BPI “As-Is” Technology Assessment – Examples
Blog: Biz-Performance, David Brown
BPI “As-Is” Technology Assessment – Examples
The following are examples of diagrams, flows, and assessment worksheets that can be used in an “As-Is” Technology Assessment.
As-Is Application Diagram
As-Is Application Diagram (cont)
Example of high level application and Technology Inventory
Application Inventory Worksheet
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Application & Version
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Hardware
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Package/Custom
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Major Functions
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Primary Users
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Comments
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General Ledger
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IBM AS/400
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Package
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Chart of Accounts
Flexible Budgeting
Report Writer
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Controller
Sales Manager
Asst. Controller
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Heavy technical support because of reliability problems. Minimal user support.
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Accounts Payable
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IBM AS/400
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Package
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A/R Clerk
Credit Manager
Credit Clerk
Sales Manager
Asst. Controller
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Heavy technical support because of reliability problems. Minimal user support.
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As-Is Application Diagram
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Area
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Hardware
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Software
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Notes
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Cost
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Accounting
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3 Microcomputers
2Terminals
4 local printers
Communications and networking
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General Ledger
Accounts Receivable
Accounts Payable
Word Processing (3)
Spreadsheet (3)
E-Mail (5)
Terminal emulation (3)
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Specific hardware and software will be determined during the general ledger system selection project
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$21,000
$32,000
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Human Resources
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2 Microcomputers
1 local printer
Communications and networking
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Payroll
Personnel
Benefits Administration
Word Processing (2)
Spreadsheet (2)
E-Mail (2)
Terminal emulation (2
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Specifichardware and software will be determined during the general ledger system selection project Additional printer may be needed
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$9,000
$16,000
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MIS
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2 Microcomputers
1 Terminal
1 File Server
1 Company CPU
1 Console Terminal
1 High speed printer
2 local printers
2 Modems
1 Concentrator
1 Microcomputer Gateway
1 Gateway Communications and networking
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Network operating system
Network management software
Company CPU operating system
Programming language
Word Processing (2)
Spreadsheet (2)
E-Mail (3)
Terminal emulation (2)
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File server, Company CPU and high speed printer will be shared by entire company
File server primarily used for E-Mail and Microcomputer file sharing
CompanyCPU and file server may be combined, depending on software selected
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$70,000
$12,000
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Advertising
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4 Microcomputers
3 local printers
Communications and networking
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Customer Tracking
Product/Job Cost
Word Processing (4)
Spreadsheet (4)
Data base (2)
Graphics (1)
E-Mail (4)
Terminal emulation (4)
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Depending on volume and quality of graphics output, a color printer may be needed.
Data base will be used for customer and product analysis
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$19,000
$20,000
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Hardware Inventory Worksheet
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Processor, Supplier Range, Model and Memory Size*
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No.
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Location(s)
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% Usage by Dept.
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Operating System and Version
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No. of Terminals and Printers
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Purchase Cost
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Original Age (years)
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Lease or Depreciation Costs Outstanding
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Expansion Limits
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IBM AS/400 -F50
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1
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Atlanta
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100% Acctg
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IBM OS/400 V3
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20
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$45,000
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4
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$0.00
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Two upgrades
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Communication Inventory Worksheet
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Type of Equipment or Service
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Location(s)
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Supplier
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Standards and/or Protocols Used
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Age
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Annual Costs (incl. line charges)
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Expansion Limitations
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Telephone System
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Atlanta
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AT&T
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20yrs
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No available ports
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Voice Mail System
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Bulletin Board System
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Fax
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Leased Lines
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Dial Up Lines
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Radio Frequency Lines
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Cellular Lines
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Data Communications Equipment
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Data Communications Equipment
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IS Headcount Profile Worksheet
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Job Category
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Actual Headcount (FTE)
at Fiscal Year-End
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Projected Headcount
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Qtr
1
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Qtr
2
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Qtr
3
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Qtr
4
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Last
Year
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This Year
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System Development Functions
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Management
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Project Manager
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Systems Analyst
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Programmer/Analyst
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Programmer
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Other
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Total Development
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Operations Functions
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Management
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Project Manager
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Supervisory Staff
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Data Handling
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Computer Operations
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Network Operations
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Technical Support
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Others
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Total Operations Functions
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Technical Functions
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Database Administration
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Operating Systems
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Hardware
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Telecommunications
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Voice
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Data
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Total Technical Functions
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Resignations/Terminations/ Transfers out of I/T during year-staff
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Resignations/Terminations/ Transfers out of I/T during year-managers
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Comments:
Provided by: Phone: Date:
IS Skills Profile Worksheet (Short Demo Only)
Current Position:
Completed by: Date:
Please evaluate the above named staff member in each of the I/S skill areas according to the 5-point scale given below.
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Area
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Skill
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Assessment
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N/A Low High
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Business Knowledge
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1) Understanding general (cross industry) business concepts)
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0 1 2 3 4 5
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2) Understanding of practices
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0 1 2 3 4 5
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3) Understanding of administrative services
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0 1 2 3 4 5
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4) Understanding of immediate business unit supported (i.e., accounts payable)
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0 1 2 3 4 5
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Technical Currency
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5) Awareness of general technology trends
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0 1 2 3 4 5
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6) Awareness and understanding of hardware development
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0 1 2 3 4 5
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7) Awareness and understanding of software development (i.e., system software, data management software, application development software)
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0 1 2 3 4 5
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8) Awareness and understanding of telecommunications developments
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0 1 2 3 4 5
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Analysis
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9) Problem definition
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0 1 2 3 4 5
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10) Logical analysis (what are the pieces)
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0 1 2 3 4 5
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11) Solution suggestion and formulation
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0 1 2 3 4 5
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12) Test plan development
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0 1 2 3 4 5
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Programming
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13) Program logic – batch/on-line
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0 1 2 3 4 5
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14) Program coding – batch/on-line
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0 1 2 3 4 5
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15) Language expertise:
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COBOL
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0 1 2 3 4 5
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C+/C++
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0 1 2 3 4 5
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RPG II
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0 1 2 3 4 5
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Other (specify)
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0 1 2 3 4 5
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Other (specify)
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0 1 2 3 4 5
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Other (specify)
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0 1 2 3 4 5
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Documentation
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16) Program documentation (system)
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0 1 2 3 4 5
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17) Operations documentation
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0 1 2 3 4 5
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18) User documentation
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0 1 2 3 4 5
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Application Systems Experience (SHORT DEMO ONLY)
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System/Vendor
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Planning & Evaluating
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Develop. & Implement
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Maint. & Tech. Support
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Operations & User
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Technical Platform
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Where (Company)
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Financial
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General Ledger
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Accounts Payable
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Accounts Receivable
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Budgeting
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Fixed Assets
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Other
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Subtotal
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Human Resource
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Payroll
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Personnel
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Benefits Administration
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Other
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Subtotal
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Sales & Marketing
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Order Entry
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Sales Manage-ment
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Job/ Product Costing
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Customer Service
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Other
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USER SKILLS ASSESSMENT WORKSHEET (SHORT DEMO ONLY)
SECTION I: BACKGROUND
1. Name:
2. Title:
3. Division/Department:
4. Briefly describe your responsibilities: _______________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
5. Number of years at company: _____ years _____ months
6. Number of years in current job: _____ years _____ months
7. Have you ever taken a course in computer programming or computer operations? [ ] yes [ ] no. If yes, please specify
8. Have you ever worked in a computer department? [ ] yes [ ] no. If yes, please indicate the number of years of experience _____.
9. Who do you contact for assistance with computing?
Name/Department
Name/Department
Name/Department
10. There is a terminal in my: Work area: [ ] yes [ ] no
Office: [ ] yes [ ] no
11. There is a personal computer in my: Work area: [ ] yes [ ] no
Office: [ ] yes [ ] no
Home: [ ] yes [ ] no
12. Do you currently use now, want (if you do not use now) or want more (if you currently use) of the following software applications:
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Software
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Use Now
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Want
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Want More
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b. Graphics
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c. Communications
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d. Programming Language(s)
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e. Electronic Spreadsheet
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f. Statistical Package
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g. Report Writer
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h. Other:
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Please write any comments regarding the items in question 12 below: ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
13. I consider myself to be:
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1 2 3 4 5 N/A
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User of Mini/Mainframe Computing
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1 2 3 4 5 N/A
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User of Personal Computing
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1 2 3 4 5 N/A
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User of Office Automation
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1 2 3 4 5 N/A
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User of Other Computing
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Section II: involvement with information systems
Directions: Questions 14-33 relate to your current and desired involvement in a variety of computer-related activities. For each activity circle the number, from 1 (low involvement) to 5 (high involvement), that best represents the extent of your current involvement (part-a) and desired involvement (part-b). If you are not involved or do not wish to be in a particular activity, circle 0 (N/A, not applicable).
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Involvement
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N/A Low High
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14. I use mini/mainframe computer systems to perform my job.
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a. current
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0 1 2 3 4 5
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b. desired
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0 1 2 3 4 5
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15. I train and/or assist staff in my area in the use of mini/mainframe systems.
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a. current
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0 1 2 3 4 5
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b. desired
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0 1 2 3 4 5
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16. I have alternative backup procedures for use when mini/mainframe systems are unavailable.
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a. current
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0 1 2 3 4 5
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The following is an example of the text from an As-Is technology Assessment that External Consultant performed for a customer in the law enforcement business.
CURRENT ASSESSMENT INFORMATION & TECHNOLOGY
C.1 Introduction
This appendix presents a high level qualitative assessment of the current information and technology infrastructure within the Department of Police.
Technology will be a key enabler in achieving the business direction set for the Department. During the subsequent Design phase of Project , detailed design of the required technology environment to support the re-designed processes will be prepared.
The purpose of this ‘snap shot’ of the current environment is to outline the strengths and limitations of existing information and technology usage and support within the Department.
C.2 Methodology
The assessment was conducted via interviews with Project team members, internal information and technology support personnel, and a number of operational staff. Relevant documentation was also reviewed.
The high level assessment included a review of the current hardware, software and communications infrastructure, and the identification of other information and technology resources utilized by the Department. The assessment also included a cursory look at the practices, procedures, and controls used to manage the existing information and technology resources.
The findings of the assessment have been placed in the context of three viewpoints important to the effective deployment and use of the information and technology infrastructure, namely, Information Requirements, Communications and Technology Infrastructure and Management Practices. These are explored further in the next sections.
C.3 Information Requirements
Users report that many of the older application systems are still providing adequate but limited support for core operational policing. Access to the application systems are limited due to the number of available terminals and workstations, but they are used heavily throughout the State, and application functions are also used by the two remaining control rooms. Expansion of this access through growth of the Local Area Network environment (LAN) is constrained by performance issues.
Investigative capabilities are enhanced by the support provided by specialized applications, such as the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS), which has provided a high degree of offender identification, and a significant reduction in the time taken to carry out fingerprint matching. However, other key areas have not yet been addressed, such as application and technology support at major crime scenes.
A list of the current applications used by Police, and an indication of the functional coverage provided by these systems, is provided at the end of the appendix.
The acceptance and use of the existing application base is tempered by a number of significant concerns:
Quality of Information
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Regardless of the capabilities of the application suite, the quality of information being provided to some application systems is poor. This includes the CACS, Stolen Motor Vehicle (SMV) and Crime Analysis systems.
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Much of the information gathered for Police applications is entered onto forms at the station level, and submitted for centralized data entry. As a result there is no opportunity for ‘local’ validation of data. In addition, the manual process for maintaining a level of quality within the current environment is either breaking down, or is at best inefficient.
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Based on the percentage of forms being returned to source for ‘re-entry’ (returns of up to 40% have been quoted by Information Bureau staff), both the initial quality of entry, and that of the supervisory function, would appear to be called into question. Although it would appear that this situation is created out of inattentiveness, it is actually a function of time pressures on operational staff, coupled with the nature of the complex and unwieldy structure of manual forms processing required to support the current operational Police model.
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Many of the forms required to be completed by Police staff are part of process and document flows which include many instances of repeated information and a large number of code references prime candidates for errors.
Ease of Use
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One aspect of system inefficiency identified during the technology assessment was to do with poor ‘ease of use’. This reflects the relatively cumbersome way in which core operational queries are carried out using the available application suite. This is as a result of both the overall system design, and the level of training afforded to operational staff.
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The nature of most queries in an investigative process, or as the result of an incident, require several strands of information to be accessed (i.e. persons of interest, vehicles of interest, property of interest, etc.). The non-integrated nature of the current application environment necessitates that users access one application area and complete their query, then exit that application and enter another area to initiate a query of a different kind. As well as being cumbersome and time consuming for users well acquainted with the system capabilities, new or infrequent users find the systems difficult to use and may miss a key part of relevant information as a result.
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There is little context-sensitive help available to users, and no linkages between systems to provide rudimentary advice on which follow-up queries may be necessary in other applications, based on the information displayed.
Support for Best Practice
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During the assessment instances were identified which highlighted the fact that current system design did not include the sophisticated use of these systems to provide users with best practice support for effective law enforcement.
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Certain applications have been designed to highlight areas of additional interest to the user. In the instance identified during the assessment, the Persons of Interest application highlighted that the person being queried was also being sought by other officers with an active interest in the individual. Although a contact with this other officer could have resulted in additional charges being brought against the individual in question, there are clear indications in the database that this had not happened Ñ even though the individual has been the subject of several charges and/or court appearances since the other officer added his entry into the database.
Information Stored Off-Line
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The current forms-based information gathering process includes a wide range of data collected about individuals, vehicles, property, and incidents or investigations.
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Much of this information is captured and stored within the application systems but the design of some of these applications does not allow the storage of all details (e.g., information about Persons of Interest). In this case, limitations in field sizes preclude the full description of individuals being captured, and the range of data entry for these applications does not cover all of the items captured on the forms filled out at the station level.
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A measure to minimize the impact of this potential information loss has been to store the forms on micro-fiche after the initial data entry has been completed. In terms of real-time queries, however, this ‘off-line’ information is not immediately available to operational staff, and at certain times of the day it could remain untapped for several hours.
End-User Applications
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As a probable result of user perceptions about the Information Technology Branch’s responsiveness to enhanced application requirements, the world of end-user applications is starting to impact the Police environment.
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In a suitably controlled environment, the development of small applications targeted at the end-user can be an important enabler for their use of ‘local’ information. Where these controls are not in place, the use of a variety of application and database development tools can result in an inefficient use of local resources operating outside their areas of core competencies, and can sometimes threaten the enterprise information base itself.
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The level of technology deployment within Police Department has so far minimized this potential problem area, and it is therefore an area worthy of exploitation in the future.
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The application support for the administrative functions of Police (e.g. the potential support provided by Electronic Mail or other productivity tools), also suffers as result of this limited deployment level.
Other Issues
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With the amount of change that is likely within the Police application portfolio over the next few years, the thrust of ‘information oriented’ strategies will become increasingly important.
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These strategies are likely to deal with the formalizing of policies and protocols for information access, and the two-way sharing of information between Police, other agencies and community groups.
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The operational relevance to Police of the corporate ‘community oriented policing’ program is becoming clear, but the privacy issues, and other policy matters relating to the information being made available to these groups is still in the formative stage.
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Similarly, policies and business protocols need to be discussed and agreed with a range of external agencies (such as Justice, Transport, etc.), well before any communication and application interfaces are designed and implemented.
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The importance of timing in this context is crucial. New or continuing dialogue can be used to reveal issues arising from the long term planning efforts that these other agencies are undoubtedly engaged in.
C.4 Communications and Technology Infrastructure
Communications and other information related technology development, implementation and support, are controlled by two primary technology support groups within Police Information Technology Branch and Communications Services.
Police usage of these technologies has historically been targeted at providing:
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Optimized technical support for operational Police activities;
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Optimizing the integrated and effective use of communications throughout the organization; and
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Research and evaluation of new technology, based on an assessment of costs and benefits.
Increasingly, there is mounting pressure to optimize the use of communications resources with other emergency services and community groups.
Information Technology Branch
The Information Technology Branch are responsible for the implementation and support of the primary application host platforms and the local computing infrastructure.
They are the group through which the level of deployment has been controlled for terminal connections to the hosts, and the more recent implementation of local area networks (LANs), LAN servers, and workstations.
The following observations about these areas were noted.
The Prime Host Platform
While still of concern, and well documented in the past, the longer term availability of the Prime host platform is not necessarily the most important issue at this time. Nevertheless, a consistent view of the risk associated with its ongoing support capability has not yet been reached, and this should be established as a matter of urgency.
A diagram indicating the pivotal placement of the Prime platform in the current Police topology is provided at the end of the appendix.
Level of Deployment
Perhaps the biggest constraint to effective Police use of their computer-oriented technology components is the current level of deployment.
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Screen Ratio
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Current operational support is limited because of the low screen to user ratio (combined population of terminals and workstations), which in some cases has been as low as 1:14 (based on a CIB shift at one of the locations). The situation is just as bad at the smaller stations, and in many instances the lesser stations have no on-line access at all.
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This leads to information access difficulties during normal shifts, a situation which is exacerbated during periods of high activity, or when dealing with significant incidents.
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Without reasonable and consistent access to these devices, previous training investment is lost, and the impact widens beyond the actual user group involved. In some instances, they have been known to ‘fan out’ through the station in question to try and make use of devices in other areas, and have often used administration staff resources to help them access the information they require.
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Any desire to enable staff further through the use of productivity and work group facilities such as Electronic Mail, is also affected by this situation.
Workstation Configuration
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One of the strengths in the current local computing infrastructure has been the largely consistent LAN and workstation environment (currently based on the Microsoft LAN operating system, and the predominantly Intel-based range of workstations).
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However, upgrades are necessary in many of the existing sites, where devices are increasingly inadequate for the tasks expected of them.
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Less than adequate configurations are already an issue, with at least one instance of external agencies (the country based provider of the ACID database) withdrawing access to their information, because the Police workstation used as the gateway did not have the power required to host the necessary software.
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It is understood that the configuration issue also extends to other devices, such as printers, where the demand of modern applications is stretching them to the limit.
Performance
There are concerns emerging from the user base that the existing capabilities of the total system environment is in doubt, based on their perception of system performance.
Instances of certain enquiry types taking minutes to complete have been reported, and examples of transactions taking up to 30 seconds to respond are not uncommon.
Whether this is all attributed to poor system performance, or is perhaps highlighting a requirement for an enhanced user awareness exercise (e.g. the impact of particular transaction types on the application/database environment), is not yet clear. What is clear is that any desire to expand system use (e.g. through the wider deployment of the network environment), can only be achieved once an improvement in this aspect of the infrastructure has been established.
Strategic Support
The relatively standard local computing infrastructure has been achieved despite there being no overall technology strategy document.
There has been several attempts to create an Information Systems Strategic Plan (ISSP) but in lieu of this, solution appear to have been predominantly technology focused (driven by ITB), and not part of an overall strategic framework which would provide the necessary business linkages.
There appears to be a dearth of documented strategies, policies, procedures and standards, and as is pointed out later in this section, the future demands that this more formalized approach be put in place.
Technology Drivers
Technology industry drivers (such as open systems, client server, object orientation, imaging, etc.) must be taken into account to enable solutions of the future. However, an appropriate strategic framework is required to put them into perspective, and clearly indicates their support for corporate strategies.
Communications Services
The Communications Services group are responsible for the planning, implementation and support of the Wide Area Network (WAN) for state-wide data communications, the similarly comprehensive radio network(s), and the telephony and PABX environments supporting PoliceÕs other voice based systems.
By maintaining an awareness of new technologies and their potential merits to Police, they have been able to promote various technologies (a recent example of which is the potential use of mobile data terminals).
The breadth of the services currently provided indicates the extent to which these technologies have been applied to particular Police situations in order to improve effectiveness or efficiency, but also raises the possibility that the range of new and emerging technologies is so great that they cannot maintain an awareness of it all.
Further, technology development is seeing a convergence of computing and communications technologies (as witnessed once again by mobile data terminals, and computer-aided dispatch).
To address these issues, the two technology support groups should encourage operational Police to identify opportunities for improvement and quantify business benefits and project priorities; suppliers to directly identify the potential benefits of their technology to Police; and for both groups to cooperatively evaluate these new technologies.
In addition to this, the Department should attempt to benefit from technology developments conducted by other law enforcement and emergency service organizations. There remains a need to develop a strategy to optimize the use of communications resources with other emergency services.
Given the current cost of providing the optimum coverage of radio service in the terrain which typifies Tomania (see the recent Tomanian Mobile Radio Service proposal), it is perhaps timely to review this dialogue.
Similarly, the impact of community-orientated policing on Police communications and technology usage requires further evaluation and policy definition.
The communications networks (radio, telephone and computer) are based on sound and reliable technologies, while the technology services (for example, tape recording and listening devices) are effective due largely to the expertise of personnel within Communications Services.
To ensure that Police are in a position to respond to covert, emergency or disaster situations, communications networks generally incorporate a high level of redundancy and functionality. This can result in relatively high network costs.
A summarized view of the topologies associated with the data communications network environment is provided at the end of the appendix. A more detailed view of the wider telecommunications environment can be seen in the Request for Proposal document referred to previously (Tomanian Mobile Radio Service).
C.5 Management Practices
The management of information and technology within Tomania Police is likely to concentrate on the following aspects:
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Continuously improve management of the information and technology groups and resources (including technology expenditure, prioritization and accountability);
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Development of consistent technology policies, procedures and standards;
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Review the ongoing business change and policies, matched with technology opportunities; and Development of individual and collective excellence in the delivery of all aspects of client service.
Even allowing for the high level nature of this technology assessment, and the limited amount of time to fully appreciate all aspects of the current environment, The police appear to be lacking many of the basic management procedures which are necessary to optimize the level of investment they have in information and technology.
Many aspects are missing, lacking, or inconsistent between service groups, such as project management, project estimation, management of vendor accountability, and a general philosophy of standard approaches in these areas.
Prioritization and initialization of information and technology activities is particularly poor, and could result in the wasteful use of resources during a period of substantial change.
Organizations such as Police go through several stages of information and technology deployment, and their management needs change accordingly.
A symptom of the lack of a coordinated and standardized approach can be seen in the differences in overall approach to the current Human Resources and Financial Management projects.
On one hand, the soon to be implemented Human Resources project (HRIMS) has resulted in a return to a facilities management environment (shared with other government agencies). On the other hand, the FMIS replacement project is leaning towards in-house implementation and siting of the host environment.
This position would be understandable if a strategic framework outlining these options existed, and where the business cases pointed clearly towards their respective solution directions. However, a strategy document outlining the preferred application and technology architectures does not exist, and neither is there a policy document which clearly outlines the implications to Police of sharing externally managed information repositories with other agencies (the very situation which caused Police to replace the previous environment).
The lack of this direction is reflected in statements from within the HR project itself, which suggest that the FM decision for the Human Resources project may not be final, and could change if the FMIS solution components happen to align with their requirements.
With the likelihood that significant application infrastructure developments will result from the BPI exercise, the Department is about to enter a completely new era of the information and technology age. These developments could reasonably include technologies and concepts such as open systems, client server, the object oriented paradigm, etc. These skills are not currently embodied within Police.
The application development and support resources currently employed by Police will continue to be highly utilized for ongoing support and enhancement activities connected with the current application and technology portfolio. This is a potential constraint to dramatically re-skilling these resources in the short term. As a result these skills may have to be sought from outside the Department, either through enhanced levels of staffing during the period of re-development, or by outsourcing major software development exercises to external firms.
The information and technology budget for Tomania Police for the last 2 years represents 2% to 4% of the budget overall. Even allowing for this as the end phase of the Prime expenditure period, when compared to similar organizations with high technology requirements this is a low figure.
Recent international studies have recognized that Police services need to increase their information and technology expenditure dramatically in the short term to accommodate the combined business change and technology expenditure that accompanies the new paradigms referred to previously.
Some of these costs are likely to be incurred as a result of the significant training required for operational and technical support staff. Doubts have been expressed about the current training capability (with some staff not being trained at all in the use of current applications), and this is clearly a candidate for future improvement.
Other areas of attention and possible expenditure include improvements to the current Help Desk (operated by ITB), which has been criticized in respect of itÕs poor tool set (e.g., lack of facilities for analysis and trending, and appropriate escalation procedures).
While it is likely that the Department may need to increase their information and technology expenditure over the next few years, we would emphasize that this should be done in a controlled and justified way. As a result, more effective management practices need to be introduced to initiate and control information and technology expenditure.
C.6 Summary
Information Technology is an important enabler for the Department to achieve the strategic objectives outlined in the Business Direction. Significant improvements to the present environment can be achieved through:
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improved capture and usage of information;
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better defined management practices and standards;
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a greater focus on strategic planning for information and technology.
Re-engineering opportunity 5, supported by a strategic IT planning framework, provides the basis for addressing the information needs of the Department and its community partners.
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