TECHNICAL PANEL

Nebraska Information Technology Commission

Tuesday, December 14, 2004, 9:00 a.m.

Varner Hall, 3835 Holdrege

Lincoln, Nebraska

APPROVED MINUTES

MEMBERS PRESENT:

Mike Beach, Nebraska Educational Telecommunications Commission

Brenda Decker, Department of Administrative Services, State of Nebraska

Christy Horn, University of Nebraska, Compliance Officer

Kirk Langer, Lincoln Public Schools
Steve Schafer, Office of the Chief Information Officer, State of Nebraska

Walter Weir, University of Nebraska

ALTERNATES PRESENT:

Rick Becker, Government I.T. Manager, Chief Information Officer

Rick Golden, University of Nebraska

Steve Henderson, Department of Administrative Services

CALL TO ORDER, ROLL CALL, AND MEETING NOTICE

Mr. Weir called the meeting to order at 9:10 a.m. The meeting notice was posted to the Nebraska Public Meeting Calendar and the NITC web sites on November 2, 2004 and that the December 14th meeting agenda was posted to the NITC web site on December 10, 2004. A quorum was present at the time of roll call.

PUBLIC COMMENT

There was no public comment.

APPROVAL OF NOVEMBER 2, 2004 MINUTES

Mr. Schafer corrected the information under “Other Business”. Mr. Mannering requested discussion topic should read common areas of interest. It was also recommended to include Mr. Mannering’s position title, Chief Information Officer, Lincoln Electrical System. Discussion followed as to who and what entities to participate in the discussion. Mr. Weir offered to host the meeting and provide refreshments.

Mr. Schafer moved to approve the November minutes as corrected. Ms. Horn seconded the motion. Roll call vote: Beach-Yes, Decker-Yes, Horn-Yes, Langer-Yes, Schafer-Yes, and Weir-Yes. Motion was carried.

STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES TO THE NITC

Lotus Notes Standards for State Government Agencies (PDF 94k)

Mr. Becker stated that the standard was posted for the 30-day comment period. One comment (PDF 56k) was received regarding a standard expiration date for passwords. Discussion followed regarding the Exception Process and who should take the leading role – the Technical Panel or the NITC. Due to the NITC meeting only quarterly, there is a time factor.

After discussion, it was recommended to insert the language that exceptions should be submitted to the Technical Panel and that appeals can be made to the NITC for all proposed standards.

An agency has contacted the CIO’s office with the concern that generic ID’s will not be acceptable. There was a question as to whether this will meet their business needs. Mr. Schafer would like more information before moving forward with this standard.

Mr. Schafer moved to table this standard until the January meeting. Ms. Decker seconded the motion. All were in favor. Motion was carried by voice vote.

STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES TO THE NITC

Lotus Notes Guidelines for State Government Agencies (PDF 87k)

Mr. Becker stated that the standard was posted for the 30-day comment period and that no comments were received. Mr. Becker announced that the State Government Council will be proposing another standard that will address the domain name for state government agencies.

Mr. Schafer moved to recommend the Lotus Notes Guidelines for State Government Agencies to the NITC for final approval. Mr. Beach seconded the motion. Roll call vote: Weir-Yes, Schafer-Yes, Langer-Yes, Horn-Yes, Decker-Yes, and Beach-Yes. Motion was carried.

STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES TO THE NITC

Identity and Access Management Standard for State Government Agencies (PDF 99k)

Mr. Becker stated that the standard was posted for the 30-day comment period. One comment (PDF 77k) was received regarding Section 1.0 Standard on page 2. It was suggested to change the wording "the enterprise LDAP directory" to "the enterprise directory". Mr. Schafer also suggested that under the section “Objectives include” to not identify the portal.

After discussion, the following recommendation were made: 1) change the wording "the enterprise LDAP directory" to "the enterprise directory" in Section 1.0 but leave to leave it as is in Section 5.1; 2) omit the identity portal under “Objectives included”; and 3) include the wording for the changed exception process.

Mr. Schafer moved to recommend the revised Identity and Access Management Standard for State Agencies to the NITC for final approval. Mr. Beach seconded the motion. Roll call vote: Horn-Yes, Langer-Yes, Schafer-Yes, Weir-Yes, Beach-Yes, and Decker-Yes. Motion was carried.

I.T. PROJECT REVIEW PROCESS DISCUSSION

Mr. Schafer provided a brief history of ranking, scoring and prioritization processes to date. This year the same procedure was followed but also attempted to use the NITC strategic initiatives to assist with the prioritization. The NITC and state agencies expressed frustrations and concerns in several areas: difficulty in determining total IT spending for state government; difficulty in scaling large ongoing projects; dollars to fund studies need different information and consideration; and providing agencies an opportunity to re-submit and provide further information. The NITC had discussed separation of the technical aspects of a project versus the value of the project to the State.

The State Government Council held an informal discussion at a work session last week. Their recommendations included providing better direction to the NITC as to their role in the prioritization process, as well as the need to decouple the technical ranking from the project’s value to the state.

Mr. Weir briefly demonstrated the Murphy Tool Scoring processand showed his presentation from the Digital Government Conference held on December 1st. Members were interested in receiving a copy of the tool to examine how it could be used with the IT Budget Request process. One suggestion was for the Technical Panel and Councils to determine the Value/Success categories and sub-categories and then have the value points assigned by the NITC and/or possible agency directors. Mr. Weir will send members a copy of the tool for them to review further.

REGULAR INFORMATION ITEMS AND WORK GROUP UPGRADES (as needed)

Accessibility Work Group. Mr. Schafer stated that the State of Nebraska is moving forward with assessing accessibility of web sites. Nebraska has not scored well regarding accessibility in national surveys. The University of Nebraska has been using “Cynthia Says” software to assess web sites for text only accessibility. The upfront cost is $24,000 and then annual licensing fee is $3000. Ms. Horn will evaluate the software and bring recommendations to the January meeting.

Security Work Group. Mr. Schafer reported the work group is moving forward on the RFP to do another security assessment.

ELECTION OF THE TECHNICAL PANEL CHAIR FOR 2005

Ms. Decker moved to nominate Walter Weir to serve as Chair of the Technical Panel. Mr. Schafer seconded the motion. Roll call vote: Langer-Yes, Horn-Yes, Decker-Yes, Beach-Yes, Weir-Yes, and Schafer-Yes. Motion was carried.

OTHER BUSINESS

There was no other business.

NEXT MEETING DATE, TIME AND ADJOURNMENT

With no other business, Mr. Weir adjourned the meeting at 10:30 a.m.

Meeting Minutes