Project Management FAQ

On this page, you'll find a list of frequently asked questions (FAQ) about the Campus Network Upgrade Project from a project management standpoint.

Q: How does campus account for the growing use of the network in planning the upgrade?

A: For planning purposes, a conservative figure of 10 percent growth was used to account for network scalability. The network growth rate is and will continue to be monitored on a yearly basis during the project.

Q: How does campus prioritize which buildings have their networks upgraded?

A: The Office of the Provost has appointed a group of administrators from each college and major unit on campus to determine the order in which the over 260 campus buildings in need of wiring and electronics upgrades will be upgraded.

The Academic Network Advisory Group (ANAG) advises the CIO on the advice and review of the Provost. While each college and unit establishes their own building priorities and approach to addressing space and other associated issues, this advisory group reviews and vets priorities that go across colleges. ANAG also advises the CIO within the priorities set for each college regarding which buildings are upgraded in what order over the life of the project.

CITES plans and implements the upgrade and provides input on how the units' needs match with technical requirements. If you are interested to know when your unit or building will be upgraded, see the current list of buildings awaiting upgrade or contact your department or unit's representative.

Q: Right now, if there is a problem with my connection I just go to my unit's network administrator. Will that change?

A: No. Each college or unit's network administrator is still responsible for communications with CITES and will continue to serve as your liaison with CITES.

Q: Why was a consulting firm hired?

A: To help develop an appropriate funding model, the university engaged the services of Western Telecommunications Consultants (WTC), a nationally-respected consultant in the field. WTC was hired for its expertise in similar projects at peer institutions (e.g., Purdue University, University of Wisconsin-Madison, MIT, Cornell).

WTC helped determine the current costs of all of Illinois’s network and telephony services and helped us restructure our cost model so that only the costs for providing a specific service are included in the charges for that service. WTC also provided information regarding the funding of network environments at peer institutions.

Questions?

If your unit would like more information about the Campus Network Upgrade Project, please contact Mike Smeltzer, Director of Network Communications, at smeltzer [at] uiuc [dot] edu or at 244-3835.