Ecology's 1992 plan was developed through a coordinated, agencywide process. Over 100 individuals at all levels of the agency were involved in the planning process through the IRM Strategic Planning Committee, eight focus groups, and individual interviews. The draft plan was distributed to over 200 individuals, including Ecology staff and selected external stakeholders. The final plan was approved by Ecology's Information Services (IS) Executive Steering Committee and the Executive Policy Team.
Ecology's 1994 plan continues the agencywide approach. When compared with the 1992 process, the 1994 plan differs in two major ways. First, it involved more limited direct participation of agency staff and other stakeholders. Second, executive management has played and will continue to play a more significant role in developing and approving the IT direction of Ecology.
The 1992 IRM Strategic Plan recommended the formation of an Information Services (IS) Council to replace the 40+ member IRM Strategic Planning Committee. The IS Council's inaugural meeting was held December 1, 1992. The 25-member Council is composed of representatives of the Information Services Section, each of the agency's programs and regional offices, and the three other agencies which are co-located with Ecology in its new headquarters building. These three other agencies are the Washington State Conservation Commission, Puget Sound Water Quality Authority, and the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The primary focus of the IRM Strategic Planning Committee was setting the architectural direction presented in Ecology's 1992 IRM Strategic Plan and the development of the plan itself. During 1993, the primary focus of the IS Council has been two-fold: (1) planning and completing the information technology move to the new headquarters building; and (2) implementing and refining the architectural direction presented in the 1992 plan.
The 1994 plan was developed as follows:
An annotated draft outline of the plan was prepared by Information Services Section (ISS) staff and distributed to the IS Council for review. Several portions of the plan had been drafted and incomplete portions were annotated to explain the planned contents. IS Council members provided comments.
IS Council members provided information to complete portions of the plan that directly related to their programs. Fiscal, Budget, and Employee Services staff provided data to meet the Personnel and Expenditures reporting requirements contained in Section VI. Other sections were completed based on available information and on individual interviews with other Ecology staff.
In September, 1993, the IS Manager began serving as a member of Ecology's Executive Policy Team. As opportunities arose, the IS Manager shared information about the IT architectural direction of the agency, and provided opportunities for Ecology's management to attend briefings by members of the IT industry.
During November and December 1993, Ecology's divisions developed their business plans in support of the agency's goals. The division plans were completed in late February, 1994. Many of the agency's IT projects are drawn from these plans.
Ecology's Information Services (IS) Council reviewed and provided comment on the draft plan and subsequently approved the revised draft plan.
In February, 1994, Ecology's Executive Management Team was provided a briefing on IT with a focus on IT planning. In March, the Executive Management Team reviewed and approved Ecology's 1994 IT Plan.