CTC_Feasibility_Study_Report_and_S1BA_Final.pdf

Commission on Teacher Credentialing

Streamline and Strengthen the Accreditation Process (SSAP) Project FSR

FEASIBILITY STUDY REPORT

Final v.1 1 January 27, 2015

Streamline and Strengthen the Accreditation Process (SSAP) Project FSR

Feasibility Study Report i

Table of Contents

1.0 EXECUTIVE APPROVAL TRANSMITTAL

2.0 IT PROJECT SUMMARY PACKAGE

3.0 BUSINESS ANALYSIS

4.0 BASELINE ANALYSIS

4.1 CURRENT METHOD

4.1.1 Objectives of the current system

4.1.2 The ability of the system to meet current and projected program and workload requirements (e.g., processing backlogs or increasing system demands)

4.1.3 Level of user and technical staff satisfaction with the system

4.1.4 Data input (e.g., key entry, optical character recognition), related manual procedures, processing (e.g., data validation routines) and output characteristics

4.1.5 Data characteristics (content, structure, size, volatility, completeness, accuracy, etc.)

4.1.6 System provisions for security, privacy and confidentiality

4.1.7 Equipment requirements of the current system (e.g., processors, peripherals, and communication devices

4.1.8 Software characteristics (e.g., application software, operating system software, etc.)

4.1.9 Internal and external interfaces

4.1.10 Personnel requirements, including management, data entry, operations, maintenance, and user liaison

4.1.11 System documentation (format, availability, and accuracy)

4.1.12 Failures of the current system to meet the objectives and functional requirements of an acceptable response to the problem or opportunity

4.1.13 Technical Environment

4.1.14 Existing Infrastructure

5.0 PROPOSED SOLUTION

5.1 SOLUTION DESCRIPTION

5.2 RATIONALE FOR SELECTION

5.3 OTHER ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED

5.3.1 Alternatives #1 – Develop Reports using Existing Reporting Software

5.3.2 Alternatives #2 – Do Nothing

6.0 PROJECT MANAGEMENT PLAN

6.1 PROJECT ORGANIZATION

6.2 PROJECT PLAN

6.2.1 Project Manager Qualifications

6.2.2 Project Management Methodology

6.2.3 Project Priorities

6.2.4 Project Plan

6.2.5 Project Assumptions

6.2.6 Project Phasing

6.2.7 Roles and Responsibilities

6.2.8 Project Schedule

6.2.9 Project Monitoring

6.2.10 Project Quality

6.2.11 Change Management

6.3 AUTHORIZATION REQUIRED

7.0 RISK REGISTER

7.1 RISK MANAGEMENT WORKSHEET

7.2 RISK MANAGEMENT APPROACH

7.2.1 Risk Sharing

ii

7.2.2 Risk Tracking and Control

8.0 ECONOMIC ANALYSIS WORKSHEETS (EAWS)

9.0 BUSINESS FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS

California Commission on Teacher Credentialing Streamline and Strengthen the Accreditation Process 1 FSR Transmittal January 2015

1.0 Executive Approval Transmittal

Streamline and Strengthen the Accreditation Process 2

Streamline and Strengthen the Accreditation Process 3

Executive Approval Transmittal

IT Accessibility Certification

Yes or No

Yes The Proposed Project Meets Government Code 11135 / Section 508 Requirements and no exceptions apply.

Exceptions Not Requiring Alternative Means of Access

Yes or No Accessibility Exception Justification

The Proposed IT project meets the definition of a national security system.

The Proposed IT project will be located in spaces frequented only by service personnel for maintenance, repair, or occasional monitoring of equipment (i.e., “Back Office Exception.)

The Proposed IT acquisition is acquired by a contractor incidental to a contract.

Exceptions Requiring Alternative Means of Access for Persons with Disabilities

Meeting the accessibility requirements would constitute an “undue burden” (i.e., a significant difficulty or expense considering all Agency/state entity resources).

Explain:

Describe the alternative means of access that will be provided that will allow individuals with disabilities to obtain the information or access the technology.

No commercial solution is available to meet the requirements for the IT project that provides for accessibility.

Streamline and Strengthen the Accreditation Process 4 FSR Transmittal January 2015

Executive Approval Transmittal

IT Accessibility Certification (continued)

Exceptions Requiring Alternative Means of Access for Persons with Disabilities

No solution is available to meet the requirements for the IT project that does not require a fundamental alteration in the nature of the product or its components.

California Commission on Teacher Credentialing Page 1 Streamline and Strengthen the Accreditation Process FSR IT Project Summary Package January 2015

2.0 IT Project Summary Package

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY PROJECT SUMMARY PACKAGE

SECTION A: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

California Commission on Teacher Credentialing Page 1

1. Submittal Date 1/20/2015

FSR PSP Only Other:

2. Type of Document X

Project Number

Estimated Project Dates

3. Project Title Streamline and Strengthen the Accreditation Process Start End

Project Acronym SSAP 7/1/2015 7/28/2017

4. Submitting Agency/State

Entity

5. Reporting Agency

6. Project Objectives 8. Major Milestones Est Complete

Date

Initiation – Resources, Schedule, Charter 4/30/2015

To streamline and strengthen the accreditation system in order to collect additional data and shift the focus of the accreditation system from compliance to outcomes, which will help ensure the quality of educator preparation programs while also reducing the overall administrative burden of the system for both the state and for institutions that sponsor educator preparation programs.

Development Phases

Phase II Create Data Dashboard

Stage I

Stage II

Phase III CASE & CTC Online Enhancements

Stage I

Stage II

Phase IV Security Enhancements-Replace F5

Phase V Upgrade/Migration of CTC WWW Site

Phase VI Backup recovery system

6/30/2016

6/22/2017

6/23/2016

6/15/2017

9/30/2015

6/29/2016

6/22/2016

Closeout 7/28/2017

PIER 4/12/2018

Key Deliverables

Data Model 2/16/2016

Stage I Dashboard & Enhancements 6/30/2016

Stage II Dashboard & Enhancements 6/22/2017

Backup recovery system 6/22/2016

Maintenance & Operation Plans 7/10/2017

SECTION A: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

California Commission on Teacher Credentialing Page 2

7. Proposed Solution

The proposed solution is designed to strengthen the Commission’s capacity to develop, organize, and retrieve information from surveys, assessments, and other sources so that reliable and consistent data are available to support decision making in accreditation, and so that the current emphasis on excessive documentation requested from and/or submitted by programs for accreditation purposes will be greatly reduced. The proposed solution contains the following components:

Creating a Data Dashboard, using Business Intelligence (BI) software

CASE and CTC Online enhancements to improve user friendliness

CASE, CTC Online and FileMaker data model and data cleansing

Web broadcasting equipment upgrade for providing end user training

Security enhancements – replace network security device F5

Security enhancements – User authentication for CTC Online for educators

Successful upgrade or migration of the CTC WWW site to be hosted by OTech

Backup recovery system for all of the Commission’s critical applications to be hosted by OTech

SECTION B: PROJECT CONTACTS

California Commission on Teacher Credentialing Page 3

IT Project Summary Package January 2015

Project #

Doc. Type FSR

Executive Contacts

First Name

Last Name

Area Code

Phone #

Ext.

Fax #

E-mail

Agency Secretary

NA

State Entity Director

Mary Vixie Sandy 916 322-6253 916 445-0800 msandy@ctc.ca.gov

Budget Officer Philip Chen 916 322-5774 916 323-5095 pchen@ctc.ca.gov

Information Security Officer

Dan Gonzales 916 322-8634 916 322-2303 dgonzales@ctc.ca.gov

Enterprise Architect

Mohammed Iqbal 916 327-0586 916 322-2303 miqbal@ctc.ca.gov

Chief Information Officer

Darren Addington 916 322-4359 916 322-2303 daddington@ctc.ca.gov

Project Sponsor Mary Vixie Sandy 916 322-6253 916 445-0800 msandy@ctc.ca.gov

Direct Contacts

First Name

Last Name

Phone #

Ext.

Fax #

E-mail

Doc. prepared by Darren Addington (and Informatix) 916 322-4359 916 322-2303 daddington@ctc.ca.gov

Primary Contact Darren Addington 916 322-4359 916 322-2303 daddington@ctc.ca.gov

Contract Manager Philip Chen 916 322-5774 916 323-5095 pchen@ctc.ca.gov

Project Manager Dept. of Tech. Project Manager

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY PROJECT SUMMARY

SECTION C: PROJECT RELEVANCE TO STATE AND/OR DEPARTMENTAL PLANS

California Commission on Teacher Credentialing Page 4

1. What is the date of your current Technology Recovery Plan (TRP)? Date 6/30/2014 Project #

2. What is the date of your current Agency Information Management Strategy (AIMS)?

Date 2013-14 – The Current

AIMS

Plan is incorporated as part of the Department Strategic Plan

Doc. Type FSR

3. For the proposed project, provide the page reference in your current AIMS and/or strategic business plan.

Doc. NA – See Strategic Plan References

Page #

Yes No

4. Is the project reportable to control agencies? X

If YES, CHECK all that apply:

X a) The project involves a budget action.

b) A new system development or acquisition that is specifically required by legislative mandate or is subject to special legislative review as specified in budget control language or other legislation.

X c) The estimated total development and acquisition cost exceeds the Department of Technology’s established Agency/state entity delegated cost threshold and the project does not meet the criteria of a desktop and mobile computing commodity expenditure (see SAM 4989 – 4989.3).

d) The project meets a condition previously imposed by the Department of Technology.

SECTION D: BUDGET INFORMATION

California Commission on Teacher Credentialing Page 5

Project #

Budget Augmentation Required?

No Yes X If YES, indicate fiscal year(s) and associated amount:

FY 2015/16 FY 2016/17 FY 2017/18 FY FY

$3,466,767 $1,533,233 $0

PROJECT COSTS

1. Fiscal Year 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 TOTAL

2. One-Time Cost 111,591 3,976,719 1,932,964 38,813 $6,060,087

3. Continuing Costs 0 0 0 411,347 $ 411,347

4. TOTAL PROJECT BUDGET $3,976,719 $1,932,964 $450,160 $6,471,434

PROJECT FINANCIAL BENEFITS

5. Cost Savings/Avoidances $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0

6. Revenue Increase NA NA NA NA NA NA

Note: Project costs includes redirected resources, $225,238 of one time project funds for 2015/16 and 2016/17 are being used to fund overtime and temp help, the rest of the redirected resources are being absorbed.

SECTION E: VENDOR PROJECT BUDGET

California Commission on Teacher Credentialing Page 6

IT Project Summary Package January 2015

Project #

Vendor Cost for FSR Development (if applicable) $30,000 (in 2014/15 and not included below)

Vendor Name Informatix, Inc.

VENDOR PROJECT BUDGET

1. Fiscal Year 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 TOTAL

2. Primary Vendor Budget * 0 1,042,882 896,766 0 $1,939,648

3. Independent Oversight Budget 0 112,560 112,560 0 $ 225,120

4. IV&V Budget 0 0 0 0 $ 0

5. Other Budget (Project Manager)

0 112,560 112,560 0 $ 225,120

6. TOTAL VENDOR BUDGET $0 $1,268,002 $1,121,886 $0 $2,389,888

*Breakdown of Primary Vendors Budgets

There will be different vendors required for each of the phases listed below.

Phase II Create Data Dashboard $323,446

Phase III CASE & CTC Online Enhancements

Stage I 2015/16

$609,216

Stage II 2016/17 $896,766

Phase V Upgrade/Migration of CTC WWW Site $110,220

$1,939,648

SECTION F: RISK ASSESSMENT INFORMATION

California Commission on Teacher Credentialing Page 7

IT Project Summary Package January 2015

Project #

RISK ASSESSMENT

Yes No

Has a Risk Management Plan been developed for this project?

X

General Comment(s)

Refer to the Risk Management Plan in Section 7 of the FSR.

3.0 Business Analysis

Refer to Stage 1 Business Analysis (S1BA) located in Appendix A.

4.0 Baseline Analysis

4.1 Current Method

4.1.1 OBJECTIVES OF THE CURRENT SYSTEM

The objective of the Commission’s accreditation system is to monitor the quality of educator preparation in California and to ensure that educator preparation programs are aligned with state adopted content and performance standards for pupils. The Commission’s accreditation system is the State’s only mechanism for ensuring that credential preparation programs are effective in preparing program graduates to have the knowledge, skills, and abilities they need to help pupils achieve and be successful. To that end, the Commission has adopted a) standards of quality and effectiveness that describe what credential preparation must do in preparing candidates; and b) an accreditation framework that sets forth the policies of the Commission regarding the accreditation of educator preparation in California.

4.1.2 THE ABILITY OF THE SYSTEM TO MEET CURRENT AND PROJECTED

PROGRAM AND WORKLOAD REQUIREMENTS (E.G., PROCESSING

BACKLOGS OR INCREASING SYSTEM DEMANDS)

Although data collection is a feature of the current system, the system is focused more on input measures and compliance than on program outcomes and tells us little about the actual effectiveness of programs in preparing candidates to be effective educators. The Program Assessment process is a labor and paper intensive process for institutions and for the Commission and only monitors inputs as described by the program. Site visits do not focus on specific issues or on actual candidate and program outcomes. The ability to collect data and shift the focus of the accreditation system from compliance to outcomes would enable the Commission to implement a more streamlined system. This will strengthen its ability to ensure the quality of educator preparation programs while also reducing the overall administrative burden of the system for both the state and for institutions that sponsor educator preparation programs.

In order for the current computer system to be used for an outcome based accreditation program assessment, it must be enhanced and strengthened to:

Expand survey capabilities

Capture additional data elements in a user friendly format

Provide a more robust data structure

Provide better tools for analytics and reporting

Enhance system security

Provide user-friendly mechanisms for sharing data with the public and other entities.

4.1.3 LEVEL OF USER AND TECHNICAL STAFF SATISFACTION WITH THE SYSTEM

The current system for making accreditation decisions is paper and labor intensive, relies on multiple reports submitted by educator preparation programs, and does not have a technology interface for centralized data collection, storage, and analysis.

Although the system captures a lot of information, it does not capture all the data elements needed for reporting compliance and analysis. The data is not structured in a well-designed data model that takes into account the relationship of all the data in all the Commission’s systems and does not provide flexibility to add new data that will be captured, resulting in data integrity issues and data redundancy. Much of the data in the existing system comes from spreadsheets that are manually manipulated and converted into reports.

Additionally, the current system does not meet public information needs. There is no comprehensive single information source for the public to look up and manipulate data elements about program quality, program outcomes, and general data on educator credentialing in California. The lack of a comprehensive data lookup system requires significant Commission staff time and effort to respond to public inquiries since the needed data are held in several different systems and formats.

Commission staff receives several ad hoc requests for data. Some data reports and requests take minimal effort on the part of CTC staff and other data reports and requests require significant CTC staff time. Some reports requite special programming to see data across multiple years and data sources. On an average, each month commission staff receives requests for 1-2 custom reports from the media, legislative staff, advocacy groups, governor’s office, Dept. of Finance, CDE, and the public.

The current data systems contain data needed to prepare multiple reports required under state and/or federal law in multiple locations and formats. This requires gathering data from disparate sources, cleansing and verifying data.

4.1.4 DATA INPUT (E.G., KEY ENTRY, OPTICAL CHARACTER RECOGNITION),

RELATED MANUAL PROCEDURES, PROCESSING (E.G., DATA VALIDATION

ROUTINES) AND OUTPUT CHARACTERISTICS

80% of credential information gets into the system via input through CTC Online. The other 20% is through the paper applications that are input manually into the CASE system by CTC staff.

Data from institutions is received via a FileMaker Pro interface.

Over 250 entities submit recommendations for credentials annually via CTC Online

WESTAT, a federal contractor, collects Title 2 information (at a candidate level) from institutions and submits it via one large Excel file. The information includes admission requirements, enrollment data, program completers and academic majors. This information does not go into the system – it is manually manipulated and put into reports.

Candidate examination scores are received from examination contractors through a secure interface.

Information for Federal Title II reporting and numerous statutorily required state reports are manually input into their system or submitted via Excel.

Biennial reports and program assessment documents are submitted via email and contain matrices with metrics about the programs as well as lengthy narratives.

Surveys responses are captured in FileMaker when someone completes a survey.

4.1.5 DATA CHARACTERISTICS (CONTENT, STRUCTURE, SIZE, VOLATILITY,

COMPLETENESS, ACCURACY, ETC.)

Current data resides in multiple databases, in multiple servers, in multiple formats as well as in electronic narrative:

Title II data (final data submitted to the USDOE) comes back to the Commission in excel file.

Data needed for Teacher Supply Report comes from the Commission’s CASE; a smaller dataset is moved into a FileMaker database for analysis/reporting purpose.

Accreditation data in FileMaker database; Program Sponsor data is in another FileMaker database.

Survey Outcomes data are in multiple FileMaker databases.

Assignment Monitoring data are in multiple FileMaker databases.

Biennial Reports

Program Assessment narratives

Because data reside in multiple locations, it is very labor-intensive to create reports, and some of the data is duplicative. Many of the data elements that are required for mandated federal and state reports do not exist in the current systems.

4.1.6 SYSTEM PROVISIONS FOR SECURITY, PRIVACY AND CONFIDENTIALITY

Security capabilities in the CASE system meet internal security requirements today. Some information is confidential (privacy information) and is not displayed outside of the CASE system. The F5 network security device, which allows and watches the network traffic and denies service attacks, needs to be replaced with a new state of the art F5 that will continue to ensure that CTC is taking all of the needed precautions to prevent any kind of a data breach.

For technology recovery, all of the Commission’s data is currently saved to tape and a vendor retrieves and saves tape in a local secure facility. CTC needs to move to having a backup recovery system for all of its critical applications including the new applications that will be implemented during the SSAP project.

4.1.7 EQUIPMENT REQUIREMENTS OF THE CURRENT SYSTEM (E.G.,

PROCESSORS, PERIPHERALS, AND COMMUNICATION DEVICES

Equipment requirements of the current system are illustrated in the CTC Network Diagram shown in Section 4.1.14 Existing Infrastructure.

4.1.8 SOFTWARE CHARACTERISTICS (E.G., APPLICATION SOFTWARE,

OPERATING SYSTEM SOFTWARE, ETC.)

Siebel application framework

Siebel eSales

Oracle database

FileMaker Pro database

Linux operating system (used for Oracle Database only)

Crystal Reports

Windows Server

Microsoft Visio

Windows 7 OS

Microsoft Office Suite

Adobe reader / pro

4.1.9 INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL INTERFACES

External interfaces include:

Department of Social Services – child support information

Clearing House (NASDTEC) – interstate offenders information

National Education Systems (NES) – testing data

Education Test Services (ETS) – testing data

U.S. Department of Justice – DOJ and FBI clearance and arrest data

Districts, Counties, Institutions – credentials and correspondence

U.S. Postal Service – postal directory

SB1666, Teaching Fellowship Program – program participant data – not currently active

SB395, Certificate for Staff Development – Certification Data

CDE-Decile and CalPads data that we currently get for T2 and TSR report

Internal interfaces include:

Moving Data from CASE to FileMaker for program completer surveys.

4.1.10 PERSONNEL REQUIREMENTS, INCLUDING MANAGEMENT, DATA ENTRY,

OPERATIONS, MAINTENANCE, AND USER LIAISON

The Enterprise Technology Support Services (ETSS) Section staff currently supports the existing system operations and maintenance. The ETSS organization chart is displayed below:

The Professional Services Division Staff manage data and provide analytical and reporting support. Key staff members are identified below:

Title II reporting: Marjorie Suckow, Consultant. In addition, Marjorie works with requests for data from the legislature, the DOF, and others

Teacher Supply Report: Marjorie Suckow and Roxann Purdue, Consultants, Phi Phi Lau - Analyst

Assignment Monitoring: Roxann Purdue, Consultant and Angel Lopez, Analyst

Examination data: Mike Taylor, Consultant, Phi Phi Lau and Caroline Baltazar, Analysts, and Phyllis Jacobson, Administrator

Accreditation data, including Biennial Reports and Program Assessment narratives: Cheryl Hickey and Catherine Kearney, Administrators, Kathryn Polster, Analyst Katie Croy and Lynette Roby, Consultants, and Teri Clark, Director

NASDTEC data and misconduct data: Sherry Henderson, Senior Legal Analyst

4.1.11 SYSTEM DOCUMENTATION (FORMAT, AVAILABILITY, AND ACCURACY)

The Commission maintains the following system documentation. All of these documents are stored on the Intranet web server:

Use Cases for business process – last updated several years ago

Business process documents that encompass technical steps – 10 documents – updated when changes occur

Process flow diagrams – 4 documents – updated when changes occur

Logical data Model – updated when changes occur, reviewed bi -yearly

Physical data Model – updated when changes occur, reviewed bi-yearly

Interface Design Document – updated when changes occur, reviewed yearly

ETSS Service Agreements – 3 document – updated when changes occur, reviewed bi-yearly

Data dictionary for specific areas – updated when changes occur

CASE process flow documentation – Updated when changes occur

CASE Technical Development Design Standards – updated when changes occur

CTC Scheduled Process – All processes that run, the time, how long, the systems, the outcome – updated when changes occur, reviewed yearly

4.1.12 FAILURES OF THE CURRENT SYSTEM TO MEET THE OBJECTIVES AND

FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS OF AN ACCEPTABLE RESPONSE TO THE

PROBLEM OR OPPORTUNITY

The Commission’s current accreditation system is not designed to focus on candidate and program outcomes data, and relies heavily on voluminous documentation and narrative responses that describe how a program meets specified standards. At the time the current system was developed, national accreditation models as well as other state accreditation systems were more focused on reviewing qualitative program elements and assuring compliance with standards. The Commission’s system needs to be refocused, streamlined, updated, and repurposed to become an accreditation system that uses a variety of program and candidates outcomes data to inform decision making, identify programs that need improvement and/or possibly need to be closed down, and highlight and promote programs that are exemplary in their practices.

The current systems need to be augmented to strengthen the Commission’s capacity to organize and retrieve information from credential applications, surveys, assessments, and other sources so that reliable and consistent data are available to support decision making in accreditation, and the current emphasis on excessive documentation requested from and/or submitted by programs for accreditation purposes will be significantly reduced.

Much of the current data used by the Commission resides in FileMaker databases. FileMaker is a mid-tier database tool that is not sufficiently robust to meet the data and reporting requirements. Compilation of data and generation of reports is mostly a manual and labor-intensive process. Not all reporting requirements can be achieved today due to data elements needed for reports that are not currently captured, stored or accessible in the system.

The Commission’s WWW site contains a great majority of CTC’s publically and privately accessible information, but has not had its core technology upgraded in more than seven years.

The current CTC WWW site is incapable of information interactivity, responsive design and subject matter expert (SME) information publishing. There is no comprehensive or CTC WWW-integrated method for publishing information dynamically. The lack of dynamic information publishing also creates data redundancy, where the same information is published multiple times in multiple places, rather than making information dynamically reusable across the WWW site.

Some data is not public due to state privacy statutes. The current system for providing public information relies on multiple databases that must be constantly reanalyzed to respond to public information requests.

4.1.13 TECHNICAL ENVIRONMENT

Listed below are considerations for the technical environment within which the proposed solution will be implemented:

The expected operational life of a proposed solution -

Hardware – Replaced every 5 years

Software maintained and kept up to date - Ongoing

The necessary interaction of a proposed solution with other systems, Agency/state entity programs, and organizations (such as sharing of information or intergovernmental data exchange) - Program information in FileMaker databases, Assignment Monitoring systems in FileMaker databases, CASE and CTC online data in Oracle database with Siebel CRM, California Department of Education (CDE) CALPADS data.

State-level information processing policies, such as the enterprise system strategy - The system must comply with all federal and state information processing and security laws, rules, regulations and policies.

Financial constraints, including fiscal year limitations and potential financial impact on local government - CTC has no current year or future year funding for this project.

Funding information is provided in the attached BCP.

Legal and public policy constraints (such as confidentiality, security and privacy, the Freedom of Information Act, the Information Practices Act, the California Public Records Act, the State Records Management Act, or other legislatively mandated requirements) - Legal and public policy constraints include the Information Practices Act, the Public Records Act, and the State Records Management Act as applicable to the Commission. In addition, there are also sections of the Education Code that are applicable to the Commission's records (sections 44230, 44248, and 44341).

Agency/state entity policies and procedures related to information management – The Commission’s Computer Security and Usage Policies apply to the current and future environment. The Commission must comply with applicable State information technology policies (e.g., SAM, SIMM, NIST, etc.).

Anticipated changes in equipment, software, or the operating environment - The Siebel CRM systems are being moved from stand-alone servers to a virtual server environment.

Availability of personnel resources for development and operation of information management applications, including required special skills and potential recruitment

– Personnel resources required for Accreditation IT staff include:

Staff Programmer Analyst (Specialist)

̶ Structured Query Language (SQL) programming ̶ Data linking duties ̶ Data planning ̶ Technology evaluation and consulting ̶ Data management policies

Staff Information System Analyst (Specialist)

̶ Database administration (Oracle BI) ̶ Data planning ̶ Data linking duties ̶ Technology evaluation and consulting ̶ Data management policies

4.1.14 EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE

The following diagram illustrates the existing infrastructure for the Commission’s accreditation system:

Public

Educator

Authorized

Agency

LTM

ASM

LTM = Local Traffic Manager

ASM = Application Security Manager

Vital Check

Payment Processor

Internet

CWIP

Web

Server

CWIP

Application

Server

CASE

Application

Server

CASE

Web

Server

Siebel

Database

Server

(Oracle RAC)

Firewall Firewall Firewall

CTC Router

CTC Network Diagram (current) www

Web

Server

FileMaker

Web

Server

FileMaker

Database

Server

Note: CTC currently doesn’t have DMZ server behind the F5. During the implementation of the SSAP project, all servers will be placed behind the F5 to enhance security video

Desktop workstations – HP workstation; Apple Mac Pro.

DATA source servers - FileMaker database server – physical servers running on Windows server. FileMaker server. Oracle database server – physical server running on Oracle Linux OS. Oracle Database. All servers are blade servers with Oracle database stored on SAN.

Network protocols – FileMaker proprietary protocol (but is also ODBC compliant). Oracle sqlnet. ODBC compliant as well.

Application development software – FileMaker Pro Advanced. Oracle – Oracle SQL developer, Toad by Quest.

Personal productivity software

Microsoft Office or compatible Office document viewer

Adobe Reader or compatible PDF viewer

Operating System Software – Windows

Database management software – FileMaker Server; Oracle DBMS.

Web broadcasting system – Windows Server, Accordant

5.0 Proposed Solution

CTC’s proposed solution will be designed to strengthen the Commission’s capacity to develop, organize, and retrieve information from surveys, assessments, and other sources so that reliable and consistent data are available to support decision making in accreditation, and so that the current emphasis on excessive documentation requested from and/or submitted by programs for accreditation purposes will be greatly reduced.

The proposed SSAP solution contains the following components:

1. Creating a Data Dashboard

2. CASE and CTC Online enhancements to improve user friendliness

3. CASE, CTC Online and FileMaker data model and data cleansing

4. Web broadcasting equipment upgrade for providing end user training

5. Security enhancements – replace network security device F5

6. Security enhancements – User authentication for CTC Online for educators

7. Successful upgrade or migration of the CTC WWW site

8. Backup recovery system for all of the Commission’s critical applications

Creating the data dashboard will be accomplished through the implementation of business intelligence (BI) software.

The additional solution components involve functional and security enhancements to existing systems, developing a more robust data model and cleansing existing data, and utilizing OTech services for CTC WWW site hosting and technology recovery. CTC will utilize contractors for development of system enhancements and the improved data model.

All eight of these components are necessary in order to ensure the success of the SSAP project, and ensure successful implementation of the improvements needed for the Accreditation system.

In order for a data dashboard to be useful, it must have reliable, up to date data, all personably identifiable information (PII) must be completely secured, and the system must be reliable and have appropriate recovery in the case of disaster.

Components 1,2,3 and 7 above are necessary to provide reliable, up to date data, data will be gathered through the Commission’s website to access CTC Online and program completer surveys. It is important that the system be simple to use and very clear, so that the Commission collects accurate data. The Commission’s current website is several versions behind the current state template; thus the way the current website is laid out is sometimes confusing to educators on what type of credential they are qualified for and what they need to do in order to be qualified for the credential that they want. Moving to the new state templates and using CalTech’s content managed system web site offering allows the Commission to improve its layout of credential and accreditation information thus providing more accurate data being entered into the Commission’s data systems. It is of the upmost importance that the SSAP system to have accurate data, if the data is not accurate the system is worthless.

Component 4 above is necessary for the success of the project, in order for the Commission to be able to provide the training that will be necessary for researchers outside of the Commission, to utilize the accreditation data dashboard properly for their research. To provide comprehensive training that walks through how to use the data dashboard requires this training to be conducted using a web broadcasting system. The training will need to be interactive and take questions from the trainees. The Commission’s current web broadcasting system is nine years old and has become very unstable. The Commission does not have current funding that allows for the replacement of the system, it is very unlikely that the current system will be available for providing the training that is needed for the success of this project.

Component 5 and 6 above are necessary in order for the Commission to keep the PII data secure. The commission utilizes an F5 for network security and to ensure that due diligence is done to prevent a security breach. The current F5 is now five years old and is in need of being replaced to continue to provide the network security necessary; additionally the introduction of a data dashboard that utilizes PII data to provide aggregated data creates another possibility for a security breach, and raises the public awareness of the PII data that the Commission has on its computer systems. The new F5 will have more capacity to handle running more security modules such as Access Policy Manager (APM), this will provide the increase security needed for users using an automated system to create userid’s and passwords. Without replacing the F5 the Commission will be open to more risk and potentially have degraded services due to increase traffic from the data dashboard. The Commission does not currently have the funding that allows for the replacement of the F5 equipment.

Component 8 above is necessary because the Commission does not currently have a backup recovery system, having critical systems in a TIER III data center is a requirement of the state.

This new accreditation system is critical for the Commission and stakeholders to make critical well-informed decisions. In order for the system to be available in the event of a disaster, the data dashboard and the data it uses must be in a TIER III data center. Currently in the case of a disaster, the Commission’s critical systems would be down for several months, since the Commission would have to secure a facility, procure and install the hardware and restore from offsite tape backup. With this solution the Commission critical applications would be back up and running within a day or two. This will not replace the need for offsite tape backup since there is some Commission data that is not part of a critical system and needs to be backed up and kept offsite. The Commission currently receives no funding for a backup recovery system.

5.1 Solution Description

1. Hardware:

SSAP Solution Component Hardware Required

Creating a Data Dashboard This is going to require a server and storage. Because of the analytics that are going to be done on the fly by public and internal users the system must be a high end server;

and have plenty of storage to provide for storing all of the different data sources and the results of the user queries into the data.

CASE and CTC Online Enhancements to Improve User Friendliness

No hardware is needed for this task.

SSAP Solution Component Hardware Required

CASE, CTC Online and FileMaker Data Model and Data Cleansing

Web Broadcasting Equipment Upgrade for Providing End User Training

Replace all outdated web broadcasting equipment. The current hardware for web broadcasting has become unstable and unsupported (Windows XP and Windows server 2003), Security Enhancements – Replace Network Security Device F5

Replace the F-5 with a new state of the art F-5. This equipment is needed to continue to ensure that the Commission is taking all of the needed precautions to do due diligence to prevent any kind of data breach.

Security Enhancements – User Authentication for CTC Online for Educators

Successful Upgrade or Migration of the CTC WWW Site

No hardware is needed for this task. The Commission is planning on moving our WWW site to OTech’s hosted site.

Backup recovery system for All of the Commission’s Critical Applications

This is going to require an estimated ? servers and storage for all of the data, see attached ? for details. The Commission is planning on using OTech Tenant Managed Services (TMS) for our backup recovery system. The Commission will need two racks to store all of the equipment. The Commission is planning on using the existing F-5 security device for the backup recovery system.

2. Software:

SSAP Solution Component Software Required

Creating a Data Dashboard The Commission is going to need COTS business integration software to create data dashboard. The software must meet the following requirements:

The system must run on Windows Server

The system must work with Oracle databases, ODBC compliant (FileMaker databases), Excel files and CSV files.

The system must be a very user friendly interface for both internal and public end users.

The system must be able to display data in several different GUI interfaces, including but not limited to multiple graphs, mapping graphics, and be able to display data in table format.

The system must be able to allow internal and end users to query the data and drill down in the data to help provide answers to specific questions they may have.

The system must be able to report PII data on an aggregate level and not allow the individual data to be seen by the public.

The software must be well established software and have regular patches and updates.

SSAP Solution Component Software Required

The software must be rated in the “magic quadrant” by technology research firms such as Gartner.

CASE and CTC Online Enhancements to Improve User Friendliness

No new software is needed for this task. CASE and CTC Online are running on an Oracle database with a Siebel CRM front end system. Oracle runs on Oracle Linux and Siebel runs on Windows server.

CASE, CTC Online and FileMaker Data Model and Data Cleansing

No new software is needed for this task. CASE and CTC Online are running on an Oracle database with a Siebel CRM front-end system. Oracle runs on Oracle Linux and Siebel runs on Windows server.

Web Broadcasting Equipment Upgrade for Providing End User Training

Windows server 2012, Window 7, and Polycom web broadcasting software.

Security Enhancements – Replace F5

No new software is needed for this task.

Security Enhancements – User Authentication for CTC Online for Educators

No new software is needed for this task. This enhancement will be built using Siebel’s built in user authentication software.

Successful Upgrade or Migration of the CTC WWW Site

No software is needed for this task. The Commission is planning to move our WWW site to OTech’s hosted site.

Backup recovery system for All of the Commission’s Critical Applications

This is going to require the attached list of operating systems and software licenses. Some of the systems will be cold off site backup systems and will not require software licenses, such as Oracle, Siebel and the data dashboard software. The Commission is planning on using OTech Tenant Managed Services (TMS) for our backup recovery system. The Commission will need two racks to store all of the equipment. The Commission is planning on using the

3. Technical platform:

The proposed solutions will operate on the same technical platform as current systems, with the exceptions as noted in the above hardware and software sections. The following diagram illustrates the planned infrastructure for the Commission’s accreditation system:

4. Development Approach:

Use the check boxes below and additional narrative to explain how the Agency/state entity plans to develop the proposed system in terms of percentages of Customer off the Shelf System (COTS), Modified off the Shelf System (MOTS), or Custom Development. Select and estimate percentage of each.

COTS %? MOTS %? Custom Development % Others None See below

SSAP Solution Component Development Approach

Creating a Data Dashboard COTS 100% There will be considerable configuration and setup of the data dashboard system needed to work with all of the Commission’s data systems. Also there will need to be data dashboards built for the end users to use.

CASE and CTC Online Enhancements to Improve User Friendliness

MOTS 100%

This will be accomplished using a contracted Siebel application developer and in house state staff developers.

SSAP Solution Component Development Approach

CASE, CTC Online and FileMaker Data Model

COTS 100%

This will be accomplished using a contracted Data Modeling consultant. The data modeler will use the Commission’s standard Microsoft Office suite and Microsoft Visio applications.

CASE, CTC Online and FileMaker Data Cleansing

MOTS 100%

This will be accomplished using a contracted Siebel application developer, contracted Oracle Database Administrator, in house state staff developers and in house state staff data base administrators. All FileMaker data cleaning will use in house state staff developers.

Web Broadcasting Equipment Upgrade for Providing End User Training

MOTS 100%

This task will be accomplished using Polycom’s web broadcasting system and modifying to work with the Commission’s conference room.

Security Enhancements – Replace F5

Other 100% Installation and setup will be included in the price of purchasing the new F5 equipment.

Security Enhancements – User Authentication for CTC Online for Educators

MOTS 100%

This will be accomplished using a contracted Siebel application developer and in house state staff developers.

Successful Upgrade or Migration of the CTC WWW Site

Other 100% The Commission would hire a contractor to upgrade and migrate the CTC WWW website to OTech’s hosted content management system website utilizing Sitecore Technologies and the latest state templates.

Backup recovery system for All of the Commission’s Critical Applications

The Commission is planning on using OTech Tenant Managed Services (TMS) for our backup recovery system.

5. Integration Issues:

SSAP Solution Component Integration Issues

Creating a Data Dashboard The business intelligence contractor and Commission staff will work together to ensure that all of the data from all of the different systems work seamlessly together. This system will use data from Oracle, FileMaker, Excel and CSV files.

CASE and CTC Online Enhancements to Improve User Friendliness

These tasks will not change any interfaces that they work with, but thorough testing will need to be completed to ensure that all of the existing interfaces continue to work.

CASE, CTC Online and FileMaker Data Model

This data model will be from all of the Commission’s databases and data sources, Oracle, FileMaker, Excel and CSV files.

CASE, CTC Online and FileMaker Data Cleansing

The data cleansing will be cleansing all of the Commission’s databases and data sources, Oracle, FileMaker, Excel and CSV files.

Web Broadcasting Equipment Upgrade for Providing End User Training

This will require integration of the new equipment with the Commission existing audio system and televisions for display in the room.

SSAP Solution Component Integration Issues

Security Enhancements – Replace F5

None.

Security Enhancements – User Authentication for CTC Online for Educators

This will be accomplished using Siebel, no integration.

Successful Upgrade or Migration of the CTC WWW Site

There will be no integration but there will be a migration from the CTC WWW website to OTech’s hosted content management system website utilizing Sitecore Technologies and the latest state templates.

Backup recovery system for All of the Commission’s Critical Applications

None The Commission is planning on using OTech Tenant Managed Services (TMS) for our backup recovery system.

Data will be transferred via virtual backup to OTech nightly.

6. Procurement Approach:

Procurement of services to develop and implement the SSAP solution will follow Department of Technology (CalTech) Statewide Technology Procurement Division (STPD) procedures.

Contracts will be awarded to the vendors with relevant experience in implementing systems of similar size and scope. The Commission will utilize a MSA or a RFP will be issued to solicit vendor proposals for the new SSAP solution project for Oracle and Siebel enhancements.

RFO’s will be issued to solicit vendors proposals for the new SSAP solution project for the new accreditation data dashboard and the upgrade or migration of CTC’s website. Any contract services will be procured using an agreed upon procurement vehicle/mechanism between

CalTech’s STPD and the CTC, to ensure alignment with procurement guidelines in GC section 19130.. The current estimated procurement schedule is outlined as part of the Project

Management Plan presented in Section 6 of this report.

The Commission needs the following contracts because it does not have the in house expertise and available resources needed to complete the tasks as outlined in the project schedule in section 6.

As the expected size of these contracts is outside of the Commission’s normal IT purchasing delegation, the Commission anticipates working closely with the CalTech STPD through the procurement process.

The Commission is committed to its procurement goals of selecting bids resulting in 25 percent being SB vendors, and 3 percent being DVBE vendors. When possible, the Commission will attempt to select these vendors during the invitation for bid/request for bid process, as well as the bid award process, as referenced in the State Contracting Manual Volume 2, Chapter 3.

a. Proposed Prime Vendor Procurement Vehicle(s)

IFB RFI CMAS MSA IFB RFO RFP/MSA Others None

Procurement Descriptions for the following Contracts for the SSAP Project

Contract Title Type of Contract

Contract Est. Award Date

Contract Est.

Completion Date

Procurement Evaluation Method

Maintenance Period

Creating a Data Dashboard for Accreditation RFO 10/22/2015 6/30/2017 Best Value None

CASE and CTC Online Enhancements RFP/MSA 1/5/2016 6/30/2017 Best Value None

Successful Upgrade or Migration of the CTC WWW Site RFO 10/16/2015 6/30/2016 Best Value None

b. Proposed Prime Vendor Contract Type

Fixed Price Time and materials Percentage of Benefit Other

The Commission believes the most efficient and effective means to procure services is using a time and materials contract. This provides sufficient oversight by the Commission and other control agencies, while allowing the Commission to build in some flexibility so that time or resources from tasks that are less time/resource consuming can be re-allocated to more consuming tasks, or even result in some savings.

7. Technical Interfaces:

External interfaces include:

Department of Social Services – child support information

Clearing House (NASDTEC) – interstate offenders information

National Education Systems (NES) – testing data

Education Test Services (ETS) – testing data

U.S. Department of Justice – DOJ and FBI clearance and arrest data

Districts, Counties, Institutions – credentials and correspondence

U.S. Postal Service – postal directory

SB1666, Teaching Fellowship Program – program participant data – not currently active

SB395, Certificate for Staff Development – Certification Data

CDE – Decile and CalPads data that we currently get for T2 and TSR report

Internal interfaces include:

Moving Data from CASE to FileMaker for program completer surveys.

8. Accessibility:

Accessibility for the proposed solution will conform to State SAM and SIMM guidelines and CTC standards for accessibility, based on standards defined by section 508 of the U.S. Rehabilitation Act (part of the Americans with Disabilities Act).

9. Testing Plan:

The CTC and the contract vendor will design testing plans and conduct testing phases to ensure the accuracy, completeness, and robustness of the system. As modules and system enhancements are completed, a thorough testing of functionality will be performed. A test plan will be developed and executed according to ETSS’s application development approach, to include the following elements:

Unit testing: Test that each application unit performs as designed

System testing: Test that system components work together as designed

Migration testing: Test that data integration conforms to data elements mapped to the new

Data Model as well as conforms to ETSS spatial and relational data standards.

User acceptance testing: Users test the system to ensure it meets the business functions as identified in the system requirements.

The testing plan must be developed and conform to the business requirements as defined in this FSR and any resultant RFP/MSA documents. The user-testing group will include subject matter experts from the CTC program areas and specific stakeholder groups, e.g., credentialing institutions and programs.

There are no significant known issues regarding the proposed testing phases for the SSAP solution effort.

Unit Testing Phase The development team will test each phase of the business processes and systems functions developed for the SSAP solution. Unit testing is defined as the verification of the accuracy and completeness of the individual processes, programs, modules, objects, functions, and procedures that make up the system.

System Testing Phase System testing will be conducted to verify that the SSAP solution works correctly and integrates with CASE and CTC Online.

User Acceptance Testing Phase User acceptance testing includes providing the user testing group access to test data to determine the usefulness and accuracy of the data entry and reporting features of the system.

The users perform their normal business processes using the system to identify problems that may exist during actual production execution.