devices. The City Attorney has stated
that policies and notifications are enough. Today, support is by individual role at the
City only but there is more pressure to expand this concept more globally to all City
workers.
For these reasons, the ISPC decided to Support these technology trends for future
initiatives beginning in Year 1 in terms of implementing a policy and a limited
implementation of Mobile Device Management (MDM) technology.
ii. Cloud Computing
Cloud computing has already seen significant adoption in the business environment
despite the fact that it has yet to achieve maturity in the marketplace. Key benefits
are that it facilitates anytime/anywhere access, provides rapid scalability, often
provides improved security, and supports or improves disaster recovery strategies.
While limitations still exist, the movement to cloud computing is accelerating in
many industries.
While it began as a single concept, cloud computing has evolved into three separate
offerings. Software as a Service (SaaS) which provides web-based access to
applications, Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) which provides remote hardware
maintenance, support and scalability and Platform as a Service (PaaS) which
provides a platform for software developers to use in the development of
applications.
A new trend toward hybrid cloud computing, where organizations combine the
usage of cloud computing with on-premise solutions offers the best of both worlds
to many organizations.
A combined study conducted in 2012 by The Cloud Services Alliance (CSA) and the
Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA) to determine the
maturity of cloud service offerings predicted that cloud maturity will occur in 2015.
For these reasons, the ISPC decided to Support these technology trends for future
initiatives beginning in Year 1 in terms of implementing enabling technology and
controls for SaaS and IaaS type offerings.
In Year 3 initiatives should support implementations of major cloud service
offerings.
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iii. Virtual Desktop Interface (VDI)
Virtual desktops create a user-centric environment. This concept shares compute-
intensive resources among users by separating the physical computer from the
computer desktop environment. In other words the display is not tied the hardware
on which it is used. Drivers for this technology include increased business agility,
increased user productivity with easy and uniform access to systems and data from
multiple devices, reduction in operating costs, higher IT operational efficiency,
improvement in capabilities for business continuity and security and compliance,
and the ability to provide ubiquitous anytime anywhere capabilities for end users.
The City of Fort Collins already has a Virtual Desktop Interface infrastructure in
place.
For these reasons, the ISPC decided to Support these technology trends for future
initiatives beginning in Year 1 on a limited basis.
In Year 3 a larger implementation of VDI Technology should be considered.
c. Technology Trends to Encourage:
i. Voice Interface (Speech Recognition)
Voice recognition technology has not followed the adoption curve that other new
technologies have followed. Although it has existed in some form or another since
the 1950s (Bell Labs “Audrey” system which could only understand numerical
digits), many companies have introduced voice recognition with varying levels of
success. Dragon Dictation was the first speech recognition software designed for the
PC. Soon after, the telecom industry introduced voice portals, or Integrated Voice
Response (IVR) systems which were intended to replace customer service
representatives. Despite advances, consistent and reliable voice recognition
interfaces have struggled.
Success has recently emerged beginning first with the automotive industry and
Ford’s SYNC feature that debuted in 2007. In 2011 the exceptional voice recognition
capability of IBM’s Watson was credited as a key success factor when Watson
defeated “Jeopardy” champ Ken Jennings and also that year Apple launched Siri on
the iPhone 4S. Siri was groundbreaking in that it linked machine learning to natural
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language bridging the gap between how computers speak to one another and how
humans speak to one another. The contextual voice recognition capabilities of Siri
resulted in a system with the ability to understand and interpret language.
Siri and the “Siri-like” applications developed by Android and others, set the stage
for a new generation of applications that can be controlled by the sound of your
voice and the potential to move away from keyboards, mice and even touchscreens.
For these reasons, the ISPC decided to Encourage these technology trends for future
initiatives beginning in Year 3.
ii. The Internet of Things (Machine to Machine) and Location-based
Integration
The Internet of Things is not a single technology but rather a concept enabled by
advances in many technologies. The miniaturization of “smart objects” or sensors
has enabled them to be embedded almost anything, delivering an “Always On”
society. From a social and business perspective the impact is one of situational
decision support and learning coupled with delivery of remote sensing services as
part of connected products.
From a municipal perspective there are systems that “sense” lightning on golf
courses and alert golfers as well as many applications in the transportation sector.
For these reasons, the ISPC decided to Encourage these technology trends for future
initiatives beginning in Year 1 with AMFC projects.
In Year 3 when the penetration of these technologies is even greater, additional
projects using these technologies should be considered.
The companion technology of location-based integration (based on the same
concepts of the Internet of Things) presents some opportunities in the traffic control
systems and should be Encouraged beginning in Year 4.
iii. Game-based Learning/Simulation
The Digital Gamification or Game-based learning movement has been gaining
momentum for the past several years. It taps into the generation that grew up with
video games and uses the technology as a driver to develop technical and social
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skills, including problem solving, sharing, and collaboration. It has the benefits of
providing motivation (higher incidence of self-driven learning), it facilitates mastery
by allowing mistakes which has the potential to develop higher-order thinking skills
such as analysis, it allows for consistent standards, and can provide laser like focus
on the topic learned, resulting in personalized learning.
For these reasons, the ISPC decided to Encourage these technology trends for future
initiatives beginning in Year 5.
iv. Gesture-based Computing
The 2002 film Minority Report introduced the world to gesture based computing.
While the technologies that allow for interaction with devices through gestures
have mostly found they’re home in game systems like the Nintendo Wii, this
technology has the potential to be truly transformative and disruptive in the area of
human computer interfaces. Maturation and penetration of this technology is
predicted in about 2015 at the earliest.
The technologies for gesture based input continue to expand. Evoluce has created a
touch-screen display that responds to gestures and the MIT Media Lab has
developed DepthJS which combines technologies to allow users to interact with the
Chrome Browser through gestures. Gesture based computing offers the compelling
capability to move through three-dimensional visualizations taking training to the
next level.
For these reasons, the ISPC decided to Encourage these technology trends for future
initiatives beginning in Year 4.
d. Technology Trends to Table:
The ISPC decided to Table the following technology trends:
Open Stack: A cloud computing project using free and open source software to
provide Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS).
Visual Data Analysis or Visual Analytics: "The science of analytical reasoning
facilitated by visual interactive interfaces."
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City of Fort Collins – IT Department 22
Simple Augmented Reality (e.g., Google glasses): A live, direct or indirect, view of a
physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented (or supplemented)
by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data.
Software Defined Networking (SDN): A new way to operate data networks by moving
the control plane from the devices to a central control. Today the companies doing this
are all start-ups but this technology is on the roadmaps for all of the major networking
vendors. It has cost savings potential for future purchases.
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City of Fort Collins – IT Department 23
X. SWOT Analysis: The intent of this section is to identify City of Fort Collins specific Strengths, Weaknesses,
Opportunities and Threats with regard to information technology. After each section we have
listed the projects either underway that support these findings, or planned that would improve or
remediate these findings.
a. Strengths (maintain, build and leverage): i. City administration is forward looking and understands the importance of
technology in providing services to citizens ii. Fort Collins has a fiber backbone connecting most City buildings
iii. IT achieved good customer satisfaction ratings in 4 of 7 City of Fort Collins Service Areas in the 2013 NES survey
iv. Recognition of the need for a customer service approach to providing IT services v. Fort Collins IT Department is well resourced in comparison to peer cities
vi. There are pockets of high customer satisfaction and business alignment within IT
b. Initiatives to support maintain, or enhance Strengths i. Online application forms - business licenses, permits, etc. ii. Digital presence to attract applicants - portal development activities
iii. Formulate a deliberate plan to communicate to the public the technology services that have been implemented and future services that will be available
iv. Discuss the digital utility aspect of what Fort Collins is providing v. Consider extending fiber backbone to all City buildings
vi. Continue progress in changing customer service focus, whereby conversations are safe to have and there are collaborative explorations that result in how things can
be accomplished in the best interest of all
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City of Fort Collins – IT Department 24
c. Weaknesses (remedy or exit) i. Lack of documented and communicated IT strategic focus and goals ii. Lack of change management process
iii. IT does not effectively implement the technology refresh plan resulting in delayed replacements of end user computing devices
iv. User departments do not view IT as a strategic partner as evidenced by low ISS score for “anticipating your department’s needs”
v. Dissatisfied customers with regard to troubleshooting and problem resolution particularly in the area of provision of network services – especially in Police
Services, Utility Services, and Planning, Development & Transportation Services
vi. In certain areas systems are not kept on the most current software and hardware platforms which results in lack of feature/functionality to end user, this is most
evident with respect to network upgrades.
d. Initiatives to Remedy Weaknesses i. Year 1 Initiatives
• Document and communicate IT Strategic Plan • Improve efficiency of desktop deployments (2 new temporary staff
added); funding has been made available for software licensing and
spares inventory to improve readiness
• Telecomm has added a network engineer, that combined with three major deployments winding down should move Telecomm to a
manageable state
• Servers team has added a systems engineer, that combined with major deployments winding down should move Server team to a manageable
state
• Formalized implementation of customer service strategy • Implement new help desk software • Begin to formalize change management processes • Educate IT staff regarding problem solving and root cause analysis • Standardize equipment configurations and versions as appropriate—
consider tools to assist as appropriate
• Educate users regarding the “Best Buy” effect.
ii. Year 2 Initiatives
• Consider a process or product to ensure consistent problem solving and root cause analysis
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City of Fort Collins – IT Department 25
• Consider funding in next budget cycle to alleviate the problem of systems being on older versions of software and hardware where appropriate.
e. Opportunities (prioritize and optimize) i. Enhance customer service through a new help desk package that allows users to
serve themselves when convenient for them, and provides data to better track
performance
ii. Identify and implement IT operational metrics that are in line with the formalized customer service strategy
iii. Increase participative governance for departments/users of key applications (e.g., through Steering Committees)
iv. Utilize outside resources more often for one-time/initial or niche type installations, to reduce employee workloads and shorten implementation
timelines
v. Improve user productivity by replacing wireless networking system at Police Department
vi. Implement a best practice, formalized, and documented disaster recovery planning effort to include identification of critical systems and a business impact
analysis to ensure recovery and continuity technologies are in line with business
needs. As part of this the DR site implementation should be completed
vii. Implement project management to improve timely completion of projects, cost management and better understanding of resource needs
viii. Optimize the centralized management structure for IT; the department has been centralized in reporting structure only, not from an operational process
perspective.
f. Initiatives to prioritize and optimize Opportunities i. Year 1 Initiatives
• Implement new Help Desk Software • Develop and implement IT service metrics • Replace wireless networking system at Police Department (funding is in
place)
• Conduct a Business Impact Analysis to guide Disaster Recovery efforts.
ii. Year 2 Initiatives • Identify and implement appropriate recovery and continuity technologies
based on results of the Business Impact Analysis
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City of Fort Collins – IT Department 26
• Implement project management training and processes to better control implementations
iii. Year 3 Initiatives • Re-evaluate project management training processes to better control
implementations
g. Threats (counter) i. Lack of training for users and IT staff reduces efficiency and effectiveness, and
could lead to cyber security breaches
ii. Users “working around” IT can result in duplicated efforts, extra costs and reduced efficiency
iii. Lack of grounding in telecommunications spaces can damage equipment and be a shock hazard to workers when in those areas
iv. High IT staff turnover lessens effectiveness and increases response times
h. Initiatives to counter Threats i. Year 1 Initiatives
• Develop and implement safe computing training program; • Technology training for IT folks - Ongoing • Develop continuous proficiency training on technology for end-users • Develop and implement new hire technology usage and security training • Redesign IT processes to increase efficiency and output (streamline) • Utilize outside vendors for niche and capacity issue projects • Utilize Steering Committees to communicate and prioritize IT projects • Instill customer service strategy in IT department • Improve IT alignment with the business • New hires with customer service strategy • Process redesigns and outsourced activities will alleviate employee work
hours stress concerns
ii. YEAR 2 Initiatives • Have an electrical engineer design proper grounding for spaces • Utilize licensed electrician to implement recommendations
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City of Fort Collins – IT Department 27
XI. High-level Implementation Plan (see Appendix B) As expected, after combining all of the objectives discussed by the IT Strategic Planning
Committee (ISPC) there are a large number of potential initiatives, which may be confusing
presented only in narrative form. The high-level implementation plan presents and summarizes
this information to more easily communicate the extent of the planned initiatives.
a. Implementation Plan Elements This document was developed in spreadsheet format, allowing City of Fort Collins to sort
by the various columns as desired.
The 1st column (A) contains a brief description of the potential objective or initiative.
The 2nd column (B) describes where the objective fits into the overall City of Fort Collins
Strategic Plan.
The 3rd column (C) lists the implementation year assigned by the ISPC during its planning
sessions. As currently shown, there are probably too many designated for Year 1 (2014),
even if the City of Fort Collins uses some outside resources. The ISPC could shift some of
these to later years based on available resources.
The 4th column (D) provides the consulting team’s estimate of relative amounts of money
($ = lower, $$$ = higher) that the City of Fort Collins would need to spend to implement
each objective/initiative.
XII. Next Steps a. Develop a RACI matrix for all initiatives. [The ISPC could designate resources to develop
this matrix.]
b. Develop metrics regarding what constitutes completion and how success will be measured for each initiative that is approved for Year 1 (2014). [The ISPC could designate resources
to develop the metrics.]
c. IPSC to review the RACI matrix and metrics. d. Obtain approval/sign-off from appropriate office(s) and allocate needed funds. e. Assign resources and begin implementation.
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XIII. Future Updates to the IT Strategic Plan The City of Fort Collins IT planning group (whether the current ISPC or a newly formed IT Steering
Committee) should re-examine the IT Strategic Plan every year. Recommended steps in the
update process:
a. The IT Department should provide a brief summary of each designated objective/initiative completed in the past year, including its success as measured by the approved metrics, as
well as a status update regarding any initiatives that are currently underway.
b. The planning group should revisit and update the Environmental Scan and the SWOT Analysis. Utilize available resources such as the Horizon, Gartner and Forrester Reports.
c. In light of the foregoing, re-evaluate the initiatives planned for the upcoming year. Some may no longer be necessary and others may need to be postponed.
d. Review initiatives planned for later years. Some of these may have moved up in importance due to changes in technology or the current situation at the City of Fort Collins
e. As a group agree upon and designate the specific objectives/initiatives that are to be completed in the upcoming year.
f. Have metrics and a RACI matrix prepared for these initiatives.
XIV. IT Program Action Plans
An important implementation element of the IT Department’s Strategic Planning Model is the
development and maintenance of Program Action Plans. These plans are instrumental in
documenting the effective management of technology within individual specific programs and
services. Program areas include: Enterprise Resource Planning, Electronic Document
Management, Systems and Storage, Network Services, Voice Services, Geographic Information
Services, Utilities Customer Information System, Computerized Maintenance Management
Systems, Credit Card Processing, and Internal Communications, among others.
The IT Program Action Plans document the current state of each program or service, while also
fully exploring the opportunities, challenges, risks and trends that will impact service delivery
during the next 3 years. The plans describe the governance of each program and the state of
staffing and resources. The action plans also document the appropriate measures and metrics
that are necessary to adequately monitor and manage the program.
Finally, there is coordination between the action plans and the City’s BFO budgeting processes.
During preparation for an upcoming BFO process, the IT Department uses the current action plans
to develop offers. This allows the department to produce offer requests for funding that will
maintain the appropriate service levels, address risks, recognize upcoming trends and upgrades,
while also providing for the maintenance and tracking of the related measures and metrics.
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Once the BFO process is completed, the funded offers included within the adopted budget are
then used to update each program action plan. Updates include: service level adjustments,
staffing and resource changes, and inclusion of enhancements. At the end of each year, program
action plans are updated and then used to develop yearly work plans.
Individual Program Action Plans can be provided (not all have been developed at this time):
• Enterprise Resource Planning, ERP (JDE – Finance and HR) • Enterprise Reporting and Data Warehousing • Network Services • Voice Services • Systems and Storage • eGovernment (FCGOV, CityNet and associated services) • Client Services (Helpdesk, PC’s and Mobile Devices) • Customer Information System, CIS (Utility billing system) • Meter Data Management • Web Portal and Demand Response • Computerized Maintenance Management System (Utilities asset management system) • Utilities Applications Portfolio • Geographic Information Services (GIS) • Electronic Document Management System (Sire) • Credit Card Processing • E911 and Records Management • Police Applications Portfolio • Land Management System (Accela) • Parking Management System • Transportation Asset Management System (Cityworks) • Advanced Traveler Information System • Bus & Fleet Management System • Recreation Management System (RecTrac) • Gold Management System (GolfTrac) • Fleet Management System • Facilities Management System •
XV. Appendix A – IT Strategic Plan Summary (see attached)
XVI. Appendix B – High Level Implementation Plan (see attached)
