The City's current procedures to allocate information technology staff and other resources to individual departments are inefficient. Staffing and resource decisions are made on a department by department basis without consideration of the City's overall information technology needs. Because information technology is a support rather than a core function, it competes with other departmental priorities for resources. The extent to which departments allocate resources to information technology depends on the importance placed on information technology by department managers and funding availability. Consequently, some departments have fewer resources to meet their internal business and public service needs than other departments that are richer in information technology resources.

Information Technology Staffing

City departments have in-house information technology and staff as well as purchasing services provided by the Department of Telecommunications and Information Services. While larger departments and enterprise departments are largely self-sufficient in managing their information technology, smaller and General Fund-supported departments tend to rely more heavily on the Department of Telecommunications and Information Services.

Departments generally have the right mix of information technology skills but total resources vary significantly among departments, and departments that are similar in size and function may have noticeable differences in information technology staffing. This management audit evaluated the (a) number of information technology staff compared to the total full time equivalent positions, (b) types of services provided, and (c) number of unique systems maintained.

Departments' information technology staff differ in classifications and expertise. Some information technology managers have managerial experience but comparatively little information technology knowledge. Some non-managerial information technology staff lack a traditional technical background, either because they have moved between departments or because their work is primarily functional rather than technical.

The table below shows the number of information technology staff and the number of computer end-users for selected departments. As shown in the table, the number of information technology staff to end-users varies from a high of 263.25 in the Fire Department to a low of 12.28 in Human Resources. Although the variation results in part from the different functions of the respective departments, variation also exists among departments with similar functions. For example, the General Services Agency (excluding the Department of Public Works) has a larger number of end users per information technology staff than other departments that perform primarily business functions.

Table 4.1
Ratio of Information Technology Staff to Computer End-Users

* Estimate

** This includes the General Services Agency, the Mayor's Office and some Sheriff staff for which the General Services Agency information technology staff are responsible.

Departments must prioritize information technology staff relative to other departmental staff needs during the budget process. In the absence of a citywide plan for information technology staff or criteria to identify staffing needs, City departments hire information technology staff outside of the budget and civil service classification process. Consequently, departments frequently assign staff to work out of class or hire information technology staff into vacant non-information technology positions.

Information technology position responsibilities change due to technology shifts, but departments lack a plan to redefine position responsibilities and train incumbents to meet these responsibilities. The Budget Analyst found in prior management audits of the Public Utilities Commission and the Department of Public Works that information technology staff skills were not aligned with the departments' information technology needs.

Departments offer internal training and outside classes to maintain information technology staff skills, but many information technology staff reported the need for additional support to develop and maintain specialized skills, such as Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping. In order to accomplish more with the City's available expertise, the Budget Analyst recommends that the Department of Telecommunications and Information Services maintain a list of information technology staff throughout the City with expertise in specific information technology functions to support training and mentoring of information technology staff. This citywide list of information technology experts within City departments could be available, either informally or with a formal work order agreement, to share their expertise with other departments.

Role of Department of Telecommunications and Information Services

The Department of Telecommunications and Information Services supports core citywide service areas such as email, phone, and large network functions. Because many departments have specialized system applications and needs, departments' own in-house staff typically support department-specific information technology needs. Additionally, large departments with substantial in-house information technology capacity support most of their own information technology functions.

Committee on Information Technology

The Department of Telecommunications and Information Services provides staff support to the City's information technology policy-making body, the Committee on Information Technology. The Committee on Information Technology is made up of representatives from City departments and is responsible for making policy recommendations and reviewing major projects. All City departments are required to submit a folio to the Committee on Information Technology each year to update the departments' information technology plans, although most City departments have not complied with this process. A 2006 Civil Grand Jury report found that, in 2005, only 11 City departments actually submitted these folios.

Role of the Committee on Information Technology

The Committee on Information Technology makes recommendations on departmental information technology purchases and develops citywide technology standards. However, the Committee on Information Technology failed to function effectively from 2003 through 2006 and has only been reconstituted in 2007. Consequently, prior to 2007 the City lacked information technology planning, coordination and guidance for four years.

To better plan for and allocate information technology resources, the Committee on Information Technology needs to be a more effective planning and coordinating body. The Committee on Information Technology should perform a central role in policy development, strategic coordination, budgeting, resource allocation, and inter-departmental communications.

The current Committee on Information Technology structure has problems in assisting departments and setting standards, including:

• A disconnect between the Committee on Information Technology policymakers and the operational information technology staff who oversee information technology systems. Currently, information technology line staff hold informal monthly meetings to discuss issues with other departments and Department of Telecommunications and Information Services staff, but these are not formalized within the Committee on Information Technology structure.
  
  
• A broadly defined vision which lacks focus on end users and department-specific issues.
  
  
• Insufficient oversight to ensure that departments (1) are meeting their information technology goals; and, (2) are moving in tandem with other departments' technological progress.

The Department of Telecommunications and Information Services and Committee on Information Technology have worked to improve the role and function of the Committee on Information Technology, including the establishment of four subcommittees. Two of these subcommittees, the Planning and Budget Subcommittee and the Resource Subcommittee, could have significant impact improving the City's allocation of information technology resources.

According to the Committee on Information Technology's website, the objectives of the Planning and Budget Subcommittee are to ensure that:

• The most appropriate use of technology resources are used, including labor, hardware/software, and services; and,
  
  
• The City's processes and procedures are designed and implemented to maximize efficiency and effectiveness.

Information Technology Capital Projects

Information technology capital projects are implemented on an ad hoc basis with minimal communication among City departments, the Department of Telecommunications and Information Services and budget staff. In the absence of an information technology capital plan, the City risks redundancy in information technology projects and inadequate oversight over project implementation and costs.

City departments plan for their information technology projects in the absence of a citywide plan or criteria for implementing technology. Consequently, departments implement systems that are underutilized, inefficient, or incompatible. For example, several City departments that have been incorporated into the General Services Agency have incompatible payroll systems. Both the Port and the Public Utilities Commission have implemented maintenance management systems that are poorly utilized, as noted in the Budget Analyst's management audit reports. Further, the Port implemented an Oracle financial system that is incompatible with the City's general ledger system, FAMIS, requiring duplicate data entry.

The Committee on Information Technology should lead the City's information technology capital planning process, formalized in the Administrative Code, including:

• Preparation of an annual information technology capital plan that includes an evaluation of the City's information technology infrastructure, identifying information technology improvements necessary for City functions;
  
  
• Identification of all new information technology infrastructure plans;
  
  
• Identification of potential costs and a financial plan to fund information technology projects; and,
  
  
• Recommendations to the Board of Supervisors and the Mayor regarding annual information technology projects and funding.

Technical Oversight of Information Technology

The Committee on Information Technology and the sub-committee membership consist of information technology and non-technical department staff to provide policy guidance for departments' business needs and systems requirements. However, the City lacks a formal process for information technology managers and staff to share technical information and make technical decisions. The Department of Telecommunications and Information Services should establish a formal technical group of information technology managers and staff to meet and discuss information technology issues.

Two informal groups in information technology staff currently exist. One consists of information technology managers from large departments, such as the Municipal Transportation Agency and the Airport. The second group is a voluntary information technology managers meeting held monthly in City Hall, consisting of City departments' information technology line staff and mid-managers. These information meetings provide a forum to share citywide information technology issues and expertise and should be formalized.

Conclusion

The City lacks a formal information technology planning process to coordinate information technology projects and allocate resources. This has resulted in inefficient allocation of staff and implementation of projects. Therefore, the City, through the Committee on Information Technology and the Department of Telecommunications and Information Services, needs to (a) make better use of the expertise that already exists in a number of City departments, and (b) improve its information technology planning processes in a manner similar to the City's existing capital planning process. The City can establish formal information technology managers' meetings and provide adequate means of communication for information technology personnel across departments.

Recommendations

The Board of Supervisors should:

4.1 Adopt an Administrative Code provision establishing a citywide information technology capital planning process under the direction of the Committee on Information Technology.

The Chair of the Committee on Information Technology should:

4.2 Prepare an annual information technology capital expenditure plan based on the citywide information technology capital plan and submit a report for the Board of Supervisors containing details of the annual capital expenditure plan.

4.3 Request the Mayor to include the capital expenditure plan in the annual proposed budget to be submitted to the Board of Supervisors.

4.4 Establish formal information technology managers' meetings.

The Department of Telecommunications and Information Services should:

4.5 Maintain a list and serve as a clearinghouse of information technology expertise in City departments.

4.6 Implement a citywide information technology mentoring program.

Cost and Benefits

Implementation of these recommendations would result in more efficient allocation of resources.