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EDUCAUSE SOUTHEAST REGIONAL CONFERENCE 2009 | JUNE 1, 2009
Sustainable Governance: Transforming IT from an Oral to a
Written Culture
John Borwick, Jim Love, and Nancy Crouch
Agenda
• Introductions: Who We Are• Picture of an Oral Culture: 1996-2007• Transforming towards a Written Culture: 2008• Where We Stand: 2009
John BorwickAssistant Director, Continual Service Improvement
http://www.flickr.com/photos/27043124@N00/1892285322
Jim LoveProcess Analyst, Continual Service Improvement
Nancy CrouchAssistant CIO
Picture of an Oral Culture: 1996-2007
Wake Forest University
Information Systems flourished at Wake Forest University beginning
in 1996.
Under one CIO, with low staff turnover, we hired many people
each year.
Oral cultures are cyclic, depend on a stable community, and require
extensive interaction.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/37569287@N00/490273875
New employees have a difficult time in an oral culture.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/19451080@N00/3263799851
Oral cultures depend heavily on “elders” and “gurus.”
http://www.flickr.com/photos/49503180180@N01/435533081
Our CIO left, and the Interim CIO wanted to change how we worked.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/arycogre/54110476/
Written cultures value documents over conversations and can build
on previous accomplishments.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/51035555243@N01/93819794
Written cultures help with audits, consistency, and they reduce
“telephone tag.”
http://www.flickr.com/photos/51035734296@N01/65917688
Transforming towards a Written Culture: 2008
Our group was formed. First we created yet another meeting—the
IS Management Board (ISMB).
The ISMB approved a procedure template and a governing
document procedure.Procedure1. Download the procedure template.2. Draft the procedure.3. If necessary, perform a security review.4. Perform a style review.5. Submit the procedure to the ISMB.6. ISMB approval.7. Post the procedure.
Governing documents cover the rules and procedures that involve
multiple directors.
We created templates for our projects and services too.
• Project Requirements Document Template• Service Level Agreement Template• Service Acceptance Criteria Template• Technology Evaluation Form
How do any of these documents become relevant in an oral culture?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/33917831@N00/2188277801
“What are you doing now, or within the next 30 days?”
We hold training and office hours to talk with people about
procedures.
We conduct semi-annual document reviews.
Where We Stand: 2009
We hold process improvement sessions using these documented
procedures as a baseline.
We review metrics based on our procedures.
University ITSM Web Site
http://itsm.is.wfu.edu
• Templates• Blog entries & lessons learned• ITIL v3 Foundations training information
Fly-ins: contact Kriss Dinkins at [email protected]
Questions and Discussion
Sustainable Governance: Transforming IT from an Oral to a Written Culture
What did you think?
• Your input is important to us!
• Click on “Evaluate This Session” on the Southeast Regional program page.
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