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There is a significant amount of change underway in IT. Some projects have been put on hold, while new ones have been started. This direction is coming from a group responsible for aligning IT with the organization’s strategic direction called the IT Steering Committee. IT will provide a monthly update to communicate what the IT Steering Committee has prioritized, and what IT is working on.
In This Edition
Issue 2, New Name
The IT Steering Committee Newsletter was well received. Thank you for the valuable feedback. IT appreciates your interest in what the teams are working on. As a result of your feedback, we are renaming this periodical the Information Technology Newsletter. This will better represent planned content that not only spans the strategic direction set forth by the IT Steering Committee, but also offers insight into the inner workings of IT to keep the IDL community better informed.
Strategy Updates
In-house Software Development
In the July edition of the newsletter, we discussed several changes underway in IT. One major change is that, where possible, software development will be done in-house. We are assembling a software development team that will be solely focused on IDL’s priorities at a significant cost savings while developing a substantial internal knowledgebase for supporting our systems for the future.
IT’s Two Scrum Teams
A scrum team is a group of IDL team members that produce products in small, regimental increments to deliver business value. Scrum teams comprise business subject matter experts, IT team members, a scrum master that facilitates the process, and a product owner responsible for delivering business value from stakeholder requirements. Read on for updates regarding the products we are working on.
Product Updates
Scrum Team 1 – Navision/Luma
Dustin, Fiscal and IT are working with the Brandon Woolf and the Luma team in order to help the SCO keep the Luma project on schedule, while enabling IDL to replace its financial system Navision with the latest and greatest version. IT has setup a New Navision sandbox, giving Fiscal an opportunity to see what new features are in the new version. IT has begun putting together the scrum team, which will include Sean Johnson, as mentioned below. They are excited to modernize Navision while reducing IDL’s maintenance costs by minimizing customization.
Scrum Team 2 – Esri Regulatory
The IT Steering Committee’s second priority is a replacement for the LRM Forestry & Fire Regulatory Portal with an Esri solution that will streamline the Notification/Compliance issuance process. Sprint 1 started August 3. The team is starting simple: generate and print the certificate. The team will demo their work on August 18 to Administrative Assistants, the primary users of the system. Sprint 2 will incorporate user feedback, with the aim of simplifying the process enough to get a customer requesting a basic Notification/Compliance out of the door in less than 10 minutes!
Microsoft 365 SharePoint
IDL is beginning the process of migrating our old intranet site to a newer version. The new SharePoint will have significantly improved search functionality, and will be logically organized based on the structure of the organization. IT is planning a pilot to migrate one of the business units to the new SharePoint. IT is starting small in order to iron out the process. The plan is to make the migration as simple as possible in order to reduce clutter in the new SharePoint, and keep the migration as easy as possible.
Team Updates
Introduction – Sean Johnson – Software Engineer
On August 8 our first full-time Software Engineer started. Allow me to introduce Sean Johnson. Sean comes to us from the Canyon County IT department. Sean is preparing for a role on the New Navision scrum team. Most of the time you will find him in the Boise Staff office, though he will be venturing out to a few of the Area offices soon. Welcome to the team Sean!
Introduction – Robert Mason - IT Information Systems Technician
Robert will be working the help desk from Boise and supporting end users in-person when needed! He will hit the road visiting a few Area offices with Sean. We really appreciate your help, Robert!
Open Position – Software Engineer
An opening for a second full-time Software Engineer closes August 18th. This second position will be assigned to the second scrum team, which is currently working on the ESRI Regulatory project. Their participation will expand the teams’ skillsets and capacity to deliver new products and services.
Landfolio Clarification - It's Still Online
One clarification from last month’s newsletter: Landfolio is still online.
Several people asked if the Landfolio system was no longer in use. The Landfolio IT project is on hold, but the functionality that has been released will continue to be supported by IT.
Continue using Landfolio for Grazing, Crop and Conservation leases, Navigable Waters, Land Records and Water Rights.
If you were using Landfolio before, please continue to process your leases and permits in the system.
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