Cindy Patterson, CETPA CTO Mentor Candidate

 

Outcome

TID-11. Demonstrate the ability to apply what they have learned about the RFP process to develop the system requirements for an SIS.

 

Context

 

Within my role as Application Support Manager at Santa Clara County Office of Education I manage the support of our Student Information Systems.  We use AERIES to support Special Education and Alternative Education.   The team that reports to me consists of eight Application Systems Analysts with one person focusing on Student Systems with and additional person as back-up. We often struggle with the unique requirements of Alternative Education and Special Education.

 

Artifact

 

My artifact is a draft of a Request for Proposal for a Student Information System to support our Special Education and Alternative Education customer base.

 

Reflection

 

This class offered learning on several different levels.  The pre-work, obtaining information about our infrastructure, created an opportunity to build relationships and better understand other areas within the Technology Services Branch.   The conversations during class group work provided an opportunity to learn more about district operations and objectives.  The interaction with the class participants is always valuable.  I learned from them that testing data is a high priority.  The student testing is a focus at SCCOE but because of the challenges with Alternative and Special Education testing it is not the largest focus for our SIS.  Parental involvement and the evolving family structure is an area of focus for SCCOE.  In addition, SCCOE is involved in a major Data Warehouse initiative. 

 

SCCOE is attempting to bring all the student data from districts in the county together.  The discussion during class about data governance aligned well with our current challenges and brought insights that I will use for that project.  The class discussion also re-emphasized for me the importance of identifying the system of record and data owner. 

 

The process of creating the SIS RFP for the artifact also created conversations at work that built new bridges.  We have a new purchasing manager and he was very willing to discuss our purchasing process and requirements.  He had also recently completed a RFP for an SIS at his previous employer and added many insights.  This module improved my understanding of SIS and strengthen relationships within my organization.  It also brought new focus in data governance.  I may be issuing an RFP for an ERP and this was an excellent rehearsal for that major event.