THE NAVIGATORS

UITS Navigators have become reliable sources of information that college and department partners know to contact in this big world of information technology. They are one constant in an industry that is always changing. Their exceptional people skills allow them to understand the complexities of technology while serving those who may not understand the tech but need to use it. In this past year of centralization, Navigators continued to be trusted resources who could find the right person to give the answer if they didn’t already have the answer

Campus IT Partnerships (CITP) and the Navigators primarily focused on service continuity, maintaining relationships, and finding opportunities for collaboration and partnerships across the organization, promoting the ONE team concept. Five Navigators serve 76 units across the university.

During the restructure, the Navigators worked with the Service Continuity Team to create an expanded and comprehensive list of services, including those unique to specific departments and enterprise-level services. Working with departmental-focused leaders, the navigators identified risks to services and helped ensure IT support was not negatively impacted.

WORKSTREAMS

Dozens of people within UITS collaborated on specific workstreams designed to support the IT restructuring process. The workstreams were charged with moving specific activities forward. As the restructure initiative was complex and affected many areas of IT, the workstreams created manageable focus on real-time progress for timelines, milestones, risks and issues to track and complete. There were 11 workstreams (including the Navigators) in total which range from data and metrics to IT procurement and work modality and space.

The Data Workstream was created to assist in all aspects of data collection, organization, and analysis for the IT Restructure initiative. This team helped administer surveys and deliver the findings to ITR leadership for insights. The data team examined the discovery data closely and synthesized it using both quantitative and qualitative methods.

The Employee Engagement & Culture (EEC)Workstream fostered a sense of community and positive workplace culture in the division by organizing and coordinating engagement activities. These activities have been designed to facilitate employee connections, enhance employee health/wellness, or provide opportunities for giving back through philanthropic efforts.

The IT Restructure Procurement Workstream focused on creating efficiencies in processes for making IT purchases. Campus IT departments have used various processes and systems for procurement, including purchases funded by non-UITS divisions through central Purchasing and Contracting Services (PACS). The Procurement team was created to define when and how IT purchases should be routed through UITS.

The Metrics for Success Workstream was created to develop and track measurable indicators of success for the IT Restructure initiative. This team, composed of staff from across the organization, developed measures to represent the work encapsulated by the initiative’s categories and goals.

The Organizational Discovery and Design Workstream developed and implemented a plan outlining the strategies and steps for effectively managing the IT reorganization and centralization process. The plan’s purpose was to ensure successful service delivery during the transition period, achieve key organizational goals, and address the needs of all stakeholders.

The Research Liaisons Solutions Workstream analyzed and provided recommendations on issues related to the intersection of the university research community and Campus IT.

The Service Portfolio Management Workstream provided comprehensive visibility and governance of IT services, ensuring the efficient and successful delivery of an IT management strategy that encompasses service delivery, system interoperability, asset management, and risk management.

The UITS Communities Workstream was formed to foster a collaborative, unified IT environment where everyone could feel valued. It also fostered knowledge-sharing across the university community through support of continuous growth, skills improvement, and a sense of belonging through participation in Professional Learning Communities (PLCs).

The UITS Staff Hub Workstream delivered a Sharepoint intranet site that was created to allow UITS members to find resources and links to support their needs as employees of the CIO division. Included in the Staff Hub are upcoming events, links to past communications and meeting recordings.

The Work Modality and Space Workstream created an inventory of space, including vehicles and golf carts, used to provide IT Services prior to centralization. The inventory assessment included conducting a series of interviews with IT leaders from across campus to understand the spatial footprint used for providing their services.

WHAT’S AHEAD

As of early September, 61% of the Discovery process was completed, which included meetings with individual IT staff that transitioned to UITS on March 4 as well as meetings with their prior unit’s respective Deans and VPs. The individual meetings helped UITS leadership understand the work the individuals had been performing, the type of work they would like to do going forward, and their thoughts on how to make the future of UITS brighter.

Once all the Discovery meetings were complete, the data collected was reviewed and information on next steps for our future organizational design was shared. One thing ITR leaders made clear is that there would not be organizational changes all at once, like what happened on March 4, 2024. Plans were made for incremental change, over time, to ensure a smooth transition for people and for our customers and the services supported.