On Beyond Z Building a Directory Service educause presentation #074 University of Colorado at Boulder Deborah Keyek-Franssen Marin Stanek Paula J. Vaughan Copyright Keyek-Franssen, Stanek and Vaughan, This work is the intellectual property of the authors. Permission is granted for this material to be shared for non- commercial, educational purposes, provided that this copyright statement appears on the reproduced materials and notice is given that the copying is by permission of the author. To disseminate otherwise or to republish requires written permission from the author. with thanks to Dr.Seuss

“In the places I go there are things that I see That I never could spell if I stopped with the Z. I’m telling you this ’cause you’re one of my friends. My alphabet starts where your alphabet ends!” On Beyond Zebra! by Dr. Seuss On Beyond Z at the University of Colorado:  Collaboration across boundaries  Cultural Fit  Design for strength and potential Why this presentation? On Beyond Z

Why This Project Now??  Numerous application-specific directories  Multiple sources of disparate data  Data reconciliation difficult - or nonexistent  No one authoritative source for access control  Increasing application need for directory service

Directory Service Project Project goals:  Trusted, authoritative source of data  Identity, data and relationship management  Usable by a variety of applications and services  Authentication services Project commissioning statement: Establish a framework for deploying and maintaining general purpose directory services for the University of Colorado at Boulder within the context of the University- wide environment.

The Original Alphabet University of Colorado:  Four campuses plus Central Administration.  Centrally-managed Student Information System, PeopleSoft HR and PeopleSoft GL.  CU-Boulder: ~29,000 students, 2,400 faculty +, 2,600 staff.  CU-Boulder Information Technology Services (ITS).  Department-specific expertise, systems and processes within each campus  environment of independence.

Big “Team” Project Champion Political conduit. Sustains momentum. Steering Team Key decision-makers. Communication thru monthly meetings Technical Team Provides analysis, design, development, testing. Core Team Provides detailed project work & conducts regular meetings Project Team Structure

Directory Vision Silo-based functional expertise Big “Team ” Departments Systems People Processes Campuses Cultural boundaries Fiefdoms Technical Team Steering Team Core Team Project Champion Project Culture

Schema, logic, data and security technical Proposal, design,& issues list Continuous Communication with expertise-based silos Technical Team Steering Team Core Team Project Champion Iterative Process Education and commitment communication Process, policy & design

technical communication Process, policy & design TRUST  RISK-TAKING FOR DIRECTORY-ENABLED APPLICATIONS! Trust to risk

Build for Strength and Potential StrengthPotential - Adhere to LDAP standards- Maximize ability to extend directory - Adhere to I2 standards- Enhance inter-institutional work - Common schema for CU data- Common platform for CU use - Standard for campus objects- Enable campus specific uses - Standards for governing - Collaborative policy making

On Beyond Z Measures of success  Technical & administrative silos engaged, not threatened.  Representatives from all hierarchies ask to learn more.  Community members ask to be involved.  Application owners ask to use directory.  Directory praises sung on the campus grapevine.

Project Contacts  Project Web Page  Paula Vaughan, Project Manager  Deborah Keyek-Franssen  Marin Stanek