Municipal Interface National Professional Journal of MISA/ASIM Canada

M A Y 2 0 0 7 , V O L . 1 4 , N O 3

What is the Municipal Reference Model and Why Does It Matter?

With the MRM, MISA/ASIM Canada hopes to create a common language to support alignment and transformation of municipal services. See page 37

Also in this Issue: Human Resources and IT Page Wood Buffalo relies on IT to support change management 17 ITIL version 3 aims to improve qualifications of IT project managers 22 Hiring for the help desk: A novel approach builds bridges on the team 27 Innovative application helps Saint John police manage performance 31

MUNICIPAL Interface MAY 2007

In This Issue

News Advertisers Index MISA news across Canada 7 Page Municipal news 39 AESI (Acumen Engineered Solutions) 13 AGL Inc. 44 Columns Agresso 19 President’s column – Keeping In Touch 4 Autodesk Canada 5 CDW Canada 10 Roy Wiseman – Governance Issues 41 Citrix Canada 33 Com-Tech Learning Solutions 29 Report From RIMQ Digital Boundary Group 42 The role of municipal wireless networks 34 ESRI Canada 26 Imex Systems 16 Features LCM Security 25 Mid-Range Computer Group 6 Wood Buffalo relies on IT amid massive change 17 Packet Works Division of Packet-Tel 32 What ITIL Version 3 means to IT project managers 22 Panasonic Canada 40 Hiring for the help desk, a novel approach 27 RIVA Online 20 Innovative application aids Saint John police HR 31 SaskTel 21 TELUS Insert Municipal Reference Model’s potential impact 37 Teranet 2

Journal of MISA/ASIM Canada Advertising Rates Suite 309, 14845 – 6 Yonge Street Associate Members Non-Members Aurora, ON L4G 6H8 $1,375 pre-printed insert $1,700 Phone: 416-458-4410 www.misa.on.ca; www.misa.bc.ca; www.misa-asim.ca $1,225 back page $1,500 http://misaprairies.ca; www.rimq.com $925 inside front $1,150 Journal Production $625 1 page $780 $425 1/2 page $530 Co-Chairs, Communications Committee: Ron Blakey (Durham) 905-571-4111 $275 quarter page $345 Kathryn Bulko (Toronto) 416-397-9921 Articles are subject to approval by the Communications Committee. The views Co-Editors: expressed in this journal are those of the individual writers and do not Lawrence Moule 416-458-4410, [email protected] Jane Morgan 416-488-2878, [email protected] necessarily reflect those of MISA/ASIM Canada. French-language editor: Gaston Huot (Brossard) 450-923-6362 No part of the publication may be reproduced by anyone without prior written permission from MISA/ASIM Canada. Design: Natalie Coombs of NatCo Design © 2007 MISA/ASIM Canada Printer: Select Printing, Toronto

3 MUNICIPAL Interface MAY 2007

Keeping in Touch By Daniel Malo RIMQ Expands Director of IT, City of Montréal Chairman, RIMQ Its Leadership Role

THIS YEAR, THE RÉSEAU de l’informatique municipale 3. Make executive management (directeurs généraux, du Québec (RIMQ) celebrates its 25th anniversary. heads of departments, elected officials) aware Our history goes back to 1982, when IT managers of the important role played by IT in municipal from a number of Québec municipalities, looking operations – RIMQ plans to publish articles to for a way to meet and discuss their respective convey its vision of IT issues facing municipali- challenges, decided to establish an association of ties, participate in meetings with the Association municipal computer specialists. So began a tradition des directeurs généraux des municipalités du of annual meetings and exchanges on best practices Québec, and circulate last year’s brief regarding in our field. future issues for municipalities. Since then, in spite of the remoteness of several 4. Promote electronic government (online govern- municipalities and important differences in the size ment) – RIMQ will promote the initiatives now and type of computer infrastructures they deal with, under way to develop the delivery of online ser- our colleagues have been meeting to discuss IT vices. These new ways of providing services to issues and challenges. our clienteles and citizens offer solutions to the As with any association, RIMQ has evolved structural problems that will be faced by munici- through the years and adapted to the lightning pace palities. In association with UMQ, a survey of of IT developments. The world is at our fingertips, our municipalities is planned, and an authentica- and our province is ever more accessible. RIMQ tion pilot project is now under way with the has set itself a goal of increasing its daily presence Québec government. within its membership and, for several years, has RIMQ also conducts a number of activities been pursuing an action plan to increase its initia- throughout the year: tives and activities. The work of RIMQ is entirely based on the • Hosting an annual symposium in September at volunteer efforts of its members and directors. The Hôtel Sacacomie in St-Alexis-des-Monts (Mauricie). association also relies upon partnerships with the This symposium will highlight RIMQ’s 25th Corporation of Chartered Municipal Officers of anniversary and focus mainly on the themes of Québec and the UMQ (L’Union des municipalités wireless communications, outsourcing, IT gover- du Québec). It receives revenues from some of its nance, e-learning and continuity of services. activities, including its annual symposium which is The symposium provides the ideal opportunity financed through the participation of its many part- for our members and partners to meet and ners in the private sector. develop solid partnerships for our projects. In 2007, RIMQ chose the following action • The RIMQ-G9 Committee – the committee that priorities: brings together those responsible for IT services 1. Facilitate joint action between towns and cities – in the nine largest Québec municipalities (Montréal, RIMQ wishes to set up regional issue tables and Québec City, Longueuil, Laval, Trois-Rivières, interest groups, encourage common training ses- Sherbrooke, Saguenay, Gatineau and Lévis). sions, and prepare a knowledge engineering Meetings are held every six weeks. One of its toolkit. 2007 priorities is to assess the possibility of 2. Establish IT management indicators – In spite of sharing a common human resources and payroll a long-demonstrated need by all concerned, system (as an exception, this objective involves establishing performance and comparison indi- the G9’s HR heads.) The committee will also cators continues to be a difficult task. RIMQ will work on projects promoting the use of common start consulting its members in order to lay the telecommunications infrastructures and videocon- foundations for a municipal balanced scorecard. ferencing tools. 4 MUNICIPAL Interface MAY 2007

Keeping In Touch

• Participation in MISA/ASIM activities. RIMQ is proud to be involved in the creation and activities RIMQ Annual Event Coming of our new national association, aiming to To ‘Le Coeur du Québec’ ensure that it will generate concrete benefits for its Québec membership. THE RÉSEAU de l’informatique municipale du • Hosting seminars in the Montréal region on topics Québec (RIMQ) will hold its annual conference on including wireless technology, geomatics and September 16-18 to celebrate 25 years of the evo- computer security. lution of the province’s municipal IT association. • RIMQ is also working on setting up a repository of all IT projects and technology environments As RIMQ seeks to raise the profile of IT leaders supporting the province’s municipalities. in dealing with modern municipal issues, the confer- 2007 will be an action-packed year. While ence will feature a workshop with the Chartered RIMQ’s action plan is ambitious, it reflects the Municipal Officers of Québec and another on the desire of the members of our Board of Directors to role of IT directors in government. make the network an essential support for the work The conference will take place at Hôtel Sacacomie of our municipal membership. in St-Alexis-des-Monts in the scenic Mauricie region between Montréal and Québec City, known as [email protected]  “le Coeur du Québec.” 

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34 Riviera Drive, Markham, ON L3R 5M1 • 800-668-6470 • 905-940-1814 • www.midrange.ca MUNICIPAL Interface MAY 2007

MISA News Across Canada

MISA Ontario Conference To Celebrate Internationally Recognized Municipalities

MISA ONTARIO’S annual confer- Intelligent Community of the Year Among the five streams of edu- ence will raise networking to a new at its annual conference called cational sessions will be one enti- level, as representatives from inter- Building the Broadband Economy, tled “Small Can Be Big,” designed nationally celebrated Canadian which is scheduled for May 18 in to present ideas for meeting the “intelligent communities” join New York. unique challenges of smaller munic- together for the first time to share ipalities. One of those sessions will The combined community of their success stories. be presented by a very small Ottawa-Gatineau is also on this municipality indeed -- the Township The City of Waterloo will not year’s list of the Top Seven of Tiny. only be host for the 29th annual Intelligent Communities. MISA Ontario Annual Conference Other streams are: Representatives from these two and Trade Show on June 10-13, it municipalities have been invited • Asset and Project Management will present the first ever Canadian to participate in the forum, as well • Best Practices and Intelligent Communities Forum on as representatives from other Private/Public Partnerships the final day of the conference. Canadian intelligent communities • The Mobile Workspace “This year’s closing session listed at various times by ICF: • Enterprise Solutions. will recognize the contributions of Burlington, Toronto and Sudbury Canadian communities in an open in Ontario, as well as Calgary, “MISA Ontario 2007 in Water- forum that will provide the delegates Fredericton, Nunavut and the loo is shaping up to be a most an opportunity to hear about com- Western Valley of Nova Scotia. excellent adventure,” says confer- munity initiatives and ask questions ence manager Teresa Soulliere. of the panelists,” says Garry Visionary Speakers Sunday, June 10, will see the Bezruki, director of information Louis Zacharilla, vice-president return of the annual golf tournament systems for the City of Waterloo of ICF, will be a guest speaker. at the premiere Grey Silo golf and conference chair. The conference will also feature course. Alternatively the conference Waterloo itself will be represented keynote speeches by Tom Jenkins, will offer a high-tech scavenger in the forum, having been designated chairman and chief strategy officer hunt through Waterloo Park and in both 2006 and 2007 as one of of OpenText, and Mike Lazaridis, Waterloo’s historic uptown. the Top Seven Intelligent Communities co-CEO of Research in Motion. Delegates will be entertained in the world by the Intelligent With a theme of “The Art of in the evenings with a barbecue, Communities Forum, a global think Balance,” the conference will be an Oktoberfest and the annual tank based in New York (ICF, held in the RIM Park Sportsplex. It banquet. www.intelligentcommunity.org). will feature interactive hands-on For more information, please ICF names a new Top Seven labs from Nortel and Bell and an see www.misa.on.ca or each year and announces the Adobe Theatre on the exhibit floor. www.misa.waterloo.ca. 7 MUNICIPAL Interface MAY 2007

MISA News Across Canada

MISA/ASIM Canada Invests in Project To Find National Authentication Solution

HOW CAN GOVERNMENTS find the federal and provincial govern- will ensure that the requirements of common or compatible methods to ments, the task force has been municipal governments will be identify, authenticate, and authorize given six months to develop a taken into account in the final their citizens for purposes of con- pan-Canadian model for identity report of the task force. ducting online transactions? management and authentication. “We have proved that we wish It is urgent that municipalities as MISA/ASIM Canada was invited to be part of this solution,” Matte well as other levels of government to join IMTF early this year. said. “We have contributed mone- find a way to prevent a chaotic Membership, however, required tarily more than some provinces.” proliferation of incompatible systems that a municipal representative be Roy Wiseman of the Region of from being built across the country. seconded to it full time. Peel added, “If the outcome of this Citizens could end up with different That person has been found – ultimately is an identity-management identification requirements for elec- Murray Rosenthal, an information framework that will be implemented tronic access to any jurisdiction, security specialist with the City of across the country, then we will agency or government level. Toronto. MISA Ontario and MISA want municipalities to have had a That is why the major announce- BC are each contributing $7,500 voice in what that looks like, right ment at the first Annual General on behalf of MISA/ASIM Canada from the beginning.” Meeting of MISA/ASIM Canada toward the cost to Toronto of his was that the association is con- secondment, and the other task-force New Officers tributing to a national authentica- members are contributing another The meeting marked the conclusion tion initiative, the Deputy Ministers’ $15,000. of Wiseman’s two-year term on the Identity Management Task Force Gerry Matte of the Municipality board and as association secretary. (IMTF). of Saanich, BC, is a member of the Matte is the new secretary, while Formed in December 2006 by a IMTF steering committee. He said Kathryn Bulko of the City of Toronto committee of deputy ministers from MISA/ASIM Canada’s participation is succeeding Wiseman as one of the two MISA Ontario board repre- sentatives. The other, Garry Bezruki of the City of Waterloo, continues as trea- surer. Kevin Peacock of the City of Saskatoon, who presided over the AGM and welcomed guests from the municipal delegation to Lac Carling, continues as president. Daya Pillay of Halifax Regional Municipality is the new vice-president, succeeding Daniel Malo of the City Members of the MISA/ASIM Canada 2007-2008 Board of Directors pose after the Annual General Meeting on April 28. From left, seated: Daya Pillay, Halifax; Kevin Peacock, of Montreal, who remains on the Saskatoon. Standing: Mark Humphries, Parkland County; Gaston Huot, Villes de board. Boucherville, Brossard, Saint-Bruno et Saint-Lambert; Bill Todd, Saint John; Kathryn Bulko, Launched in June 2006, MISA/ Toronto; Garry Bezruki, Waterloo; Gerry Matte, Saanich; David Hennigan, BC Capital ASIM Canada has decided to have Region District. Absent: Daniel Malo, Montreal. its AGM at Lac Carling each year.  8 MUNICIPAL Interface MAY 2007

MISA News Across Canada BC Pioneer Wins Peter Bennett Award

PER KRISTENSEN of the City of University, formerly director of Nanaimo, BC, a pioneer in building information technology for the City municipal and IT organizations of Mississauga and past president and a leader in establishing part- of MISA Ontario, who led the way nership status for municipalities in for municipalities to join other levels dealings with the British Columbia of government in advancing citizen- government, has been honoured centred service delivery. by MISA/ASIM Canada with the Barrett was the first municipal 2007 Peter Bennett Award. representative on the Public Sector Kristensen was presented with CIO Council, and Kristensen suc- the highest award in the Canadian ceeded her in 2000. A co-founder municipal IT community on April of MISA/ASIM Canada as a mem- 30 during the Lac Carling Congress ber with Bennett of the organizing at Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. “group of eight,” he also partici- Per Kristensen addresses delegates to the Presenter Kevin Peacock, presi- pated for two years on the Public dent of MISA/ASIM Canada, said, Lac Carling Congress on April 30 in Sector Service Delivery Council accepting the Peter Bennett Award. “Per has worked closely with his Research Committee and remains municipal colleagues, first in British active as a representative for Columbia and then nationally, to MISA BC and the provincial govern- MISA/ASIM Canada on various ensure that municipalities work ment and was a founding member committees of the Joint Councils. together, that benefits are shared, and second vice-president of the Integrated Cadastral Information and that municipal input is heard Municipal Milestone and contributes to the national Society of BC. strategy for governments’ electronic Kristensen was responsible for Kristensen is also a former chapter service delivery.” achieving a milestone for MISA/ president of the Canadian ASIM Canada in 2006 when he The Peter Bennett Award was Information Processing Society organized the first-ever meeting of created in 2005, shortly after and serves on the Lac Carling the Joint Councils with a municipal the sudden death of the greatly Conference Steering Committee host. The meeting in the City of respected municipal leader from As chief technology officer for Nanaimo on Vancouver Island Winnipeg for whom it is named. Nanaimo for 20 years, Kristensen established a new standard for One of the first initiatives of the has ensured that the City, though a such meetings, including an addi- newly formed MISA/ASIM Canada smaller municipality, has won several tional educational program. Board of Directors, the award now awards and is considered a is presented annually to a volunteer Kristensen was one of the found- Canadian leader in the effective who has made an outstanding con- ing members of the Municipal delivery of municipal services tribution to the municipal IT envi- Information Systems Association through technology. of British Columbia (MISA BC) in ronment in Canada. He has lead responsibility for Kristensen is the third recipient 1994. He has served on the Board the development of the new City of the award. The first was Peter of Directors since that time and is a of Nanaimo convention centre, to Bennett himself, posthumously. past president. be opened in 2008 – with the The 2006 recipient was Debbie He has been instrumental in MISA BC Fall Conference as its Barrett, now CIO of McMaster forging a close relationship between opening event.  9

MUNICIPAL Interface MAY 2007

MISA News Across Canada

Security Resources MISA/ASIM Canada Announces Still Available National Licensing Agreement To MISA Ontario With Adobe Systems Canada Municipal Members

A LARGE GROUP of municipal By Guillermo Ferrero Previously, Ottawa-based members of MISA Ontario now Adobe Systems Canada and the has acquired Web access to the Vancouver office of Softchoice had CANADA’S FIRST national software world’s largest collection of IT signed a licensing agreement in licensing agreement for municipalities security resource materials, and 2006 to cover all member munici- is now in place for members of the opportunity to gain immediate palities of MISA BC. MISA/ASIM Canada. access to this resource remains That agreement was put together open to other members. The agreement with Adobe by MISA BC President David In February, MISA Ontario Systems Canada marks the first Hennigan, IT manager for the became a member of the time that municipalities in all Capital Regional District, and International Security Forum regions of Canada are being Richard Hannaford, Adobe’s repre- (ISF, www.securityforum.org) on offered the same low price and sentative at SoftChoice. behalf of its member municipalities. standard conditions for the licensing This enables municipalities of all of products from a vendor. National Extension sizes to establish effective IT The agreement gives all munici- This year Hennigan, along with security policies and practices palities that are members of the Gerry Matte, IT manager of the by adapting the ISF published five regional associations within Municipality of Saanich and past materials. MISA/ASIM Canada the right to president of MISA BC, renegotiated the agreement to include all MISA/ Claire McKay, manager of purchase Adobe products at a ASIM Canada member associations technology infrastructure with the standard 12-per-cent discount from – the four chapters of MISA plus Region of Peel, negotiated the ISF regular published prices, provided RIMQ in Quebec. agreement and recruited MISA that a certain minimum value of Ontario member municipalities to products is ordered and that the In addition to the discounted join an ISF Special Interest Group, order is placed through Softchoice prices, this agreement extends to with membership fees based on Corporation, an Adobe distributor. upgrade plans and covers electronic population. software delivery for some products Common Agreement as well as access to Adobe’s licens- McKay reports that 33 munici- ing Web site. palities have joined the group. “Never before have municipalities They have access by means of worked together to acquire or For more details, and to take a login ID to resources including apply information technologies by advantage of this offer, member policy templates, an IT security means of a common agreement,” municipalities within the five health check, security tools and says Kevin Peacock, president of MISA/ASIM Canada associations worldwide best practices. MISA/ASIM Canada and branch are invited to contact your local SoftChoice dealer. They are also invited to attend manager of Corporate Information a free ISF workshop in Ottawa Services with the City of Saskatoon. on July 5. “We salute Adobe Systems Guillermo Ferrero, manager of busi- Any municipalities still Canada for its far-sighted initiative to ness applications with the City of interested can contact apply a new and effective business Nanaimo and communications dir- [email protected].  model to serve the Canadian ector for MISA BC, can be reached municipal IT market.” at [email protected].  11 MUNICIPAL Interface MAY 2007

MISA News Across Canada Delegates Experience Northern Ways At MISA Prairies’ Third Annual Event

By Chris Fisher As the major annual event of MISA Prairies, the spring confer- ence has expanded every year THE MISA PRAIRIES 2007 spring since the first day-long conference conference was a resounding success was held two years ago, hosted again this year – with interesting by Richard Kirke in Strathcona vendor presentations, topical issues County, Alberta. and roundtable discussions, all topped off with good food, fun and Last year’s conference was a enough free time for networking. two-day event organized by Kelly Kaban in Yorkton, Saskatchewan. The bus that brought MISA Prairies Held April 2-4 in Fort With the theme “Citizens First – delegates to the Syncrude site, seen at McMurray, Alberta, the conference lower right, is dwarfed by the gigantic Accessible Government,” the 2007 drew about 30 MISA member dele- mining machinery. gates, along with a dozen vendors. program highlighted some of the The MISA Prairies chapter represents contemporary technologies that municipalities from Manitoba, increase the service quality and gave an insightful presentation on Saskatchewan and Alberta. Fort choices available to citizens in organization development and McMurray is part of the Wood accessing government services. change (see page 17). Buffalo Regional Municipality. Efficient Organization Topics over the next two days ranged from Cisco talking about Wood Buffalo’s IT manager, Terry connected communities to TELUS Morton, showed his excellent judg- explaining its vision of citizen-centric ment by delegating the conference service delivery. Participants heard organization to the capable and about Strathcona County’s business- efficient Aileen Diefenbach. continuity planning and Wood Keynote speaker Bill Newell, Buffalo’s electronic information- Wood Buffalo’s regional manager, management system and ICT and previously city manager in both strategic planning. Portage La Prairie and Whitehorse, A bus tour of the oil sands was sponsored by Syncrude. It was an Above, MISA Prairies President Georganne eye-opening and educational expe- Dupont of the City of Airdire, Alberta, left, rience. (The only disappointed chats with Chris Fisher of the City of Regina person was the fellow who brought and conference organizer Aileen Diefenbach of Fort McMurray. along his large movie camera, mistakenly thinking “Syncrude” At right, delegates listen to Georganne would be an x-rated show involving Dupont as morning sessions begin. oily mud-wrestlers!) 12 MUNICIPAL Interface MAY 2007

MISA News Across Canada

Right, Terry Morton talks about Wood Buffalo’s ICT strategic planning.

Art Krutz of St. Albert, left, and John Millar of Digital Below, Richard Kirke explains Boundary Group listen to how Strathcona County Dale Descouteau of handles an issue. Medicine Hat.

AnnMarie McDonald Above, delegates listen to Hansen Canada’s of Wood Buffalo presentation on asset management. addresses delegates.

Representing MISA Ontario was Ralph Blauel from the Region of Halton. Guillermo Ferrero from Nanaimo represented MISA BC. The Prairies chapter owes a great deal to both of these groups for their mentoring, support and encouragement. Outstanding Hospitality The Stonebridge Hotel in Fort McMurray was very accommodating, the food was second to none, and the hospitality outstanding. Everything went off without a hitch (at least no hitches that any of the participants noticed!). Kudos to Terry, Aileen and the rest of the Wood Buffalo crew who had a part in organizing this successful event. Come this fall, chapter members will migrate to the larger (and warmer) MISA BC conference, where one Prairie-specific gathering is arranged, and the rest of the time is spent enjoying the planning and efforts of our BC associates. The conference is in Penticton this year – and we are already looking forward to meeting again.

Chris Fisher, general manager of information systems for the City of Regina and vice-president of MISA Prairies, can be reached at [email protected].  13 MUNICIPAL Interface MAY 2007

MISA News Across Canada ‘Mister MISA’ Gets the Heintzman

ROY WISEMAN of the Region of representative on the ICCS Peel, a leader in the development board and has served and expansion of both MISA in many capacities with Ontario and MISA/ASIM Canada, related interjurisdictional has been honoured by his peers organizations. at all levels of government as the As Lac Carling co-chair, 2007 recipient of the Heintzman Wiseman has encouraged Leadership Award. municipal participation in the Wiseman is the first municipal collaborative e-government leader to receive the award, estab- conference. This year 42 lished in 2003 by the Institute for municipal delegates attended, Citizen-Centred Service (ICCS) to compared with 38 provincial recognize outstanding leadership delegates and 25 from the within the public sector in promoting federal government. citizen-centred service. Wiseman was a founder Roy Wiseman, CIO of the Region of Peel, stands Announcement of the award of MISA/ASIM Canada and with his Heintzman Leadership Award trophy and was greeted with enthusiasm by just retired as secretary of its plaque, presented at the annual Lac Carling delegates to the annual Lac Carling board. He was the primary Congress on April 29. Congress on April 29 at Niagara- author of its constitutional on-the-Lake, Ontario (www.integov- document, the By-laws and Services Division in 1986. His world.com/LacCarling/index.aspx). Operations Manual. strategic leadership was recognized “His vision, leadership and He is a past president of MISA by the Region in 2003 when he innovation have brought together Ontario, has been chair was appointed Chief Information a diverse range of organizations of several of its conferences and Officer. and governments, emphasizing his is regarded in the province as Wiseman directed the develop- sustained commitment to excellence “Mister MISA,” Turnbull noted. ment from 1993 onward of the in delivering services to citizens,” One of Wiseman’s most enduring Peel Region Public Sector Network Harry Turnbull, president of MISA contributions may turn out to be the (PSN), the largest municipally Ontario and executive director, Municipal Reference Model (see owned fibre-optics network in information technology with the page 37). He was one of the North America. Since 2000, the City of Windsor, said in introducing chairs of the committee that over- PSN has saved its partner organi- Wiseman at the award ceremony. saw development of the initial zations more than $2 million each The presentation was made by model in the 1990s and is now year in telecommunications costs Art Stevenson, executive director of chair of the steering committee “He stands out as one of those the ICCS, and David Primmer, pres- that is developing version 2 as exceptional individuals who make ident of the ICCS board and chief a national toolkit for municipal things happen, who boldly leads information officer of the Province service transformation. the way and blazes the trail,” of Manitoba. A native of Newfoundland, David Hennigan and Gerry Matte Wiseman was municipal co-chair Wiseman joined the Region of Peel of MISA BC said in their letter of the Lac Carling Congress this year in 1975 and became director of supporting Wiseman’s Heintzman and in 2006. He is a municipal the Information and Technology nomination.  14 MUNICIPAL Interface MAY 2007

MISA News Across Canada MISA Atlantic: One Conference Leads to Another

Steve Collins of xwave, left, discusses mobile computing with By Bill Todd management, MISA Atlantic delegates in Fredericton on April 17. vendor relations, staffing, recruitment and outsourcing, expand the dialogue in areas of AFTER A HIATUS of about 18 and relations with Microsoft. It also common interest across a broader months, representatives of the featured a presentation by Steve constituency. Halifax Regional Municipality Collins of xwave regarding the A follow-up meeting to continue and the cities of Charlottetown, future role for mobile computing Fredericton, Moncton and Saint and an update on the activities of the Fredericton discussions and John finally arranged to meet in MISA/ASIM Canada. organize the September gathering Fredericton on April 17. These Everyone involved found the will be held in Moncton in June. municipalities, along with the City discussions valuable, and the group of St. John’s and the Cape Breton enthusiastically agreed to continue Bill Todd, director of information Regional Municipality, form the to meet as MISA Atlantic. MISA systems services for the City of current base of MISA Atlantic. Atlantic will be hosting a two-day The meeting provided the oppor- meeting in Halifax in September Saint John and secretary of MISA tunity to discuss several common and inviting a number of other Atlantic, can be reached at areas of interest including project municipalities, with a view to [email protected]. 

New Relationship Growing with US Group

MISA/ASIM CANADA, the new conference in Reno, Nevada, on The relationship will include Canadian voice for municipal IT June 24-27. representation at each others’ con- organizations, is being welcomed Ralph Blauel of the Region ferences. Up to now, GMIS officials in the United States by the national of Halton, Ontario, and Wayne have attended MISA conferences in government IT organization. Ontario and BC. John Moody, GMIS Klamut of the City of Penticton, BC, executive secretary, attended the Government Management will attend the conference at the Information Sciences (GMIS, launch of MISA/ASIM Canada in invitation of Doug Taylor, interna- June 2006 during the MISA Ontario www.gmis.org) is the US organiza- tional director for GMIS. tion, based in Bayville, New Jersey, annual conference in Ottawa. that serves as an information-sharing GMIS will use the occasion to MISA/ASIM Canada does not forum for all government levels. It establish a working relationship have an annual conference, but plans a welcoming ceremony for with MISA/ASIM Canada, President representatives from GMIS will be two delegates from MISA/ASIM Kevin Peacock told the Annual welcomed at any conferences of its Canada at its forthcoming annual General Meeting on April 28. five member associations.  15

MUNICIPAL Interface MAY 2007

Human Resources and IT

Wood Buffalo Relies On Information Technology to Support

Change Management Syncrude represents just the beginning of the oil-sands boom in Wood Buffalo.

By Bill Newell younger, we have higher turnover and, in the truest sense of the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo word, we are a learning organization. The increasing complexity of technology, equipment, structure, This article is based on a keynote communication and problems add dynamics we’ve never had to presentation to the MISA Prairies 2007 deal with before. What does remain the same is our obligation Conference in Fort McMurray, Alberta, to serve our citizens. in April 2007. Managers have enough empirical and qualitative data now to know that, to survive, we need to keep up with and be comfortable WHAT MAKES SOME public organiza- with change. We need to change the foundation of how we do tions more successful at meeting business. Leadership and management styles can be directly linked citizen’s needs and dealing with to an organization’s success, and a focus on employees by man- environmental turbulence than others? agers has the potential to improve organizational performance. The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo is growing exponentially, aver- Changing the Culture aging nine-per-cent population growth So, what makes some municipal organizations better than others? each year during the past eight years. The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo began a process in It is anticipated that growth will accel- 2005 to change its organizational culture. After researching the erate as the huge Athabasca Oil Sands deposit is brought into production. characteristics of high-performing organizations and identifying those that we wanted our organization to resemble, we initiated an With more than 100 years of employee-perception survey and asked our employees to measure reserves left to be extracted, it’s us against these characteristics. Then we asked them why they important that the municipality keep pace and that it provide the quality of ranked the organization the way they did. life necessary to attract and retain the With that information in hand, we knew what we needed to huge employee base for both the oil do to improve, and an action plan committee was formed to sands and those that serve them. move our organization forward. Increased activity in the oil fields The eight practices identified by the Regional Municipality of exacerbates the demand on the Wood Buffalo look like this: municipal work force. A sustained 1. Action Orientation – rate of change has a profound impact High-performing local governments identify on the people in an organization and problems and deal with them quickly, fighting through structural, our ability to manage them. Our political, legal and environmental constraints that make action workforce is more diverse, it’s more difficult than in the private sector. 17 MUNICIPAL Interface MAY 2007

Human Resources and IT

2. Closeness to Citizens – This means establishing and maintaining a variety of close links with citizens who are served by the Regional Municipality, including those who are regulated against their will. This is all about being sensitive and respon- sive to public input, providing good service, and engaging our citizens in the decision- making process. 3. Autonomy and Entrepreneurial Culture – We want an organizational climate conducive to conceiving ideas and doing new things to solve problems. We want creative solutions, and we want our employees to know that we’ll support them if they take a risk on our behalf. Increased activity in the oil fields exacerbates the demand on the 4. Employee Orientation – While we’ve talked municipal workforce, which about this for years, there is no doubt in this is young, diverse and has high economic climate that our employees are our rates of turnover. most important resource. We insist on fair treatment of employees as human beings and adults. We look for ways to take maximize their Talking to Our Citizens skills and knowledge, and we include them in The other end of the employee perception survey is the decision-making process. the citizen survey. Our research says that, if you can 5.Values – We want all employees to clearly under- increase the cultural strength of the organization, stand our corporate values and demonstrate them your citizens will see an increase in the quality of in day-to-day decisions. service they receive from those employees. 6. Strategic Planning -- Every organization needs The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo to re-evaluate its purpose based on changing commenced a biennial citizen survey in 2006, and resource levels and citizen demands, and they need we’ll establish a correlation between the employee- a plan to achieve it. With goals, municipalities perception survey and the citizen survey. We can focus on those priorities most important to believe that, as the employee group mean increases, them and offer consistent, uniform services to so will the citizen satisfaction rating. their citizens. With no priorities, we end up trying to do everything, often doing none of it very well The common thread running through all eight and over-extending our resources. criteria is people. 7. Structure – Our organization is growing. We’ve The Need for Change recently reviewed our structure to ensure we still have a strategic capacity but, at the same time, Cultural change is about people. No way, no how we provide firm central direction, while giving can a corporate culture change without the express maximum autonomy to employees to do their job. consent of the people in the organization. 8. Political Relationships – In every successful local An organization begins to experience stress government you’ll find a strong, positive relationship when the world changes and the organization between managers and policy makers. Both will doesn’t keep up. In 2005 the Regional Municipality be tuned into the political environment and will of Wood Buffalo thought that this could happen to us, have established both positive, open and respectful and we decided to discuss it with our employees. relationships with each other as well as political At this point, we’re not going to stop measuring stability. and discussing. It’s too important. 18 MUNICIPAL Interface MAY 2007

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Role of Technology in the Change Process complaint and service tracking software, and project-management software. With nine-per-cent growth, the world speeds up. Our organization struggles to provide good Working Anywhere, Any Time service – not because we don’t want to, but More than 90 per cent of Fort McMurray citizens because the demands are so great that our are connected. Not only does this change the way capacity is threatened. we communicate with our citizens, it changes the Technology plays an important role in our way we work. response and, if any organization today doesn’t New technology permits us to work from any- choose to take advantage of new processes and where at any time. Several people can work on the new technology that will serve public ends and same document at one time and share information encourage their employees to bring in new thinking immediately. We have virtual meetings. We have and new practices at every level, they will fail. new equipment and smaller, faster, more powerful Information systems and technology affects the and stronger applications. The Internet permits us very core of government. We now have internal to benchmark and research more than we ever polling, surveys, e-mail, real-time meetings and have before. feedback and e-governance, as well as our whole system of communication methodology with internal and external environments. Municipalities are recognized as one of the driving forces behind the economy and contribute to the framework or our society. Our attention used to be focused on sewer and water, roads, solid waste and all those other services that are the foundation of our communities. In the 21st century, our focus will surely be the Internet and connectivity. In the past decade, these new technologies have changed our lives, from how we communicate to how and where we work, how business is done, how we educate people, and how we play. This is a new age, and that small core of experts in municipal information technology departments is leading it. We know in our municipality that, to be successful, we need to embrace this change and invest in new technologies. We’re exploring new initiatives such as: • Economic Development • E-commerce • BizPaL • Citizen Survey • Social Improvement processes, including job search, education, citizen engagement, 19 MUNICIPAL Interface MAY 2007

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Our IT professionals are now recognized leaders Focus on the Future in their organization. They have a significant impact We need to keep asking the question, “What can on the ability of other employees to be productive. we do to provide better service to our citizens?.” They help us determine the very quality of work life in the organization and how our employees com- We need to focus on the future rather than the past. municate. They enable us to involve everybody at We have to realize that we’ve entered a “do a strategic, departmental and personal level. what works” era, and that even governments need In our organization, the Information Technology to ask their customers what services they want and master plan is aligned with the corporate strategic offer them efficiently and effectively. Not recognizing plan. It helps us to form corporate priorities and this and trying not to disturb people in our organi- will lead us into a project-management system that zation would be self-defeating. will enable us to implement our plans and be accountable for results. Technology will help, if not dictate, how the Technology may dictate organization responds to the pressure we’re how we respond to pressure currently facing.

We need to care about the organization enough to understand that if we don’t adjust, rapidly, we will be left behind. Our customers will demand changes that we will be unable to address. We need to dismantle the organizational barri- ers that lead to such words as “us” and “them,” or “employees” and “politicians,” or “labour” and “management.” We have to proceed as a team and a unit – and that’s going to take everybody in the organization to do it. Our challenge is to build a modern and vibrant organization that maximizes the talents of our employees – an organization that encourages and facilitates the commitment on the part of all staff members to do everything in their power to achieve our goals of customer service. Our organization is moving forward – and infor- mation technology is playing an important role in helping us get there. Wish us good luck!

Bill Newell is the chief administrative officer at the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, based in Fort McMurray, Alberta. He can be reached through executive assistant Dianne Batstone at [email protected]. 

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ITIL Version 3 Designed to Improve Qualifications of IT Project Managers

By George Spalding verticals share an extended, long-term commitment Pink Elephant Inc. to IT to better serve the public and are accustomed to formal processes and procedures. These common elements justify investment in ITIL- AS INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY continues to drive business today, public and private sector organiza- driven process change initiatives that are focused tions at home and abroad are implementing the IT on transforming IT into a service-based entity that infrastructure ITIL as a common approach to effec- supports the business – or in the case of government, tively and practically manage IT. the goals of the agency. ITIL (the IT Infrastructure Library) is a set of best Federal Model practices in IT service management, developed The Government of Canada, with an annual IT budget by the British government’s Office of Government Commerce and supported by publications, of almost $5 billion, cites ITIL in its March 2006 qualifications and an international user group Profile of Information Technology Services (www. (www.itil.co.uk/index.htm). tbs-sct.gc.ca/cio-dpi/webapps/technology/profil/ profil_e.pdf) as the common process model from ITIL version 3, with a new library of five core which IT services are planned, acquired, built, books plus an introduction, is scheduled for launch delivered, supported, and evaluated. May 30. It will have an impact on municipalities that use ITIL and training companies, including With ITIL’s service support and service delivery several associate members of MISA chapters, that processes firmly planted into the government’s IT assist with its implementation. agenda, the government is able to address the needs of eligible target groups by delivering pro- Prevalent Use grams in a more efficient and effective manner. Several examples from government ITIL projects This rationale can also be applied at the municipal show tangible results: level because the public expects and depends on • Ontario Justice Enterprise, an agency that supports uninterrupted access to information on anything from the Canadian government court system, embraced property tax assessments to recreational programs. ITIL in 1999 and created a virtual help/service With ITIL process maturity comes improved IT desk for internal employees and external parties services, which the municipality can use to continue that cut support costs by 40 per cent. to improve upon the level of service it provides to • The State Revenue office in Victoria, Australia, the public. Internally, the benefits of ITIL include: completed full ITIL implementation in August • Breaking down silos in IT 2005. The agency cited the project as a major factor for slashing its IT budget to $10 million • Proven returns on IT service delivery AU a year from $12 million while improving its • Creating a common language for IT capabilities and clarifying its IT vision. • Business continuity and risk mitigation Government represents one of the four verticals • IT security and information integrity (along with finance, utilities and pharmaceuticals) where interest in ITIL is especially prevalent. All four • Support in internal and external compliance audits. 22 MUNICIPAL Interface MAY 2007

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What Is ITIL? What Are the New Books? The ITIL project began in the 1980s as a set of 40 Service Strategy covers strategies, policies and con- books published by the Central Computer and straints. It includes subjects such as strategy creation, Telecommunications Agency (CCTA) – now the Office implementation, value networks, service portfolio, of Government Commerce (OGC). A consortium of management, financial management and ROI. vendors and practitioners were the original authors Service Design covers policy, planning and of the books, and the sole purpose of compiling this implementation. It is based upon the five core information was to improve IT operations for the aspects of service design: availability, capacity, British government. continuity, service level management and outsourcing. Realizing that this guidance was too good to The book also includes chapters on supplier man- keep contained, the CCTA released ITIL to external agement and information security management. public and private organizations, resulting in the Service Transition introduces a new concept, framework’s widespread adoption and eventual “service knowledge-management system,” which reputation as the world’s most credible approach expands upon the previous concept of the configu- to IT service management. ration management database surrounded by other In 2001, ITIL was updated to version 2 by pro- knowledge-management systems. It also includes fessionals from across the IT industry to reflect the managing change, risk and quality assurance. changing business world and the evolving pressures on the IT organization to deliver improved services. Key processes addressed are planning and sup- The 40 books became a library of nine. Version 3 port; change management; asset and configuration is now upon us with the new five-book library. management; release and deployment management; knowledge-management systems; evaluation and Why a Refresh? early life support; managing organization and The market has evolved with the formalization of change; and review and close transition. standards, frameworks and regulations that apply to Service Operations deals with day-to-day support the IT environment. Organizations and individuals operations. There is a primary focus upon the service are striving for greater professional standing and desk and service request management, which is recognition while the qualifications market is separated from incident management as a process in increasing in line with the mass adoption of the its own right. Additionally, the book includes incident ITIL principles. and problem management. Version 3 is written with a broader context and It also introduces a new process for operations scope of thinking for best practices. The five books management, including enterprise-wide system contain much of the version 2 process information, management (exception monitoring), as well as the but with a new structure and approach. automated monitoring of thresholds and automation The input for the books, reviews and changes of operational tasks. comes from a collective global community of IT service- In Continual Service Improvement, the emphasis management professionals and stakeholders during is on the “plan, do, check, act” approach to identi- a three-year period. The development incorporates fying and acting upon improvements to all processes thinking across the content of the nine version 2 detailed in the other four books. As a consequence, books – not just the IT Service Support and Delivery improved processes lead to enhanced services set as was common during the past few years. delivered to customers and users. The new approach is termed the “lifecycle” approach, much the same as an IT service in reality. What Is the New Qualification Scheme? Greater guidance is provided on how to demonstrate It is envisioned that a new foundation qualification value to the business, putting together return on will be launched shortly after the books are published. investment (ROI) statements and case studies. Most likely, this will be a three-day course covering

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Human Resources and IT the content of all five books. In essence, the course The ITIL version 3 project team is promoting ITIL as will cover more process and general material. a service. And the new set of books comprises the The practitioner courses will be similar to those “core of practice.” currently available but will be classified into two As such, the qualifications scheme, alongside the streams: technical and business. courses and exams, supports the development and The technical stream will refer to the process- management of competence and professional skills specific practitioner qualifications very much as we in the subject matter. A complimentary portfolio already have. The business stream will focus upon of information from the wider ITIL community also some of the other processes introduced in version 3, offers information for all to share regarding the such as those within service strategies, business- implementation of best practices in a wide range relationship management and supplier management. of environments. These practitioner courses will focus upon the business skills and activities required for successful IT service Where is the Latest Information? management. The following Web sites are from the leading What about My Existing Qualifications? authorities on the ITIL refresh project and offer insight into the version 3 development process and Existing qualifications will remain valid – upgrading is a choice, not a requirement. A bridging course will progress to date: probably be developed to permit IT professionals to • The Office of Government Commerce’s ITIL Web upgrade their existing qualifications. This will provide site: www.itil.co.uk the necessary prerequisite for progression to the • APMG – The official ITIL certification and higher level qualifications. exam provider: www.apmgroup.co.uk and Do We Need to Start Again? www.itil-officialsite.com/home/home.asp If you’ve undertaken an ITIL process-improvement • TSO – The official ITIL publishers: initiative, you may be worried that you will need to www.tso.co.uk/itil/ start all over again. This is simply not the case. It For future updates from TSO, register for the might be an opportune time to apply the lifecycle ITIL Refresh News at: www.best-management- principles to your environment and ensure that the practice.com/ITILrefreshregister. service ethos of continual service improvement is an integral part of business as usual. It is this cyclic Other stakeholders: approach that enables further changes and • itSMF – the world's largest ITIL user group: improvements to be made to the way IT is supporting worldwide, www.itsmf.com; Canada, the business. www.itsmf.ca; US, www.itsmfusa.org Additionally, you may be relieved to know that • EXIN – www.exin-exams.com all 10 existing service-support and service-delivery • Loyalist College – www.itilexams.com processes exist within version 3 because they work! Some of the processes are enhanced, and some • ISEB – www.bcs.org/iseb. process flows have evolved. Every phase of the life- Also, visit V3 Information Central, a resource cycle exists for a reason, and each phase relies on available on pinkelephant.com. a process to enable it. There is a broader scope and more emphasis on mapping to other frameworks such as COBIT. George Spalding, vice president of Pink Elephant Inc., has achieved ITIL's IT service manager certification What’s Next for ITIL Services? and was selected by the Office of Government As well as a new set of books, a new qualification Commerce as one of the authors of version 3 of ITIL. He scheme and some new courses, what else is there? can be reached at [email protected].  24

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Human Resources and IT

Hiring for the Help Desk: How to Build Team Bridges in a Day

By Michael Berger Plan B Services Assessment Day

This article is based on a presentation to a recent Full day, in person, on site conference held by Com-Tech Learning Solutions, • an associate member of MISA BC. • Introductions • Group exercises ONE OF THE BEST things I did as an IT manager • Individual telephone test was to hire great staff for the help desk. • Personal interview While this may seem obvious, the truth is – without excellent staff, you have to work twice as hard to accomplish what you and your team for hiring help-desk staff that they asked to take part want to accomplish. in the day. That’s because it’s often all too easy to get Assessment Day was held at our office in a involved in infighting, instead of focusing on your large meeting room. Inviting five times as many vision and goals. We don’t always have an option candidates as we wanted to hire, we selected to start with a clean slate but, in case you get a pre-qualified candidates from the pile of resumes chance, it’s useful to have a process in place to and invited them to attend an information session help you choose the best staff available. about our company. In 20 years of experience, including positions as We told them that they would be introduced IT manager with financial services and investment to members of the IT management and staff team, companies, I found that the time involved in reviewing provided with more information about the company, resumes, interviewing, and following up was daunting, and would take part in some group and individual especially when it was necessary to hire a number exercises. Candidates were also advised to set of people in a short time. aside the better part of the day. At one company we came up with a process Observation Guides called Assessment Day. The ideas behind it can be used creatively in many organizations including Meanwhile, at our office, we were preparing staff municipalities, as part of the art of leadership. who would take part in Assessment Day on how to be an “observer.” Observers were given clipboards Human-Resource Support with observation guides on them. The process was developed by the IT staff and man- The guide was a large matrix in which they agement and signed off by our Human Resources would observe and rate various candidates on nine department. After reviewing the plan for Assessment different categories – everything from their appear- Day, the HR people were so excited about this idea ance and confidence to their originality and person-

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ality. Ratings were on a scale of 1 to 5, and clear Observation Guide Sample instructions as to the differences between ratings were established. Assessment Day arrived! Staff were in place – Candidate 1 2 3 4 5 6 two observers at each table of candidates – and Appearance they began rating candidates the instant they walked into the room. Confidence We let the candidates choose the table they Expression wished to sit at, and this in itself was fascinating, Clarity of Voice sort of like watching Survivor play out right before Originality our eyes. Some people were welcomed at the table, others ignored, others sat quietly by themselves. Job Knowledge First Impressions Motivation Personality After introductions, we outlined in general terms the agenda for the day including the breaks. I then Overall Impression asked the candidates to introduce themselves one by one. Some stood, some remained seated. Some spoke loudly and clearly enough for the whole The first set of observation guides were completed room to hear, some addressed me only. and handed to a runner to be entered into a large There was a bit of gamesmanship on the part spreadsheet that would track each candidate’s of some people, who announced their degrees, progress throughout the day. We then began group schools attended or previous jobs. Others barely exercises. We tried to interpret these in the context got their name out. of the candidates showing leadership, as well as their attitude, contribution to the team and judgment. The first group exercise was a discussion exercise. If nothing else, it would work as an ice breaker and Sample Rating Scale get the candidates talking to each other. Group Interaction • Confidence 5 – smiling, open This was important to us – the more they interacted with each other, the more they began to take on body language, lots of eye contact, different roles on the team. A by-product of this was enjoying themselves that the more candidates interacted together, the • Confidence 4 – sure of self, good less they noticed the observers. eye contact, participates well In our exercise, the group had to split into • Confidence 3 – makes eye contact, “candidates” and “observers” within their own team. Two “candidate observers” were asked to nervous but willing take notes and report back to our observers at the • Confidence 2 – unwilling participant, end of the exercise. doesn’t speak up in group Because this exercise was timed, it encouraged • Confidence 1 – no eye contact, the candidates to come to a consensus. Each group was given 30 to 40 minutes to discuss the problem defensive posture, non-talkative and reach a solution, and then 10 more minutes to explain their reasoning to their observers.

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There was no right or wrong answer to the exer- After the group exercises were completed, we cise. Our observers could see how different candi- left the groups in the room with a couple of staff dates took leadership roles, contributed to the team, members. Most of the candidates relaxed, and or engaged in problem solving. a few asked questions about our department or company. Clues to a Puzzle The second exer- cise was a logic exercise. This too Group activity brought out the candidates’ characters was timed and did have a specific solution. Each table was given dozens of slips of paper, like as clues to a puzzle. In the meantime, we held concurrent telephone Candidates were given a few minutes on their own tests, leading two candidates out of the room at and were then encouraged to work as a group to once and putting them in separate offices. Each solve the puzzle. office had a desk, chair, phone and large manual related to the software we supported. While phrases on the slips of paper offered clues to the solution, some clues were intentionally misleading. Upon completing the puzzle, the group was then asked to answer five questions related to its puzzle and explain the rationale for the answers. This exercise enabled us to examine the process of information sharing in teams; explore leadership, cooperation and conflict issues in work groups; and determine the individual’s and group’s problem-solving skills and team-building capabilities. Problem-Solving Skills The third group exercise was a mathematical and reasoning exercise. Again, it was timed and had a specific solution. There was a lot of information to process, and the group had to work together to sift through it all. This exercise helped us to assess their logic and problem-solving skills along with cooperation and conflict-resolution skills. All the information was available – it was how the group sorted and under- stood it that determined the answer. For a few minutes after each exercise, we debriefed the group. By the end of the third exercise, the groups were extremely lively and talkative and becoming very competitive. People had fallen into roles within their table teams already – the leader, the comedian, the analyst, the quiet one. 29 MUNICIPAL Interface MAY 2007

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The candidates were asked to answer the phone if it rang, and then they were left to themselves. Telephone Test Within 30 seconds, a group of IT • Every candidate participated Observers looking for: staff phoned them from a speaker phone. One posed as a customer; • Given manual and phone • Greeting used two others acted as observers. The • Client and two observers • Languare skills, tone “customer” posed a software ques- • Client posed banking- and pace tion to the candidate. related question • Ability to think quickly The candidates were being judged • Ability to answer coherently on everything from the greeting they • Customer service skills used in answering the phone to their voice tone and pace as well as their At the completion of the interviews, candidates ability to make small talk while they searched for were thanked and sent on their way with notice that an answer and had to think quickly. we would be checking their references and getting Pressure Situation in touch with them within two days. Now it was time to sift through all of the observer We didn’t expect any candidate to actually find guides, telephone test results and interview answers. an answer; we really wanted to find out how We held a group meeting of all the IT staff who each candidate would handle a pressure situation took part, asking them to reach a consensus and where they didn’t know the answer and had think rank the candidates in order. on their feet. In our case, we wanted to hire the four best from Upon completion of the telephone test, the candi- the group of help-desk candidates. After about an date was led by a staff member to the exit door. hour of reviewing and discussing, the group had We wanted some to come back for panel interviews the list. after lunch. We checked references of the top six people How were we able to preserve everyone’s dignity and, in case something didn’t check out, we were and not upset anyone? By taking the leading candi- prepared to go to number five and six on our list. dates to the back door, we were able to ask them The result of Assessment Day? We hired to return at a specific time later in the day for an excellent staff. interview. And the added benefit? By involving current IT For those candidates that we were not interested staff in the process, each one looked forward to in, we took them to the front door, thanked for their having new people on board and being involved in time, and told them we would be in touch to let their training. them know how they did. This makes it a whole lot easier to train new staff and build team spirit. Standard Questions After lunch, the HR manager and I conducted inter- Corporate trainer and Coach Michael Berger is views, asking the individual candidates a series of president of Plan B Services of Chilliwack, BC. He standard questions – everything from questions can be reached through [email protected]. about Assessment Day to teamwork, technical prob- This article was made available to Municipal Interface lems and behavioural issues. by Mandi Sellers of Com-Tech Learning Solutions.  30 MUNICIPAL Interface MAY 2007

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Web System Automates Performance Management For Saint John Police

By Marven E. Corscadden and Gary McFadyen representatives from the policing community and Saint John Police Force provincial representatives. To meet the diverse technological and operational IN THE LATE 1990S the Province of New Brunswick human resources needs of the NB policing community, adopted new policing standards for the governance the project team reviewed and assessed performance- and operation of municipal police departments. management systems such as the Halogen e360, Chapters 21-26 of these standards deal specifically PeopleSoft and KnowledgePoint. with human resources as well as performance In reviewing demo software and documentation management – a critical component of a human- provided by the companies, it was determined resource strategy in policing organizations. that Performance Impact (PI), developed by That’s because all HR processes – hiring and KnowledgePoint (now Vurv Express) could meet selection, job descriptions, performance management, the needs of a competency-based performance- training, career development, working conditions management system. Performance Impact – and promotion – must collectively support the KnowledgePoint’s enterprise-level performance-man- organization’s culture. agement software – has been designed to run on Today’s policing organizations are using compe- an intranet or over the Internet and uses a Web tency-driven performance management systems, server/browser-based client model. with competencies that are measurable, precise PI includes a central administrator and forms-design and clearly defined. Members of the municipal and function, employee log capabilities, current and regional forces expect their performance to be evalu- future goal-setting features, administrative reporting ated fairly and objectively, and a competency-based functions and extensive security and confidentiality performance management system meets this need. protection. In response to these new standards, the New Brunswick Policing Standards Human Resource Site-licence fees are based on the total number Project was initiated in January 2001. Discussions of employees in the organization who are eligible between the Province of New Brunswick, Department for review via the performance-management system. of Public Safety and the Saint John Police Force Site licences support an unlimited number of actual resulted in a letter of agreement that outlined the users of the application. project deliverables and identified the Saint John In January 2003, the Saint John Police Force Police Force as the pilot site. implemented the intranet (non-hosted) performance- The project teams were composed of representa- management solution operating on Microsoft SQL tives of the Province and the police force who Server 2000. The solution uses recognized law worked in concert with members of the policing enforcement competencies that were customized to community. A second body known as the Provincial meet the specific needs of the force’s performance- Policing Stakeholder Group {PPSG} comprised management program. 31 MUNICIPAL Interface MAY 2007

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How the System Works • Goals and measures – so that everyone views PI is a tool that includes the user-friendly feature of performance in the same way. point-and-click with simple navigation for users. The Performance management is now a constant software is designed to permit authorized views but activity for the organization, and its importance is maintains a transparent environment for supervisors recognized and adopted by all ranks starting with the and employees. Its flexibility enables import from chief. Key to our success was the strategic attention other HRIS systems. to the initial project planning and implementation, The software facilitates the routing of information effective and consistent training, and the involvement to single or multiple users for feedback, comments and of users – all combined with the ease of use and approval. The Log Event feature is the key for docu- flexibility of the PI application. menting events, milestones and overall performance. PI has been customized with 26 law enforcement Marven E. Corscadden is director HR & Finance, and behaviour-based competencies that are linked directly to individual job descriptions. Each behavioural com- Gary McFadyen is informatics manager for Saint petency has a number of observable factors that are John Police Force. This article was made available by used to rate performance, and an assigned weight- Bill Todd, manager of information systems services for  ing that makes up part of a 100 per cent score. the City of Saint John, [email protected]. Each factor is rated from unsatisfactory to distin- guished performance based on the performance rating assigned the supervisor for each factor of the behavioural competency. The PI tool calculates a cumulative rating as part of completing a review for each respective officer in the Saint John Police Force. Lessons Learned The performance-management project was a major undertaking for the police force and the project team. We learned that the project team must take full ownership from the start so that the responsibility does not fall completely on one person. We had people with specific skill sets who comprised a diversified and functional team. Support from senior management from the outset was also vital. Developing an effective project plan from the onset was critical to the success of the project. The police force used Project Kickstart, which enabled us to publish continuous updates. Developing per- formance-management theory and training for the entire organization was another critical element. Along with patience and persistence, our team always used four themes to keep things in perspective and on track, emphasizing consistency in: • Training – to ensure that everyone heard the same message • Language – so everyone understood one another • Alignment with organizational goals – ensuring that everyone went in the same direction 32

MUNICIPAL Interface MAY 2007

Report from RIMQ Pierre Bouchard, conseiller stratégique Michel Théroux, chef de section radiocommunications Réseau municipal Direction des technologies de l’information Ville de Montréal sans fil à large bande

Editors’ note: This article is contributed by Réseau de ludiques et ayant pratiquement le don d’ubiquité l’Informatique Municipale du Québec (RIMQ). It is based dans le contexte de la mondialisation des marchés. on a positioning document regarding municipal wireless L’Internet est devenu indispensable et l’accès en tout broadband networks developed by Mr. Bouchard and temps et en tout lieu devient rapidement le fer de Mr. Théroux from the DTI of Montreal. It introduces lance des économies modernes d’aujourd’hui. the notion of a municipal wireless network by L’adhésion à des technologies sans fil à large integrating it in a North American context and bande et leur déploiement représente un choix logique identifying drivers. Lastly, it defines available tech- afin de permettre un accès rapide et sécuritaire aux nologies and architectures. A second article will besoins exprimés et recensés dans la nouvelle cover applications and business models. économie numérique d’aujourd’hui. Les dirigeants municipaux sont pressés par leur LES TECHNOLOGIES SANS FIL à large bande communauté d’assurer un accès à la mondialisation représentent un atout indéniable et incontournable des marchés permettant de fournir et maintenir dans le développement stratégique et économique un milieu bénéfique et stimulant pour la création des grandes villes en Amérique du Nord et ailleurs d’emplois, la disponibilité des loisirs et des services dans le monde. Tout comme la distribution de l’eau nécessaires pour soutenir et encourager les potable, le traitement des eaux usées, le développe- investissements essentiels à son développement. ment du réseau de voirie artérielles et l’urbanisme, le déploiement des réseaux de communications à Les forces émergeantes qui motivent ces décisions large bande sur le territoire des municipalités est et actions sont principalement : devenu une priorité afin de mieux desservir les 1. Le développement économique besoins des entreprises et des citoyens. 2. L’amélioration des services municipaux Quelque soit le modèle économique utilisé pour 3. La promotion de «l’inclusion numérique» en offrir ce service, la municipalité est un partenaire opposé au «fossé numérique». privilégié détenant à la fois des infrastructures stratégiques pour un déploiement efficace, ainsi Le développement économique qu’un potentiel d’utilisation considérable pour ses En septembre 2005, une étude conduite par le MIT propres besoins. (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) et l’Université La réalisation d’un tel projet nécessite la mobili- Carnegie Melon relevait un effet positif sur l’économie sation de multiple intervenants municipaux oeuvrant et la création d’emplois pour les communautés ayant dans des secteurs variés. Afin de déterminer l’ampleur un accès aux réseaux à large bande. de la tâche et la faisabilité de ce projet, il est nécessaire d’identifier clairement et précisément les Parmi les bénéfices énumérés, figuraient objectifs, la capacité de réalisation et l’effort les suivants : budgétaire requis. • La création d’un environnement fertile pour l’innovation et les investissements La communauté numérique • La création d’emplois et la promotion de Pour la communauté numérique, les technologies de l’entrepreneuriat communications à large bande permettent à la pop- ulation d’être connectée et d’échanger, via l’Internet, • La promotion de la compétitivité économique s’offrant ainsi une panoplie de services variés, • L’amélioration du tourisme

34 MUNICIPAL Interface MAY 2007

Report from RIMQ

• Une amélioration de la qualité de vie Les technologies et architectures • La stimulation des plans d’amélioration commu- Les technologies relatives au sans fil occupent une nautaires place de plus en plus importante parmi les différents moyens permettant l’accès aux réseaux large bande Les services municipaux (haute vitesse), principalement à l’Internet. La livraison efficace des services municipaux oblige Parmi les différentes technologies et architectures les organismes municipaux à se doter d’applica- on peut mentionner les plus importantes: tions supportant les opérations sur le terrain tels la gestion des eaux, la régularisation de la circulation, • Modem câble offert par les entreprises de les services d’inspection. câblodistribution Plus récemment, des événements majeurs résul- • ADSL et DSL offerts par les opérateurs de tants de désastres naturels ou d’activités subversives télécommunications via lignes téléphoniques ont démontré le besoin immédiat d’assurer des com- • Fibres optiques (incluant équipements électroniques) munications sur le terrain qui soient fiables, sécuri- par des fournisseurs alternatifs aux entreprises taires et partagés pour les premiers répondants en citées plus haut déploiement sur le territoire municipal. • Services cellulaire de 3e génération (3G) Une récente étude de marché, établissant un sys- • Services basés sur le satellite tème de classement des utilisateurs d’applications mobile, classait au premier rang le secteur public, • Services spécialisés par liaisons hertziennes ce qui maintient les municipalités parmi les leaders • Points d’accès sans fil (Wi-Fi Hotspot) pour la promotion et le déploiement des réseaux Toutes ces technologies ont leurs forces et faiblesses. sans fil à large bande. Pour ce qui est plus spécifiquement des points d’accès Les bénéfices pour le secteur municipal sont prin- sans fil, une caractéristique intéressante est son prix cipalement: relativement bas pour offrir une mobilité accrue. • La réduction des coûts des circuits de télécommu- nications Les technologies sans fil • La diminution des coûts et l’amélioration des ser- Parmi les technologies mentionnées plus haut, il y a vices rendus à la population une tendance croissante dans le monde municipal, à utiliser l’effet de levier des technologies sans fil • Le rapprochement des élus et de la population pour permettre des initiatives municipales d’accès • L’amélioration des services de sécurité publique aux services large bande (accès universel à Internet, • La consolidation, rapidité d’exécution et la réduction du fossé numérique ou inclusion, etc.). diminution de la vulnérabilité en mode de Trois facteurs principaux supportent cette tendance : mesures d’urgence • Le coût Le fossé numérique • La performance La diminution du fossé numérique demeure une pri- • La disponibilité de fréquences non licenciées orité afin de combler les lacunes des communautés qui n’ont pas accès à l’Internet. Dans la région de Wi-Fi Montréal, les statistiques fédérales de l’année 2003 Le Wi-Fi (abréviation de Wireless Fidelity) est une révèlent que le pourcentage (48 pourcent) des foy- technologie de réseau informatique sans fil mise en ers ayant accès à l’Internet se situe en dessous de place pour fonctionner en réseau interne et, depuis, la moyenne canadienne (54 pourcent) et bien en devenue un moyen d'accès à haut débit à Internet. dessous de ses rivales provinciales soit Ottawa Il est basé sur la norme IEEE 802.11 (ISO/CEI (69,9), Toronto (64,9) et Vancouver (64,9). 8802-11). 35 MUNICIPAL Interface MAY 2007

Report from RIMQ

Cette norme est un standard international WiMax décrivant les caractéristiques d'un réseau local sans WiMAX (acronyme pour Worldwide Interoperability fil (WLAN). Le nom Wi-Fi correspond initialement au nom donné à la certification délivrée par la for Microwave Access) est une famille de normes, WECA (Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance), certaines encore en chantier, définissant les connexions l'organisme chargé de maintenir l'interopérabilité à haut-débit par voie hertzienne. C'est également entre les matériels répondant à la norme 802.11. un nom commercial pour ces normes, comme l'est Par abus de langage (et pour des raisons de mar- Wi-Fi pour 802.11 (la Wi-Fi Alliance est en cela keting) le nom de la norme se confond aujourd'hui comparable au WiMAX Forum). avec le nom de la certification (c'est du moins le Wimax regroupe des standards de réseaux sans cas en France, en Espagne et aux États-Unis). fils auparavant indépendants: HiperMan, proposé Ainsi un réseau Wi-Fi est en réalité un réseau répondant à la norme 802.11. Dans d'autres pays en Europe par l'ETSI (European Telecommunications (en Allemagne par exemple) de tels réseaux sont Standards Institute), et 802.16 proposé par l'IEEE correctement nommés WLAN. (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers). Grâce au Wi-Fi, il est possible de créer des WiMAX utilise des technologies hertziennes réseaux locaux sans fil à haut débit. Dans la pratique, destinées principalement à des architectures le Wi-Fi permet de relier des ordinateurs portables, point-multipoint : à partir d'une antenne centrale, des machines de bureau, des assistants personnels on cherche à toucher de multiples terminaux. (PDA) ou même des périphériques à une liaison WiMAX promet des débits de plusieurs dizaines haut débit (de 11 Mbit/s en 802.11b à 54 Mbit/s de megabits/seconde sur des rayons de couverture en 802.11a/g) sur un rayon de plusieurs dizaines de mètres en intérieur (généralement entre une vingtaine de quelques dizaines de kilomètres. WiMAX et une cinquantaine de mètres). Dans un environnement s'adresse notamment au marché des réseaux métro- ouvert la portée peut atteindre plusieurs centaines politains, le MAN (metropolitan area network). de mètres voire dans des conditions optimales Plusieurs standards relèvent du terme WiMAX: plusieurs dizaines de kilomètres (pour la ‘variante’ les plus avancés concernent les usages en situation WIMAX ou avec des antennes directionnelles). fixe (le client ne bouge pas), mais une version Ainsi, des fournisseurs d'accès internet commencent mobile (connexion à haut-débit en situation de à irriguer des zones à forte concentration d'utilisateurs mobilité) est également en préparation et déjà (gares, aéroports, hôtels, trains, etc.) avec des déployée aux États-Unis. réseaux sans fil connectés à Internet. Ces zones d'accès sont appelées «hot spots». WiMax peut être utilisé pour plusieurs applications, incluant les accès large bande du « last mile », les Diverses caractéristiques des normes 802.11 pour le Wi-Fi: points d’accès sans fil et en liaison de relève pour réseau cellulaire, en plus de la connectivité pour les Réseau Wi-Fi maillé (mesh) grandes entreprises. La topologie Mesh (terme anglais signifiant maille WiMax peut être utilisé en mode licences (CRTC) ou filet), qualifie les réseaux (filaires ou non) dont ou sans licences pour les fréquences ou liaisons tous les hôtes sont connectés de proche en proche hertziennes. sans hiérarchie centrale, formant ainsi une structure en forme de filet. Cela permet d’éviter d’avoir des Il est prévu que la technologie WiMax devrait points sensibles, qui en cas de panne, coupent la être intégrée aux ordinateurs portatifs et aux ANP connexion d’une partie du réseau. Si un hôte est (Assistant Numérique Personnel) d’ici la fin de l’année hors service, ses voisins passeront par une autre 2007, permettant ainsi aux zones urbaines et aux route. Cette architecture a été initialement imaginée villes de devenir des «metro zones» pour l’accès par l’armée US (JBW). large bande nomade sans fil. 

36 MUNICIPAL Interface MAY 2007 The Municipal Reference Model: Forging A Common Service Language

By Lawrence Moule service? Or is it a process, an activity, a program Co-editor, Municipal Interface or a program outcome? Different municipalities had different answers to MUNICIPAL IT LEADERS across Canada will be seeing that sort of question, and still do. How many services the acronym MRM quite often in coming months. does your municipality provide, internally and exter- But unlike other technology-related developments nally? The Regional Municipality of Halifax knows with widely known acronyms, such as VoIP or ITIL, exactly (261) and so does the City of Winnipeg this one can’t be explained simply by spelling it out. (141) because they used the original version of the Municipal Reference model to define them. They It doesn’t exist yet in a form that can be seen, also used it to determine which departments are touched, or analyzed in a book. The involved, or should be best involved, in Municipal Reference Model is a vision, delivering the services and devising perfor- you might say, or even a dream. If it mance measures for the service delivery. comes true, Canada could become a Most municipalities can’t do that, even nation of municipalities united – techno- today. Neither can they effectively commu- logically – by language and culture. nicate and interact with each other, or with Their common goal of delivering services other levels of government, in moving that are effective, efficient and seamlessly forward to improve or align services. aligned among jurisdictions will be enabled in a way never possible before, because Ontario Origin municipalities will all use words and terminology This problem was initially addressed in a project that mean the same thing when planning services supported by a group of Ontario municipalities, and dealing with one another. with some provincial funding. It was led by a joint Moreover, other levels of government will also use venture of several organizations including MISA the same framework of communication. The federal Ontario. They developed the first Municipal government, in fact, is counting on the revival of the Reference Model in partnership with a consulting MRM as one of the pillars of its own project for a firm, Chartwell IRM Inc. MISA Ontario now has national service inventory. sole ownership of this intellectual property. The model provided standard definitions of Background municipal programs and services, categorized them, Let’s start from the ground up. The Municipal and provided the means to analyze them for such Reference Model was conceived in the early 1990s purposes as conducting program and service when municipal IT leaders began to realize that it reviews, mapping those programs and services to was time to stop reinventing the wheel. the organizational structure to maximize efficiency The central problem was that, just as each and accountability, enable program-based budgeting, municipality in those days tended to develop its and facilitate service benchmarking. own technologies for delivering services, often More than 40 municipalities, including some in regardless of whether other jurisdictions had similar the United States, Poland and China, eventually solutions, each municipality also described its services used the MRM for such purposes, and some still do. and programs in different ways. Over time, however, the model became outdated. Take, for example, the granting of permits to a Individual municipalities customized it in their own construction company building a house. Is that a ways, without reference to other users. Technologies 37 MUNICIPAL Interface MAY 2007 evolved. There was never a national body that How will this be done? The project team has could manage the MRM under a mandate of coor- worked out a two-phase plan, with support from the dinating municipal strategies for using information specialist expertise of Chartwell. The first phase, to and communications technologies to improve define the ultimate deliverables in detail, is scheduled municipal service delivery. for completion by July. Once funds are raised, an Now there is. It’s called MISA/ASIM Canada. RFP will be issued for a vendor to build the model and populate it with data. Total cost is estimated at In October 2006 the new national association of up to $750,000. associations decided to undertake the MRM Version 2 Project. Its purpose in part is to explain, update, Early Commitments and enhance version 1 so that it is, once again, a The first phase is being supported by a group of useful tool for municipal business and IT planning. municipalities who have committed a total of MISA Ontario is leading the project. Roy $90,000 to get the project started. They include Wiseman, CIO of the Region of Peel, who was one London, Markham, Mississauga, Timmins, Toronto, of the chairs of the steering committee for MRM 1, is the City of Waterloo and the regions of Halton, reprising that role for MRM 2. The project manager Niagara, Peel and York in Ontario, plus Edmonton is Geovanni Mosquera, whose services are being and Saskatoon. contributed by Peel’s Information and Technology Also participating in the project as members of Services division. the Steering Committee are representatives of the federal and Ontario governments. They are there Maintenance and Updating because they, too, have reference models, and a Although MISA Ontario has the lead, it is clearly second purpose of the MRM Version 2 Project is to understood that MISA/ASIM Canada will have align the models of all three levels of government. ownership of the intellectual property that results The Ontario model, called the Public Service from the project as well as control over the mainte- Reference Model, was inspired directly by the nance and updating of the MRM as a product. MRM and was built with assistance from Chartwell. It has become a standard throughout the provincial That’s what the MRM is envisioned to become – government for defining services and designing a product. It will be a standard reference toolkit to business and technical architectures. define and analyze the services, both public and internal, that a municipality delivers. The federal model, the Governments of Canada Strategic Reference Model, was in turn based on This toolkit will be available on the Web. It will the Ontario and municipal models and again was be accessible in basic form to all municipalities built with Chartwell’s help. It is a standard within within the broad MISA/ASIM Canada membership Treasury Board and underlies the federal government’s but will have a tiered fee structure for heavy users service-transformation methodology, known as the or those who wish to build their own custom versions Business Transformation Enablement Program, of the model within the MRM site. Vendors will be which was a foundation for the success of BizPaL, able to devise methodologies, products and training the business-permit alignment project. courses related to the model. Now the federal government is going further. MRM 2 will consist of a: Treasury Board and Service Canada are working to • Taxonomy of programs, services and processes design a project to build a inventory of federal ser- vices based on national standards. Their goal is to • Vocabulary of municipal terms such as “program,” have all levels of government define services in the “outcome,” “target group” or “service” same way – ultimately derived from MRM. • Framework that will describe how all MRM For the watershed MRM 2 Project to succeed, elements work together and provide the financial support will be needed from many munici- necessary context for using MRM palities. The MRM marketing team will be explaining • Description of methods that will provide guidance the benefits of participation in coming months, on how to use MRM for specific purposes such including a presentation at the MISA Ontario annual as business process redesign or information conference in June. technology planning. Delegates no doubt will have questions. 

38 MUNICIPAL Interface MAY 2007

MISA News Across Canada

Workshop to Examine N-1-1 Services

A GROUP of municipal service- aggregate municipal and social 3-1-1 program. Delegates also delivery executives from across services by means of three-digit plan to develop an information- Canada will be examining the telephone numbers. sharing template. progress of N-1-1 services at its Services such as 3-1-1, for non- Other topics will include service first formal event in June. emergency municipal services, are delivery on Web sites, call-centre The group, called the Municipal regulated by the Canadian Radio- training, integrated service delivery Service Delivery Officials (MSDO), television and Telecommunications and implementing a customer-service has scheduled a workshop on June Commission. They have considerable strategy. There will be an update 11-12 at the Delta Halifax, with the impact on IT departments. on activities of the Public Sector Halifax Regional Municipality and Halton Region in Ontario will Service Delivery Council. the City of St. John’s as co-hosts. give a presentation on its plan to Delegates will consider adopting A major objective will be to combine 2-1-1 (social) and 3-1-1 formal terms of reference for the update service-delivery officials on services, and the The City of MSDO, reports workshop organizer the state of N-1-1 initiatives, which Windsor, Ontario, will discuss its Cathy Mellett of Halifax.  Alberta Project City of Toronto Appoints To Develop Tools David Wallace as First CIO For Sustainability DAVID WALLACE, who has been a One of the team’s projects is the AN ALBERTA local-government senior IT executive in both the public Municipal Reference Model project organization has begun a pilot and private sectors, has been of MISA/ASIM Canada. project with five small urban munic- appointed as the first chief informa- Wallace was previously the first tion officer of the City of Toronto. ipalities to help chart a course for person to hold the title of chief tech- achieving municipal sustainability. The appointment, effective nology officer for the Province of May 14, gives Wallace responsibility Ontario, which capped a 20-year The Alberta Urban Municipalities for overseeing Toronto’s IT services, provincial career. Association (AUMA, www.munilink. focusing on establishing a new He managed the information net/live) has announced that it will organizational structure in concert technology transformation that work closely with the towns of with the City’s IT Governance and established the Office of the Chief Claresholm, Olds and Pincher Transformation Project Office. Technology Officer and built the Creek as well as the villages of Wallace was most recently vice- mandate, functions and resources Chauvin and Thorhild during the president of the National Public of the new division. He also directed next year in a pilot project to Sector Program for Chartwell IRM the architecture and change-man- evaluate tools and resources for Inc., where he led a team of senior agement program for the Ontario sustainability planning.  enterprise and business architects. public service.  39

MUNICIPAL Interface MAY 2007

Governance Issues By Roy Wiseman Chief Information Officer/Director, Information and Technology Services Regional Municipality of Peel, Ontario A Puzzling Failure

AFTER SPEAKING TO a number of my colleagues have been common dates for most of North about their experience with the recent change to America, these are not necessarily the same in Daylight Savings Time, I can only conclude that our Europe or other continents, and there are even industry still has a long way to go in designing and minor timing differences (midnight versus 2:00 am) building software that can easily adapt to relatively within North America. minor changes in business requirements. In other words, the software should already have Let’s first review the background for this event. been built to address differing requirements in In August 2005, US President George Bush different jurisdictions, and shifting the timing in signed an energy bill to extend the period for North America should not have been a big deal. Daylight Savings Time by four weeks, starting two So...what actually happened? weeks earlier in the spring and lasting two weeks According to my colleagues, it was not a happy later in the fall. experience, especially in relation to the calendaring A CNET news article at the time described the software on which we have all come to rely. In this probable outcome as follows: regard, it appeared that the issues were not limited “For most computer users, the effect would likely to a single vendor and product and were, in fact, be an inconvenience at worst: Their computers will similar – whether organizations were using be updated with new software by then, or configured Microsoft Exchange/Outlook, Novell Groupwise to connect to network time servers that will know the or Lotus Notes. correct time. But because not everyone’s computer Patches to Patches is networked or updated, some glitches could occur – especially in consumer electronics devices that For the Region of Peel, using Exchange/Outlook, aren’t designed to be reprogrammed.” while many patches were received in advance of the magic date of March 11, 2007, we were also In the following months, most Canadian provinces receiving a steady flow of patches to the patches and territories announced their intention to adopt right up to the last minute. This is, again, even the change to extend the period of Daylight Savings. though software vendors had 18 months to prepare (The exception was Saskatchewan, which does not for this event, including testing to get it right. follow the rest of North America in adopting Daylight Savings Time.) Of more concern, the patches that were applied produced unpredictable results. In our case, the This background indicates that software vendors same meeting would shift by an hour in the calendars had approximately 18 months’ notice of the of some users but not others. Similarly, the meeting planned change. room might be booked for a time that was off It’s Happened Before by an hour from the time in the calendars of meeting attendees. As an outsider to this process but with some experience in software design, my anticipation (like the CNET We even had situations in which the same meeting news article) would have been that the change would appear at one time in users’ networked would be relatively minor. After all, the change to computer and a different time in their BlackBerries, Daylight Savings occurs every year. The legislation which were supposedly synchronized. simply shifted the date on which the change should When meetings did shift, we were unclear about take effect. It has also long been the case that the whether they would reset to their proper time after specific date and time on which the change takes March 11 or whether we should adjust them manually. effect can vary in different jurisdictions. While there And, since the same meeting showed at different 41 MUNICIPAL Interface MAY 2007

Governance Issues

times in different calendars, it became even more To be honest, it also shakes my confidence in the problematic. I talked to one municipality who resorted quality of the software on which we all rely. Despite to inserting the correct time for the meeting as text decades of improvements in software development in the meeting subject line so that those attending – through structured programming, structured design, would know when they were required. client/server, object-oriented and now service-oriented Now I expect that representatives from the software architecture – we still seem to be building flawed vendors can explain why this really wasn’t as simple software. It is too easily thrown for a loop by what as it seems. Differences for different users and com- I would argue are fairly minor changes in the busi- puters can be explained by the precise version and ness requirements. patch level of the software that they were running With properly designed software, this shouldn’t (although we weren’t able to detect any consistent have been hard to get right. The fact that it went so pattern to explain the differences in behaviour). horribly wrong, from what I have seen, indicates to me However, regardless of the explanation or excuses, that we still don’t know how to build quality software. what could only be seen by our client community as Or, if we do know how, much of the software on a fairly minor change created an inordinate amount which we all rely is not up to the standard that we of chaos and lost productivity for our organizations. should all expect. As a result, corporate confidence in the technology that we all provide took another hit. We all looked a little less competent. [email protected] 

42 MUNICIPAL Interface MAY 2007

National and Member Executives

National MISA BC MISA Prairies

Officers PRESIDENT PRESIDENT David Hennigan, The Capital Regional District Georganne Dupont, City of Airdrie 250-360-3141 [email protected] 403-948-8871 PRESIDENT [email protected] Kevin Peacock, City of Saskatoon VICE PRESIDENT 306-975-3047 Alan Cameron, City of Richmond VICE PRESIDENT [email protected] 604-276-4096 [email protected] Chris Fisher, City of Regina 306-77-7193 [email protected] VICE PRESIDENT TREASURER Daya Pillay, Halifax Regional Municipality Doug Rasmussen, City of Kelowna TREASURER 902-490-6550 (fax 490-4525) 250-862-3339 x 315 Darren Young, City of Lethbridge [email protected] [email protected] 403-320-3880 [email protected] TREASURER SECRETARY MEMBERSHIP Garry Bezruki, City of Waterloo Linda Kreutz, Greater Vancouver Regional District Natalia Madden, County of Grande Prairie 519-747-8726 (fax 747-8727) 604-436-6974 [email protected] 780-532-9722 [email protected] [email protected] http://misa.bc.ca http://misaprairies.ca SECRETARY Gerry Matte, Municipality of Saanich 250-475-5403 [email protected] www.misa-asim.ca MISA Ontario Réseau de l’Informatique PRESIDENT Harry Turnbull, City of Windsor Municipale du MISA Atlantic 519-255-6100 x 6333 (fax 256-3100) [email protected] Québec (RIMQ)

PRESIDENT VICE PRESIDENT David Muise, Halifax Regional Municipality Ralph Blauel, Region of Halton PRESIDENT 902-490-4000 [email protected] 905-825-6000, x 7997 (fax 825-6057) Daniel Malo, Ville de Montreal [email protected] 540-280-6544 [email protected] TREASURER Daya Pillay, Halifax Regional Municipality TREASURER VICE PRESIDENT 902-490-6550 (fax 490-4525) David Laneville, City of Timmins Gaston Huot, Villes de Boucherville, [email protected] 705-360-2605 (fax 705-360-2686) Brossard, Saint-Bruno et Saint-Lambert [email protected] 450-923-6362 SECRETARY [email protected] Bill Todd, City of Saint John SECRETARY 506-658-2853 [email protected] Karl Drysdale, City of London SECRETARY-TREASURER 519-661-2500 x 4945 (fax 661-5985) Michel Hurteau, Ville de Sorel-Tracy [email protected] 450-780-5714 [email protected] www.misa.on.ca www.rimq.com

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