Distributed innovation in the decentralized institution
Abstract
The execution of an innovative, distributed project in a historically decentralized institution provides powerful lessons and frameworks for future efforts. An interdisciplinary group from a number of University of Michigan colleges collaborate to build a shared Interactive Digital Signage infrastructure for the use of the broader University community.
1. Every enterprise needs to distribute information to its community. This has traditionally been accomplished with bulletin boards and posters, and more recently with PowerPoint or similar products, broadcast via public monitors. An industry around improved solutions to this problem has developed within the last decade, providing sophisticated systems that promise rich mapping and wayfinding interactivity, granular management, and polished designs which far surpass the abilities of PowerPoint or Keynote-based presentation solutions for public spaces.
With these new opportunities to modernize available channels of communication, to provide the ability to easily distribute emergency notifications, and to generally enhance the user experience of their communities and visitors, a number of University of Michigan departments were independently investigating the purchase of new digital signage systems or the replacement of obsolete systems in 2007.
At the School of Dentistry, as this discussion comingled with an institutional initiative around the “spirit of the IT commons,” it became clear that a joint solution could provide great benefit over siloed solutions; notably, significant reduction of TCO, eased deployment of emergency notifications, and the development of much-neglected interdisciplinary strategic alliances.
The alternative seemed to be the installation of multiple non-interoperable systems, requiring significant duplication of work – for example, the provisioning of multiple server infrastructures and the development of separate sets of content. This would also eliminate opportunities for the community to share content, design, branding, user experience, and messaging. Some units would surely implement interactivity and wayfinding while some would not; deployed interfaces would differ and end-users could become confused or frustrated.
2. Description of activity, project, or solution:
In the closing months of 2007, this vision of seamless interoperability and a single shared signage/”interactive wayfinding” infrastructure motivated us to evangelize the University community about these possibilities.
After members of the Dental Informatics group expressed their desire to assume leadership of this initiative, and had received understanding and support from their chain of command including the Deans, we conducted both informal and formal presentations to campus IT leadership groups to encourage collaboration.
Initial investigation revealed that the market for signage solutions was saturated, with over 300 companies offering broadly varied products. A targeted RFI produced over 40 responses, and this field was narrowed to less than 10 solutions as we refined our requirements. Additional presentations for the benefit of campus IT leadership were conducted, and these presentations were followed by a “trade show” event displaying a cross-section of the available solutions.
Three finalist suppliers then presented on-site demonstrations of their products, and a contract was awarded for a pilot in August of 2008.
Following a word-of-mouth and e-mail campaign soliciting interested parties, the conversation on campus crescendoed quickly and the pilot grew in scope, almost to the point of being unwieldy. Many – perhaps most – campus units expressed interest in participating. Some units set aside nascent searches for signage solutions and agreed to follow the campus direction, electing to wait for the pilot to conclude. The pilot was closed as the set of interested groups grew larger than the pilot scope could absorb.
After presenting the vision, the RFP, and evidence of this campuswide collaboration to the campus stewards of centrally-managed IT initiatives as well as the office of the Provost, the project was generously subsidized. This funding made it possible to realize the project with fewer roadblocks than would have been encountered otherwise.
3. At the time of this writing, we have reached the following milestones and outcomes. A follow-up presentation at Educause 2010 will describe outcomes and lessons learned from the transition from the pilot phase into campus-wide production as well as the build-out of the network.
a. Provided a pride point and PR opportunity for the originating units, who took the lead in facilitating the easy implementation of this complex system by the campus community.
b. Successfully organized the purchase and installation of software infrastructure powering 87 new digital signage displays (30 interactive and 57 non-interactive) within 9 buildings, fulfilling the pilot scope.
c. With diligent communication efforts, both face-to-face and electronic, as well as freely-distributed documentation, the group received support and plans for future participation from a majority of the remaining “non-pilot” units on campus.
d. Trained users from all units in the use of the system before its deployment in order to establish campus-wide buy-in and commitment to the shared infrastructure.
e. Worked through a negative situation with a graphic design firm for UX design, finally terminating that relationship and taking on the responsibility for UX design within the project team, who provisioned an innovative GUI for wayfinding, directory search, and communication.
f. Architected a sophisticated emergency notification mechanism which makes deployment extremely simple for non-technical users at Public Safety.
g. Developed policies and guides as well as a glidepath for other units implementing the system during and after the transition to the post-pilot, site-licensed implementation.
h. Provided precedent for central support of future collaborative/distributed efforts with mutual benefit across campus.
4. Besides the practical lessons learned through discovery, deployment, content development, and installation, broader lessons regarding interdisciplinary cooperation and distributed innovation have developed. The processes underlying the development of this pilot and the development of the community around the system can be applied to distributed projects in any enterprise.
a. Substantial cost savings and reduction in system TCO (for this project, we conservatively estimate savings of $1M) are achieved by sharing a single infrastructure and distributing project startup labor.
b. Interdisciplinary communication and relationship-building provide synergic benefits beyond the scope of the project at hand.
c. Adherence to a consistent, internalized mission as well as a vision for success whose goal is the benefit of the whole of the enterprise results in positive outcomes which are greater than the sum of their parts.
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