Government Technology - July 2008 - (Page 46)

first person manages the full life cycle of each document: from creation through business use, to approval as a record, through retention and disposition. To ensure successful rollout and user acceptance, the joint team deployed WISDM in two phases with interim adjustments. Phase one was a pilot deployment in July 2007 to approximately 50 users in two locations. The pilot proved to be a successful installation, and the OCC obtained valuable user feedback for the second phase. Phase two took place between September and October 2007 and involved approximately 575 users in 20 locations. After receiving system certification and accreditation, WISDM is now being used by two OCC business units: Large Banks Supervision and the Records Management Program. WISDM assists with providing timely electronic records responses to discovery or congressional inquiry, allows suspension of relevant documents and records, and disposes of final records in compliance with the Records Retention Schedule. Until now, the only option was to print and file records. For those using it, the system fills the business need for compliant electronic document and records management, and improves access to information in the system. The OCC has also used the technology to standardize and streamline supervisory business processes, effectively increase security of electronic bank and supervisory documents and records, and improve collaboration and sharing between the community of examiners and supervisors. OCC implemented an ongoing change management effort to promote adoption and ownership of the system. It also continually analyzed barriers to change and attempted to mitigate them. The OCC worked hard to ensure user concerns were appropriately communicated. Finally it made full use of change agents (e.g., training champions) to “cascade” change through the organization. Lessons Learned Of course, there are many lessons to be learned. The joint team learned to collaborate and build solid relationships among key project leaders. From the project’s onset, it established and agreed upon clear roles and responsibilities for key project leaders. For a project of this scope, the OCC needed to develop and adhere to a scheduled, structured methodology for system development. This was much easier said than done; it proved to be an extremely difficult feat. It’s important to not underestimate the amount of planning time required. The OCC also learned to manage its risk appropriately, while clearly defining the procedures for escalating risks to appropriate stakeholders. It’s imperative to clearly state the impact of risks on the schedule, costs and product quality. The OCC tried to catch and resolve issues before general deployment. Even though the system is now in production, risk management continues to be ongoing and important. Scope management was another key lesson the joint team took away from this project. Technical and functional requirements must be specific, testable and measurable. The OCC built a bite-sized piece, keeping the end goal of enterprisewide use in mind. Be realistic about what can be reasonably implemented and absorbed by your target user community. Recognize that new issues will continue to arise — work them into a requirements management plan and into ongoing development. Last but certainly not least, the OCC learned that involving stakeholders early and often is truly a key. Understand and address their needs and comfort levels long before system deployment. Provide frequent opportunities for feedback on prototypes and requirements documentation. Why WISDM Worked The success of the system falls under four key areas: 1. Cross-functional sponsorship and management: The OCC had sponsorship of three OCC divisions: Large Bank Supervision, Office of Management and OCIO. Constant, active senior leadership — including the agency’s CIO — provided ongoing support. A close collaboration between IT, Records Management and the LBS business units continued throughout the design, development and implementation processes. Additionally dedicated resources with appropriate and necessary technical and business-oriented skill sets were assigned to WISDM and development was appropriately scoped. 2. Industry-standard software: The OCC chose an industry-standard, DoD 5015.2compliant tool that provided full document and records management functionality with very little customization. 3. User-initiated requirements: The OCC had an active and involved user group to assist with the development and validation of requirements. Additionally end-users were offered technical change management and opportunities to provide input at certain times throughout the system’s development. The OCC could not have built the system it has today without endusers’ help. 4. Sustained cultural change management: Early in the project, the JULY_08 Integrating with the OCC’s legacy data management system and Active Directory, WISDM stores bank examination-related documents in a secure central repository, allowing users to locate documents and records though sophisticated search capabilities. Groups of people can store documents in a central location, describe them using consistent criteria and then locate them using those criteria. WISDM users can easily apply standard conventions for metadata, taxonomy and document naming. There are also standard templates for key documents with system interfaces to WISDM. Additionally the system uses role-based permissions and document classifications based on the business units’ content security model. From a records management perspective, WISDM manages bank examination-related records and assists with long-term access to electronic records. The records management functions are automated so they apply existing records retention and records management policies to electronically stored records. 46 http://www.govtech.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Government Technology - July 2008

Government Technology - July 2008 Point of View The Last Mile Big Picture On the Scene Four Questions for ... Generation 2.0 at Work Dangerous Convenience Tainted Justice? Are You Ready? E-Discovery Basics Smart Docs Advanced Math Online Video Blues Spectrum Personal Computing Products signal:noise

Government Technology - July 2008

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