IT Federation: A deep dive into phase 2 workstreams
In our companion article, we shared that Phase 2 of the IT Federation Program is organized into workstreams and will run from September 2026 to June 2027. If you missed it, read that article first for an overview of phase 2 plans.
Below, we break down the scope, purpose and expected outputs for each phase 2 workstream.
Purpose
Establish the current state of selected services across the university and find the conditions and decisions the operating model must address. Discovery identifies findings and needs, analysis develops options and decision points, and the work concludes with recommended next steps for decision-makers. Discovery depth and activities will vary by service and by the decisions needed.
Anticipated outputs
For each service area:
- A baseline view of the service across campus, including capability
- Recommendations for shared standards and services, and cross-campus coordination
- A roadmap to improve security, efficiency and user experience
Leaders use these to make and document decisions about next steps for each service area.
Purpose
Follow the same path as service discovery, applied to university-wide technology spend. The first focus is completing next steps recommended by the phase 1 Benchmarking Workgroup: conduct a deeper dive into software/hardware spending; improve the consistency of how technology spend data is organized across the university; improve benchmarking accuracy; strengthen software governance; and improve financial visibility.
One of the program’s core goals is stewardship of technology investments, so this workstream is expected to build upon that foundation to form recommendations the university can act on. Because of the nature of the work, workgroup members will include subject matter experts from finance and institutional data, as well as IT staff.
Anticipated outputs
Improved financial visibility, including a better ability to analyze and forecast technology spend. This might include outcomes such as:
- Expense coding guidance
- Training for technology expense reporting
- Improving benchmarking accuracy by restating fiscal year 2025 (FY25) benchmarking data (HelioCampus) to exclude: DoIT System‑funded salary and expense data (if peers do not include system costs); and Administrative Transformation Program (ATP)‑related staffing and expenses tied to the Workday implementation.
Recommendations on how to better coordinate software and hardware spend across the university to achieve shared financial benefit, risk reduction or service improvement.
- Partnering with Cybersecurity to review software purchase data for potential risk exposure
- Identifying high-volume or broadly adopted software tools used across campus
- Evaluating opportunities for enterprise licensing or central support
Purpose
Develop an operating model for UW–Madison technology services that incorporates central and divisional needs: the structures, roles and decision processes for how we coordinate university-wide technology services and technology spend. Draft themes include direction and priorities; decision-making process and accountability; service delivery guidelines; funding and engagement; and outcomes and improvement. The detailed components will evolve through review and engagement. The workstream will also propose how we might measure the operating model’s success across four areas: security and compliance, stewardship of investments, user experience and campus coordination.
This is an initial model, not a finished one. It is meant to be tested in real service areas during phase 2, and the design will change based on what the tests reveal. In addition to a design workgroup, the workstream will include an in-person workshop so IT staff across campus can help shape the design.
Anticipated outputs
A draft set of operating model building blocks by the end of fall, refined through use by the end of Phase 2, including:
- A federated operating model for UW–Madison technology services with levels or tiers of service (for example, definitions of “enterprise” and “local” services).
- A decision-making process, with specific criteria, that allows UW–Madison to mature service offerings and delivery practices.
- Ways of measuring success for the operating model overall, and ways service teams might uniformly measure service performance (for example, customer service).
Purpose
Put the operating model into practice through pilots or proof-of-concept exploration of approved decisions and aspects of the operating model. In the spring, the initial service areas provide the context for applying, testing and refining the model: bring forward the evidence from discovery, use the parts of the model that apply, make decisions, then learn and iterate. The structure of this work is still to be determined and will depend on the scope and scale of the decisions to explore. It may include multiple service teams and workgroups.
Anticipated outputs
A federated operating model refined through use and ready for continued improvement, applicable across additional services over time.
Purpose
Support inclusive participation throughout phase 2 through discovery activities, workshops, office hours, the newsletter, companion articles, and an open interest form. An advisory group (membership TBD) will help guide engagement strategy. In the spring, this workstream will collect feedback on how the model is being applied and how it is working.
Anticipated outputs
Broad participation in shaping the operating model, and feedback that improves it.
Get involved in IT Federation phase 2
Many of the decisions that will influence how we work together have not been made yet. Now is the time to get involved and help shape them. We want IT professionals at all levels to participate in workshops, interviews, pilots and workstreams.
