Welcome to ITANA.ORG – Who, What, Why et al

I have been talking with peers around the country about starting a peer group for I.T. Architects in Academia. Below you will find more information. As a note here: I have been contacted by at least three different universities in the past 6 months about starting their own Architecture group. They have all asked for info about what I.T. Architecture does, skills needed, where to learn more, etc.

What It Is:

- A group of I.T. Architects in Academia and those who wish to become an I.T. Architect

Why:

- Share insights, tricks and tips on how we do our jobs. What works? What doesn’t?
- Compare notes on various software packages (like UML modeling tools)
- Compare success stories – develop methodologies that work
- Share documents and models from projects on our campuses that we thought worked well
- Develop common models for common activities
- Create a space for creating new I.T. Architects and for expanding the suite of expertise in the field
- Act as a voice for I.T. Architecture on campuses where they might be thinking about adding us to their org chart

What the participants would gain:

- The help of the other “big thinkers” around the US and the world
- EDUCAUSE blessed standard models for key activities that we could adopt
- A larger pool of I.T. Architecture brain-power that we could draw from for various topics

How it will be organized:

After some phone calls and chats, it seems that the logical organization would be two fold:
- There would be an I.T. Architecture working group under MACE (Middleware Architecture Committee for Education)
- There would be a broader peer group under EDUCAUSE

Why the two part organization:

- MACE meets more often which allows for more face-2-face meetings on topics
- EDUCAUSE has broader reach and touches more organizations.
- EDUCAUSE is also a place where executives might come to learn more about the role I.T. Architecture, its benefits and resources for building a group on their campus.

Next Steps:

- Creating a collaborative space (email list, wiki, repository) for the group
- Sending and email like the one above to the CIO and Identity Management lists for EDUCAUSE
- Sending invitations to the various known I.T. Architects around the country to join the organization
- Setting up a time at the fall EDUCAUSE meeting in Dallas Texas in October for a kick-off meeting

Thoughts and comments welcome.

Jim Phelps, IT Architect @ UW-Madison