SIMply SIMS-ational

Article by Dan Scheltinga
IT Project Manager

In late 2006, ITS began a project to improve the quality of service to users whilst at the same time making their lives a little easier. By implementing automated Identity Management (IdM) ITS would be able to create and manage accounts within hours, not days as was previously the case, and significantly reduce the number of usernames and passwords user's were currently being asked to remember. On 11th February, 2008 ITS delivered the Swinburne Identity Management System (SIMS) to our end users.

The Challenge

To introduce an identity management system into a University environment where:

the 17 existing Swinburne systems nominated for integration varied with respect to technologies, platforms and ages.
users currently had up to six different usernames and passwords which all needed to be aligned and synchronised.
information associated with existing accounts varied with respect to accuracy and detail.
users frequently had multiple and differing identity information (e.g. students who were enrolled in more than one course/division or staff who held more than one occupation).
the existing home grown account management system had been running for almost twenty years.
implementation and transition had to occur in line with the academic calendar.

How was it done?

The new system took over a year to design, test and implement. During this time:

over 100 people, ranging from Swinburne staff to external software consultants, contributed directly to the project.
thousands of test cases were designed and executed.
a phased implementation and roll-out to all staff and students occurred.

What was achieved?

The new system:

is the largest implementation of the product in Australia.
was integrated with 17 existing Swinburne systems. These systems included both vendor supported and in-house developed systems.
was rolled out in four stages over a three week period to ensure minimum disruption to end users.
now manages all staff, students, agency and affiliate accounts.
regularly checks for new identities, or identities with information that requires updating, and ensures that updates are made within hours, not days.
has reduced the number of username and password combinations from six to one.
provides the authentication information for all integrated systems.
has removed the key dependancies on the previous legacy system.
allows for automatic account setup and cut-off.
has removed the need for certain paper based forms.

What next?

Further development of the My.Swinburne portal.
Integration of remaining Swinburne systems.

To date, feedback on the new system has been extremely positive, over 2,100 staff have already taken advantage of the password synchronisation service.

The introduction of an identity management system at Swinburne University marks a significant milestone with respect to automated account and access management - thanks to all involved!

For more information on this project please contact the IdM Project Manager, Daniel Scheltinga, on 9214 5001 (ext 5001) or 0404 011 701 (ext 3061) or alternatively visit the SIMS Q&A section on our website.

Feedback on this article