Water Resources Division CPAC Home Page

It is appropriate that service-level agreements should start with the definition of critical functions to be performed and then identify the expected service to be performed both in terms of tasks to be accomplished and the timeframe in which that task should be accomplished.

It important that we recognize the need to transition from what exists today to a more reasonable organization to meet the USGS.s needs in the future. It is important that the people directly involved in these functions be involved in the design of that transition step. It is important therefore that to the degree possible, units that transition from the disciplines to a new home do so as a unit and then work with their new leaders to decide how the more leisurely transition should take place.

It is important that we emphasize in the development of the service agreement the fact that those making the demands upon the system for service provide as clear a schedule of their anticipated demands as possible and provide people with as long a leadtime as possible in terms of the accomplishment of that service.

It is important to point out in these writings that one of the benefits that we see downstream is the cross training of individuals from a background in one organization to provide service not only to that old organization but also to the new organization. By accomplishing such cross training, it is thought the true benefits of this matrixed approach to providing service can be realized, i.e., that you no longer have to be one deep in critical positions.

It is important to point out that people will probably not be physically relocated during the early part of that first year, or possibly even for that entire first year, but it would be better if those people could remain in physical proximity to the people they had been and likely will be providing service to in the future.

Relative to the DIS office in Water, it is the considered hope that that office can remain together in the early stages (the first year) in this transition and have a say in how they change or transition into their eventual roles in the new organization.

Listed below are the critical functions that would be identified by Water as being critical to be accomplished by the DIS people in their new organizational setting.

1. Continue NT TAC support and investigation activities, including Windows 2000, LANDesk, imaging software solutions.
2. Ingres software support - coordinate new Ingres software contract award in support of mission-critical NWIS, continue Ingres software support.
3. Continue and increase resources for IT Security in conjunction with the USGS Security Team, including firewalls and intrusion detection.
4. Continue and increase support for S-Plus charting and stats software, including developing and coordinating the release of USGS-specific enhancements, and a USGS-specific training class.
5. Continue to improve WRD HQ user and server support through the efforts of the CST, including backup improvements.
6. Continue Sun TAC support and investigation activities, including implementation of new Solaris operating system release.

Water is also interested in identifying certain service-level expectations that speak to the number of people who will be providing service back to Water, particularly if Water is paying the bill for the people who are providing that service. If, for example, Water were going to pay for 10 FTE, Water would like it clearly called out that they would expect service at the level of 10 FTE.