This paper discusses a recent American Water Works Association Research
(AwwaRF) project on "Creating Effective IT Solutions" that has uncovered some of the most effective
practices in use today, both within water utilities and from outside the water industry.
The project approach involved initial participation of thirteen water utilities across North America
to help focus the emphasis of the research effort and provide perspective on their own Information Technology (IT)
solutions. The objective was to take a comprehensive view of IT solutions, including impacts by
organization and work practices, and through conducting a consortium benchmarking process,
to identify effective practices in each of seven broad IT focus areas. Additional "benchmarking partners" from outside the industry were added during the course of the data collection phase of
the project. The metric data and practices were further explored and validated through a survey
process involving all participants, resulting in case studies of leading organizations based on the
survey results.
From the selected case studies, the leading practices that result in effective IT solutions have
been identified and verified through site visits. A summary of these practices allows any water
utility to determine where its own opportunities exist for improvement. Utilities can adopt and
adapt these practices within their own IT organizations and throughout their utility as a whole.
Utility managers are provided with information and steps to create effective IT solutions
including:
ways to assess where your utility stands in terms of current IT practices;
key metrics to show your utility IT performance;
leading IT practices from both inside and outside the water industry;
understanding of how to achieve results in adopting or adapting leading practices; and,
ways to know where to begin and how far to go in making IT improvements. Includes figures.
| Edition : | Vol. - No. |
| File Size : | 1
file
, 220 KB |
| Note : | This product is unavailable in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus |
| Number of Pages : | 4 |
| Published : | 06/15/2003 |
