When you want to implement a new IT system, or update an existing one, you are making an investment. And that involves some planning, some research into alternative solutions, an acquisition, some amount of effort to implement it, a ‘launch’, some documentation and communication to the users and other stakeholders, some effort to manage it, and ultimately, a retirement. The work you do between the time when this idea first comes to you, until it is launched and operating smoothly is a project. That project requires an investment of time and money. And depending on the size and complexity of that project, you may need anything from a mindful eye over the process, to a dedicated project manager and a full-blown project management process. It just depends.
UW-IT has developed, in close partnership with UW Procurement Services, a suite of services to assist you in navigating all of those steps, as well as a contracting framework to make it relatively easy to establish a good agreement with any outside vendors. These services are consultative in nature, and are best understood by looking at the lifecycle of the investment you are considering. Your investment starts with your initial idea to do it, and ends with its ultimate retirement, and has a few notable milestones along the way.
The four services we offer to help you across that entire lifecycle are:
- Investment Planning, Assessment and Approval
- Project Oversight
- Vendor Risk Management
- Contract Administration Support
The fourth service is prospective and essentially constitutes support of good vendor management; we anticipate launching it sometime in 2021, but we can offer consulting in this area – contact help@uw.edu. The other three services are available, and are managed by a team of people in UW-IT, CISO’s Office and Procurement Services.
Aligned with the phases of the investment lifecycle, these services look like this:
