Boston University Technology Plan · • Upgrade and consolidation of learning management systems...
Transcript of Boston University Technology Plan · • Upgrade and consolidation of learning management systems...
Boston University Technology Plan FY 2015–2020
Boston University Information Services & Technology
Office of the Vice President 111 Cummington Street Boston, Massachusetts 02215 T 617-353-1155
DRAFT Boston University 2015-20 Technology Plan 2
Table of Contents
Background: Technology @ BU
• FY 2010-14 Goals
• Community Satisfaction
• Service Health
• Benchmarks
• Key Trends
Our Plan
• Executive Summary
• Process & Structure
• Principles & Definitions
• Strategic Capabilities
• Initiatives
• Assessment
Appendices
• Appendix A:TechnologyServicePortfoliohealthcharts
• Appendix B:EnterpriseRiskManagementkeytechnologyrisks
• Appendix C:InitiativeAlignmentandImpact
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Background: Technology @ BU FY 2010-14 Goals
Infiscalyears2010–14,BUInformationServices&Technologyhasbeenpursuingastrategyof“OneIS&TforOneBU,”focusedonthefollowinggoals:
• StrengthenedPartnershipsinTeachingandResearch
• SharedSupportServices
• RenewedEnterpriseApplications
• SharedInfrastructureServices
• Portfolio&ProjectManagement
• ServiceManagement
Thesegoalshavebeenpursuedwiththefullsupportandassistanceoflocaltechnologyserviceorganizations.Examplesofmajorinitiativesinsupportofthesegoalsinclude:
Strengthened Partnerships in Teaching and Research
• InstallationandupgradingofclassroomtechnologyinallUniversityRegistrarclassrooms
• Creationoffull-timestaffInstructionalTechnologySupportSpecialistsandEducationalTechnologists
• PartneringtocreatetheMassachusettsGreenHighPerformanceComputingCenter
• Creationofasharedresearchcomputingclusterandbuy-inprogram
Shared Support Services
• CreationoftheITHelpCenterandenterpriseITServiceDeskfunction
• ImplementationoftheDesktopSupportClusteringinitiative
Renewed Enterprise Applications
• ImplementationofSAPforFinance,HR,andProcurementfunctions(BUworks)
• ImplementationofBlackbaudECRMforDevelopmentandAlumniRelations
• ImplementationofKualiCoeusforResearchAdministrationAwardprocessing
• ReimplementationofDegreeWorksforBUDegreeAdvice
• UpgradeandconsolidationoflearningmanagementsystemstoBlackboardLearn9.1
Shared Infrastructure Services
• Installationofwirelessnetworkinginallclassroomsandresidencehalls
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• Installationofwirelessnetworkinginacademicandadministrativespaces(inprogress)
• DeploymentofGooglemailservicesforstudents
• DeploymentofanenterpriseMicrosoftExchangeemailandcalendarplatformforallfacultyandstaff
• Deploymentofanenterprisedataarchivestorageservice
Theseinitiativeshavebeenenabledthroughtheimplementationofportfolio and project managementbestpractices,includingthedevelopmentofarobustprojectmanagementoffice,governancestructureandprocess.Inaddition,implementationofITIL-basedIT service managementprocessesandtoolshassupportedtheestablishmentofsharedservices.
Community Satisfaction
IS&ThasbeenmeasuringcommunitysatisfactionwiththequalityoftechnologyservicesatBUthroughtheTechQual+survey,astandardsurveydevelopedbyhighereducationITleadersforhighereducation.Weadministeredthesurveyinthefallof2009,2011,and2013.
2013Surveyresultsshowedpositivegainsinseveralareas,accompaniedbyrisingexpectations.Thelargestchangesinperceivedservicelevelbythecampuscommunityasawholearereflectedinthechartbelow:
Atthesametime,expectationsrosein2013asshownbelow:
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Thisresultedinthefollowingdifferencesbetweenminimumandperceivedservicelevelsforthe1331student,facultyandstaffrespondentsoverall.Redindicatesserviceareaswhereperceivedlevelsfallbelowminimums,whileblueindicatesareaswhereperceivedlevelsexceedtheminimum.
Satisfactionwithtechnologyservicesishighestamongstudentsandlowestamongfaculty.Areasofmostcommongapsbetweenexpectationsandserviceprovidedarewirelesscoverage(question
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3),classroomtechnology(question8),assessmentsystems(question17),researchsupport(question18),centralinformationsystemsecurity(question19),FinanceandHRinformationsystems(faculty/staffquestiononly,20),andstudentinformationsystems(faculty/staffquestiononly,26).
Service Health
IS&Tmonitorsthehealthoftheservicesinourservicecatalog,aswellasthecorrespondingoperationalcostsofthoseservices.ThesehealthchartsareattachedasAppendix A.TheyreflectthefollowingnotablerisksintheBUtechnologyserviceenvironment:
• BUstillhasasetofcoreadministrativesystemsthatareendoflifeandrequirerenewalor,ataminimum,supportriskmitigation,includingStudentInformationSystems,AncillarySystems,andnon-SAPFinance,HRandBudgetsystems.
• BUtelephoneservicesarealsoatendoflifeandneedtobereplaced/migratedtonewer,unifiedcommunicationstechnology.
• BUhasabasicsetofinformationsecurityservices,mostofwhicharecurrent,butislackinginadvancedfunctionalityandmaturity/breadthofdeploymentofcurrentservices.
• BUhassomeresearchcomputingfacilities,suchastheIBMBlueGene,thatareendoflife.Visualizationcapabilitiesarealsolateintheirlifecycle.
• TheBUnetworkinfrastructureisinneedofarefreshprogram;Authentication,DirectoryandStorageServicesareinneedofrenewal.
Benchmarks
BUTechnologyServicebenchmarksaredrawnfromtheEducauseCoreDatasurveyandTechQual+Surveytools.Inaccordancewiththetermsandconditionsofusefortheseresources,thesedocumentsareavailabletoBUcommunitymembersonlyuponrequest.Pleasecontactvpist@bu.eduforaccess.
Key Trends
TheBUcommunityandgovernancecommitteeshavespentasignificantamountoftimeconsideringcurrenttrendsinhighereducationandtechnologyoverthecourseofthisplanningprocess.Trendsofparticularnotetowhichthesegroupsagreedwemustrespondinclude:
• Thetransformationofteachingandlearningthroughtechnology-enabledpedagogies.BeyondMOOCs,BUexistsinarapidlychangingcontextofwhathighereducationisandwillbeinthefuture.
• AnalyticsandBigData.BUwillneedtobeabletocollect,secure,analyze,manage,andretiremassivevolumesofresearchand,atleastpotentially,academicandadministrativedata.
• Globalconnectednessandcollaboration.TodayBU’sfacultyandstudentscanbefoundin75countrieson7continents,andwecollaboratenotonlyacrossdisciplinesandcolleges,butacrossinstitutionsandindustries.Thepowerofsocialmediaandnewcollaboration
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technologiesshouldbeharnessedintheinterestofBUgoals.
• Usability,includingmobility.Today’sstudents,facultyandstaffneedtobeabletoaccessservicesfromanywhere,onanydevice,throughanintuitiveinterfacecomparabletoconsumerservices.
• Informationsecurityasacorecompetency.Informationsecuritythreatsandconsequentregulatoryrequirementsareincreasinglypervasiveandcomplex.
• Extremepressuretocontrolorreducethecostofeducation.Withhighereducationhavingbeenidentifiedashaving“costdisease,”BUmustworktoleveragetechnologytoreduceadministrativeoverheadcostsandidentifynew,moreefficientoperatingmodels.
• TheabstractionofITservicesfromthephysicalcampus,andtransitionofITstafffrombuildersofsystemstoarchitectsandintegratorsofservices.Withpervasive,highbandwidthconnectivityandtheriseofcloudserviceprovidersatalllevelsoftechnologyservice,frominfrastructuretoplatformtoapplication,optionsforwaystoprovideITservicesarediversifyingrapidlyandrequirecarefulselectionandmanagement.
• Theimportanceofstandards,especiallyforinfrastructure.Astheapplicationsandclientdevicesbecomemorevariedandrapidlychanging,theneedforstandardtoprovideinteroperabilityandrapiddeploymentisincreasinglycritical.
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FY 2015-20 Technology Plan: Executive SummaryGoal
ToenabletherealizationofthegoalsarticulatedintheBUstrategicplan,ChoosingtobeGreat,andthemitigationofBostonUniversityenterpriserisks,throughthedevelopment,sustainmentandoptimizationofinformationservicesandtechnology.
Principles
Theseprincipleswereidentifiedaskeyconceptsthatshouldremainconstantforthelifeoftheplan,servingastouchstonestobereferencedinthedevelopmentandexecutionoftechnologyprojectsandoperations.
Capabilities
Thesecapabilitieswereidentifiedascorecompetencyareasforinformationservicesandtechnology,withinwhichseveralstrategicinitiativesshouldbecarriedoutoverthecoming5years.
Initiatives The following 26 initiatives are listed in the order they appear in the plan.
1. Expand collaboration between technology teams and organizations at BU who provide pedagogical, content, and instructional design to improve coordination, facilitation, and promotional capabilities.
2. Ensure that learning platforms support anywhere, anytime use by a diverse, global community in a safe environment. Include support for mobile learning, rich media, voice and video communication, social networking, and emerging forms of assessment.
3. Provide quality classroom teaching environments for all courses, and experiment with and support the adoption of innovative classroom technologies.
4. Provide secure repositories and user-friendly analytical tools to access academic information, from official records to course-specific information, in support of teaching effectiveness, student retention and graduation, and pedagogical research.
5. Experiment with social networking technologies to develop online communities of practice in teaching, learning, and research.
6. Build upon the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center to provide sustainable, shared research computing and storage infrastructure to BU researchers.
7. Develop and implement a campus cyberinfrastructure plan to enhance BU research infrastructure, from the campus network to regional, national, and cloud-based computing resources.
8. Provide robust, secure, usable research administration tools to enhance sponsored program management by faculty.
9. Support the lifecycle of research, academic, and administrative data in partnership with BU Libraries.
10. Partner with Hariri Institute for Computing and Computational Science & Engineering to develop a dynamic, collaborative pool of human resources for the development and support of computational software for research.
11. Support and leverage emerging “big data” tools to provide new analytical capabilities for research, teaching, and administration.
12. Join peer institutions and industry in developing safe ways to leverage cloud infrastructure for research, including high performance computing and big data.
13. Enhance administrative systems to improve efficiency and capability, with a primary focus on research and academic administration.
14. Ensure the ability to rapidly and securely provision new services by deploying industry standard Identity and Access Management (IAM).
15. Expand the digitization of paper records and automation of manual workflows, including electronic signatures.
16. Deploy a professional development system for faculty and administration that tracks the completion of required and elective training in areas such as security awareness, compliance, technical skills, pedagogical or research methodologies, and management.
17. Expand adoption of IT service management best practices, including continued development and implementation of a shared service catalog, ITIL processes, and service management platform.
18. Provide access to user-friendly tools in support of data-driven assessment with a focus on academic and administrative service quality.
19. Develop an enterprise data dictionary and governance process in support of data sharing and distributed analysis.
20. Provide support and training to empower faculty and staff to use data in strategic, tactical, and operational decision making.
21. Provide unified, high fidelity services that support one-to-one, one-to-many, or many-to-many communication and collaboration with integrated video, voice, messaging, scheduling, shared workspaces, and social networks.
22. Reduce the risk associated with legacy applications by pursuing the replacement of central and local student information systems and developing a roadmap to transition other applications at risk for obsolescence.
23. Develop a sustainable funding model and ongoing maintenance plan for the campus data network and core systems infrastructure.
24. Strengthen controls over the systems and devices that host Restricted Use data, and educate users on proper handling.
25. Implement an awareness program around the BU Data Protection Standards in partnership with BU academic experts.
26. Provide solutions to allow people to easily secure their mobile devices in accordance with BU requirements.
Sustainability&RiskManagementDataManagement&Analytics
OperationalEfficiency&EffectivenessResearchleadershipLearningQuality&Innovation
CollaborationAcrossBoundaries
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Our Plan: DetailProcess & Structure
TheBostonUniversity2015-20TechnologyPlanhasbeendevelopedtoguidetheevolutionoftechnologyinfrastructureandservicesatBU,bothbythecentraltechnologyorganization,InformationServices&Technology,andlocal/specializedtechnologysupportteams.TheTechnologyPlansupports,bothdirectlyandfoundationally,thefollowingstrategicgoalsoftheUniversityStrategicPlan:ChoosingtobeGreat.
• Strengtheningthequalityofthefaculty.
• Strengtheningourcommitmenttointerdisciplinaryprogramsinresearch,education,andoutreach.
• Strengtheningtheexcellenceofourundergraduateeducation.
• Strengtheningthestudentresidentialcommunityandthestudentexperience.
• Strengtheningtargetedprogramsingraduateresearchandeducation.
• Strengtheningourleadershipasanurbanandglobalresearchuniversity.
AlignmentwiththeBUStrategicPlanwillbesustainedthroughreviewandrevisionastheUniversityplanisupdated.
TheTechnologyPlanalsoaimstoaddresstechnologyrisksidentifiedthroughtheServicePortfolioHealthChartandUniversity’sEnterpriseRiskManagement(ERM)program.IdentifiedtechnologyERMrisksareattachedasAppendix B.
Throughacombinationofengagementwithtechnologyleaders,reviewofemergingtrendsandbestpractices,participationincampusfocusgroups,andinternaldiscussion,theBUtechnologygovernancecommitteeshaveformulatedthefollowingPrinciplesandStrategicCapabilities.TheStrategicCapabilitieseachsupportoneormoregoalsofChoosingtobeGreatand/orhelpmitigateEnterpriseRisks,anddrivemultipletechnology-relatedInitiatives.TheseinitiativeshavebeenmappedspecificallytoChoosingtobeGreatgoalsinAppendix C.ThePrinciplesarebroadguidelinestokeepinmindaswemoveforwardwiththeInitiatives.
Note:throughout,“we”isusedtorefertotheBUtechnologyservicescommunityasawhole,includingthecentraltechnologyorganization,InformationServices&Technology,andlocaltechnologyorganizationsworkinginpartnership.
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Principles & Definitions
Principles
Theseprincipleswereidentifiedaskeyconceptsthatshouldremainconstantforthelifeoftheplan,ifnotbeyond,servingastouchstonestobereferencedinthedevelopmentandexecutionoftechnologyprojectsandoperations.
• Enableresourcestobeallocatedtoinnovationbyprovidingcommonservicesinthemostefficientmannerpossible.
• Reducecomplexityandcostthroughreasonablestandardization.
• Encourageuseofandcontributiontosharedcomputingfacilitiesforservicesthatbenefitfromeconomiesofscale.
• Providecentrallicensing(ifapplicable),vendor/suppliermanagementandsupportforwidelyusedtechnologies.
• Adoptthemostcosteffectiveinfrastructure,platformsandservicesthatmeetBUrequirements,regardlessofserviceprovider(opensourcecommunity,BU-hosted,cloudprovider,other).
• Minimizeinvestmentinlegacyplatforms;ensurethatnewsystemsprovideemergingcapabilitiesexpectedbyendusers.
• Reducethenumberofshadowinformationsystems.Whereshadowinformationsystemsareidentified,workwiththeowner(s)toidentifyandaddresstheunmetneed.
• Investinprofessionaldevelopment.
• Fortechnologystaffintechnical,managerialandspecificacademicandadministrativesubjectareas.
• Forfaculty,administratorsandstaffinthedevelopmentofpedagogical,computational,analyticalandprocessoptimizationskills.
• Prioritizeaccessibilityandeaseofuseintheselection,implementationandpromotionofnewsystemsandservices,toensurethebroadestimpactandbenefittotheBUcommunity.
• Ensureaccesstoservicesforpeoplewithdisabilities.
• Supportmajorplatforms,devices,andbrowsersinusebymostBUcommunitymembers,includingpersonallyowned,oftenmobiledevices.
• Adoptopenstandardswheneverpossible.
• Focusonusabilityininterfacedesign.
• Communicateaboutserviceavailabilityandcapabilityinnon-technicallanguage,viamultiplemethods.
• Continuetofosterandsustainaserviceorientedculture,inwhichtechnologyisameans,ratherthananend,andvalueisplacedonbenefitsrealizedbytheBUcommunity.Ensurethatservicesustainabilityandcontinuousimprovementareprioritizedequallywithprojectactivity.
• Listentoneeds.
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• Learnfromtheexperiencesandfeedbackofthecommunity.
• Fosterinnovationbysupportingexperimentationandprovidingflexibleframeworksandtools.
• ConsiderBU’sglobalreachindesignofinfrastructure,informationandsupportservices.
• Enablecompliancewithsecurityrequirementsbymakingiteasytodoso.
• Applyappropriatecontrolstoadministrativeandacademicwork,respectively.
• Encourageopensharingofdata,othercontentandexpertisebymakingiteasyandsafetodoso.
• Supportthedevelopmentofinfrastructurethroughabalanceofinstitutionalfunding,sponsoredresearchgrantsandindustrialsupport.
• Governtechnologyservicesandprojectsefficientlyandeffectively,includingrepresentationthatenablessharedservicesacrosscampuses,whilebalancingstakeholderengagementwiththeabilitytomaketimelydecisions.
Definitions
• Legacyplatform:Aplatformforwhichcapabilitiestosustainandenhancefunctionalityisseverelylimitedornonexistent.Examplesincludeproductswhicharenolongersupportedbyavendororcommunity,orservicesreliantonunderpinningtechnologiesthatarenolongercompetitiveinthemarketplaceortaughtinmainstreamcomputerscience.
• Shadowsystem:Asystemwhichsubstantivelyreplicatesfunctionalityprovidedbyacentralinformationsysteminordertoprovidesupplementaleaseofuseorfunctionalitytoalocalunit.
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Strategic Capabilities
Thesecapabilitieswereidentifiedascorecompetencyareasforinformationservicesandtechnology,withinwhichseveralstrategicinitiativesshouldbecarriedoutoverthecoming5years.
• Teaching & Learning Quality and Innovation WewillenableBUtobealeaderinthedevelopmentofnewlearningmodels,whileenhancingtheBUcommunity’sabilitytoengagestudentsacrossdisciplinesinactive,deeplearning,usingbothprovenandemergingpedagogicalmethods.
• Research Leadership Wewillrenewourcommitmenttoleadingresearchcomputinginfrastructureandsupportservices,especiallyinfieldsidentifiedasstrategicareasfortheUniversitymovingforward.
• Operational Efficiency and Effectiveness WewillenableBUtomeetorexceedapplicablepeerandindustrybenchmarksforoperationalefficiencyandeffectivenessinsupportservices,especiallyintheareasofacademicandresearchadministration.
• Data Management and Analytics Wewillextendourabilitytocollect,store,analyze,anddisseminatedata,includingbigdata,insupportofstudentsuccess,researchproductivityandadministrativeeffectiveness.
• Collaboration Across Boundaries WewillimprovetheBUcommunity’sabilitytodiscover,connectandinteractwitheachotheracrosshistorical,organizational,disciplinary,geographicandinstitutionalboundaries.
• Sustainability and Risk Management Wewillplanfortherenewalofcriticaltechnologyinfrastructureandensurethatsecurityandcomplianceareconsistentlyaddressed.
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Initiatives
NOTE:Initiativeswhichhavesignificantrelevancetomorethanonestrategiccapabilityareaarelistedineachapplicablearea.Initiativesarelistedinpriorityorderforeachcapabilityarea.
Teaching & Learning Quality and Innovation
WewillenableBUtobealeaderinthedevelopmentofnewlearningmodels,whileenhancingtheBUcommunity’sabilitytoengagestudentsacrossdisciplinesinactive,deeplearning,usingbothprovenandemergingpedagogicalmethods.
Initiatives
1. ExpandcollaborationbetweentechnologyteamsandthevariousorganizationsatBUwhoprovidepedagogical,content,andinstructionaldesignsupporttoimprovetheseorganizations’cumulativecoordination,facilitation,andpromotionalcapabilities.
a. Provideappropriateaccesstoinstructionaldesignanddigitalmedia/contentproductioncapabilitiesforfacultyandstudents.
b. Enablefacultyexperimentationineducationaltechnologyinnovation.
c. Disseminatesuccessfuleducationaltechnologyexperimentsasbestpractices,includingcreationoftemplatesandreusablelearningobjects.
d. Facilitateinterdisciplinary/interprofessionalcollaborationinteachingandlearning.
2. Ensurethatlearningplatformssupportanywhere,anytimeteachingandlearningbyadiverse,globalcommunityinasafeenvironment.Includesupportformobilelearning,richmedia,voiceandvideocommunication,socialnetworking,andemergingformsofassessment.
3. Providequalityclassroomteachingenvironmentsforallcourses,andexperimentwithandsupporttheadoptionofinnovativeclassroomtechnologies.
4. Providesecuredatarepositoriesanduser-friendlyanalyticaltoolstoaccessacademicinformation,fromofficialacademicrecordstocourseparticipationinformation,insupportofteachingeffectiveness,studentretentionandgraduation,andpedagogicalresearch.
5. Experimentwithsocialnetworkingtechnologiestobuildorenhanceonlinecommunitiesofpracticeinteaching,learning,andresearch.
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Research Leadership
Wewillrenewourcommitmenttoleadingresearchcomputinginfrastructureandsupportservices,especiallyinfieldsidentifiedasstrategicareasfortheUniversitymovingforward.
Initiatives
1. BuildupontheMassachusettsGreenHighPerformanceComputingCentertoprovidesustainable,sharedresearchcomputingandstorageinfrastructuretoBUresearchers.
a. ForgeandsupportsharedinfrastructureandresearchbetweenBU’sCharlesRiverandMedicalcampuses.
b. Ensurethattheresearchcomputinginfrastructureenablesresearcherstobecompetitiveforgrantfunding,andtoscaleapplicationstonationalfacilities.
2. DevelopandimplementacampuscyberinfrastructureplantocontinuetoenhanceBUresearchinfrastructure,fromthecampusnetworktoregional,national,andcloud-basedcomputingresources.
3. Providerobust,secure,user-friendlyresearchadministrationdataaccessandanalytics,enhancingfacultyabilitytomanagetheirsponsoredprograms.
4. InpartnershipwithBULibraries,supportthedatalifecycle,includingthecapabilitytosecurelystore,protect,share,publish,archive,andexpire/retireresearch,academic,andadministrativedatainaccordancewithapplicablepoliciesanddatamanagementplans.
5. PartnerwithHaririInstituteforComputingandComputationalScience&Engineeringtodevelopadynamic,collaborativepoolofhumanresourcesforthedevelopmentandsupportofcomputationalsoftwareforresearch.
a. Enhancesupportfordisciplinesandresearchersnewlyengagedincomputationallyintensiveresearchanddatavisualization.
b. Provideopportunitiesforundergraduateengagementincomputationalresearch.
6. Supportandleverageemerging“bigdata”toolsandmethodologiesasappropriatetoprovidenewanalyticalcapabilitiesforresearch,teachingandadministration.
7. Joinpeerinstitutionsandindustryindevelopingsafewaystoleveragecloudinfrastructureforresearch,includinghighperformancecomputingandbigdata.
8. Experimentwithsocialnetworkingtechnologiestobuildorenhanceonlinecommunitiesofpracticeinteaching,learningandresearch.
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Operational Efficiency and Effectiveness
WewillenableBUtomeetorexceedapplicablepeerandindustrybenchmarksforoperationalefficiencyandeffectivenessinsupportservices,especiallyintheareasofacademicandresearchadministration.
Initiatives
1. Enhanceadministrativesystemstoimproveefficiencyandcapability,withaprimaryfocusonresearchandacademicadministration.
a. Supporthighqualityresearchadministrationservicestofacultythroughtheprovisionofeffectiveresearchadministrationsystems.
b. Consolidateandintegratefacultyinformationsystemstoenhanceeaseofdatamanagementbyfacultyandaccuracyofreporting.
c. Evolvestudentinformationsystems(admission,registration,financialaid,etc.)toenhancethestudentexperienceacrossBU,supportstrategicacademicinitiativesandemerginglearningandcredentialingmodels,andenablequalityrelationshipmanagementwithstudentsandparents.
d. EnablequalityandefficiencyinUniversityfinancialandhumanresourceadministrationthroughenhancementofBUworksandrelatedinformationsystems.
2. EnsuretheabilitytorapidlyandsecurelyprovisionnewservicesbydeployingindustrystandardIdentityandAccessManagement(IAM)infrastructure,includingfederatedidentitycapabilities.
3. Provideunified,highfidelitycommunicationandcollaborationservicesforone-to-one,one-to-many,ormany-to-manyvoiceandvideocommunicationthatintegratemessaging,scheduling,sharedworkspaces,andsocialnetworksviamostdevices.Makesignificantprogresstowardretirementoflegacyvoicecommunicationservices.
4. Expandthedigitizationofpaperrecordsandautomationofmanualworkflows,includingelectronicsignatures.Focusonareasofgreatestimpact:
a. Travelandexpenseprocessing
b. Researchproposaldevelopment
c. Researchgranteffortreporting
d. Visaandpermanentresidencyprocessing
5. Providesecuredatarepositoriesanduser-friendlyanalyticaltoolstoaccessacademicinformation,fromofficialacademicrecordstocourseparticipationinformation,insupportofteachingeffectiveness,studentretentionandgraduation,andpedagogicalresearch.
6. Provideuser-friendlyaccesstodataandanalyticaltoolsinsupportofdata-drivenassessment,especiallyforapplicationtoassessmentofacademicandadministrativeservicequality.
7. Deployaprofessionaldevelopmentsystemforfacultyandadministrationthatcantrackthecompletionofrequiredandelectivetraining,includingsecurityawareness,compliancecertification,technicalskills,pedagogicalorresearchmethodologybestpractices,managementskills,andothertraining.
8. ExpandadoptionofITservicemanagementbestpractices,includingcontinueddevelopment
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andimplementationof:
a. Asharedservicecatalog
b. Uniformincident,change,problem,andconfigurationmanagementprocessesacrosscentralandlocaltechnologyorganizations
c. AcommonITservicemanagementplatform
Data Management and Analytics
Wewillextendourabilitytocollect,store,analyze,anddisseminatedata,includingbigdata,insupportofstudentsuccess,researchproductivity,andadministrativeeffectiveness.
Initiatives
1. InpartnershipwithBULibraries,supportthedatalifecycle,includingthecapabilitytosecurelystore,protect,share,publish,archive,andexpire/retireresearch,academic,andadministrativedatainaccordancewithapplicablepoliciesanddatamanagementplans.
2. Providerobust,secure,user-friendlyresearchadministrationdataaccessandanalytics,enhancingfacultyabilitytomanagetheirsponsoredprograms.
3. Providesecuredatarepositoriesanduser-friendlyanalyticaltoolstoaccessacademicinformation,fromofficialacademicrecordstocourseparticipationinformation,insupportofteachingeffectiveness,studentretentionandgraduation,efficientplanningofacademicprograms,andpedagogicalresearch.
4. Provideuser-friendlyaccesstodataandanalyticaltoolsinsupportofdata-drivenassessment,especiallyforapplicationtoassessmentofacademicandadministrativeservicequality.
5. Developanenterprisedatadictionaryanddatagovernanceprocessinsupportofdatasharinganddistributedanalysis.
6. Supportandleverageemerging“bigdata”toolsandmethodologiesasappropriatetoprovidenewanalyticalcapabilitiesforresearch,teachingandadministration.
7. Providethesupportandtrainingrequiredtoempowerfacultyandstafftousedatainstrategic,tactical,andoperationaldecisionmaking.
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Collaboration Across Boundaries
WewillimprovetheBUcommunity’sabilitytodiscover,connectandinteractwitheachotheracrosshistorical,organizational,disciplinary,geographicandinstitutionalboundaries.
Initiatives
1. Provideunified,highfidelitycommunicationandcollaborationservicesforone-to-one,one-to-many,ormany-to-manyvoiceandvideocommunicationthatintegratemessaging,scheduling,sharedworkspaces,andsocialnetworksviamostdevices.Makesignificantprogresstowardretirementoflegacyvoicecommunicationservices.
2. ExpandcollaborationbetweentechnologyteamsandthevariousorganizationsatBUwhoprovidepedagogical,content,andinstructionaldesignsupporttoexpandandimprovetheseorganizations’cumulativecoordination,facilitation,andpromotionalcapabilities.
3. Ensurethatlearningplatformssupportanywhere,anytimeteachingandlearningbyadiverse,globalcommunityinasafeenvironment.Includesupportformobilelearning,richmedia,voiceandvideocommunication,socialnetworking,andemergingformsofassessment.
4. BuildupontheMassachusettsGreenHighPerformanceComputingCentertoprovidesustainable,sharedresearchcomputingandstorageinfrastructuretoBUresearchers.
a. ForgeandsupportsharedinfrastructureandresearchbetweenBU’sCharlesRiverandMedicalcampuses.
b. Ensurethattheresearchcomputinginfrastructureenablesresearcherstobecompetitiveforgrantfunding,andtoscaleapplicationstonationalfacilities.
5. PartnerwithHaririInstituteforComputingandComputationalScience&Engineeringtodevelopadynamic,collaborativepoolofhumanresourcesforthedevelopmentandsupportofcomputationalsoftwareforresearch.
6. Experimentwithsocialnetworkingtechnologiestobuildorenhanceonlinecommunitiesofpracticeinsupportofteaching,learningandresearch.
7. DevelopandimplementacampuscyberinfrastructureplantocontinuetoenhanceBUresearchinfrastructure,fromthecampusnetworktoregional,nationalandcloud-basedcomputingresources.
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Sustainability and Risk Management
Wewillplanfortherenewalofcriticalinfrastructureandensurethatsecurityandcomplianceareconsistentlyaddressed.
Initiatives
1. ActivelymanageandreducetheriskassociatedwithBU’slegacyadministrativeapplications.
a. Makesignificantprogresstowardreplacementoflegacycentralandlocalstudentinformationsystemswithcore,sharedservicesthatenableconvenient,personalizedstudentinteractionswithadministration,includingAdmissions,FinancialAid,Registration,StudentAccounts,Studentemployment,andHousing.
b. Createaroadmaptotransitionotherlegacyapplicationsatriskforobsolescence.
2. Developasustainablefundingmodelandrefreshprocessforthecampusdatanetworkandcoresystemsinfrastructure.
3. StrengthencontrolsoverRestrictedUsedataandthesystemsanddevicesthathostormayaccessit.Ensurethatalldepartmentsknowtherequirementsforproperhandlingofsuchinformationandhowtoreportacompromiseofsuchdata.
4. DevelopandimplementaneffectiveawarenessprogramaroundtheBUDataProtectionStandards,whichdefinethedifferencesinsecurityrequirementsfordifferenttypesofdata.ForgepartnershipswithBUacademicexpertstodevelopinformationsecurityeducation,trainingandoutreach.
5. ProvidesolutionstoallowpeopletoeasilysecuretheirmobiledevicesinaccordancewithBUrequirements.
6. EnsuretheabilitytorapidlyandsecurelyprovisionnewservicesbydeployingindustrystandardIdentityandAccessManagement(IAM)infrastructure,includingfederatedidentitycapabilities.
7. BuildupontheMassachusettsGreenHighPerformanceComputingCentertoprovidesustainable,sharedresearchcomputingandstorageinfrastructuretoBUresearchers.
a. ForgeandsupportsharedinfrastructureandresearchbetweenBU’sCharlesRiverandMedicalcampuses.
b. Ensurethattheresearchcomputinginfrastructureenablesresearcherstobecompetitiveforgrantfunding,andtoscaleapplicationstonationalfacilities.
8. Providerobust,secure,user-friendlyresearchadministrationdataaccessandanalytics,enhancingfacultyabilitytomanagetheirsponsoredprograms.
9. Providesecuredatarepositoriesanduser-friendlyanalyticaltoolstoaccessacademicinformation,fromofficialacademicrecordstocourseparticipationinformation,insupportofteachingeffectiveness,studentretentionandgraduation,andpedagogicalresearch.
10.InpartnershipwithBULibraries,supportthedatalifecycle,includingthecapabilitytosecurelystore,protect,share,publish,archive,andexpire/retireresearch,academic,andadministrativedatainaccordancewithapplicablepoliciesanddatamanagementplans.
11. Joinpeerinstitutionsandindustryindevelopingsafewaystoleveragecloudinfrastructureforresearch,includinghighperformancecomputingandbigdata.
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Assessment
Wewilldevelopabalancedscorecard-styledashboardtotrackourprogress,includingthefollowingfourquadrants:
Projects
• Thenumberofprojectsinprogressineachstrategiccapabilityarea,bystatus
Community Satisfaction
• Bi-annualTechQual+resultsandmonthlyticketresolutionsurveyresponses
Service Portfolio Health
• Numberofcriticality4and5serviceswithhealthlessthan3
Cost
• Statusofcostbenchmarksrelativetopeers,suchascentralITfundingas%ofinstitutionalexpenses,andITfundingperFTE
Wewillalsocontinuetopublishservicelevelmetricsforsupportoverall,aswellasspecificserviceSLAs,athttp://www.bu.edu/tech/about/service/metrics/
DRAFT Boston University 2015-20 Technology Plan 21
Appendices
Appendix A: Technology Service Portfolio Health Charts
Seefollowingslides
Key to Criticality and Age Values Information Services & Technology: Service Portfolio Health Charts 2013
2
v 1.1, 24-Aug-2013
Criticality 5 Life safety or compliance requirement 4 Required for continuation of learning or service activities for all or many clients 3 Required for continuation of learning or service activities for some clients 2 Enhances quality of learning or service activities for all or many clients 1 Enhances quality of learning or service activities for some clients
Age 5 New 4 Early in industry standard life cycle 3 Middle of industry standard life cycle 2 Near end of industry standard life cycle 1 End of life
DRAFT Boston University 2015-20 Technology Plan 22
Appendices
Appendix B: Enterprise Risk Management Technology Risks
Seefollowingchartandlegend
DRAFT Boston University 2015-20 Technology Plan 23
Appendix C: Initiative Alignment
Initiatives
This table maps plan initiatives to the University-wide goals in Choosing to be Great.
1. Expand collaboration between technology teams and organizations at BU who provide pedagogical, content, and instructional design to improve coordination, facilitation, and promotional capabilities.
2. Ensure that learning platforms support anywhere, anytime use by a diverse, global community in a safe environment. Include support for mobile learning, rich media, voice and video communication, social networking, and emerging forms of assessment.
3. Provide quality classroom teaching environments for all courses, and experiment with and support the adoption of innovative classroom technologies.
4. Provide secure repositories and user-friendly analytical tools to access academic information, from official records to course-specific information, in support of teaching effectiveness, student retention and graduation, and pedagogical research.
5. Experiment with social networking technologies to develop online communities of practice in teaching, learning, and research.
6. Build upon the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center to provide sustainable, shared research computing and storage infrastructure to BU researchers.
7. Develop and implement a campus cyberinfrastructure plan to enhance BU research infrastructure, from the campus network to regional, national, and cloud-based computing resources.
8. Provide robust, secure, usable research administration tools to enhance sponsored program management by faculty.
9. Support the lifecycle of research, academic, and administrative data in partnership with BU Libraries.
10. Partner with Hariri Institute for Computing and Computational Science & Engineering to develop a dynamic, collaborative pool of human resources for the development and support of computational software for research.
11. Support and leverage emerging “big data” tools to provide new analytical capabilities for research, teaching, and administration.
12. Join peer institutions and industry in developing safe ways to leverage cloud infrastructure for research, including high performance computing and big data.
13. Enhance administrative systems to improve efficiency and capability, with a primary focus on research and academic administration.
14. Ensure the ability to rapidly and securely provision new services by deploying industry standard Identity and Access Management (IAM).
15. Expand the digitization of paper records and automation of manual workflows, including electronic signatures.
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Initiatives (continued)
This table maps plan initiatives to the University-wide goals in Choosing to be Great.
16. Deploy a professional development system for faculty and administration that tracks the completion of required and elective training in areas such as security awareness, compliance, technical skills, pedagogical or research methodologies, and management.
17. Expand adoption of IT service management best practices, including continued development and implementation of a shared service catalog, ITIL processes, and service management platform.
18. Provide access to user-friendly tools in support of data-driven assessment with a focus on academic and administrative service quality.
19. Develop an enterprise data dictionary and governance process in support of data sharing and distributed analysis.
20. Provide support and training to empower faculty and staff to use data in strategic, tactical, and operational decision making.
21. Provide unified, high fidelity services that support one-to-one, one-to-many, or many-to-many communication and collaboration with integrated video, voice, messaging, scheduling, shared workspaces, and social networks.
22. Reduce the risk associated with legacy applications by pursuing the replacement of central and local student information systems and developing a roadmap to transition other applications at risk for obsolescence.
23. Develop a sustainable funding model and ongoing maintenance plan for the campus data network and core systems infrastructure.
24. Strengthen controls over the systems and devices that host Restricted Use data, and educate users on proper handling.
25. Implement an awareness program around the BU Data Protection Standards in partnership with BU academic experts.
26. Provide solutions to allow people to easily secure their mobile devices in accordance with BU requirements.
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