Lake Forest Country Day School
Information Technology Procurement Policy

Overview

Background

The IT Department welcomes ideas for new systems or changes to existing systems.

In order to ensure LFCDS implements information technology that is effective, reliable, and works well with existing systems, LFCDS must screen potential procurements carefully. Information technology systems can be extremely complex and unmanaged complexity leads to chaos. Filtering procurements allows the IT Department to avoid support problems by ensuring compatibility, manageability, and suitability for purpose.

To screen procurements, the IT Department undertakes an assessment process for all significant information technology acquisitions. If there is a system you are interested in seeing implemented at LFCDS, you can make it a reality by helping the IT Department create an information technology assessment as outlined in the following procedure.

Objective

Lake Forest Country School shall make information technology procurement decisions that are (1) consistent with both the school’s mission and philosophy, (2) in accord with the espoused IT Department mission, vision and values, which are the expression of the most general constraints on IT operations, and (3) subject to the Information Technology Selection Criteria, which define in general terms the desired characteristics of any given IT system.

In general, this implies procuring systems which: are appropriate to the application, as simple yet flexible as possible, easy to use, reliable in operation, integrate with current systems, meet minimum environmental and aesthetic standards, and represent a good value in both initial and ongoing costs. It implies upgrading or replacing systems which no longer meet a critical threshold of these criteria, especially systems which no longer meet functional requirements, no longer operate reliably, no longer integrate with interdependent systems, or no longer represent a good cost/benefit ratio.

Definitions

Information Technology

For the purposes of this guideline, information technology is defined as:

Exemptions

1. Items that do not interface with LFCDS communications infrastructure (a stand-alone device such as a cassette recorder or an overhead projector) are exempt from this policy.

2. Blank, consumable, computer media (CD-R/W, DVD+/-R/W, DV cassettes) are exempt from the Approvals sections of this policy.

Rule

General

All information technology procurements must be made according to the procedure outlined herein.

Purchases

Approval: Information Technology

All Purchase Orders for information technology must have the signature of the Director of Information Technology.

Before signing any Purchase Order, the Director of Information Technology must: (1) Be reasonably sure that purchases made will be effective, reliable, and integrate well with existing systems; and (2) Exercise fiscal and environmental responsibility by determining that the purchase represents a genuine need that cannot be met by more effective pooling or other use of existing school resources.

Approval: Academic

All Purchase Orders for educational technology purchases impacting instruction in a particular curricular area must have the signature of the relevant Curricular Coordinator or Academic Department Head and Division Head.

Budget

1. Budget permitting, the Information Technology Department will fund up to 100% of costs for approved school- or division-wide information technology purchases or IT purchases that otherwise affecting the majority of school users.

2. Budget permitting, the Information Technology Department will subsidize up to 50% of costs for IT purchases for use in single subjects or grade levels.

3. The IT Department maintains a limited inventory of blank, consumable computer media such as CD-R/W, DVD+/-R/W, and DV cassettes intended for general school use. Those requiring more than 5 media annually must purchase supplies of required consumable media from their own budgets.

4. Lake Forest Country Day School will not reimburse employees for any IT purchase which has not been approved according to the conditions of this policy.

Support

1. Procurements made according to this policy become IT supported systems for which the Information Technology Department will provide troubleshooting support.

2. The Information Technology Department will not provide support for any IT procurement which has not been approved by the Director of Information Technology according to the conditions of this policy.

Training

To ensure effective return on investment, all IT procurements must include a user training component. The IT Department will provide training as needed for IT procurements it initiates. Individuals outside the IT Department initiating IT procurements must designate an individual outside the IT Department to coordinate initial & ongoing training on the use of the procured items for relevant employees. (As noted above, the IT Department will provide troubleshooting support on the procured system to ensure that it works on LFCDS systems but cannot be subject-matter experts on all facets of the organization).

Gifts & Donations

1. LFCDS welcomes IT gifts-in-kind but reserves the right to handle or dispose of them in the best interest of the school.

2. LFCDS makes no commitments concerning the housing or final disposition of gifts-in-kind.

3. Gifts of used IT equipment are usually not accepted, as the support costs generally outweigh the added value of the equipment.

4. Gifts with restrictive conditions attached are not usually accepted.

5. Neither the IT Department, the Technology Committee, nor the LFCDS Library can legally make appraisals for purposes of tax deduction.

6. The gift will be acknowledged formally in writing and recorded by the Development Department.

7. Gifts of funds for particular collections, resources and memorials are always welcome. Funds so contributed will be used in accordance with usual selection procedures.

Procedure

Step #	Responsibility Chart: R=Responsible; I=Input; A=Advise	Employee	Supervisor	IT Department
2	Does organization own suitable resource?	R		IA
3	Is idea worth pursuing?	I	R	IA
6	Is resource currently supported by IT?			R
4	Does acquisition cost >$500 or affect >5 users?	R		A
5	Is acquisition worth pursuing?	I	R	A
7	Assessment	R	IA	IA

Information Technology Selection Criteria

Objective

To provide clear, consistent guidelines to be employed in selecting information technologies for use at Lake Forest Country Day School.

Criteria

Server technology

Any hardware, software, or service intended to be used only by the school’s IT Department staff members in order to provide end-user services will be classified as “server technology.” The criteria categories for selection of server technology will be:

1. Functionality
2. Reliability
3. Compatibility
4. Performance
5. Lifespan
6. Support
7. Ease-of-use
8. Environmental impact
9. Aesthetics
10. Cost

Client technology

Any hardware, software, or service intended to be used directly by end-users will be classified as “client technology.” The criteria categories for selection of client technology will be:

1. Functionality
2. Ease-of-use
3. Compatibility
4. Reliability
5. Performance
6. Lifespan
7. Environmental impact
8. Aesthetics
9. Support
10. Cost

Definitions

The specific criteria used in each category for each assessment will inevitably depend upon the specific technologies involved. Following are sample criteria for each category, to be used and extended as appropriate.

Category / Criterion	Applicability	Explanation	Default Weight	Motivation
Functionality	HW+SW		3 - Critical
specific need x specific need y specific need z	HW+SW	How well does the product meet each specific need and objective identified in the assessment?	3 - Critical	Primary consideration must be given to how well the product satisfies the identified needs.
Reliability	HW+SW		3 - Critical
MTBF	HW+SW	What’s the Mean Time Between Failure for the product under normal use? How often does it “crash”?	3 - Critical	Products that fail frequently reduce productivity/increases costs for all affected by preventing users from doing work.
recoverability	HW+SW	How quickly can the product be brought back into usable state after a failure?	2 - Important	Products requiring long failure recovery times reduce productivity/increase costs by preventing users from doing work.
durability	HW	How well does the product operate under high-stress conditions?	2 - Important	Products that fail frequently reduce productivity/increases costs for all affected by preventing users from doing work.
Performance			2 - Important
speed	HW+SW	How quickly does the product perform its primary function(s)?	2 - Important	Slow products reduce productivity/increases costs for all affected by making users wait.
scalability	HW+SW	How well will the product handle expected increases in load?	2 - Important	Slow products reduce productivity/increases costs for all affected by making users wait.
Compatibility			3 - Critical
integration	HW+SW	How well does the product fit in with existing systems?	3 - Critical	Products that can easily share data with existing systems reduce costs by reducing time spent administering systems and converting data.
	HW+SW	Windows 7 compatible	3 - Critical
	HW+SW	Windows 7 Certified	2 - Important
	SW	Must run with normal user privileges	3 - Critical
	SW	Should be compatible with Microsoft Installer (MSI) technology	3 - Critical
	SW	Preferable to integrate with Active Directory	2 - Important
	HW	USB preferable to serial/parallel connection	2 - Important
	HW	100-base-T networking	3 - Critical
	HW+SW	Supports TCP/IP networking	3 - Critical
	SW	CD-ROM or network install	2 - Important
	SW	No dongle/external key required	3 - Critical
cross-platform	HW+SW	Does the product exist with similar interface and file-format compatibility on more than one platform?	1 - Useful	Cross-platform availability ensures (1) the manufacturer’s financial position is not dependent on one market segment, making it more stable; (2) the data produced by the system may be easily shared with a wider audience than single-platform products; (3) the availability on multiple platforms gives us flexibility changing platforms in the future.
standards compliance	HW+SW	Does the product implement the category-appropriate de facto or formally adopted standards?	2 - Important	Implementation of standards ensure integration with other systems and allow the future substitution of competing products if need arises.
Lifespan			2 - Important
upgrade cycle	HW+SW	When will an upgrade be necessary?	2 - Important	Products with short lifespans increase costs by necessitating frequent purchases and/or installation time.
replacement cycle	HW+SW	When will a replacement be necessary?	2 - Important	Products with short lifespans increase costs by necessitating frequent purchases and/or installation time.
Support			3 - Critical
company stability	HW+SW	How long as the company been in business? Is it likely to remain in business?	2 - Important
warranty	HW+SW	How long is the standard warranty and what is covered? Are extended warranties available and at what cost?	2 - Important
technical support	HW+SW	Is technical support available on a free or fee basis? What on-line troubleshooting resources area available? How fast is turn-around?	3 - Critical
documentation	HW+SW	How detailed and accessible is the documentation?	2 - Important
user community	HW+SW	How active is the user community in providing assistance/resources to other users?	2 - Important
Ease-of-use			2 - Important
intuitive	HW+SW	How steep is the learning curve for the product?	2 - Important	Products that require extensive training reduce initial user productivity/increase costs.
HIG	SW	How well does the product follow appropriate Human Interface Guidelines?	2 - Important	Products not conforming to established guidelines are harder to learn and decrease productivity/increase costs.
ergonomic	HW	Is the product designed with user comfort in mind? Does the product product pose a risk for repetitive stress injury?	2 - Important
Environmental impact			2 - Important
EPEAT	HW	How well does the product meet EPEAT criteria?	2 - Important	http://www.epeat.net/
ISO 14001	HW+SW	Is the manufacturer’s operation ISO 14001 certified?	1 - Useful
Energy Star	HW	Is the product Energy Star compliant?	2 - Important
Recycled	HW	Does the product contain recycled content?	2 - Important
Recyclable	HW	Is the product recyclable?	2 - Important
Non-toxic	HW	Can the product be deconstructed into non-toxic components at the end of its lifecycle?	2 - Important
Rechargeable	HW	Are the device's batteries rechargeable?	2 - Important
Aesthetics		Does the product exhibit attractive industrial or visual design?	1- Useful
Cost			2 - Important
initial	HW+SW	What is the initial purchase price of the product?	2 - Important
ongoing	HW+SW	How much will anticipated annual maintenance/subscription fees cost?	2 - Important
upgrade	HW+SW	How much will upgrades cost, annualized?	2 - Important