| CNIC Initiative |
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| Frequently Asked Questions |
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December 3, 2004
Q1. Work Group Size. Size of workgroups being restricted to 5, 8. This will eliminate representation from smaller agencies. Granted, some workgroups will be fully represented with 5; Server – Windows workgroup, however, would be under represented if restricted to 5 or 8. Another problem with the size of 5 is if DAS dominates the majority of the groups, that alone could discourage other agency’s discussion.
A1. The desired work group size is 5 to 8 agencies. Most workgroups other than the Windows server group and security group will be fully represented with that number. The Windows server group and security group will be larger.
Q2. Work Group Charters. Mark Matson told us the number of workgroups the Steering Committee agreed upon is written in stone and cannot be changed. Why is this being dictated? Shouldn’t there be a DR workgroup, iSeries (AS400) workgroup and Service Delivery or Service Management workgroup? These workgroups should be considered for long term planning, which is what the architecture workgroups are all about.
A2. The five major work groups were approved by the CNIC Steering Committee. This is the initial structure of workgroups for the architecture stage. The work group structure will change as the project progresses. The mainframe group has two sub groups, zSeries and iSeries, just as the server group has several subgroups. Service delivery is a component of each work group. A DR component will be part of the design stage.
Q3. Project Manager Assignments. Only DAS PM’s in all workgroups? Other agencies have PM’s that are very capable of performing the tasks necessary for the workgroups. Why do all the PM’s have to be DAS? This is a consolidation of multiple agencies and the Steering Committee has made mention of the benefits from cross-agency cooperation that has been happening recently. One huge benefit would be cross-agency representation in PM’s as well. Is this a DAS-controlled project, or a multi-agency controlled project with DAS overseeing the entire process?
A3. All participat ing agencies will be appropriately represented by their subject matter experts within the workgroups. The Senior Project Manager is also being recruited from among the participat ing agencies. DAS is the agency responsible for running the project, and has made the decision to reassign its project managers from other DAS projects to provide necessary support and leadership to the higher priority CNIC project. If agencies are interested in providing opportunities for their project managers to participat e in the CNIC project, the CNIC Project Management Office will consider job rotations.
Q4. IP Addressing Control. Rumor has it that the plan has changed once again, in that the IP addresses are not being transferred to the new data center. This could cause a lot of problems with our applications.
A4. An IP addressing scheme will be developed as part of the new Network Architecture and Detailed Design. Public and private IP address space currently used by agencies will be reviewed by the Network Work Group and will be reallocated to match the new network topology, to ensure efficient routing, and to ensure the efficient use of available address space. An orderly plan for migrating from existing IP addresses to the new scheme will be developed as part of the detailed plan and reviewed during the agency specific detailed planning process. In these processes, special considerations will be made for applications that require static IP addresses and/or require continued use of existing addresses.
Q5. Architecture Models and SLAs. It would appear that Service Delivery and Infrastructure shared applications is not being considered in the architecture models. They may be addressed further down the line but both elements could play a major role in determining how the architecture is developed to support them. Service Delivery is vital to our customers and maintaining SLA’s. We were guaranteed that our SLA’s would not slip during the co-location of equipment. We find this difficult to accept since there hasn’t been any workgroups formed for Service Delivery. Infrastructure shared applications has not been discussed as well.
A5. Service Delivery is being addressed by the individual work groups (Network, Server, Mainframe, etc.) in both the Architecture and Detailed Design Stages. In the Architecture Stage, a Service Description that outlines the services that will be provided by the State Data Center will be developed. In the Detailed Design Stage, detailed service levels and service delivery related processes will be detailed. Shared applications are a topic of discussion for the CNIC Steering Committee as part of the Stage Zero process. The CNIC Steering Committee can charter any additional work groups it deems necessary.
Q6. SmartBuy and Stewardship. All agencies are required to purchase from the SmartBuy program for the new data center. SmartBuy has already been shown to be more costly. Why can’t we get any flexibility in this area or get lower pricing for our servers and server components?
A6. DAS State Procurement Office (SPO) has current, best value contracts to meet all areas of IT procurement need for state agencies. SPO believes it can guarantee the absolute best deal to meet any agency need. If an agency is looking at a purchase and is getting information on pricing or product they believe is not the best around, we urge them to contact SPO.
Agencies subject to DAS procurement authority are obligated to use DAS contracts and need to consult with SPO to solve any problems they are encountering before requesting delegation from SPO to purchase off-contract. SPO management is available to discuss problems and concerns at any time.
Q7. Human Resources. Rumor has it that in two weeks, HR will announce what process they will follow for hiring. Is this true? If so do you have an idea of what that process will be? There is a rumor that the HR subcommittee is on hiatus or been suspended.
A7. SEIU has given the state notice of a demand to bargain on the impact of the CNIC project. We are in the process of putting together a bargaining team and working on dates to begin bargaining. Elements of the hiring process will be included in bargaining discussions. Therefore there will be no announcement in two weeks on what the hiring process will be.
There are two HR committees related to CNIC. The CNIC HR Subcommittee is made up of the HR managers from the 12 agencies participat ing in the project. The other committee is a CNIC Labor/Management Committee made up of a few of the HR managers and represented staff from the agencies and organizers from SEIU and AFSCME. This Labor/Management Committee met November 22, 2004 and determined that until some of the basic bargaining questions are answered, their role was not clear. It was agreed to place the committee on hiatus until completion of the bargaining process.
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