Centralizing Information Resources:
A daunting but do-able challenge
by David Kinsman
THE CHALLENGE OF HOW information is gathered, employed, stored and distributed is critical to every organization. For the Transportation Safety Board (TSB) of Canada, an agency whose primary product is information and knowledge, information management is paramount.
The TSB identifies risks in the federally regulated sectors of the rail, marine, air and pipeline industries and helps ensure that mistakes are not repeated and that unsafe conditions are not allowed to persist. It has the authority to conduct safety investigations into transportation occurrences, collecting and analyzing the facts, and conveying the resultant information through investigation reports and recommendations, but it is not empowered to direct changes. Therefore, it is critical that the information it imparts be viewed as credible, comprehensive and compelling in all respects in order that those who do have the power to invoke change will be motivated to take remedial action.
Three years ago, there were growing concerns that information business practices did not adequately support the mission; a comprehensive risk assessment identified significant gaps. For example, traditional, paper-based techniques were no longer able to contend with the proliferation of electronic information. The discipline of centrally stored and controlled records had been eroded, making it increasingly difficult to access the right information at the right time. Information technology tools were amassing increasing amounts of information but were not designed to manage it in an enterprise-wide fashion.
Technology was contributing to the problem, not helping to solve it. If the gaps were not dealt with in a substantive way, the agency’s credibility would be affected and its value invariably diminished.
TSB embarked upon a project to develop an integrated IT and IM platform to support the organization and, in particular, its investigation teams. Known as the TSB Investigation Information Management
System (TIIMS), the goal is to implement an integrated set of document, content, records, case, workflow, forms, and project management practices and tools. The system will also feature a Reference Centre to consolidate those often hard-to-find policies, guidelines and reference tools in a single area for easier access.
This was a major undertaking for a relatively small organization. ‘Buy in’, particularly from managers, and recognition that people and substantial financial resources would have to be diverted full time were the first two critical hurdles to overcome. Indeed, two and a half years into the project, both are still never far from the surface.
Two other fundamental decisions concerned the software tools and the methodology to be employed in the project. A small agency would never be able to afford the ground-up development of new software. A team-oriented plug and play environment was required and for that Microsoft’s Sharepoint Portal and Services products were chosen as the foundation. The change management tool employed is based upon the use of business reference models. These models provide a common description of, and context for, an organization’s business practices. They are used to facilitate user consultation, to manage project scope and to assist in the transition of the new practices and tools. The effort required to develop and obtain agreement with these models is considerable. But without that foundation, the development of an integrated information system would be impossible. In particular, their use leads to a standardization of practices and terminology that can only strengthen the organization. However, in the early stages of the project, these eventual advantages were not apparent to everyone and sustaining momentum required ongoing effort.
The new platform will replace TSB’s current Intranet and will be comprised of a hierarchy of gateways or portals and predefined investigation workspaces. The gateways will be primarily information based while the investigation workspaces will organize and integrate the many tools needed by the investigation teams. Since it is recognized that the system will evolve with time, the approach has been to build the system in modules so elements can be easily added, removed or modified, and to establish the appropriate governance tools needed to manage these changes.
As part of the development and implementation process, a series of pilots was undertaken, using real-life investigations, to validate the new tools. This approach encourages buy-in and successful implementation.
The objective is to have the first version of the new system in operation by March 2006. Other modules remain to be developed and incorporated in the following year(s). Nevertheless, the TSB is confident that most of the critical gaps identified in 2003 will be resolved by the first operating version and identified risks will be substantially reduced.
To optimize the success of this project, one key decision involved the creation of a full time operations manager from within current resources. TSB recognized that the individual accountable for the developmental aspects of the system could not be expected to also manage the transition to, and permanent operation of, that system.
For an undertaking as fundamental and far-reaching as this, it would be unrealistic to assume that once development is ‘complete’, transition and steady-state operations would automatically fall into place.
Under both the government’s Managing Government Information umbrella as well as through informal conversations with others operating in the federal sphere and abroad, it is apparent that many organizations are wrestling with the same issues as those facing the TSB. Most executives recognize the imperative to address these issues but they are all faced with the same challenges: time, money and human resource constraints.
The TSB experience to this point offers some valuable points to consider and some tangible product elements that could be applied with relative ease to other organizations. A recently signed MOU with the Australian TSB is an example whereby TSB’s efforts will be applied to advantage by another agency with a similar mandate, objectives and change imperatives. Closer to home, the Commission for the Public Complaints against the RCMP also plans to incorporate work accomplished by the TIIMS project.
The TSB has some way to go before it can declare victory with this project. However, there is a high level of confidence that the organization-wide approach to managing information will be far superior to the piece-meal approach fostered by the current series of independent information systems and paper-based protocols that do not support current business needs and practices.
We have already accumulated a number of important ‘lessons learned’ which we would be happy to share with other organizations that are considering a similar project. Among those lessons are:
· Don’t try to take shortcuts in describing the interactions and interdependencies within the organization before developing the system itself
· Don’t proceed beyond the early stages until the unwavering support of managers is assured for the long haul
· Make sure the ultimate users are intimately involved from the beginning and provide an ongoing evaluation and feedback model
· Development by modules allows for main priorities to be addressed up front and avoids the ‘all or nothing at all’ decisions that often confront information systems development
· Ensure detailed planning for the transition from development to operations
· Establish a governance model from the outset to deal with changes; and
· Don’t assume because changes are necessary and will benefit the organization, its employees and its clients that everybody will embrace the activity and product with open arms.
David Kinsman is the executive director for the Transportation Safety Board of Canada. In a 37- year military career, he held various senior positions, including Commander of the Canadian Air Force. He retired from the CF as a Lieutenant General.
