Dear Steve and All;
Please note my comments in blue in response to Steve’s questions. Material in black is Steve’s original email.
I've been going over the reports on the database project. Since we're
Going to be discussing this at the May EC meeting, and since you will not be present to answer questions, we should try to get as much as we can clarified in advance. Here is my understanding of the situation.
Please confirm or correct as needed.
In round numbers we have currently spent (2007 and 2008) about $20,000
on this project, including the 2008 over budget amount of about $7500. Up to an additional $8000 is requested to complete the first phase of the project, bringing the grand total to about $28,000.
Here are the details of what this $8000 will accomplish from your memo of March 19.
( http://www.fefadmin.org/admin_historical_archive/it_database_review_031308.htm )
You said:
I reviewed the following projections with Alan and he has concurred that the time and cost estimates noted are appropriate.
Completion of Existing Work:
1. Reports or report generator
2. Deployment
a. Where does the database reside?
b. What is needed in the way of client software, including local printing ability?
c. Integration of data entered into Filemaker Pro since Alan began working.
3. Implementation
a. Documentation: Alan needs to create extensive documentation which includes documentation of the backend table
structure, relationships, etc. The documentation also needs to provide front-end information and instructions for users.
b. Implementation: Cutover to using the new system and
discontinuation of the old.
c. Training
d. Technical Support (We should ask Alan to give us a quote for an annual support contract that will be limited to answering questions, fixing bugs, etc.)
e. Provisions for comprehensive backup and data archiving (I will take care of this with minimal consultation with Alan).
f. Audit of existing data (This will need to be done by Fellowship volunteers or staff. I suggest we try to engage Larry Geis and his committee in the process.) The above should be the extent of any additional work between now and the end of IC08.
Estimated time to complete the above: 160 hours @ $40.00: $6,400; 40
hour cushion; total requested: $8,000.
My reading of this list indicates that this additional expense of $8000
Will result in all of the following:
1. Deployment of the new database
2. A reports generator
3. Detailed documentation
4. Required training of staff
5. Integration of Filemaker data
6. Local printing ability
7. Audit of existing data
8. Backup provisions
- by the end of IC'08. Is this correct? If not, please
Provide projected dates by which these tasks will be done.
We are targeting the end of IC08 for completion of these tasks within the $8,000 amount. Paula and I spend considerable time on this project and completion by this date may be moved out depending on how much of our time is required for IC08 tasks.
Note that items 7 and 8 are not part of the work Alan is doing. I will take care of putting in place an appropriate backup mechanism. I suggested that Special Projects might take on the task of auditing existing data. I have not discussed this with Larry. It may be necessary to set up a separate committee to take care of this task.
Our ability to use the database for daily operations is not impacted by this task. It is assuring the integrity of the data that is important. The new database is designed to minimize data entry errors and to force formatting consistency.
Do we have a quote from Alan for an annual support contract?
We do not. I would prefer not doing this until we’re using the finished product and have a sense of what should be included and should thus be specified in a contract.
I am assuming that after all of the above is operational we will take some time to test out the system, fix any bugs, and think about what we want done in the next phase.
Yes. And this is why the costs for subsequent phases cannot yet be provided in detail, only as general projections. What we are now projecting does not take into consideration features that may be requested once we begin using the system.
This next phase, which you label Extended Phase 1, will provide the additional features you describe in your March 19 memo. Work in this phase will begin after IC'08, after the database has been deployed and tested as described above. It will be completed by the end of 2008.
The cost for this phase is estimated to be about $6400, bringing the total project cost to about $34,000.
(Will completion of this phase provide the facility to handle committee budgets and reimbursements you described recently?)
Full completion of this phase will provide this capability. However, note that I intend to program the web-based interactivity portion of the project myself because of the potential costs involved in having it done by an outside contractor. So while the potential will be in place as of the work Alan will be doing, actual usage will depend on how much time I have available for programming. If we can fund this phase of the work in 2008 I would like to have this operational as of January 1 for budget year 2009.
The primary task of this phase is the integration of the Quickbooks software with the database so that we’re using only one set of reader records for all admin purposes.
Also I think we need to wait until the July meeting to decide about this phase based on the financials of IC08.
Following completion of Extended Phase 1, work will begin (2009) on
Extended Phase 2 to provide the additional features described in your March 19 memo. This phase is estimated to add approximately $12,800 to the cost, bringing the total to about $47,000.
The costs for this phase may be significantly lower than this amount. A lot depends on the degree to which integration with the financial portion of the software is developed in the previous phase.
We can clearly specify tasks and limit costs by creating a contract for each phase of the work.
What is the projected date for the completion of this phase?
Mid-2009 if we follow a tight schedule of work on these various phases.
Do you anticipate any additional expenses connected with this project
In 2009, beyond the $12,800 estimated? If so, please explain.
The only additional expense I foresee at present is the cost of mail server software which we need to install on our network. But this likely will be under $500 and will come out of this year’s budget.
Please also know that these projected costs are for the work that I’ve projected as being needed. I am certain that as we use the system, users are going to see things that could save us time and increase the services we can offer to the community. So I anticipate requests or additional funds beyond what I’ve projected being requested by committee chairs and admin staff in the future.
For example, once the system is in operation it would be relatively easily to add a work order module. That is, when the EC or GC appoints a committee to do some particular task a form is filled out and submitted to the database. Anyone with access permissions could then log onto the admin site, see what projects were underway, who was responsible for them, etc. At present there is a backlog of ad-hoc committees, sub-committees, and individuals charged with doing particular tasks which have never been completed – we have no administrative mechanism for follow up, reporting, or making sure that assigned tasks are completed.
Also, do we have a new contract with Alan clearly stating total dollar limitations?
We do not. We have a clear verbal agreement with him regarding the $8000 for completion of present work. We can create a written contract when we have formal EC approval to move forward.
Steve, your questions lead me to believe that your primary concern is the overall total cost of the project. The history of our IT expenditures has been one of initial expense followed by declining costs paralleled by substantial increases in services offered – the same reasons why IT services continue to be implemented world-wide in government and business.
For example: Just five years ago, in 2003, we were paying approximately $1,300 per month for website hosting. In May of 2003 we worked out an arrangement with Appsite Hosting at the Sprint Data Center in Atlanta to host a single server for us at a rate of $569/month.
This resulted in a monthly saving of approximately $731/month totaling $31,433 during the period of May 2003 through November of 2006. In November of 2006 we switched to DataConnect which provides hosting for two servers at a rate of $150/month, resulting in a monthly savings of $413.00, totaling $7,542 since implementation as of April, 2008.
This doubled our capacity while significantly reducing hosting fees.
During the same time period we have experienced a consistent rate of increase in the use of our services of approximately 20% per year. Another way of looking at this is to see that our hosting expenses in 2008 are approximately 11% of what they were a mere five years ago in 2003 -- and this is with a doubling of our online hardware capacity.
Let me put this in context. While the database project was initially conceived more than 10 years ago, the most significant planning and preparation has occurred over the past five years.
This $38,975 savings in hosting service fees has been realized during the same period of time in which the database project was being planned and mobilized. If we project completion of current database plans by the end of 2009, the savings in hosting service fees during the time period in which the project was developed will have come close to equaling the cost of the entire database project. By that time savings on hosting service fees will have risen to $46,936, virtually paying for the entire projected database project cost of $47,000.
(This $47,000 also compares well with the annual cost of an additional staff person.)
The point is that the long-term trend of our IT expenses has been increased service to the readership and increased admin efficiency paralleled by significant ongoing cost reductions.
This will continue to be the case in the future as we invest in technology and improved administrative systems. The annual IT budget has shown increases but these are due to the continual adding of services which over time should also show reducing costs along with additional savings. A good example is our auto-debit system which has helped stabilize our cash flow while bringing in more than $7,000 per month.
One of the important gains here is the automating of routine admin work so that Paula has additional admin time to devote to issues related to book sales and distribution. I will have more time to devote to the development of online dissemination efforts. The ultimate gain here is the ability more competently to pursue our core mission of disseminating The Urantia Book -- including the creation of significant potential for growth -- without incurring any significant increase in operating costs and delaying the need to hire additional admin staff.
Paula and I are maxed out in terms of our admin work. We cannot support much more in the way of growth. The website is falling behind. Demands for web services are increasing and John Hay is predicting significant growth in the distribution of our products.
Another place where the needle goes into the red is our IC conferences. Increasingly, to support these conferences, we need to turn much of our admin effort into a conference management team. This is especially true of the several months preceding our summer study sessions. While this approach gets us through in the short term, it is a long-term recipe for trouble. We should not be fostering growth if we can't wisely plan for related administrative support.
Why is over rapid growth suicidal? Because it is growth without a concurrent development of supportive infrastructure.
At present we have a significant convergence of forces which we should be leveraging to the advantage of our mission -- Tim Hobbs at DataConnect and his ability to provide us with important services at no or low cost, and Alan Goodman willing to work at significantly reduced rates. We also have Robert, Michelle, and Susan Cook on our board, each of whom has extensive experience with the systems we’re designing and implementing. In many ways, this project had to remain dormant until there was sufficient convergence to allow informed decision making.
The project and its costs can be spread out over time but I feel strongly that the Fellowship should be investing in this separate from the scavenging of committee budgets. If we bought a physical brick-and-mortar office we would not take the money out of committee budgets.
I hope this is helpful.
Please let me know if I can provide any additional information. I can be available for a speaker phone conversation during the meeting if it would be helpful.
In friendship,
David