MBAs Compete, Children Win

1
MBAs Compete, Children Win

• USC Marshall School of Business
• Michael Bonino Stephanie Ip Patricia Kennedy
  Rachel McCaleb

2
Overriding Challenge Sustainability

• Complexity and ability to transfer knowledge from
  single source
• Automate RBB spreadsheet
• Integrate RBB and IFAS
• Training and succession planning
• Support from local community and internal
  audiences
• Communication plan

3
Purposes of RBB

• Give principals autonomy over budget
• Resources can be better allocated at the school
  level
• Different schools have different needs
• Equal funding between schools
• Align budget with school strategy

Excellent public schools in every neighborhood,
universal college readiness, clean and safe
learning environments, and equitable outcomes for
every student
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Technical Recommendations Two Software
Development Projects

• Reduce complexity and increase transferability of
  knowledge
• Potentially high initial cost for production
• Existing resources to support solutions and
  minimize costs

2. Integrate RBB and IFAS
1. Automate RBB
Advantages
Disadvantages
Resources
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Automate the RBB Spreadsheet
Current View
Potential View
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Integrate RBB and IFAS
RBB
IFAS
Current Process and Resources Needed
Outcome of Integrated Solution
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Project 1 Automate the RBB Spreadsheet

• Analogy Turbo Tax software
• Estimated Time and Cost

Project 2 Integrate RBB and IFAS

• Analogy What Macromedias Dreamweaver did for
  HTML
• Estimated Time and Cost

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Cost Comparison

• Estimated 4-year payback period

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Training Sessions
Barak Ben-Gal and 2 Individuals from Budget Team
Who
Initial Investment
16 Hours of Training
Long-Term Goal
Create team of 5 with RBB expertise, over 3 years
Written document (reference tool)
By-product
Results
Ben-Gal relieved of training sessions, future
correspondence
Metrics
Number of sessions led by others, survey feedback
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Communication PlanVision and Incremental
Successes to Build Support

• Education initiatives to reach key stakeholders
• Newsletters and local media stories highlighting
  successes
• Identify champion among teacher population
• Identify champion among local, elected officials
• Publicize the strategic plan for each site via
  various channels
• Collect feedback and continuously improve RBB
• These initiatives can be pursued using existing
• resources

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Implementation Timeline
Implementation Timeline
District publishes RBB information, goals,
results on OUSD website
Implement IT Project I (3 months)
Bulletin Boards, Back-to-School
Implement IT Project II (6 months)
Budget team produces manual
Analyze principal survey, make adjustments
Update Site Plan
RBB update in Staff Connections (monthly)
School Site Plans on Web site
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In ConclusionRecommendations to Break Through
Barriers to Sustainability
Recommendations
IT Projects, training, and succession planning
Communication initiative
Barriers to Sustainability
Lack of support from key stakeholders
Complexity and ability to transfer knowledge from
single source
Sustainability
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MBAs Compete, Children Win
QA
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MBAs Compete, Children Win
Appendix
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Exhibit A

• Sources
• The Active Network, estimation for custom
  development
• Ben-Gal, Barak. Results-based Budgeting An
  Introduction. April 2006
• The Business of Software, Pricing Custom
  Software, discuss.techinterview.com
• CPSI, Inc. Press release OUSD partners with
  CPSI to improve network access. Sept. 14, 2006
• www.Wikipedia.com
• Kagan Programming, estimation for custom
  development OUSD.K12.us.ca
• OUSD Multi-year Fiscal Recovery Plan. April 14,
  2005
• rbb-haas.usd.k12.ca.us
• Turbotax.intuit.com

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Exhibit B

• Assumptions for cost comparison
• Value of time saved by Projects 1 and 2 is based
  on 2.5 weeks worth of average salary of talent.
  This is not an actualized saving, as salaries are
  still paid, but the value of their time was used
  to place a value on the time saved.
• Assumed an average of 2.5 weeks spent.
• Payback period was calculated by dividing total
  project costs by annual cost of time spent
  transferring data.

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Exhibit C

• Assumptions for project costs
• Assume 120 work hours per month.
• Assume 65 85 range for contract custom
  software development.
• Time estimates include development and testing.

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Exhibit D

• Core Problem Statement Sustainability
• Most Critical Threats to Sustainability
• Complexity of system and ability to transfer
  knowledge from single source
• Recommendations
• Automate RBB spreadsheet
• Integrate RBB and IFAS
• Training and succession planning
• Support from local community and internal
  audiences
• Recommendations
• Communication plan

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Exhibit E

• Benefits and Resources Available for Technical
  Recommendations
• Advantages
• Reduce complexity and increase transferability of
  knowledge
• Reduce level of personnel skill needed for
  processes
• Reduce time to complete processes
• Minimize human error
• Reductions frees up valuable resources for other
  uses
• Minimal interference to user experience
• Disadvantages
• Potentially high initial cost for production
• Resources
• Existing resources to support solutions and
  minimize costs
• Budget team includes dedicated, full-time IT
  professional
• Existing relationship with Gates Foundation could
  be leveraged for low-cost or free programming.
• Past initiative with Sungard Bitech, Inc to
  develop IFAS, should leverage their expertise of
  IFAS in new development efforts
• Current initiative with CPSI, Inc to develop an
  integration solution between IFAS and the student
  information system, should leverage the
  lessons-learned from this integration

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Exhibit F

• Communication Plan Solutions
• Provide online channel to publicize successes
• Make each sites strategic plan available online
• Publicize successes and vision through local
  media outlets
• New programs demonstrate results
• Feedback from principals (Use Your Voice survey)
• Staff Connections
• Back-to-School
• Identify and recruit a champion among the teacher
  population
• Identify and recruit a champion among local,
  elected officials
• Transparency is Key