Chapter 4 – Information Technology

The Department has established a management planning process that is consistent with the needs, resources, and use of information technology within the Department. In compliance with the SAMState Administrative Manual 4900.2, the established management planning process:

• Is consistent with the current statewide policies contained in SAMand current management memos for managing information and information technology.

• Is linked to and supportive of CDC’s overall program planning and budgeting processes.

• Involves CDC executive management and program managers, as well as those who are responsible for the use, operation, and support of ITS.

• Addresses current and projected relationships among the various aspects of information technology employed by CDC, including equipment (such as mainframes and minicomputers, personal computers, and office systems), software (such as computer languages, including fourth generation languages, and applications packages), and telecommunications.

• Relates current and planned uses of information technology to the information required for the accomplishment of CDC’s mission and key programs.

• Considers means for ensuring the continuing availability of the information required to support critical programs in the event of disaster, or other unforeseen events resulting in an interruption of CDC’s regular systems operation.

Planning includes identifying needs and opportunities, defining objectives, and determining appropriate means of achieving those objectives. The purposes of information management planning are to:

• Find ways that information technology can improve the effectiveness of CDC programs.

• Analyze the costs and benefits of information technology and allocate resources systematically.

• Clarify CDC’s priorities and be able to react to changes with a minimal amount of disruption.

• Improve communication among executive managers, staff responsible for information technology, and the users of the programs.

• Provide managers with a long-term perspective on current problems that simplifies making decisions and solving problems.

In addition, planning requirements are intended to provide the Office of Information Technology (OITOffice of Information Technology) and other control and oversight organizations with the basic facts those organizations require to carry out their responsibilities concerning the use of information technology in State government.

It is the responsibility of ISDInformation Services Division (see EIS) to develop and maintain a departmental strategic plan. This plan shall be approved by the MISManagement Information Systems Committee. Once approved, this plan shall serve as the road map for planned automation efforts within the Department. This plan shall be utilized to link divisional planning efforts to the goals and objectives of the division and Department. The MISManagement Information Systems Committee shall ensure that all projects under its responsibility are consistent with and do not conflict with other planned efforts. Compatibility and connectivity shall be the shared vision of all planning.

CDC has developed a formal structure for planning which includes an MISManagement Information Systems Committee and an ongoing planning process that involves analysis, evaluation, and review of proposed projects. This project review, reporting, and evaluation process is covered in DOMDepartment Operations Manual Subchapter 44000, Project Review, Reporting and Evaluation. Alternately, this subchapter describes the MISManagement Information Systems Committee, the MISManagement Information Systems Support Unit (MISManagement Information Systems-SU), ISDInformation Services Division (see EIS), and the role each plays in the management planning process.

MISManagement Information Systems Committee

• The MISManagement Information Systems Committee, whose members represent the divisions within CDC and the CalPIA, is responsible for executive leadership and strategic planning in seeking out opportunities to employ information technology for the achievement of the Department’s mission, goals, and objectives. The MISManagement Information Systems Committee assesses all proposed ITS projects (ranked according to their importance to the Department’s mission) to assure conformance with the Department’s mission statement, strategic plan, and key programs. The committee also reviews and approves the Department’s Information Management Annual Plan (IMAPInformation Management Annual Plan) and endorses future needs identified in long-range planning documents. DOMDepartment Operations Manual 41020.3 describes the role of the MISManagement Information Systems Committee.

ISDInformation Services Division (see EIS)

• ISDInformation Services Division (see EIS) is responsible for development and maintenance of the overall strategic plan of the Department. This plan shall be the result of compiling all divisional automation needs into a single document for the prioritization of projects and alignment with the budget by the MISManagement Information Systems Committee.

• ISDInformation Services Division (see EIS) is also responsible for maintaining and updating the IMAPInformation Management Annual Plan. This includes: working with the user to develop appropriate documents for inclusion in the IMAPInformation Management Annual Plan for those projects reportable to OITOffice of Information Technology, ensuring that the appropriate reportable project forms are completed, notifying the user once a project has been approved, whether it is delegated or non-delegated, maintaining copies of all reports, and, as appropriate, acting as a liaison between OITOffice of Information Technology and CDC project management concerning reporting requirements throughout the life cycle of the project.

MISManagement Information Systems-SU

• The MISManagement Information Systems-SU provides functional support to the MISManagement Information Systems Committee by coordinating MISManagement Information Systems Committee meeting agendas, coordinating the review of proposed ITS projects, preparing annual updates for the Department cabinet on all CDC automation efforts for the current year as well as strategic planning for the coming year, and participating in the development of presentations for the committee addressing current technical innovations and coordinating the review of information system concepts to ensure compliance and consonance with the budget cycle. Refer to DOMDepartment Operations Manual 41020.4 for more details on the role of the MISManagement Information Systems-SU.

The Department uses the MBO approach for planning information management. The Department’s mission and philosophy statement were developed based on MBO principles, and resulted from many planning sessions held to enlist ideas from numerous levels, disciplines, and segments within the Department.

Each Division formulates its own goals and objectives using departmental goals and objectives as the foundation for the effort. The CDC ITS planning process originates with the development of the strategic plan (see also DOMDepartment Operations Manual 43010.3). MBO goals and objectives are developed to structure the Department’s efforts to achieve the purposes specified in the strategic plan. The establishment of such goals and objectives allows the identification of automation opportunities consistent with the plan, and the planning process then provides for the development of various concept statements to enable articulation of methods that may be used to benefit from the identified automation opportunities. All automation concept papers are reviewed by the MISManagement Information Systems Committee and, if approved, become part of the IMAPInformation Management Annual Plan. Implementation of an automation concept that requires increased or new source funding may require the preparation of a Budget Concept Statement, and a BCPBudget Change Proposal may also be necessary. Establishment of certain automation projects as specified in this Chapter shall require prior approval of an FSRFeasibility Study Reports.

ISDInformation Services Division (see EIS) shall provide the general guidelines for objectives that require automated solutions. The resulting document, the Information Systems Budget Concept Statement (ISInformation Systems-BCSBudget Concept Statement), is submitted to ISDInformation Services Division (see EIS) and the MISSU for review and recommendations.

ISDInformation Services Division (see EIS) shall coordinate development of the IMAPInformation Management Annual Plan, and shall maintain it to ensure that a vision of connectivity and compatibility is followed. Redundancy of data input is another area of concern, and this plan shall help ensure that a planned automation effort is coordinated within the department. Duplication of automation efforts is a costly and time-consuming waste. The IMAPInformation Management Annual Plan shall serve as a road map for automated efforts.

The MISManagement Information Systems Committee shall measure proposed projects against CDC’s, mission and established departmental priorities so as to best prioritize and approve proposed EDPElectronic Data Processing (see IT) projects.

The Assistant Secretary, EISEnterprise Information Services (formerly Information Services Division), or designee shall be responsible for ensuring that the contents of this Article are kept current and accurate.

SAMState Administrative Manual § 4900.2.

DOMDepartment Operations Manual §§ 44000, 41020.3 and 41020.4.