San Mateo County Grand Jury • 2004-2005

Issue | Background | Findings | Conclusions | Recommendations | Responses | Attachments County Information Services

Published: May 02, 2005 8 pages
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Findings and Recommendations 6 findings

F1
The results of the Grand Jury survey indicate that: • ISD is perceived by virtually all departments as performing well in providing telephone, data, and connectivity infrastructure services and support; • A disconnect in perception exists between ISD and several major information technology users on application evaluation, implementation, and cost of services rendered. In some instances, ISD is viewed as thwarting timely, cost-effective upgrades and implementation of applications.
Related Recommendations (2)
R1
complete, by June 30, 2005, the organization of the Information Technology Management Structure and its shift from independent, departmental systems development to a collaborative model directing the resources available within ISD and the departments.
R3
Create a customer satisfaction survey and circulate it annually to assist in the evaluation of performance on a non-project specific basis. COUNTY OF SAN MATEO Inter-Departmental Correspondence County Manager’s Office DATE: July 13, 2005 BOARD MEETING DATE: July 26, 2005 SPECIAL NOTICE: None VOTE REQUIRED: None TO: Honorable Board of Supervisors FROM: John L. Maltbie, County Manager SUBJECT: 2004-05 Grand Jury Response Recommendation Accept this report containing the County’s response to the 2004-05 Grand Jury report: County Information Services Department Focuses on Change. VISION ALIGNMENT: Commitment: Responsive, effective and collaborative government. Goal 20: Government decisions are based on careful consideration of future impact, rather than temporary relief or immediate gain. This activity contributes to the goal by ensuring that all Grand Jury findings and recommendations are thoroughly reviewed by the appropriate County departments and that, when appropriate, process improvements are made to improve the quality and efficiency of services provided to the public and other agencies.
F2
The County’s use of and reliance on information technology has grown as a result of perceived departmental operational needs with only limited guidance from ISD. Most departments have created an internal IT function to address unique day-to-day operational data recovery and reporting needs.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
complete, by June 30, 2005, the organization of the Information Technology Management Structure and its shift from independent, departmental systems development to a collaborative model directing the resources available within ISD and the departments.
F3
– ISD has initiated a Relationship Management program in which every ISD customer department is assigned a Relationship Manager who is responsible for working with department staff to understand the business needs of the department. Overall, the CIO and ISD are focused on maintaining and improving customer service throughout this department. At the same time, all ISD staff is encouraged to focus on the benefits of approaching IT with a Countywide view.
No recommendations for this finding
F4
ISD has acknowledged its limitations and, as indicated in Item 3 of the Findings, is taking steps to address the issues while maintaining its overall responsibility for system and data integrity.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
Continue implementation of the Mainframe Elimination Plan and accelerate it to the extent possible.
F5
There is evidence that the relatively new ISD senior management team is successfully refocusing the department to a customer-based orientation. (See Rate Relief Plan above). Conclusions ISD is just starting its transition to a customer-focused, collaborative management orientation. It is premature to evaluate whether the transition will be accomplished successfully, although the progress made to date is reassuring. ISD is knowledgeable about and conversant with many of the shortcomings of the current interdepartmental environment, and is attempting to address them. Given the scope and nature of the needed changes, it is unrealistic to expect immediate quantifiable results. ISD is meeting its basic mandate of providing service but in several cases how that is done leaves the other departments uneasy. ISD is identifying and implementing interim strategies that may become the foundation for the new collaborative Management Structure of Information Technology, once it is organized. 5
No recommendations for this finding
F6 Page 3
ISD should discontinue application development support Disagreed: they felt that ISD has the knowledge and technical skills necessary to develop and maintain programs and systems operating on most computing platforms. ISD and the CIO (Chief Information Officer) will continue to demonstrate the value of ISD while concurrently supporting department-based staff. The focus of the previous investigation appears to have been a “top-down” review, i.e., a study of the management structure needed for effective application of information technology. The resulting analysis referred to a “governance model” implemented in Nevada County, California, and many of the Grand Jury’s recommendations were based on this analysis. As an alternative evaluation, the 2004-2005 Grand Jury used a “bottom-up” approach in which a questionnaire was sent to all County departments to focus on user concerns and perceptions. Investigation The Grand Jury: 1. Created, distributed, summarized, and reviewed a satisfaction and utilization survey of county department heads. The response rate was 93.3%.
No recommendations for this finding

Conclusions 1

No Responses Found 2

Government entities assigned to respond to this report. No response documents have been linked in our database.

San Mateo County County
San Mateo County Board of Supervisors Elected County Office