Computer Services Strategic Plan
2009 - 2012

Our mission is to provide information technology services and assistance to members of the campus community, and to maximize the benefits this technology can bring to our clients. To fulfill this mandate we direct our energies and resources in several ways:By designing, developing, installing, configuring, maintaining, repairing, and optimizing a wide variety of IT assets including personal computer hardware and software systems, servers and the services they offer, and the campus computer network.

By providing advice and assistance in the selection and use of information technologies

By developing custom IT solutions to meet institutional needs

By investigating new and innovative ways to utilize information technology to solve the problems and meet the opportunities presented to the campus

Mission

Vision

To be a key partner contributing to the success of the entire campus community by serving as a trusted source of information, advice, and assistance, and by providing effective, timely, reliable, and sustainable information technology services, and to be seen as a leader in the effective use of information technology by our colleagues at other educational institutions. We will utilize appropriate technologies to contribute positively to the student experience, and to help all of our clients to achieve their goals, whether those goals are related to teaching, learning, research, or administration

Guiding Principles

Delivering exemplary customer service is the driving motivation behind all of our guiding principles. The principles stated below are all facets of this single purpose:Respect for our clients and our co-workers, including students, faculty, and staff alike.Professionalism in our dealings with our clients and co-workers.Prudent handling of information ensuring that appropriate levels of access, security, and confidentiality are maintainedSustainability of the services we offer our clientsEfficient use of resources, including the judicious use of funds, to design and deliver the services we provide

Guiding Principles

An open-minded approach to finding solutions to problems or meeting opportunities.Open and effective communication with our clients.IT proficiency for our clients so that they will have the skills and knowledge they require to meet their goals

A Time for Change

Information technology develops at an incredible pace, both in terms of the engineering inherent in hardware and software, and the new and innovative ways in which it is used by scholars, students, and the public at large.

In recent years Computer Services has found it to be increasingly difficult to meet the growing needs and expectations of the campus community.

This struggle has lead to a number of undesirable outcomes: frustration on the part of our clients when we cannot deliver what they require, frustration on the part of our staff at the ever-growing workload, and other departments taking on IT roles and responsibilities which were traditionally within the domain of Computer Services, to name a few.

The time has come to address these issues, and the support of senior management has created an environment which is conducive to progressive change.

Developing a Plan

The VicePresident Finance and Facilities has begun a strategic planning cycle for his reporting units, which provides a timely and appropriate vehicle for taking stock of our department's current approaches to serving the campus community, and identifying opportunities for positive change. To develop our own strategic plan, information has been gathered from a variety of stakeholders both on and off campus, with plans for others to be consulted as opportunities arise:Vice Presidents Academic and ResearchDevelopment

The President

Representatives of campus academic and administrative units

Computer Services' management and staff

Students

Other educational institutions

Branding Change

Our current department name of Computer Services does not adequately reflect who we are or what we do. We are in the process of consulting with client representatives on the campus to determine a more appropriate name for our department, and will be pursuing a change of name when a choice has been made.

Goals and Objectives

Goal: Achieve predictability in our response to client issues

Currently we have difficulty in estimating when we can respond to an issue and how long it may take to resolve it. This leads to frustration for both our clients and our own staff.Objective: Design and distribute standardized desktop configurations

Objective: Develop and implement an evergreening program for hardware renewal

Objective: Develop and implement new trouble ticket procedures

Objective: Establish a campus IT governance and standards framework

Goal: Substantially improve communication with and between client departments and other clients

Objective: Develop, utilize, and promote a project management framework

Objective: Develop new contact methods

Objective: Develop and implement an interactive web site for communcation with our clients

Objective: Re-design our public-facing web site into a more effective communication channel

Objective: Develop clear and accurate user-focused documentation and documentation standards for locally developed systems

Objective: Develop a closer relationship with other departments heavily involved in IT

Goal: Deliver exemplary IT services

Objective: Adopt ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) practices

Objective: Utilize virtualization to consolidate servers and increase resiliency

Objective: Identify and elimination single points of failure

Objective: Deliver services using the web and other open technologies

Objective: Design and implement centralized storage facilities

Objective: Develop and distribute guidelines and procedures for ensuring information integrity and security

Goal: Invest in our staff

Objective: Develop and carry out group- and individual-based training plans

Objective: Keep up to date with trends in technology

Objective: Increase one-on-one time between our staff and campus clients

Objective: Identify relevant industry groups and support staff involvement

Goal: Seek out new opportunities for acquiring needed resources

Objective: Establish connections needed to identify funding opportunities

Objective: Take a more entrepreneurial approach to service delivery

Objective: Make better use of available student resources

Goal: Increase the level of IT proficiency across the campus

Objective: Foster a campus work environment that encourages learning about job-related IT

Objective: Participate in the development of IT proficiency standards for the campus

Objective: Devote staff time to the preparation and delivery of IT training

Thanks for your time and attention

A copy of our full strategic plan can be foundat https://my.cs.upei.ca