Best Practices for Small IT Shops

Transcription

1 Best Practices for Small IT Shops 2017 Technology Conference Presented by North Carolina's Electric Cooperatives in conjunction with NCAEC. August 18, 2017 Kingston Plantation, Myrtle Beach, SC

2 Our Panelists Steve Ballard Wake EMC Manager of Cybersecurity and Information Technology Michael Martin - Newberry EC Engineering Analyst

3 Small IT Shops Unique challenges on common IT issues Under funded Wearing too many hats Competing priorities

4 Under Funded Managing cost only vs cost and risk Must deal with old software and equipment Helpful practices Equipment renewal strategy Used equipment and after market support Standardize desktops & servers Maintain good vendor relations Minimize the number of vendors Others??

5 Wearing Too Many Hats Desktop support Network administrator Server administrator Cybersecurity engineer Application integrations, reporting, and support Manager and CIO And??

6 Competing Priorities Maintain focus on high priority issues What should I a) Stop doing b) Continue doing c) Start doing

7 Build Your IT Shop Philosophy, Vision & Mission Goals & Objectives IT Like a Business Plan Policies Roles & Responsibilities Hiring Staff

8 Philosophy, Vision and Mission Define your philosophies and principles for: Staff augmentation vs. outsource Buy vs. build Disaster recovery and business continuity Others? Develop a Mission Statement State the purpose of your IT shop Adds legitimacy to your department

9 Goals and Objectives Achievements you wish to accomplish Describe your desired end results Be future oriented How & when will you reach a goal Address each one in your business plan. Should tie back to your philosophy, vision, and mission statement

10 IT Like A Business Plan Define and document your goals and objectives Detail your current objectives Look ahead Renew your plan annually Use your plan to get buy in Align your objectives with those of the business

11 Policies Sets the basis for how you conduct business Define how IT resources will be used Specific do s and don ts Privacy and the expectation to maintain it Approvals needed to add cooperative resources and assets.

12 Hiring Staff Define a set of skills required The number of skills needed may be considerable

13 Questions to Ask Yourself When Hiring How much autonomy? How much will be done by new employee? Do you plan to outsource? What and why? Are you willing to train? Will this person participate in IT strategic planning?

14 Essential Roles and Responsibilities Researching new technology and solutions Purchasing and vendor management IT asset management Project management Systems analysis and architecture Software integration and deployment Quality assurance and readiness testing Systems management and administration Change management End-user support

15 Nine Hard & Fast Rules

16 Rule 1: Don t Build a Cadillac When a Chevy Will Do! Keep it simple Is the cost more than the benefit? Don t chase automation for the sake of automation.

17 Rule 2: Manage Expectations Tell people What you can deliver When you can deliver Follow through on what you tell people Communicate progress Measure results

18 Rule 3: Beware of Scope Creep and Other Time Traps Is the job bigger than a breadbox? Get management buy-in Just say NO Insist that scope change must be approved and commitments evaluated

19 Rule 4: Follow the Rules Lead by example Follow the procedures You make them, don t break them.

20 Rule 5: Document, Document, Document Document entire lifecycle Proof-of-Concept Integration and test Deployment Maintenance and ongoing support

21 Rule 6: Practice Version Control One version of each software package Bonus points!

22 Rule 7: Be Your Own Project Manager Management system Get approvals Be project oriented Risk and issue management Report as necessary Report on key metrics

23 Rule 8: Be Dispensable Share your knowledge Make sure others can step in Provide tools to your end-users Troubleshooting guides Cheat sheets Easy to read support documents User manuals

24 Rule 9: No Man or Woman is an Island Stay in contact Technology changes every three years Benchmark spend & resources Look for opportunities

25 Audience Suggested Practices 1) Use interns for asset data collection or other routine tasks. 2) Know what you don t know 3) Physical security -> access 4) Prioritize set a time line for stakeholders 5) Up to date DR plan define time to recover expectations 6) IT staff backup internal vs external resources 7) IT guidelines / policy what are your rules 8) Flexible work schedule (i.e hr week) 9) Ensure ex-acting IT leaders return to their original job role (i.e. stop trying to adjust or fix systems.

26 Sarah Kiely - NRECA Principal, IT Community Support (703) sarah.kiely@nreca.coop