The Overall Approach

MDIT has a federated (centralized decision making/standards setting and decentralized implementation) model for managing the State's IT Investments. It is a coordinated and integrated approach that includes multiple committees or structures ("boards") that oversee the state's IT investments.

MDIT understands that each client agency has its own purpose, drivers, external influences, funding sources, statutes, legislative committees, etc.   These differences result in different IT needs and levels of maturity of their technical solutions.

Executive Order 2001-03 articulates the goals, objectives and benefits of this consolidated Information Technology department. 

Alignment to the Business Need

The Governor outlines her priorities and initiatives for the Executive Branch in the Cabinet Action Plan (CAP), the completion of which is facilitated by MDIT. This includes significant participation by the state's Chief Information Officer (CIO) as the state's CIO is a cabinet member.  

MDIT works through the Michigan Information Technology Executive Council (MiTEC), a group comprised of key executives from each agency to jointly develop the overall IT strategic direction for the state. The result is the State of Michigan's IT Strategic Plan, which is vetted by MiTEC. 

MDIT facilitates and participates in the investment "board," or combination of "boards," for each of the state agencies.  Some agencies, depending on their funding model, size, complexity, and programs, have multiple IT investment management "boards."  These boards all use the CAP and Michigan IT Strategic Plan as common criteria.  Through our participation, MDIT guides the selection of IT projects by the agencies.

Funding a Project

MDIT begins identifying agency IT needs approximately 6 months prior to the SBO formal budget development. The Information Officers (IO) and Client Service Directors (CSD) use the next year projected spend plan to develop issues and solutions that may require budgetary requests. 

The SBO will then use this information as they determine what requests are to be included in the Executive Recommendations.

Project Development, Execution & Monitoring

The State Unified Information Technology Environment (SUITE) is Michigan's standard methodology in place for planning, designing, executing and monitoring IT projects.  As part of the project initiation phase, the business case is completed with the Project Charter, Project Plan and presented to the appropriate board.  All of this information is used in the prioritization and selection of projects against the criteria of the CAP, State IT Strategic Plan, agency strategic plans, and other operational planning initiatives. 

MDIT subjects each project to SUITE.  From high-level requirements identified through the MDIT Systems Engineering Methodology (SEM) and Project Management Methodology (PMM or PMM Express), alternatives for the projects are pursued.  These alternatives may be an internally developed solution, an externally bid solution, or possibly leveraging a similar solution that is in place at the state. 

For each solution, an Enterprise Architecture (EA) Solution Assessment is required.  This solution assessment, once approved, provides high-level alternatives analysis, identification of all known technology components, logical server and network diagrams, and any identified technology exceptions.

These processes require standard project oversight procedures and depending on the size and complexity of the project, additional procedures may include review and monitoring by MDIT Enterprise Service Core Team (EST Core), MDIT Leadership Team, Agency Investment "Boards" as steering committees, and/or independent Project Control Offices

This information is communicated by the project managers to a group of both MDIT and Agency leadership that represents the project executive steering committee. This is usually the members of the investment committee, or their designees, who initially approved the project.  The MDIT Leadership Team practices monitor the progress of projects are in addition to the existing investment management practices that have the monitoring responsibility for schedule, costs, and benefits already being handled by the investment committees or executive steering committees.

Infrastructure Services resources are then planned from the completed EA Solution Assessment.  Detail planning, resource assignments, and necessary procurement  are also addressed through the MDIT Install-Move-Add-Change (IMAC) process. Information from the EA assessments are used to make decisions throughout all phases of the project.  The standard processes and procedures outlined above capture high-level information regarding strategic IT projects in MiPlan.  More detailed information pertaining to strategic IT projects and other non-strategic IT projects is captured in standard PMM templates, systems documentation and other tools such as MiPlan, MS Project and Niku.  Other system and asset information is captured in the IT Asset Management Tool (ITAM), Configuration Management Databases, Telecommunication Databases, Remedy, and Information Technology Request for Acquisition of Commodities (ITRAC), and a host of other tools. 

Communicating to Stakeholders

The MDIT Director meets quarterly with each Agency Director and their Executives.

MDIT meets with new legislators when they take office to provide an overview of MDIT as well as our goals and objectives which relate to IT investment management. 

The MDIT Director presents the MDIT budget on an annual basis, which includes an outline of the goals and benefits of MDIT and the annual IT investment program. 

Each agency has practices in place that are implemented by their IT Investment Management "Board" structure.  This includes MDIT involvement through the Client Relationship Model (CRM) process and the annual budget prioritization process.