Primary Computer Lifecycle Management Process

Owned by Tiffany Linhardt (Unlicensed)
Last updated: Mar 07, 2023 by Beth Woods (Unlicensed)
3 min read

Overview

In cooperation with the Dean's Office, Franklin OIT provides computer lifecycle management for units and departments within Franklin College. As budgets allow, Franklin OIT plans for a four-year lifecycle. This plan takes into account the average lifespan of the technology Franklin OIT supports and allows the college to maximize the usefulness of devices while minimizing downtime and support costs.

Benefits

Maintaining a computer lifecycle ensures the continued success of Franklin College by reducing downtime and increasing productivity.  A lifecycle management approach also allows the college to budget and plan for technology needs rather than addressing critical needs on a case-by-case basis.

Timeline

Requests & Commitments will only be open March 1 - April 1 for departments to enter requests

Process Steps

February - March

Gather Inventory Data

Franklin OIT will work with UGA Property control to gather data on department inventory in February.

Proposal Development

After collecting the data Franklin OIT will perform the following steps to create a lifecycle proposal:

  • Identify the primary computer for each faculty and staff member whose primary HR department in OneSource is assigned within the Franklin College
  • Remove any non-primary computers or non-IT equipment from the inventory list
  • Sort the remaining devices by purchase date with the oldest equipment at the top

  • Develop a proposal for devices that need to be replaced this year

    One way IT Professionals may wish to draft their proposal:
    • Divide the list into quarters and color codes:
      • Red - oldest equipment, recommended for replacement this year
      • Orange - older equipment, recommended for replacement next year
      • Yellow - newer equipment, recommended for replacement in two years
      • Green - newest equipment, recommended for replacement in three years

    This method makes updates in the future simpler as colors just roll up and new devices are added

The lifecycle proposal will be submitted to the department by the end of February.

March - April

Department Review

The department head will review the lifecycle proposal in March and re-prioritize requests based on business needs as needed.  The department head or their delegate will input the prioritized list into the request and commitments system by April 1st.

April - July

Preliminary Allocation Selection

Franklin OIT will use the following sources to estimate the funding available:

  • Funding levels from previous years
  • Current funding available

Based on these estimates, Franklin OIT will select allocations to review for final purchase in May.  

Franklin OIT will create a scenario in the Requests and Commitments system by May 15th with the selected allocations.  Allocations will be marked as "Under Review," and are subject to change.

Order Placed

Franklin OIT will finalize funding sources and place a bulk computer purchase in June.

Franklin OIT will communicate the final computer allocations to department heads by early July, and IT Professionals will coordinate the setup and delivery of lifecycle computers with individuals.

  • Allocations that were fulfilled will be marked as "Franklin OIT Commitment" in the Requests and Commitments system.  
  • Allocations that Franklin OIT was unable to fulfill will be returned to a "Not Selected" status.

External Resources