Interoperability Cornerstones: Planning, Project Governance, & Partnerships Dan Hawkins, Manager SEARCH Public Safety Technology Program SEARCH SEARCH is a private, non-profit consortium of the states governed by a membership group of gubernatorial appointees. It has a 36-year history of collaboration with and assistance to State and Federal grant recipients. Over the past two years, it has worked under the COPS Interoperable Communications Technology Program (ICTP) and DHS Interoperable Communications Technical Assistance Program (ICTAP) Interoperability Cornerstones •Planning •Project Governance •Partnerships Cornerstone: Planning •Critical at many levels •Strategic Planning •Project Planning •Lifecycle Planning •Tactical Planning •But it seems endless! “It is always wise to look ahead, but difficult to look farther than you can see.” -Winston Churchill Planning Principles • The plan isn’t as important as the planning • It’s all a matter of context •Plan in context •Design in context •Train in context “A good plan today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow.” - General George S. Patton Planning - Crazy Talk Image of Dilbert cartoon Planning in Context • Plan in the context of: • Operational, functional needs • Other regional, state, Federal initiatives •Continuously changing technology environment •Complex system of systems Planning in Context • Plan in the context of: •Agency business plan •Agency technology plan •Regional, state, and national interoperability strategies • Most importantly: • In the context of plans of partners in response Cornerstone: Planning Build your strategic interoperability plans based on: • Business needs • Broader agency and technology strategic plans • Other regional, state, and national plans Cornerstone: Project Governance • Process v. Project v. Process • Project governance is the decisionmaking structure that: • provides leadership and accountability, • defines the business of the partners, • analyzes technical environments, policies and solutions, and • effectively manages projects. Project Governance • A typical structure includes: •Executive Sponsorship •Steering Committee •Project Management •Working Committees and Groups Project Governance • Executive Sponsorship •One to three sponsors •Role: Accountability •Captain through the storms •Wind in the sails •Provide resources •Bear in the cave Project Governance • Steering Committee •High-level managers •Able to commit resources •Insures that project is managed •Constant guidance and oversight •Able to make mostdecisions related tothe project Project Governance • Project Management •Ideally, a full-time person with specific skills, training, and experience •Formally accountableto upper management •Informally accountableto working committees Project Governance • Working Committees & Groups •User or Operational Committee •The folks who actually use (or will use) interoperable systems •Technical Committee •Must know workflow and business needs •Ad hoc work groups Cornerstone: Project Governance • Executive Sponsorship • Steering Committee • Project Management • Working Committees and Groups Cornerstone: Partnerships Process – Project - Process • Charters • Memoranda of Understanding • Standard Operating Procedures • Training, Exercises, Frequent Use Partnerships Charters formalize partnerships • Charters •Set the vision •Give the initiative a name •Capture the big picture •Build the business case •Log the background •Set the scope Partnerships • Charters •Set preliminary objectives •Note assumptions •Set initial timelines & budget •Describe projectmethodology •Outline org structure •Are signed Partnerships • Memoranda of Understanding •Intergovernmental agreements •Interlocal agreements •etc. •Formal, legalistic •Often necessary, rarely replace need for a charter in creating partnerships Partnerships • Standard Operating Procedures •NIMS ICS-based best practices •Emergency Traffic •Channel Span of Control •Standard Language •Communications-order Model •Operational Unit Reportingu Partnerships • Standard Operating Procedures •NIMS ICS-based best practices Emergency Traffic -How’s it announced? -Who’s in charge? -How’s it cleared? Partnerships • Standard Operating Procedures •NIMS ICS-based best practices Channel Span of Control -How many resources can be assigned to this or that command/operations/ tactical/logistics channel? Partnerships • Standard Operating Procedures •NIMS ICS-based best practices Standard Language -Common terminology -Standard resource definitions -Naming conventions -Plain language Partnerships • Standard Operating Procedures •NIMS ICS-based best practices Communications-order Model -Positive message acknowledgement - Five-step process Partnerships • Standard Operating Procedures •NIMS ICS-based best practices Operational Unit Reporting - Standardized, e.g. CAN report, location, status Partnerships • Training, Exercises, and Frequent Use •Multi-discipline •Multi-jurisdictional •Multi-governmental •Regional – cover a response or planning area Cornerstone: Partnerships • Must Be Practitioner Driven •Unbalanced, tawdry, distorted results if: •Politically-driven •Vendor-driven •Bureaucracy-driven •Each have likely role •Know your partners! Conclusion • Planning •Project Governance •Partnerships Are Interoperability Cornerstones “Technology makes it possible for people to gain control over everything, except over technology.” — John Tudor