[71] in I/T Delivery
Prseident's Report '97 Inputs
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Robert V. Ferrara)
Thu Jun 26 19:08:00 1997
Date: Thu, 26 Jun 1997 19:11:33 -0400
To: Delivery@MIT.EDU
From: "Robert V. Ferrara" <rferrara@MIT.EDU>
Delivery Leaders, I'm off for vacation next week, but during the week
after - July 7th - we have to put together a one-pager on Delivery for
the '97 edition of the president's report. Attached is last year's
edition for Discovery, Delivery, and Integration if you want to get a
feel for the style.
Anyway, I'd appreciate any contributions/input you might have. Or
better yet, put it in the headlines or quarterly section of the Project
DB and point me there.
Thanks, Bob.
<bold><fontfamily><param>Times</param><bigger><bigger>
I/T DISCOVERY
</bigger></bigger></fontfamily></bold><fontfamily><param>Times</param><bigge=
r>
As the first of the five work processes identified in the new I/T
process-centered organization, the I/T Discovery Process seeks to
define the I/T requirements of the MIT community. Discovery creates a
dynamic and bold environment in which business customers and
technologists can work together to define systems which create value.=20
Beginning primarily as a business process, where "business" encompasses
the full range of academic, office, and research activities at MIT,
Discovery projects design and frame technology solutions that can be
delivered to the community efficiently and effectively. =20
Working in focused project teams, Discovery efforts pursue and
structure ideas that promise dramatic change and improvement to current
work. Discovery efforts seek innovative solutions to problems, and
work to add value to and remove unnecessary work from work. The goal
of the Discovery Process is to challenge the status quo, and to
influence and guide "best practice" approaches to I/T work. Although
it locates efforts within the context of the Institute's strategic
mission and near-term goals, Discovery also remains aware and cognizant
of the rapidly changing business and technology landscape at MIT and
beyond.
In its first year, the Discovery Process has been extraordinarily
productive and has realized several organizational and project
milestones. These accomplishments are testimony to the talented staff
involved in the projects and to their willingness to engage new
approaches to our work. Highlights of the year include:=20
</bigger></fontfamily><bigger><fontfamily><param>Symbol</param>=85 </fontfam=
ily><fontfamily><param>Times</param>The
Electronic Proposal Submission System Discovery team
</fontfamily><fontfamily><param>Symbol</param>-</fontfamily><fontfamily><par=
am>Times</param>
a cross-organizational team composed of customers from labs, centers,
and departments, OSP, local I/T specialists, and IS staff
</fontfamily><fontfamily><param>Symbol</param>-</fontfamily><fontfamily><par=
am>Times</param>
completed Discovery=20
and prototype projects to realize the business requirement of
submitting research proposals electronically to federal agencies. This
project has moved to the Delivery Process for full development and
implementation.=20
=09
</fontfamily><fontfamily><param>Symbol</param>=85 </fontfamily><fontfamily><=
param>Times</param>Conducted
primarily by Telecommunications Service staff, the Voice-Mail Discovery
project resulted in the smooth implementation of a new voice-mail
system for MIT in January.=20
=09
</fontfamily><fontfamily><param>Symbol</param>=85 </fontfamily><fontfamily><=
param>Times</param>The
Writing Requirement Discovery team recommended a new technology design
to support the administration of MIT's Writing Requirement. This
project has also moved to its Delivery phase.=20
=09
</fontfamily><fontfamily><param>Symbol</param>=85 </fontfamily><fontfamily><=
param>Times</param>The
Alumni Networked Services Discovery team designed an overall strategy
to deliver electronic, networked services to MIT alumni. In its
Delivery phase, the project focuses on the building of an electronic
mail forwarding-for-life facility as its initial service.=20
=09
</fontfamily><fontfamily><param>Symbol</param>=85 </fontfamily><fontfamily><=
param>Times</param>The
Admissions Discovery project is underway to determine a new conceptual
design for MIT Admissions.=20
=09
</fontfamily><fontfamily><param>Symbol</param>=85 </fontfamily><fontfamily><=
param>Times</param>The
ISDN/Tether Discovery team determined that changing technology, the
cost of ISDN services to the home, and promising new alternatives
suggest that MIT not develop its own products to provide network access
via ISDN connections.=20
=09
</fontfamily><fontfamily><param>Symbol</param>=85 </fontfamily><fontfamily><=
param>Times</param>As
part of IS's effort to maintain existing services, the Discovery
process ensured the successful operation of "Back to School"
activities, such as HASS-D lottery, PE Lottery, Math Diagnostics,
=46reshman Essay Evaluation, and Freshman Housing Lottery.
In addition, there is an ongoing effort to understand, establish,
improve, and frame the Discovery Process within the new I/T
organization.
Greg Anderson
=20
<bold><bigger>I/T DELIVERY</bigger>
</bold>
As the second of the five work processes, the I/T Delivery Process
exists so that MIT and its schools, departments, laboratories, and
centers can realize business value as rapidly as possible from the
implementation of new information technology products and services.=20
</fontfamily><fontfamily><param>Symbol</param>=85 </fontfamily><fontfamily><=
param>Times</param>Working
with I/T Integration teams to continue the work of the reengineering
program's Information Technology Readiness Team, Delivery Process teams
focused on devising workable and supportable strategies for the initial
offerings of a number of reengineering-related projects, including
among others the Appointment Process (TAP) applications TAPS and TQF;=20
MIT's new financial system of record SAP R/3; the Electronic Catalog;=20
the Office of Sponsored Programs awards system; and the Physical Plant
system.
=09
</fontfamily><fontfamily><param>Symbol</param>=85 </fontfamily><fontfamily><=
param>Times</param>The
Athena Computing Environment Software Release Delivery team updated
Athena to newer versions of system software from Sun and SGI, as well
as more current versions of several third-party software packages,
including a Institute-wide filesystem software, AFS from Transarc. The
Athena Delivery team also began to phase-out older models of IBM
RS/6000 and Digital DECStation hardware from Athena's public cluster
infrastructure. In the coming year, the team expects to qualify at
least one new hardware/software platform for Athena Cluster use.
=09
</fontfamily><fontfamily><param>Symbol</param>=85 </fontfamily><fontfamily><=
param>Times</param>Currently,
Delivery Process teams are working to implement the Electronic Proposal
Submission System "discovered" in fiscal 1996 by the I/T Discovery
Process. Also in Delivery phase are the new technology designs to
support the administration of the Writing Requirement and the building
and implementation of the Alumni "E-mail-Forwarding-For-Life" project.=20
On-going work towards Release One of SAP continues, and work on Release
Two will commence shortly.
=09
The nationwide search to fill the position of the I/T Delivery Process
leader ended in July 1996 with the appointment of Robert V. Ferrara as
Director, I/T Delivery.
Michael D. Barker, William D. Cattey, Paul B. Hill, and Daniela A.
Aivazian
<bold><bigger>
I/T INTEGRATION</bigger></bold>
The mission of I/T Integration is to implement an information
technology infrastructure that has high levels of reliability,
availability, and serviceability; provides excellent
price/performance; meets current MIT needs and can quickly adapt to
meet future needs; and enables effective performance of the other I/T
processes. During the past year, teams working in the Integration
Process made progress in the following areas:
<bold>
</bold></fontfamily><fontfamily><param>Symbol</param>=85 </fontfamily><fontf=
amily><param>Times</param>The
Integration Team worked to educate developers and purchasers of
software about the current information technology infrastructure. To
encourage its effective use, the Integration Team developed and
presented a four-day course, "A Developer's Introduction to Secure
Client-Server Computing." Building on this effort were a participatory
series of lunch seminars and discussions for system designers. Other
educational services of the Integration teams included adding to
information for developers on the World Wide Web, and purchasing bulk
training units for selected tools so that all MIT developers could
share in reduced training rates.
=09
</fontfamily><fontfamily><param>Symbol</param>=85 </fontfamily><fontfamily><=
param>Times</param>Integration
work teams also provide consulting services to designers and
developers. Data Administrators have helped with data modeling for new
systems and reverse engineering to develop models for current systems.=20
By reviewing designs for new systems and possible commercially-packaged
software for teams working in other processes, and by checking high
level process and data models, Integration teams work to ensure that
different teams are developing systems that are either independent or
well-integrated, and adhere to MIT's current standards and practices.=20
</fontfamily></bigger><fontfamily><param>Times</param><smaller>
</smaller></fontfamily><fontfamily><param>Symbol</param><bigger>=85 </bigger=
></fontfamily><bigger><fontfamily><param>Times</param>Early
work with Discovery teams helps Integration teams understand and
prepare for coming infrastructure needs. Collaborating with developers
from across MIT, Integration teams have extended the MIT data model and
added shared data to the MIT Warehouse. Fiscal year 1996 also saw the
inauguration of an Integration Laboratory for=20
=09
=09
</fontfamily><fontfamily><param>Symbol</param>=85 </fontfamily><fontfamily><=
param>Times</param>developers
to use to test the integration of their business applications into the
MIT application set. Also in fiscal 1996, the Security Officer and
other interested parties at MIT formed the Institute Physical Security
Coordination Team.
=09
</fontfamily><fontfamily><param>Symbol</param>=85 </fontfamily><fontfamily><=
param>Times</param>Integration
teams worked both to update current I/T infrastructure components and
to build new ones. A key accomplishment of the past year was the
building and implementation of a People ID Server and Database, a
single coordinated service for assigning a unique MIT ID available to
people and systems. The building of the database was accomplished with
the help of the Service teams; thus its implementation rests with the
Service Process. The MIT Data Model and sharable data in the MIT Data
Warehouse were extended. By designing, developing, and coordinating
the external development of Kerberos Version 5, Integration teams
continued MIT's leadership in network security. On a related note, a
"Pretty Good Privacy" (PGP) Key Server, which provides a directory
service for public keys, was added to the MIT infrastructure.=20
Integration teams designed a secure and authenticated web server to be
built unless the market provides a comparable solution within the next
six months. Integration teams designed and prototyped an MIT-wide
access system to provide a consistent, high level interface for
defining who is authorized or responsible to perform various operations
in business applications. Integration teams also developed tools to
move bulk data securely between systems. Throughout the year, they
continued to test new releases of selected tools for developers and to
provide example interfaces between different tools.
=09
</fontfamily><fontfamily><param>Symbol</param><bigger>=85 </bigger></fontfam=
ily><fontfamily><param>Times</param>One
goal of the Integration process is to propagate strategic MIT
technology to vendors of commercial products and to other users outside
MIT. By exerting influence in strategic areas like network security in
open-network environments, MIT has the opportunity to buy rather than
build our preferred infrastructure in the future. Intending to
encourage a standard for network security, the Integration Process
provided Kerberos Version 5 to the public domain, and urged its use in
industry.<bigger>
</bigger>Susan Minai-Azary
</fontfamily></bigger>
