• VICE PRESIDENT FOR INFORMATION SYSTEMS
  • ACADEMIC COMPUTING PRACTICE
  • OFFICE COMPUTING PRACTICE
  • I/T DISCOVERY
  • I/T DELIVERY
  • I/T INTEGRATION
  • I/T SERVICE
  • I/T SUPPORT
  • I/T COMPETENCY GROUPS

VICE PRESIDENT FOR INFORMATION SYSTEMS

Information Systems (IS) strives to enable members of the MIT community to use information technology more productively in all their work. IS focuses on providing specialized services to the specific constituencies of academic and administrative computing, as well as a broad array of general services including telephones and network connections to the rest of the Institute.

In March 1995, senior officers announced the launch of I/T Transformation, the transition of the Institute's I/T staff into a new framework designed to meet the challenge of delivering "great systems fast," as well as supporting dramatic increases in network-based applications and users expected to arise from reengineering initiatives. The Information Technology Leadership Team, led by the Vice President for Information Systems, has worked over the past year to implement I/T Transformation and to ensure successful results on all of its three dimensions - work, skills, and customers.

Over the year, Information Systems staff left behind the six departments that previously defined IS and moved fully into the new team-oriented, process-driven framework. The five work processes - I/T Discovery, I/T Delivery, I/T Integration, I/T Service, and I/T Support - and the two practices - Academic Computing and Office Computing (which were recently joined by a third practice - Voice, Data, and Image Networking), as well as the I/T Competency Groups - replace the old IS departments of Academic Computing Services, Administrative Systems Development, Computing Support Services, Distributed Computing and Network Services, Operations and Systems, and Telecommunications Systems. As in the past, IS staff continues to work with others throughout the Institute in ongoing activities and new initiatives, and they remain deeply involved in efforts to reengineer the Institute's administrative processes. By the end of the fiscal year, IS staff had achieved an impressive range of accomplishments, some of which are highlighted in the reports which follow. This section presents an IS overview.

Use of MIT's information technology resources continues to grow as the I/T infrastructure is improved and expanded. Annually the MIT community comes to IS with some 100,000 requests for help and service changes, ranging widely from upgrading telephone service to installing a new office computing environment to assisting faculty in using computing in their teaching. As in past years, new and more platforms and services, including more third-party software, were introduced into the Athena environment. IS staff worked to provide full telephone and network connectivity to all on-campus student residences. In fiscal 1996, a new voice mail system was installed; site licenses for Oracle and SAP R/3 were negotiated and their software made available; a new I/T core curriculum for members of the MIT community was developed and implemented to support the rollout of reengineering applications; and the campus I/T infrastructure was more completely defined and communicated.

At the end of the last fiscal year, a new team was named to lead the I/T framework. Over the course of the year, there were some changes to that team:

• Leaders of I/T practices advocate both on behalf of customers to IS and on behalf of IS to customers. Late in fiscal 1995, Diane Devlin was named the Director, Office Computing Practice. In May 1996, M. S. Vijay Kumar succeeded Gregory A. Jackson in the position of Director, Academic Computing Practice. At the end of fiscal 1996, a third practice area was added to focus on MIT's electronic communications infrastructure. The Voice, Data, and Image Networking Practice, with Dennis Baron as its Director, will ensure that the necessary I/T systems and services are available to support academic, research, and administrative efforts at MIT. This will include working with IS process owners and outside vendors to make sure current systems are accessible and have adequate capacity. In addition, this practice will identify the need for new communications technology and facilitate its availability to meet future needs.

• At the end of fiscal 1995, named I/T process leaders were Greg Anderson as the Director, I/T Discovery; Susan Minai-Azary as the Director, I/T Integration; and Roger A. Roach as the Director, I/T Service. Late in the year, William F. Hogue succeeded Cecilia R. d'Oliveira as the Director, I/T Support, and IS's year-long search for the Director, I/T Delivery ended with the appointment of Robert V. Ferrara.

• I/T Competency Group leaders concentrate on the skills dimension of Information Systems, working to provide a staff well-qualified to meet future work requirements. In fiscal 1996, Erin Rae Hoffer succeeded Timothy J. McGovern to join Shirley M. Picardi as a Director, I/T Competency Groups.

• At the end of June 1996, Marilyn A. McMillan completed 18 years of service to information technology at MIT, and accepted the position of Director of Application Assembly and Integration in Information Technology Systems and Services at Stanford University. Thomas Mullins will assume Marilyn's planning responsibilities, which fit well with his own responsibilities as Director for Administration and Finance.

The I/T leadership team and the IS staff are committed to continuing to learn our way into working in the new framework, and to ensuring that the new framework works for us, for our customers, and for the Institute.

James D. Bruce

ACADEMIC COMPUTING PRACTICE

The Academic Computing Practice seeks to promote and enable MIT education through the effective use of computers and other information technologies. Collaborating with I/T Process teams and in partnership with academic departments, the Academic Computing Practice provides widely distributed client-server computing designed to facilitate undergraduate education, primarily through the Athena Computing environment, which is used by thousands of users each day and over 10,000 different people on peak days. Academic Computing provides advocacy, training, documentation, and consulting services to support academic work.

During fiscal year 1996, the Academic Computing Practice focused its resources on activities aimed at strengthening the infrastructure for educational computing:

• It continued to encourage new instructional uses of Athena. In the past year, MIT's suite of educational software was enlarged to include molecular modeling software for Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, and Materials Science, as well as rendering and graphics software for Architecture and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS).

• Academic Computing also assisted faculty interested in using the World Wide Web in novel ways to enhance instruction, helping them digitally animate natural phenomena for use in Physics classes, and helping them create and publish digital images for educational use in the departments of Architecture, Foreign Languages and Literatures, and the Health Sciences and Technology (HST) Program. MAE (Macintosh emulation) was provided on Sun workstations in various Athena clusters to support the needs of faculty using Macintosh software in classes.

• In partnership with I/T Support teams, the Academic Computing Practice introduced a "moveable workstation" service, through which faculty members may obtain a Silicon Graphics workstation with projection capabilities for use in any classroom equipped with a network drop.

• Working with the Athena Computing Environment Software Release Delivery team, the Academic Computing Practice continued its annual renewal of Athena equipment, purchasing workstations and peripherals to replace aging equipment, and purchasing additional functionality for older machines to address the emerging computational needs of MIT subjects. A new Athena cluster was added in the Rotch Library in fiscal 1996, and the 4-035 cluster was equipped with twenty SGI Indy machines as a specialized facility for classes.

• Academic Computing enhanced its constituent relationships by participating in a number of joint projects with groups such as the Public Service librarians from the MIT Libraries, the Educational Technology Council, and the Development Office.

• To improve communication on campus, the Academic Computing Practice introduced WebMeet, a Web-based conferencing and electronic mail archiving system. To extend the spirit of that communication outside MIT, the Academic Computing Practice continued to host a variety of visitors from organizations worldwide who express interest in Athena and MIT's educational computing environment.

Dr. Vijay Kumar succeeded Dr. Gregory Jackson as Director, Academic Computing Practice.

M. S. Vijay Kumar

OFFICE COMPUTING PRACTICE

The Office Computing Practice works to ensure that office computing customers derive maximum value from MIT's information technology resources. Collaborating with I/T Process teams and in partnership with administrative offices and departments, the Office Computing Practice works to build constructive relationships with office customers. This work relies on a solid understanding of office computing needs, opportunities, and priorities is essential to discovering and implementing the best applications of information technology to simplify and improve administrative work.

• Complementing its primary purpose of advocating on behalf of customers with IS, and on behalf of IS with customers, the Office Computing Practice devoted a substantial amount of time in fiscal 1996 to meeting directly with administrative customers to identify opportunities for I/T improvements. Many of these conversations involved clarification of IS's new process-centered, team-oriented organization.

• Also during fiscal 1996, the Office Computing Practice worked to build relationships with individuals and teams within IS who specifically impact office customers. This effort led to the formation of the Practice/Discovery (PD) Team, which is chartered to focus on customer needs and to support Discovery Process teams and the Office Computing and Academic Computing Practice leaders. Also established this year was the Office Computing Management Group (OCMG), a forum for IS and other administrative I/T staff to meet, share ideas and information, discuss issues of mutual concern, and plan together for the future.

• To a large extent, MIT's reengineering initiative has meant a reexamination of MIT's business practices. This, combined with the shifting work demands necessitated by the need to align MIT with changing market opportunities, has created a rapidly changing environment for the Institute's administrative processes. The Office Computing Practice conducted strategic planning meetings in major administrative areas this past year to prepare for the delivery of reengineered business applications, with a primary focus on SAP R/3. Collaborating with IS teams and customers, the Office Computing Practice coordinated reengineering-related planning for MIT's central administrative groups and the new MIT Learning Center, including the deployment of over 300 new computers. These computers were delivered with administrative software and networking installations as needed.

• Throughout the year, the Office Computing Practice championed the MIT Electronic Catalog (ECAT) project. Built in partnership with VWR Scientific, Office Depot, and American Express, and using private-key authentication technology (Kerberos) to provide security over the network, the Electronic Catalog is a custom Internet and World Wide Web sourcing, pricing, approval, ordering, and payment system. ECAT is currently in its pilot phase, and will rollout over the remainder of calendar 1996.

Diane M. Devlin

I/T DISCOVERY

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. 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.

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:

• The Electronic Proposal Submission System Discovery team - a cross-organizational team composed of customers from labs, centers, and departments, OSP, local I/T specialists, and IS staff - completed Discovery 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• The Admissions Discovery project is underway to determine a new conceptual design for MIT Admissions.

• 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.

• 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, Freshman 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

I/T DELIVERY

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.

• 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; MIT's new financial system of record SAP R/3; the Electronic Catalog; the Office of Sponsored Programs awards system; and the Physical Plant system.

• 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.

• 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. On-going work towards Release One of SAP continues, and work on Release Two will commence shortly.

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
Daniela A. Aivazian

I/T INTEGRATION

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:

• 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.

• 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. 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.

• 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 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.

• 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. 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.

• 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.

Susan Minai-Azary

I/T SERVICE

The I/T Service Process works to keep MIT's information technology infrastructure running in a reliable and efficient manner. This infrastructure includes the datacenter in W91, MITnet, telephone and related services, the Athena computing environment, database services, and desktop maintenance (PC repair) services.

A number of significant milestones were reached in each of these areas during the past year:

• Efforts to improve the reliability and performance of the W91 datacenter continued throughout fiscal 1996. Accomplishments include migration of data stored on the datacenter's oldest disk devices to newer, more reliable devices, and an incremental upgrade of the VM/ESA operating system on the IBM mainframe. To support secure transfers of data to and from the IBM mainframe, the "Pretty Good Privacy" (PGP) encryption program was ported to the VM mainframe operating system. To support the new SAP financial system and other administrative systems, new administrative servers were installed in W91. Throughout the year, I/T Service staff continued to work with BBN Planet to enhance their facilities on campus to support intra/inter New England Internet traffic.

• Working collaboratively with I/T Support, I/T Service extended MITnet to MIT's Professional Learning Center (W89). Network Operations and Network Software Services teams upgraded routing connectivity to NEARnet, and completed planning for a major upgrade of the MITnet backbone. Towards this effort, the electronic mail servers were upgraded to Sparc 20 systems. I/T Service staff also worked to improve the performance and reliability of web.mit.edu, the campus' primary World Wide Web server, and worked on applications to support the SAP and ECAT reengineering efforts.

• The 5ESS Operations Service team upgraded the MIT 5ESS generic software to 5E9, and replaced the voice mail system with an Aria 350 system to increase both its capacity and robustness. MITnet was extended to two graduate residential units, Eastgate and Westgate, and the data network and 5ESS telephone services were provided to newly constructed or acquired buildings, like Tang Management Center and W89, as well as the new addition of the Whitehead Institute. In May 1996, Service teams installed an Automated Call Distribution (ACD) system to be used initially by the new I/T Support Help Desk to provide better control of call flow and statistical data on the helplines. Other telephone-related accomplishments include the installation of new PBX's for Endicott House, MIT Process, and WW15 (Mail Services), and the upgrade and extension of radio systems for Campus Police and Physical Plant.

• Efforts to upgrade the hardware and software used to provide Athena services to the MIT community continued throughout fiscal 1996. To improve reliability, many of the older servers were upgraded to a new server platform; uninterruptable power supplies (UPS) were installed; and fixes were applied to the Athena file system. To accommodate the growing need for more disk space, the default disk quota for Athena accounts was raised to 12.5 Megabytes this year. To achieve significant gains in efficiency, cluster services restructured their deployment process for Athena workstations.

• The Database Services team consistently provided database support and maintenance of many administrative applications to the wider MIT community, while continuing to be heavily involved in the implementation of new reengineering systems like SAP.

• With the addition of a new software updating service for HP scientific workstations, Desktop Maintenance Services now services Apple and IBM microcomputers, HP printers, and DEC, Sun, SGI, and HP workstations.

Roger A. Roach

I/T SUPPORT

Fiscal year 1996 was highlighted by the continued evolution and refinement of services related to the core mission of the I/T Support Team: the effective and efficient delivery of timely, high-quality support to the Institute's information technology users. Support was provided by a variety of standing teams: I/T Help Desk; Training and Publications; Desktop Products; Adaptive Technology Support; Departmental Computing Support; Campuswide Information Systems Support (CWIS); Athena Help/Residential Computing Consulting; Academic Computing Support; Telephone Operators; 5ESS Support; and Support Team Headquarters.

To better identify and refine support services, Support team members concentrate on listening carefully to customers and balancing customer feedback with Institute goals and resource availability. While focused on different aspects of users' needs, the highly qualified staff on these teams share a common commitment to the I/T Support mission. During 1995-96:

• I/T Support staff participated intensively on numerous MIT reengineering projects and teams. In particular, Support teams provided extensive support for SAP development, deployment, training, and documentation. One notable accomplishment was the completion of the information technology infrastructure for the W89 training facility on a very short timeline.

• One of the key functions of the Support Process is to provide Macintosh, DOS/Windows, and Athena technical support, as well as consulting and user-account services, to the MIT community. In fiscal 1996, the Help Desk was reengineered, which involved the installation of new hardware, the realignment and consolidation of Help Desk staff, the integration of new tracking tools, and the initiation of planning for self-help and local expert components of support.

• In a partnership with the Academic Computing Practice, I/T Support inaugurated a "movable Athena workstation" service for classroom use.

• In collaboration with the I/T Service Process, I/T Support introduced Eudora to the MIT community. This new electronic mail product will eventually replace TechMail.

Dr. William F. Hogue succeeded Cecilia R. d'Oliveira as Director, I/T Support in May 1996.

William F. Hogue

I/T COMPETENCY GROUPS

I/T Competency Groups organize Information Systems staff by their technical expertise and/or common focus. A "job competency" may be defined as an underlying characteristic of an employee - a motive, trait, self-concept, knowledge, or skill - that results in effective or superior performance on a job. Competency Group Leaders work to ensure that appropriately skilled human resources are available to staff MIT's I/T processes and projects.

In late summer 1995, four I/T Competency Groups were established, and staff were encouraged to enroll. About 70% of IS staff enrolled, as well as several staff in the I/T areas outside of IS. The four groups are:

Applications (investigate, design, and build products and services)

Assistance (help customers, document, and communicate)

Systems (keep operational aspects of work running)

I/T Management (help all the rest of staff get the business work done)

The I/T Competency Group leadership focused on three primary activities throughout the year:

• To address the increasing need for skilled project managers not only within Information Systems but within MIT as a whole, IS engaged the firm of Duncan Nevison to provide project management training and consulting services to MIT. Duncan Nevison developed and customized an eight-day training program based upon project manager competencies. Within the framework of this program, project managers were able to speak openly about the challenges they face in the MIT-IS environment. Using competency assessments, individualized feedback, and training plans, the Duncan Nevison consultants taught the tools needed to cope with these challenges, including scope statements, work breakdown structures, three-point estimation, team-building, scheduling, critical paths, progress measurements, accountability, and risk management.

• In May 1996, the I/T Competency Group leadership launched a project to help define and plan for the development of the I/T competencies. Working with the consulting firm of Hay McBer (part of The Hay Group), they defined the following objectives:

Define "roles" in IS's process-oriented, team-centered environment, with the ultimate goal of replacing older and sometimes outdated "job descriptions."

Identify the competencies required to successfully perform work in this environment.

Help individuals determine what competencies are important to them today and in the future, as well as prepare personal development plans.

Redefine the four I/T Competency Groups.

Develop a training agenda for I/T professional development to address broad needs over the next few years.

Introduce a consistent approach to competency assessment in I/T recruiting and hiring; learn how to interview for I/T competencies and train staff in these skills.

Begin the process of redesigning the IS performance appraisal system.

• Throughout the year, Competency Group leadership sought to learn more about competency-based organizations. In addition to attending conferences, they met or talked with outside organizations which have implemented "competencies," including Canadian Tire, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Eli Lilly, London Life, and OSRAM/Sylvania.

In the future, the I/T Competency Group leadership will work to tie skills inventory results into MIT's strategic I/T needs, while identifying "gaps" for future training, hiring, and outsourcing. Guided by MIT's Human Resource Principles, they will work closely with the MIT Human Resources and the newly chartered Human Resources Practices Design (HRPD) reengineering team. Throughout the coming year, the Competency Group leaders will strive to maintain their awareness of similar developments in corporations and other institutions, and will work to make Information Systems a "best practices" example.

Erin Rae Hoffer succeeded Timothy J. McGovern as Director, I/T Competency Groups. Katherine K. Allen recently joined the I/T Competency Group leadership as Senior Project Manager, Human Resources.

Erin R. Hoffer
Shirley M. Picardi

MIT Reports to the President 1995-96