11 am, N42-286, CSS Managers 

Agenda

  • IT cost cutting at MIT (wilson)
    • opened with the response to Susan Hockfield's letter of 11/10/2008. Find some % to save in the coming year. 
    • The intent is to be better prepared with "what can we cut back on" if asked.
    • So let's collect ideas just in case.  Send 'em to Rob and we'll aggregate them.
      • the printing of needless flyers now mailed and then thrown out, including is&t newsletters.  Doing away with printing these things across the institute.
      • Lunches and other feel-good gathering enablers -- better prediction of how many people will actually eat it, reducing extra $50 here and $50 there.  Don't schedule metings over lunch time just to justify getting lunch brought in.
      • Follow hardware standards that extended support warranty repair rather than cash repairs.
      • Managers should reduce their travel, in favor of staff being able to continue to get out and have training.  Go to local outlets for training, like the Waltham office of some company.
      • CSS is mostly people... so can the same people do more work in order to prevent hiring additional hires.
      • Can DCAD take on more pay-MIT-first-inspired work (which might take an additional staff person) and capture money that would otherwise be leaving the campus.  Can we be more creative in establishing a close supplier relationship and get a better price on the web site contracting that they do?  (Cut down the inefficiencies of too many suppliers.)
      • Need to balance morale against luxury -- like, for whom do you cut travel and development? 
    • Who can really do the cost analysis to justify the savings?  If it's in your area, go ahead, else don't spend a lot of time on it.
    • Defer future expenditures in a three-year horizon ...
      • hardware replacement
      • "luxuriant" open positions  -- the real savings come when you don't fill a planned position.   Should be able to take credit for giving it up.
      •  
    • Luxuriant expenditures --
      • internet access, cell phones. Seven years ago, okay, but not in this day and age. 
    • Increase collections --
      • Jana mentioned VoIP.  Once a DLC is transitioned in the VoIP space, we should start charging that DLC for new, future MACs.   We don't do that now.
    • Is there room to institute new revenue-generating services?  The DLCs might say they don't have the money for that.   
    • Watch out for other departments forgoing basic technological health care visits (which is to say, they have no sysadmin or help staff and don't plan to get any).  Chris says only two departments have left DITR and that's only because the DITR consultant went to work for each of those departments. 
    • There's a risk that short-term savings of $50 here or $50 there will lead to big losses down the road if some dire problem then happens.  E.g., big security spill because no one wanted to buy small things.  MIT Press data spill was the example discussed.
    • Remember the goal is save MIT the money, not just IS&T. 
  • A parting thought on Goals from Wilson..  
    • Glad to formally move Paul H into Software.  I don't like floaters -- want to see individuals with a specific managerial home. 
    • what are your top five performance goals for the year?  Measurements, if possible.  Not "I should do well" but put some metrics around it.  The team should not be penalized from the managers' lack of
  • review status of Fall 2008 Service Quality goals (smyser)
    • see http://web.mit.edu/ist/org/css/managers/workplans/CSS-Service-Quality-Goals-Fall-2008.doc
    • the group looked at the document with little recognition.  For Mark and Jana, there was no prior participation.  All want a chance to look at it more closely. 
    • Closer look required especially in light of the current economic climate.  Given the present situation, would we still want to put these forward as things to do or be able to say we have done?  Or would we cancel some as cost-cutting measures?  Or would we elevate some in priority as ways to really save MIT some money?
    • The question to work on with Wilson is "how publicly are we committed to this list?"  What is the current level of our public commitment to the goals as listed.  Does Jerry expect us to be working on them?  Do the Directors as a group know about or expect them to be followed up on?  Was it just a list of things Don collected to appease Jerry in their one-on-ones? 
    • This list could very well evolve into part of the five performance goals per team idea that Wilson mentioned. 
    • More dicussion is needed, perhaps at the next Managers' meeting, assuming there is room on the agenda.
  •  

Notes

Kate Kibbee is at a Training All-day offsite and cannot attend.  Kate will followup with Rob to post her ideas to the spreadsheet. 

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