Technology Recommendations for Evolving to a Teleworking Culture

Report from a focus group

Transcript

1. Technology Recommendations Flexible Workplace, Technology Focus Group Anne Gonnella - lead Jesse Doggett Leigh McCuen Prem Mishra Tony Roman Hugh Wilson Tom Comer Alex Framarini Karla Peterson Val Ausherman Matt Davis Mimi Lazar Jonathan Eisenhamer Scott Binegar Mike Gutzat Greg Sachs Tony Darnell Andrew Spina Lisa Kleinwort
2. Goal To enable efficient and seamless work regardless of staff location, through technology and our use of it.
3. Guiding Principles !  unified, standardized toolset !  easy to use !  minimal toolset to satisfy all needs well !  do anything from offsite that can be done in the building !  rely more on central services less on personal equipment !  empower the individual
4. Big Issues !  Security !  Balance !  Institute Network !  Critical Mass !  Support
5. Related Issues Cultural !  leadership - in order to benefit from the technology, we all have to use it. culturally, this usage must be led from the top Space !  how we end up sharing the space may change some of these priorities. e.g. lots of hoteling increases need for in-building location awareness and reservation tools. !  More people working in offices may require headsets for noise reduction, or may necessitate more use of quiet collaboration tools such as chat Training !  new tools that we all rely on will require not only initial training, but ongoing support. (multiple kinds of support - text and video tutorials, classes, etc) !  need to train people on expectations and etiquette for various technologies, not just how it works
6. Metrics How often do people otherwise working from off-site have to come in because of a lack of technology? !  Network adequacy measure traffic over our network and compare to capacity !  Best Tools measure usage of different tools to determine patterns !  Support Measure the downtime remote workers experience !  Personal Equipment survey people for loss of ability due to equipment
7. Major Recommendations High level trends have emerged to guide us in future technology choices
8. Cloud Centralized services and storage Reduces dependence on specific devices, platforms Increases security because of known location and access points for data Lessens the need for personal computing power
9. Bandwidth Emphasis on centralized services increases network demands Bandwidth intensive services (e.g. video conferencing)
10. Mobility Not just Muller and remote offices Any device, any time, any place Being flexible in accounting for needs and preferences of modern mobile workforce Ubiquitous computing
11. Communication Neutrality Complete suite of tools to enable all modes of communication Autonomy for individuals using those tools Stay open to emerging methods of collaboration Enable more efficient work based on flexstyle, diverse personality traits and individual circumstances and preference. Open content
12. Communication
13. Communication Issues !  inadequate communication tool coverage !  lack of unified, standard tools !  Need to communicate without administrative support !  Need to reach someone, regardless of where they are
14. Communication What we have !  email / calendar !  telephone !  in-person !  interoffice mail
15. Communication What we need / Recommendations Synchronous !  instant messaging !  Voice (group and one-to-one) !  Video (group and one-to-one) Asynchronous !  discussion forums !  social networking services !  broadcast announcements (urgent and non-urgent) !  snail mail for remote workers Community Cohesiveness !  awareness of presence and availability
16. Communication First Steps !  VOIP (in progress) !  video conferencing for conference rooms !  text, video, and voice conferencing for small groups and one-to-one
17. Sharing & Managing Information
18. Sharing & Managing Information Issues !  Need to share information without paper !  need more functionality than email provides !  need central access to information, rather than storing and managing on personal machines !  need to share more kinds of information with Institute staff than we currently have services to support
19. Sharing & Managing Information What We Have !  Web Sites !  Confluence !  Social Network (Ning)
20. Sharing & Managing Information What we need / Recommendations !  document management !  Project management !  Code management !  Workflow !  Electronic signatures and approvals !  Data Storage and access !  intranet portal !  knowledge base !  employee resources !  event management !  special interest groups !  office scheduler/office matching/ride sharing !  knowledge base !  directory and employee profiles
21. Sharing & Managing Information First Steps !  document management system !  design employee intranet portal !  standard code management service !  workflow/e-signatures ability for paperless office !  Evaluate how Exchange as our enterprise email/ calendar tool can best support these efforts
22. Personal Equipment
23. Personal Equipment Issues !  need the right tool for the job !  security of offsite devices !  support !  balance between having what you need and supporting a standardized set of equipment !  personal (individual-owned) equipment on the Institute network
24. Personal Equipment What we have Currently, less than half of our employees are issued non- portable desktops; the rest request laptops. Whether or not someone has other equipment (headsets, printers, etc.) depends on many individual, non-standardized factors What we need / Recommendations A standard list of equipment necessary to properly support offsite personnel.
25. Personal Equipment Connectivity !  User must have functional high speed access to work remotely !  STScI sets standard reimbursement limit for month ISP cost – user can be reimbursed for ISP portion of bill only up to limit. May be prorated based on how often user teleworks (i.e. a user who works remote 3 days/week may get 60% of limit where user who works remote 5 days a week will get 100% !  Reimbursement for phone expenses (cell or land line) online in rare cases with approval – if VOIP not sufficient for a user. !  If reimbursement is to be done, it needs to be painless (less paperwork).
26. Personal Equipment Standard Equipment !  Laptop – Windows or Mac (Linux if approved in the future as well) – our recommendation is platform independent !  Camera either built into laptop or attached via USB !  External HD for backups (this is currently done – at some point we should look to a long term approach for moving backups to cloud) !  Headset: multiple !  Carrying case: rolling, backpack, briefcase !  Adapters
27. Personal Equipment Optional Equipment Group 1 - simple manager approval – available to anyone – the answer should almost never be no !  1 additional monitor !  Keyboard and Mouse !  Tablet Group 2 -- additional approval processes required. These are temporary measures before long term goals of paperless office, cloud computing, and virtual desktops are realized. !  Printer + supplies for printer !  2nd desktop computer located in building
28. Personal Equipment First Steps !  Standardize the list of required equipment and create a supply of that equipment. In particular, headsets and cameras will need be stockpiled due to very good chance of failure/loss and their now critical nature in the offsite workflow. !  Develop criteria and process to handle requests for further offsite resources.
29. Network and Storage
30. Network and Storage Issues !  Security: As always, securing the operations of the Institute is goal #1. !  Bandwidth: With offsite employees and resources, the main line of communication will be the internet connection between the Tute's infrastructure and the employee. !  Support: With offsite employees, the training and structure of support will need to account for both the extra hardware/ software required, such as network configuration and collaboration software, but also the onsite employees working with their offsite counterparts.
31. Network and Storage What we have !  Security: different tools in use; level of security varies greatly across the Tute's resources. !  Bandwidth: 1GB internal network, and an external 500Mbps connection. !  Support: ITSD has experience working with external resources and employees, but does not have the tools required to do all support remotely.
32. Network and Storage What we need/Recommendations !  Security: Clear criteria on what type of resources require what level of security. Training on how to best secure offsite resources and interactions between offsite and onsite resources. Process for evaluating the security needs of new resources. !  Bandwidth (offsite): reimburse for some level of network access. Set a minimum bandwidth requirement for teleworkers. !  Bandwidth (Institute): Work for all teleworkers, performing their typical duties simultaneously, should proceed without bandwidth being an issue. Provide redundancy of Institute network access. WiFi coverage at the Institute must be complete, at the highest possible bandwidth. The location and access of wired ports must be clear and accessible. !  Support: Tools/training for diagnosis of network issues. Training on basic network diagnosis for teleworkers, and advanced network diagnosis for IT support. Look at what major ISPs offer for teleworking organizations.
33. Network and Storage First Steps !  Security: ITSD should review the recommendations to ensure that there is commonality in objectives and perceived needs. !  Bandwidth: Ensure that Institute bandwidth is sufficient to meet the immediate needs of the new population of offsite employees. !  Support: Coordinate with security and network to make sure lines of communications are open between the necessary groups to deal with the impending flood of issues that will arise as the flex working plan is implemented.
34. Remote Support
35. Remote Support Issues !  need to support both people and equipment that are not in the building !  difficult to resolve some support issues without being in person or at least seeing a person's screen !  impossible to do some things remotely (e.g. repairing laptops) !  many things we do now could be remote but we don't have the tech in place !  can't currently change passwords remotely for all platforms !  Backup methods vary by platform and some rely on local physical drives !  if people use their home machines, software licenses may not apply.
36. Remote Support What we have !  telephone !  email !  help desk office !  some remote patching !  Footprints
37. Remote Support What we need/Recommendations !  remote access to computers !  screen sharing !  live support tools !  knowledge base for self-support !  discussion forums for self-support
38. Remote Support First Steps !  pilot live support tool (Sococo Team Space) !  remote patching for all platforms !  remote access to all platforms !  plan for future central storage and backups !  evaluate Footprints utility as a knowledge base