HomeMy WebLinkAboutC97-046 Deloitte & Touche LLPFEB—14—199715:18DELOIHEaTOUCHELLPC•0C’974645Deloiffe&ToucheLLP________________________Suite3600T€lephone:(303)292-5400555SeventeenthStreetFacsimile:(303?3124000Denver,Colorado80202-3942December2,1996Ms.SueEatonHumanResourcesDirectorEagleCountyEagleCountyBuilding500BroadwayP.O.Box850EagleCounty,CO81631DearMs.Eaton:InaccordancewithourmeetingonNovember25,1996,Deloiffe&ToucheispleasedtosubmitthisdraftproposaltoassistEagleCountyinareviewoftheInformationSystemsDepartment.WebelieveourpriorexperienceandaccesstoawiderangeofinfounationsourceswillenabletheCountytomakeinformeddecisionscoveringappropriatedirectionsforthismissioncriticalfunction.ItisimportanttonotethatthisdraftproposalisintendedtoactasastartingpointwhichcanbeusedbytheCountytoclarifymorespecificareasofanalysisandprojectdeliverablesrequiredforthisengagement.Wehaveorganizedthisproposaltoaddresskeycomponentsofsoundprojectmanagementwhichwillsupportefficientandeffectivecompletionoftheproject.WesuggestitisessentialthattheCountyestablishaninternalprojectmanagementstructure(i.e.aprojectdirectorandsteeringcommittee)toensureitsneedsareaddressed.Wherepossible,wehopetodrawupontheCountytoprovideguidance,informationandassistancewhichwillreducethecostsofourservicesaswellasimprovethequalityoftheprojectresults.BACKGROUNDINFORMATIONInrecentmonths,Countyemployeesinseveralareasofoperationshaveexpressedconcernsregardingservicedeliverybyandthecapabilitiesof,theInformationServicesDepartment.InpriorITprojects,usershaveindicatedthattheITserviceswerenotdeliveredinareasonabletimeframenorinmannerwhichmettheirexpectations.Also,thereareindicationsthattheITfunction’ssupporttotheusercommunityisnotsufficienttoenabletheCountytorealizethemaximumbenefitsofthissignificanttoolforimprovingemployeeproductivity.Lastly,thereareseriousconcernsthattheprioritiesDeIoittsTwclwTohmatsuIntematianä FEB—14—I(ibi5UtLUIIIt&IUUt_flt.LLMs.SueEatonCC)December2,1996Page2andstaffingresourcesoftheInformationServicesDepartmentarenotalignedwiththestrategicdirectionsandneedsoEagleCounty.TheInformationServicesDepartment’sreportingrelationshiphasrecentlychanged.TheAssistantCountyAdministratorisnowresponsibleforthismissioncriticalflmction.Inordertoensurethecost-effectiveutilizationoffuturebudgetexpendituresontheinformationtechnologyfunctionandtodeterminethemostappropriatenextstepstowardsimprovement,theCountyisseekinganindependentreviewoftheISDepartment.TheintentistodeterminewhatchangesareneededtoimprovethevaluecreatedbythisimportantCountyfunctionoverthenexteighteenmonths.PROJECTOBJECTIVESANDSCOPEOFWORKInordertoguidetheeffortsforthisproject,wesuggestthereareseveralobjectiveswhichshouldbeconsidered.Eachofthefollowingobjectivescanbeviewedasrecommendedputputsfortheproject.TheoverallintentoftheseobjectivesistoconductacomprehensiveITfunctionstatusreviewfortheCountyandtoestablishareasonabledatabaseuponwhichtopredicatefuturedecisionscoveringhowtoimprovethevalueaddedbytheInformationSystemsDepartment.Theactualobjectiveswillbefinalizedinthefirstphaseoftheengagement.•AprofileofthecurrentInformationServicesDepartmentandaperformancebaselinewillbecreated.•AnassessmentoftheCounty’sITsupportrequirementswillbeperformedfromtheperspectiveoftheusercommunity.-•Alistofkeyissueandprioritiesforthenexteighteenmonthswillbeestablished.•AcompetencyandexperienceprofilefortheITleadershippositionwillbedevelopedalongwithrecommendationsfortheorganizationandstaffingoftheCounty’sInformationSystemsDepartment.•Recommendationscoveringhowtoproceedoverthenexteighteenmonthswillbeprepared.Inordertodevelopthenecessaryinformationanddeliverablesrequiredtoachievetheprecedingobjectives,Deloitte&TouchewillrelyonexistingCountydocumentsandconductinterviews,surveysandfocusgroupworkshopswithabroadrangeofpersonnel.Asanexample,inthedevelopmentoftheinformationSystemsDeparbnent’sprofile,theCounty’srecordsanddocumentationwillbeusedtoestablishaclearunderstandingof FEB—14—199715:19DELOITTE&TOUCHhLLPatjaaieqiuwr.tja.’ciiMs.SueEatonQCDecember2,1996Page3existingobjectivesandpriorities,assetsdeployed,pastexpenditures,andprojectedoperatingbudgets.ItisessentialtothesuccessofthisprojectthattheCountytakeownershipofthisinitiativeandassumetheprimaryresponsibilityfortheaccuracyandcompletenessofinformationuponwhichkeydecisionswillbebased.Deloitte&Touchewillprovideguidance,facilitationandanalyticalsupportduringtheinformationcompilationprocesses.WeanticipateusinginformationsourcesavailablethroughtheCounty’saffiliationsandother0&TresourcestodevelopappropriateITfunctioncomparisons.WewillworkwithCountyemployeesassignedtoassisttheprojectteam,analyzespecificelementsofdatatoensuretheinformationisviewedinitsproperperspective.Inaddition,wewillsubmitobjectiverecommendationsbasedonourindependentreviewofallinformationdevelopedduringthecourseoftheproject.PROJECTAPPROACHInengagementsofthIsnature,werecommendtheuseofaphasedprojectapproach.ThephasedapproachenablestheCountytoreviewdeliverablesandevaiuateprogressatpredeterminedpointsintheproject.InaddItion,asinfonnationispresentedtotheCounty’sprojectsteeringcommittee,refmementsinfutureactivitiescanbemadetoaddressareasofinterestwhichwillimprovethedecisionmakingprocessandthequalityoftheendproducts.PhaseI:ProjectOrientationandOrganizationTheinitialphaseiscriticaltotheoverallsuccessofthisproject.Inthisphase,keyelementsoftheprojectandthescheduleofactivitieswillbeconflrmed.WesuggestthatatwotofourhourmeetingbeheldwiththeCounty’ssteeringcommitteefortheISDepartmentreview.Atthismeeting,wewillfacilitateadiscussion,usingonlinedocumentationtools,toidentifythekeyconcernsoftheparticipants,whatspecificquestionsneedtobeanswered,howdecisionswillbemadeandwhatspecificinformationisneeded.Theprojectdeliverablesandthemembersoftheprojectteamwillalsobedeterminedattheinitialmeeting.ThefirstphaseactivitieswillensureconsensusisreachedregardingthescopeandobjectivesoftheITfunctionreview.Also,wesuggestthesteeringcommitteetaketheinitiative,attheinitialmeeting,tostartthedevelopmentofanITStrategicManagementManualwhichwillhouseallpertinentinformationthatCountyexecutivesneedtomanagethismissioncriticalfi.mction.ExamplesofthetopicswhichcouldbecontainedintheITmanualinclude: FEB—14—199715:20DELOITTE&TOUCHELLPuiiiuuMs.SueEatonDecember2,1996Page4•TheInformationServicesDepartmentoverviewcoveringsuchitemsasthemission,organizationstructure,the1996-1997budgets,keyindicatorsofperformance,andspecificareasoffocusforthenexteighteenmonths.•Corestrategiesanddirectionsforthe21century.•Currentinformationtechnologyissuesandconcerns.•ITprioritiesforthenext90days,180daysandfiscalyear.•TheEagleCountyITdecisionmodelcoveringinformationrequirements,proceduresandgoverningprinciplesforsoundinformationtechnologydecisions.•ITprojectsinprocessandprogressreports.InadditiontobeginningthedevelopmentofastrategicmanagementmanualforinformationtechnologyintheCounty,severaldeliverableswillbeproducedfromthisfirstphaseandinitialsteeringcommitteemeeting:•AprojectworkplanfortheInformationSystemsDepartmentreview.•Acommunicationplantoensureemployeecooperationanddiminishthenegativerumorsthatoftenaccompanyastudyofthisnature.•Agreementregardingthemethodsofcompilingkeyelementsofinformationsuchasinterviewoutlines,employeefocusgroups,usersurveydocuments.•Alistofkeygroupstobeaskedforinput.•Apreliminarylistofkeyissuestobeaddressed.•AlistoforganizationswhichcanbecontactedforcomparableinformationonavarietyofITtopics.Phaseif:InformationAcquisitionandCompilationThesecondphasewillinvolvethecollectionofdatafrommultiplesourcestogainacomprehensiveprofileoftheInformationSystemsDepartmentanditsperformance.WesuggestthatinternalsourcesofinformationwillbeusedandgatheredviainterviewswithDepartmentmanagers,surveysofITusersandpotentialcustomers,andemployeefocusgroupworkshops.ThemembersoftheITfunctionwillbeinterviewedorparticipateinafocusgroupworkshop.WeanticipatesupplementingtheCounty’sinternalsourcesofinformationwithdatatobeobtainedfromexternalsourcessuchasMountainStatesEmployersCouncil,TheGartnerGroup,andmunicipalassociations.Theexternalsourceswilladdresscomparableinfonnationcoveringsuchtopicsastheappropriatesize,organization,andcompensationforanITfunctioninasimilarsizecountyorcitygovernment.Attheconclusionofcurcompilationofinformationfrommultiplesources,wesuggestthatameetingoftheprojectsteeringcommitteebeheldtoreviewtheresults.Weanticipatetherewillbeareasidentifiedatthismeetingwhichrequirefurtherinvestigation.Attheconclusionofthisphase,thefollowingdeliverableswillbepresentedtotheCounty: —.L’+.1.t.LD•.LIILU’—fl.LLT.r(J)]CMs.SueEatonCCDecember2,1996Page5•AsummaryoftheITuserssurvey.•AsummaryoftheDepartmentmanagerinterviews.•Asumnmryofcomparableinformationobtainedfromexternalsources.•Asummaryoftheiffunctionstarsperspective.PhaseUI:PreparationandPresentationoftheFinalReportThelastphasewillinvolvethepreparationofafinalreporttothesteeringcommitteeand•County.Wewilldevelopanindependentreportwhichwillprovideanobjectiveperspectiveofthecurrentstatusoftheiffunction,theissuesandprioritiesfacingtheCountyandspecificrecommendationsregardinghowtoimprovetheInformationSystemsDepartment.WewillpresentourfindingsandrecommendationstotheprojectsteeringcommitteeandbeavailabletoprovideasimDrpresentationtootherCountyofficialsifdesired.Thedeliverablesofthisphasewillinclude:•Afinalreportandpresentation.•ArecommendationcoveringtheorganizationandstamngoftheInfomiationSystemsDepartment.•CompetencyandexperienceprofilesforthemnsgerandstaffoftheInformationTechnologyDepartment•Arecommendedhighlevelimplementationplancoveringhowtoproceedintheneartermtoimprovetheimage,effectivenessandcapabilitiesoftheInformationSystemsDepaitnentProjectTimingandFeesWeunderstandthattheCountyisattemptingtocompletethisprojectbyapproximatelytheendofDecember.IfnotifiedinwritingtoproceedpriortoDecember9,1996andassum4ngavailabilityoftheCounty’sresourcesforthisproject,Deloitte&TouchewillmakeeveryefforttodeliveradraftofourfinalreportbyDecember31,1996.WebelievethisispossibleiftheCountyprovidesuswithreasonableaccesstoifusers,Departmentmanagersandpertinentdocumentation.Weestimatethefeesforourprofessionalassistancewillrangebetween$10,000and$14,000plusdirectexpensesforsuchitemsastelephone,transportationandclericalsupport.Thatinnocaseshallourfeeexceed$16,000.00plusdirectexpensesforsuchitemsastelephonetransportationandclericalsupportunlessagreedtoinwritingbytheCounty.£rojectStaffingDeloifte&TouchewillassignMr.JohnNobiltoperformthemajorityoftheprojectactivitieswithassistancefromotherconsultantsasneeded.Mr.Nobilisaresidentof FEB--14—199715:22DELDITTEaTDUCHELLP3033124100P.07/07Ms.SueEaton(3(1December2,1996Page6Avonandthiswillreduceexpensesforsomeofthetypicalclientreimbursableitems.Mr.NobilhasconductednumerousdiagnosticreviewsofinformationtechnologyoperationsforgovernmententitiesintheUnitedStatesandCanadaoverhistwelveyearsasaconsultantwithDeloitte&Touche.WeappreciatethisopportunitytoproposeourprofessionalservicestoEagleCounty.Weareconfidentthatifselectedforthisproject,theCountywillreceiveoutstandingserviceandvaluefromourconsultants.ifyouhaveanyquestionsorrequireadditionalinformation,pleasecontactMr.JohnNobilat(303)312-4163.Shouldtheprecedingproposalcontentsmeetwithyourapproval,pleaseindicateyourapprovaltoproceedinaccordancewithtermsandconditionsandreturnthesignedcopy.Sincerelyfleloitte&ToucheLLPAcceptanceandApprovaltoProceedasDocumentedTOTALP.07