Kenya Prisons Service

Kenya Prisons Service Information Communication Technology department structure Introduction In order for Kenya Prisons Service to realise the benefits of ICT, the fundamentals for managing information, systems and technology must be put in place. ICT has the potential for transforming service delivery and should be able to support KPS in doing this. The best way for providing and securing strategic support is through developing the right skills and achieving influence through applying these skills. This needs to be sustained through credibility that comes from giving advice and delivering a service which users want.

Skill Set And Attributes to Support the ICT department The ICT Department aims to be interactive so that business pressures for change can inform, and be informed, by technology developments. This will require the ICT staff to be able to contribute to a dialogue with service managers about how ICT might help. The changing nature of the work places great importance on information management and the ICT staff need to be well placed to promote the concept of the need to manage information as a critical resource. The ICT staff will need to be equipped by a range of approaches, tools and techniques to suit the users needs, plus the knowledge of what the department is trying to achieve. In addition to promoting a strategic approach, information management should also be promoted. On the part of the ICT staff, this requires the knowledge to make it work in practice. On the other hand, it requires the influencing skills to encourage others to buy into the concepts being promoted. The pace of change in ICT is bewildering, driven by such rapid advance of technology. The Authority should be able to have access to advice about these technologies in a way which relates to its context and objectives. The ICT staff will be best placed to give that advice where they will have access to sources of information that is relevant. It will also be key to communicate such information and knowledge in an easily digestible form to colleagues in other parts of the department. In addition to providing IT facilities, there will be a commitment to educate users about the potential of ICT. This will be coupled by proper user training. The ICT staff will need to be equipped with the technical expertise and the opportunity to develop to carry out their jobs effectively and conduct awareness and a marketing programme for ICT. The ability to manage risk will also be a key component of the services delivered by the ICT staff. The potential for disruption is high from IT generated problems such as unreliable equipment and software, poor response times, poor project management as well as from external disasters. Managing the risks associated with IT is a fundamental discipline and the ICT staff will have a very clear role in identifying areas of risk, analysing their impact and implementing preventative actions. The ICT department aims to measure the value from ICT and ICT will be seen as a critical resource for the organization. As such some measurement of the contribution of ICT would make good business sense as well as meeting the need for accountability. The senior ICT staff will be able to demonstrate clearly that recommendations for investment in ICT will make a strategic contribution to the organization. This will include comparing well in cost and quality with those who provide a benchmark. Everyday IT services will have credibility with the users and the ICT Function will strive for continuous improvement, adding value, year on year.

Information Communications and Technology Department January 2012 Structuring of the Department ICT Team Draft

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Kenya Prisons Service

The ICT department structure In order to support and sustain the approach and to provide an in-house service, structuring of the ICT department and accompanying arrangements to supplement skills is urgently required. The structure of the ICT Department should reflect the requirements of the user population and should allow for the delivery of a quality service. The current structure is not set up to meet all the requirements of all the users. This should be addressed in order to satisfy existing user requirements and to ensure that the current and planned needs of organization are supported through an appropriate flexible structure and set of skills and competencies in the ICT department. The existing competencies should be enhanced to ensure they are more relevant to evolving needs of the organization. In constructing the new structure of the ICT Department, it is very important to take into account both the evolving needs of the department and the rapid changes in technology. This scenario necessitates that any structure should be extremely flexible in terms of the combination of skills needed now and for the future and as such different types of engagement of staff should be sought such as fixed term contracts. This will allow the department to review its evolving requirements as and when necessary and source these appropriately without being wedded to a fixed structure or a set of dated competencies in the medium to long term. At the management level, it is proposed that a new structure should be introduced to replace the existing one. This will include three heads who report directly to the Head of ICT. The new structure is detailed in the diagram below. It should be noted that the functions listed cover the areas of expertise and the services that will be delivered through the department. Any one member of staff will be expected to have more than one skill and to be able to play more than one role in their section and/or in conjunction with their colleagues across the department. Further assessment is in the process of being carried out to quantify the resources needed, i.e. to ascertain the actual numbers of staff.

a) Head of ICT department He/She is the overall in the ICT department and will coordinate all the staff within the ICT department. b) Information Systems Development The systems development section will be responsible for all aspects of the applications development and maintenance across the whole department. This will include responsibility for overseeing the on-going maintenance of the current applications. It is envisaged that the suppliers of any packages being used will carry out the actual maintenance through maintenance contracts. Similar formal arrangements will be in place for any systems that will be developed in house where the in house staff will provide this service. It is envisaged that this will be a small section with access to required applications development services from suppliers in accordance with formal contracts. Resources will be available as and when required for planned developments.

Information Communications and Technology Department January 2012 Structuring of the Department ICT Team Draft

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Kenya Prisons Service

c) ICT Operations and Support This section will be responsible for aspects of all support and operations including the on going first and second line desktop and networks support. This section will carry out routine housekeeping operations for the network infrastructure. Maintenance and support contracts will be in place to ensure third line support for in-house staff is available when required. In addition, this section will also take responsibility for the common operating environment to include the development and support of e-mail and web technologies facilities. This section will be responsible for the commissioning and management of the entire technical infrastructure and the procurement and ICT asset management in the organization. This section will be in a central position where the management of the entire user interfaces to all ICT resources will reside. The users, regardless of their physical location, will be able to use a one-stop-shop facility through the new Service Desk. This section will be the prime point of contact for all user requirements. All services will be managed and monitored through the Service Desk to provide a single point of contact to users for all elements of the IT services. The Service Desk will own all logged problems through to their resolution. Performance levels and the appropriate escalation triggers will be published to all users. This section will play a key role in delivering a quality service to all users across the department. The responsibility for allocating the resources required from different parts of the department or from external sources for completing work for users will be held in the ICT Planning Section. d) ICT Planning This section will be responsible for best practice in ICT through the application of process improvement methodologies and techniques. This section will also be responsible for the management of all the shared resources and their allocation and above all the co-ordination between the ICT department and the users. This section will act on behalf of the users to ensure their requirements are specified and are delivered in accordance with agreed plans. The management of such resources as business and systems analysis and planning as well as project management will be the responsibility of this section. This will extend to various elements of change management. This section will also be responsible for the setting and maintenance of standards and all associated monitoring and quality assurance issues. In addition to management of services, suppliers and contracts this section will also be responsible for developing options for sourcing of services. Risk management will also reside here. IT user training will be commissioned through this section with the liaison of the HR Department. All ICT staff will be required to contribute directly and indirectly to the ICT department full establishment in accordance with the required standards. They are also to work very closely with the all the other departments, consulting with the relevant persons where necessary.

Implementation This should be done parallel to the existing structure with a lot of guidance from the HR department and the administration as a whole.

Information Communications and Technology Department January 2012 Structuring of the Department ICT Team Draft

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Kenya Prisons Service

There is also need to identify the necessary resources that are required to efficiently run this department as having the department without the resources wont make it fully functional.

STRUCTURE

Head of ICT

ICT Planning Activities User liaison Standards and procedures Systems and Business analysis Project management Contract management Risk management Quality assurance Performance levels R&D User E-Awareness Training commissioning Head Business Analysis, Process Mapping and Reengineering Project Management and Quality Standards Contract Management

Operations and Support Activities Activities User interface

Systems Development

Applications Software maintenance Desktop support Applications development & support Remote support Problem logging, Resolution and escalation Support analysis Procurement and Asset management Infrastructure Software maintenance Hardware maintenance Network maintenance Telecommunications Head Head Help Desk Supervision First and Second Line Support Support Analysis and Monitoring Procurement and Asset Management IT Operations Network Administration and Support Systems Design, Programming and Database Administration Lead programming and database administration

Information Communications and Technology Department January 2012 Structuring of the Department ICT Team Draft

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