SOKOINE UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE

SOKOINE NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL LIBRARY (SNAL)

COURSE NAME: LIBRARY AUTOMATION

COURSE CODE: ICT 0207
TYPE OF WORK: GROUP ASSIGMENT
STUDENT NAME
ELIAS, Noel,
MKOMA
SANZE, Fatma,
JUMA
SOBAJA,
Happines,W

REG NO
SIGNS
DIL/E/2013/0042
DIL/E/2013/0023
DIL/D/2013/001
8

INSTRUCTORS NAME: Z. TANDIKA.

INTRODUCTION.
Technology Planning is the process of planning the technical evolution of a program or system to
achieve its future vision or end-state. Technology planning may include desired customer
outcomes, technology forecasting and schedule projections, technology maturation requirements
and planning, and technology insertion points. The goal is a defined technical end-state enabled
by technology insertion over time. Note that sometimes this is referred to as "strategic technical
planning" (STP) applied at a program level, although the preferred use of the STP term is at the
enterprise or portfolio level.
A technology plan is a key enabler for the systems engineering function. Based on the future
mission or business needs, it defines a desired technical end-state to evolve toward. Because that
end-state may not be achievable with current technology, it is important to determine which
technologies are available now, which technologies are in development, including their maturity
levels, and which technologies do not yet exist. This helps influence an investment strategy that
can focus and push the "state-of-the-art," and it helps define requirements that are not achievable
at all or may be cost-prohibitive.
Technologies requiring further investment and maturation should be assessed as part of the
technical planning process. Appropriate risk should be assigned to technologies assessed as
immature, with the need for concomitant mitigation plans. Technologies that have been in the
research and development (R&D) phase for an extended period (over five years) should be
assessed for the maturation trend to determine if additional investment would significantly
improve the maturity.
At a minimum, the plan should include identification of all technology being brought to bear for
the solutions, the maturation and trend of applicable technologies (forecast), insertion points,
required investments, and dependencies.
Things to considers before starting any technology plan are
Vision, Goals and Objectives
Components of the project in terms of needs to achieve the vision
Specifications for your system requirements
Financial estimates,
Action plan and

 Time table for the project

If you want to implementing a technology plan here are some process you should include.
1. Evaluate the environment for innovative uses of technology. What is changing in the
environment that needs to be taken into account or can be exploited? Where industry
headed and what are its technology roadmaps?
2. Define desired results. Where does the organization want to be within a planning horizon,
usually 510 years? Envision the future as if it were today, and then work back to the
present.
3. Identify the core technologies needed for meeting the vision and focus on those first.
Assess the risks for maturation and focus on investment and mitigation. If the risk is very
high, the choice is to wait and depend on the "bleeding edge," or embark on a serious
investment program. The criticality of the technology and/or mission will drive this
choice. If it is indeed a core technology and critical to the success of achieving the endstate, significant investment will need to be applied to buy down the risk. One example of
this is the government choosing to invest heavily in cyber security.
4. Identify the remaining technologies applicable to the mission or business area end-state.
But, don't become enamored with technology for technology's sake! Keep it simple and
focused on the end-state.
IMPORTANCE OF TECHNOLOGY PLAN.
A technology plan can create a great path to guide the library and make sure that the mission is
accomplished.

Funding: A technology plan is great tool to show funders such as the library board or the
city/county to demonstrate that the library has thoroughly considered why and what is
needed to serve both the community and the staff.

Mission-driven decisions: The mission statement for your library should guide the
efforts and plans that are included in your technology plan. By selecting projects that
fulfill the mission, the library makes the best use of funding and staff time.

Save money: Definitely a priority for most libraries! By planning in advance, the library
can be thoughtful about the process and really consider the impact of decisions. It creates
the framework for deciding what the library really needs and which equipment to
purchase and how best to spend library dollars.

Documentation for future staff members: A technology plan is a great way to leave a
path for future employees that will need to be involved in technology decisions. New
directors or technology specialists can use an existing technology plan to get a sense of
what the library is trying to accomplish and what projects are currently in progress or on
the horizon.

Helps to create staff/board buy-in for support: People like to be kept in the loop about
future projects and a technology plan provides the framework for that conversation. By
sharing the plans with these stakeholders, the library can create more open
communication about technology futures.
We conclude that, In order for an organization to fulfill its mission and goals, it is
important that, all staffs be provided with the necessary support and training opportunities
to enable them to undertake their roles to the highest standard. The plan will provide
training and educational opportunities for professional and personal development to relate
to technology plan activities.

REFERENCE
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
CC2SG Technology Planning Team, October 5, 2005, COCOM C2 Systems Group Technical
Planning Process.
MITRE Mission Planning Team, November 2006, JMPS Strategic Technical Plan Version 3.0.
Byrne, R., June 2, 2005, A Net centric Strategic Technical Plan (STP).
Swarz, R. and J. DeRosa, 2006, A Framework for Enterprise Systems Engineering Processes,
The MITRE Corporation.