Introduction

The widespread employment of computing equipment around the University, the wide range of activities it is used for, the consequent increasing dependence of all sectors of the University upon computing and communications systems, and the lack of any central control of or responsibility for this significant resource, has brought a range of new responsibilities upon Divisions, Departments, Units and Centres, hereafter just called Departments. In some cases, this process has happened by stealth, with possibly very little realisation on the part of many or any within Departments, often including the Heads, of this new range of responsibilities. Some of these responsibilities are fairly obvious, while others are rather subtle. Some arise for legal or financial reasons, while others are simply to do with sound resource management. This document attempts to identify these responsibilities, and to provide minimal guidance as to the most appropriate actions to take, so that Heads will be better equipped to discharge their responsibilities, and to ensure that their Department obtains the most effective utilisation of its IT resources. It is not claimed that this list is completely exhaustive, nor that all of it will apply to all Departments though most will.In addition, some Departments undoubtedly have all these matters fully under control. But it is hoped it will serve as a useful checklist and stimulus to enable Heads to recognise and to take more seriously their responsibility for IT.

Proper authorisation

It is very important that there be someone designated to take responsibility for each piece of equipment or software owned by the Department. This person or persons should ensure compliance with licence terms, Copyright laws, general care and maintenance, and so on. The biggest problems will arise when there is no-one with such clear responsibility. For this reason, the proposed University Computer and Software Use Regulations require the appointment of such 'authorised persons'.

These people are the agents of the Head of Department in respect of carrying out the advice contained in this document.

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Hardware

Asset recording

Note that all assets acquired by the Department should be registered in some way this includes at least the following:

• recording assets over a certain value in the official University Asset Register
• track what resources the Department actually has to prevent/detect/report thefts
  
• marking the equipment for identification purposes, and to deter theft
• proper disposal of redundant equipment, including advising the Asset Register where necessary.

Lifetime planning

All IT equipment has a restricted life, both for reasons of wear-and-tear and obsolescence (the latter usually strikes first!).  Part of the process of acquiring equipment should be the task of life-time estimation and planning. Generally allow a lifetime of no more than 3-4 years for most IT equipment.  Recognise that there's no such thing as a once-only expense with IT equipment. Considerable benefits can accrue if good quality equipment is acquired and a replacement cycle of between 12-18 months is adopted, while the equipment still has a good resale value, see case study on equipment replacement by one Department at UWA in the "gopher" Campus-Wide Information Service, CWIS, under "General UWA Information" / "IT Policy").

Physical security

There are increasing incidents of theft of computer equipment, since a ready market for second-hand gear has emerged in the community. Adequate precautions therefore need to be taken to prevent or discourage theft. Apart from marking them, they can be bolted or chained down, and additional security added to the room especially if it contains multiple units.

Maintenance and repairs

Arrangements need to be made to decide what steps to take when maintenance or repairs are required.  This is important not only for laboratories, where the absence of one unit for a while may be tolerated (but can still cause difficulties), but increasingly to Departmental units where a unit's absence or faulty performance can have immediate and damaging repercussions. Three factors need to be considered:

• buying better quality units at the outset can pay for itself in greater reliability
• a well thought-out strategy regarding maintenance and repair can be most beneficial, since failures always occur at the most inopportune occasions.

Serious consideration should be given to utilising a maintenance policy versus a time-and-materials approach to fault repair.

Micro care

Microcomputers and other IT equipment do not look after themselves. Substantial investment of time is required just to keep the unit running smoothly (eg controlling disk usage, taking backups, reorganising files), let alone when significant changes are required (eg new applications, substantial hardware or software upgrades). Among the routine requirements are:

• ensuring cleanliness
• protection when moving
• disk space management
• floppy disk storage and care
• virus protection.
  

For further information about routine micro care requirements, see the appropriate chapter in the book, "Choosing a Microcomputer, WARCC, 1986.

Upgrades

Most people wish to limit initial capital spending to a minimum, and so will eliminate some of the "options" when they first purchase.  However, a modest amount of actual use soon persuades you that some of the options are essential.  Even if your computer is well-equipped when purchased, it is inevitable that it will need to be upgraded on a regular basis. This is brought about by several factors, such as:

• later versions of software are more demanding;
• low performance which might have been tolerable when you were a beginner becomes unacceptable as you become more experienced;
• increasing familiarity with the computer leads to the discovery of new applications you can effectively use it for;
• gradual filling of disk space with important information.

The following are examples of the sorts of upgrades which might be required:

• processing unit (chip) - bank on a doubling every year
• mathematics coprocessor
• memory - bank on a doubling every year
• screen size/colour
• disk space (hard disk and floppy) - count on a doubling every 2 years
• printer - improved quality, speed, and capabilities.

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Software

It is really the software for which you buy a computer, so as much or more attention needs to be paid to the selection and care of the software as of the hardware.

Selection

Considerable care should therefore be given to the selection of the software, taking into account such factors as its fitness for purpose, its compatibility with other software/hardware already acquired, its flexibility, the quality of the manuals, the extent to which local support is available, the extent to which others are already using it.

Copyright and piracy

Ensure that an authorised person has been designated to be responsible for each item of software acquired. This person should take whatever steps are necessary to ensure that the terms of the Copyright Act are observed, ie neither make nor allow the making of any copies other than for backup purposes, and ensure that the master copies are kept in a safe place. They should also ensure that every piece of software in use has been acquired legitimately, and is not a pirate copy.  Note that some forms of public domain software can be copied and distributed freely, but if you decide to make use of it, then a fee is charged on an honour system.  Ensure that you are not using such shareware without having remitted this fee, a University, of all places, should respect such intellectual property rights.

Licence terms

The authorised person should likewise carefully read the terms of the licence agreements for all items of software, and ensure that all uses by themselves, by other members of the Department, by students and by any others are in compliance with its terms. They should be especially careful to ensure that multiple-copy and network licences are observed, so that no more than the permitted number of copies is made or used. It is also important to take steps to ensure that no user of a multi-user or network system takes an illegal copy of the software installed on it.  This may not be easy, but at the very least, prominent notices should be posted in laboratories, for example pointing out that this is prohibited.  The proposed Computer and Software Use Regulations provide specific sanctions against such activity, by students, by staff or by others apart from those sanctions which the Law provides. Some licences permit users to run the software on any computer as long as it is not run on more than one at a time, so that you can legally take the software home to use on your home computer at night. But for other software, this is not permitted. It is no defence to say that because one licence agreement permits such flexibility, then all ought to, and then ignore the more stringent terms of a licence.

Upgrades

It is very wise to have a general policy in place regarding Departmental policy on software upgrades. Almost all software is being constantly upgraded, so that major new releases occur about annually. There is much to be said for maintaining software throughout the Department at a consistent level, so that training, backup and exchange of material are facilitated. Upgrades bring about new features, they correct errors, they improve efficiency of operation, and they overcome limitations and deficiencies in the software you are using. Taking a long view of your IT resources will generally lead to the conclusion that the most cost-effective policy in the long term is to upgrade on a regular basis, a short while after new versions are released. However, whatever policy is adopted, it should be known and adhered to throughout the Department, so that the confusion of a multiplicity of versions, with varying update cycles, and an uncoordinated clamouring for funds to effect the upgrades does not result. Clearly, whatever policy is employed, there is also a need for someone in the Department to monitor new releases, so that at least you are informed as to the availability of new versions. This is especially important if the effectiveness of your staff's use of their IT resources is impeded by some annoying bug or shortcoming which gets corrected by a later version.

Software backup

Clear procedures should be established for what to do with master copies of software. The best advice is to make a copy as soon as the software is acquired, and then to use the copy, storing the master copy in a safe place.  This place should be safe both from accidental damage or loss and from theft. Remembering that taking software, copying and then returning the original is also theft. Proper documentation of location, version and date would also prove invaluable in the future.

Manuals

Manuals are almost as important as the software itself, and need to be kept in a safe place. Copying of manuals is also subject to the Copyright Act, but the fair dealings provisions apply to such printed material, they don't apply to software. All legitimate copies of software come with a manual, so you should be suspicious of anyone wanting to copy a whole manual.

Registration of software

Most software licence agreements require the registration of the owner with the producer.  Usually, a registration card is included with the package, and this should be properly and promptly despatched. There are often significant benefits for doing this like free hot-line help service, advice of new versions and products, tips for more effective use, and even sometimes free updates.

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Networks

In today's IT environment, networks are generally far more complex and require greater management than the computers or software. There are generally many options, and given the variety of computers and software in use at a place like the University, these require careful planning and constant management.  There are few straightforward standard solutions.

Technology options

There is a variety of technologies involved in networking, depending on whether you are looking at an immediate, local network like shared printers, or a wide area network, or interfacing with other networks. These include the choice of physical wiring to install, noting that it is a Departmental responsibility to install building wiring in existing buildings, the protocols to use over the network, the interface cards to install in your computers.

Your Department must become aware of the relevant standards in these areas, particularly those employed at UWA, and especially for building wiring, which becomes a part of the University infrastructure. It is very unlikely that all but a few Departments would have adequate expertise in-house to choose and implement all but the simplest of networks.  Even then, the most obvious choice may represent a poor investment if proper consideration is not given to the future requirements to interface with other networks like the campus local area network (LAN). Assistance from Winthrop Technology, IS or possibly a commercial network specialist is strongly advised. In any event, IS should be consulted so that potential interfacing requirements with the Campus LAN can be taken into account.

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Installation

The University generally employs one or two wiring contractors who are familiar with the University, and whose documentation is acceptable. Consult withIS and/or Property Services before engaging anyone to install wiring.

Maintenance

Networks quickly become a component of the Department's infrastructure that is "hidden" but on which you come to have substantial dependence.  Consequently, the impact of any failure can be very great. Proper maintenance arrangements are therefore imperative. You need someone with the necessary expert knowledge, the proper equipment and facilities for diagnosing and tracing problems quickly and reliably, and available at short notice. Since networks are, in general, quite reliable, this support will be required only occasionally. Therefore, employing a network support organisation on a maintenance contract should be given serious consideration.

Security - hacking

Every owner of a network needs to take seriously the threat of hacking (unauthorised access to computers on the network).Part of the ongoing management of the network should include checking for security loopholes and breaches, ensuring non-obvious passwords are chosen, ensuring the initial account/password setups are not the "defaults", making regular changes to passwords, monitoring for and installing new security patches whenever they are released, and so on. No networks are completely secure, and this is especially a concern when there are multi-user computers on your network. There are many ways to improve network security, but you will need to make a trade-off regarding how much you spend on this versus the degree of security desired.  To illustrate the dangers, it is possible to acquire public domain software nowadays which will allow someone with a micro on an Ethernet to scan everything (including passwords) which are transmitted over the network.

Much of the material on the network and stored on computers is, of course, of low security in a University.  However, Heads of Departments should ensure that there is a thorough understanding among all users of networks within their Departments of how vulnerable they can be. So, for example, examination papers should never be transmitted over networks before the exam is held, even to send to a printer - apart from the risk of it being printed in the wrong place, there is also the risk of it being intercepted en route and with the sender none the wiser.

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Lifetime planning

Just as for computers, networks have a limited lifetime, for a variety of reasons, but primarily obsolescence.  Consequently, the life-time and replacement cycle for networks must be carefully planned, so that the costs associated with this process can become expected demands, in expected time- frames, along with other demands on Departmental funding.

Capacity planning and performance monitoring

One of the most difficult tasks associated with network planning and management is that of determining the desired capacity, and making allowance for growth.  Most network traffic volumes function along queuing theory patterns, so the capacity can appear quite adequate at one moment, but be totally overloaded the next.  And some of the protocols in use like ethernet, degrade very badly under heavy loads.
For these reasons it is important to ensure that someone is assigned the responsibility of monitoring network traffic volumes, to gauge the degree to which the network performance is adequate and likely to remain so.

Network management

The above planning, implementation and ongoing tasks associated with anything more than the simplest of networks clearly requires a sound approach to the whole matter of network management. Networks of computers have become too indispensable, but are as yet not turn-key enough, to be managed in a haphazard or crisis-driven manner. Someone must be appointed within the Department to take on this responsibility, even if it is only to ensure that support is acquired from other sources as needed.

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Personnel

Much has been made above about the need for various forms of expertise in computers, software and networks. In the past, most Departments managed without the need for dedicated specialist IT support staff, relying instead on ad hoc existing knowledgeable and keen members of their staff, with occasional support from professionals. The situation has changed very rapidly, so that few Departments can now survive effectively in the IT era with informal support arrangements, or with staff who take a casual interest only in their IT skills.

IT literacy

It is the responsibility of the Head of Department to ensure that all staff are given adequate opportunity to acquire and develop a range of basic IT skills (called IT Literacy).  This has almost become a sine qua non of the scholarly life.  Details of just what is involved in IT Literacy are available in a discussion paper prepared by Mr Reid of the Office of IT, which is available for inspection on the gopher CWIS, under "General UWA Information" / "IT Policy".

The need to acquire suitable IT Literacy exists for academic and for support staff.  In addition, it is also a Departmental responsibility to ensure that students taking its courses (especially postgraduate students) receive the necessary skills, firstly to enable them to utilise IT-based resources in the course of their studies, but also to ensure that they are competent on graduation to handle the IT facilities they will encounter in the course of their initial employment.

At the very least, Heads should be sympathetic to those of their staff who request funds to attend IT training courses.

Staff responsibilities

Although some responsibility for the acquisition of IT skills rests with the Head of Department, there is also a sense in which it is really the individual staff member's responsibility to acquire these skills.  In any event, it falls to each staff member to incorporate IT components into their courses (as appropriate), and to ensure their students acquire the necessary skills. It is incumbent upon each staff member to monitor IT course offerings, and to petition the Head whenever suitable courses become available.

Periodic training

It should also be recognised that IT skills are not acquired once and for all.  Basic IT Literacy (including a general appreciation of the nature of computers) once obtained (and as long as it is not then neglected) does not need to be repeatedly acquired.  However, the field of IT is changing so rapidly that specific knowledge does need constant updating.  This is just a normal part of maintaining the resource represented by the expertise of the staff. In addition, there are so many capabilities now provided in many software packages like word processors,  that an advanced course is essential, taken after some degree of familiarity with the package has been acquired.  Otherwise staff will not get the most from the University's IT investments; it will certainly pay off in improved productivity.

Traps for novices

There are many potential traps for novice computer and network users.  These range from protracted learning curves where inadequate training or support has been provided, to a form of addiction to such things as some of the NewsGroups. As part of the process of retaining and developing the human resources of the Department, some consideration should be given to catering for the special needs of novice users, and helping them avoid the potential traps.

Computer support staff

If your Department has acquired its own professional IT support staff, then there are other responsibilities the Head must accept . Note firstly that most competent IT support staff are professionals; and that they sometimes have a greater loyalty to their profession than to the Department or the University. It behoves the Head to ensure that their special needs are catered for, which include the following:

• providing them with opportunity to keep up to date technically;
• provide them with means of associating with other IT professionals
• recognise that their job with your Department is just one step in their professional computing career, so that you should consider mapping out a likely career path with them;
• recognise that they may have special training needs, as well as needs for general development, which differ in importance to their work from those of academic or other support staff.

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General

Disaster and contingency planning

With the increasing dependence of all aspects of the affairs of a Department on computer and network technology, serious consideration must be given to planning what to do in the event of a major failure, such as a disk crash on a shared system, or catastrophic failure of the network, such as was caused to the Internet in November 1988 by a hacker, or a major power outage. Even fairly minor failures may cause sufficient disruption to warrant careful contingency planning. For example, if a number of staff, including secretarial staff, share printing facilities, what happens when/if the printer fails?  Remember that such a failure will always happen at the most inconvenient time (eg just as exams are about to be printed, or when an academic wanted to print a paper prior to travelling overseas!). To ensure these disruptions have minimal impact requires careful thought and planning. Identify first the degree of dependence on the various components of the system, under a wide variety of failure scenarios work out the various fall-back arrangements which are possible;  and map out a plan of action in the event of failure. These plans and arrangements must be reviewed periodically. A good approach would be to appoint a committee to consider what precautions to take, and to appoint one person to take prime responsibility.

Standards

Standards are considered by many to be the Achilles heel of the IT industry. Not that there aren't any, but that they generally represent out-of-date technology. Having some standards, however, can lead to very substantial efficiencies and improved effectiveness.  For instance, if the whole Department were to use the same Spreadsheet package, then the benefits in being able freely to exchange data are most likely alone to outweigh the marginal benefit that a few individuals might gain by having a different package which perhaps suited their particular needs a little better. In addition to this benefit, however, is the value of sharing expertise, of having backup software and expertise available, and of reducing training costs and time. There is thus great value in adopting various technology standards within your Department, or even across the University. The Head must take the lead in this, as it can often generate quite heated debate about which is the "best". And it is not just technologies per se for which standards should be considered there are also peripheral matters such as the expectations of students in regard to word-processed or electronically submitted assignments, for which a Department-wide standard approach makes much sense. Some of the areas where such Departmental standards should be considered are:

• choice of main software packages e.g. word processing, spreadsheet, database, communications package, graphics and charting, presentation software, packages to use in client-server contexts, like gopher and e-mail
• interchange of data within/outside the Department
• network connections
• which electronic mail system to employ, as well as e-mail addressing conventions
• the means of interchange with and the demands placed on students in regard to their use of IT
• backup, of software, data, documents
  
• the degree and form of the documentation of data, systems and approaches being pursued in the use of IT within the Department
• the advised or mandated approach to password security and privacy
• electronic document filing - the need to ensure that master copies of important electronic documents are properly stored, backed-up, archived and indexed. This is especially relevant in the Departmental office
• general care of equipment and software.

IT planning

It is the responsibility of every Department to undertake forward planning of its IT resources, within the context of the overall IT Strategic Plan adopted by the University late in 1992. That IT Plan establishes some overall goals and provides a framework for the development and implementation of specific local plans within Divisions, Departments, Units and Centres. It is the duty of each Head of Department to become familiar with that Plan summaries and the full plan can be viewed on the CWIS, under General UWA Information" / "IT Policy", and then to take steps to ensure that Departmental goals are consistent with it and play a part in achieving the targets established in that Plan. The chief goal of that Plan is: The University's primary Overall Goal for the use of IT is to be counted among the leading universities in Australia, by ensuring that access to the combination of workstation like a desktop microcomputer and network connection becomes widely available at the University, with a full range of resources and information sources made available through the network, so that it is available to and used appropriately by the following categories of people to the extent shown:

• academic members of staff have dedicated access
• desk-based support staff have dedicated access
• post-graduate students have dedicated access
• undergraduate students have reasonable access in the light of the requirements of their courses.

Again, it is recommended that a small group be convened within each Department to determine Departmental goals and to oversee progress towards meeting those goals.

Self-sufficiency in IT

As set out in the above UWA IT Strategic Plan, the University has placed a very high dependence (as compared with most other universities) on local autonomy and self-sufficiency in regard to decisions about and utilisation of IT resources. This places a special burden on each Head of Department to determine how that expected self-sufficiency will be worked out in their Department. This will involve considerations of IT Literacy training for all staff and students, as well as determining the extent to which the Department needs to rely on its existing academic and support staff, or on outside help, and the degree to which there is therefore a need to acquire specialist expertise onto the staff of the Department.

Accountability for efficiency and effectiveness

Australian universities are increasingly under scrutiny to determine the extent to which they are utilising public funds in a responsible fashion. Even apart from the pressure that this scrutiny generates, it is wise management practice to establish some measures of the efficiency and effectiveness with which Departmental resources, IT included, are being utilised. As an institution, we are striving for excellence in all we do, so we should in our use of IT. The Head needs therefore to make some decision about the means by which the effectiveness of any item of IT acquired by the Department can be measured and periodically reviewed.

Resource hunting

The field of IT is a very rapidly changing one, and now also a very complex one. Heads of Department must give consideration to how they plan to stay current with new developments and practice within the industry. Because of the scope of IT nowadays, it is no longer possible to rely on one keen amateur within the Department to keep abreast of and keep others apprised of developments in the industry of relevance to University work. Serious consideration must be given to establishing more formal and reliable means of doing this. The Department must take advantage of every opportunity provided by public seminars on campus e.g. those arranged by Winthrop, by IS and by DUIT, e.g.simply ensure that one member of staff attends and can report back.  It is also worthwhile arranging occasional in-house seminars within the Department, at which staff can compare notes about their utilisation of IT, general problems can be aired and issues discussed, and perhaps guest speakers can be invited to explain the relevance of some new technology. The Head should also consider the extent to which experiments and innovations should be encouraged/allowed within the Department, ensuring that the maximum benefit to the whole Department is reaped, both for successes and for failed projects.

Use of IT in teaching

Although this is just one aspect of the use of IT in the affairs of the University, it requires special attention and support from the Head for several reasons. The teaching duties of the Department are much more the responsibility of the whole Department than are most research activities. And, unlike research use, the following impediments exist to effective use of IT in teaching and learning:

• no well-established avenues through which funds can be requested
• there is no established time allocation or expectation in regard to the substantial investment in time that much such work can involve
• no required training or qualification for teaching, let alone for the use of IT in teaching (in contrast to research, where undertaking a research degree is generally a prerequisite to appointment).

Accordingly, Heads should take steps to see that any developments in use of computing in teaching and learning within their Department are encouraged and properly resourced, and that benefit of their experience (bitter or glorious!) is transmitted to other members of staff.

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