Wis. Stat. § 36.59 — WI Code / Chapter 36 / Section 36.59
Information technology.
Status: in_force

(1) Strategic plan.

(a) The Board of Regents shall require the system and each institution and college campus to adopt and submit to the board, in a form specified by the board, no later than March 1 of each year, a strategic plan for the utilization of information technology to carry out the functions of the system, institution, or college campus in the succeeding fiscal year for review and approval under par. (b) .

(b)

1. As a part of each proposed strategic plan submitted under par. (a) , the Board of Regents shall require the system and each institution and college campus to address the business needs of the system, institution, or college campus and to identify all proposed information technology development projects that serve those business needs, the priority for undertaking such projects, and the justification for each project, including the anticipated benefits of the project. Each proposed plan shall identify any changes in the functioning of the system, institution, or college campus under the plan.

2. Each proposed strategic plan shall separately identify the initiatives that the system, institution, or college campus plans to undertake from resources available to the system, institution, or college campus at the time that the plan is submitted and initiatives that the system, institution, or college campus proposes to undertake that would require additional resources.

3. Following receipt of a proposed strategic plan from the system or an institution or college campus, the Board of Regents shall, before June 1, notify the system, institution, or college campus of any concerns that the Board of Regents may have regarding the plan and provide the system, institution, or college campus with its recommendations regarding the proposed plan. The Board of Regents may also submit any concerns or recommendations regarding any proposed plan to the department of administration for its consideration. The department of administration shall then consider the proposed plan and provide the Board of Regents with its recommendations regarding the plan. The system, institution, or college campus may submit modifications to its proposed plan in response to any recommendations.

4. Before June 15, the Board of Regents shall consider any recommendations provided by the department of administration under subd. 3. and shall then approve or disapprove the proposed plan in whole or in part.

5. The system or an institution or college campus may not implement a new or revised information technology development project authorized under a strategic plan until the implementation is approved by the Board of Regents in accordance with procedures prescribed by the board.

6. The Board of Regents shall consult with the joint committee on information policy and technology in providing guidance for planning by the system and institutions and college campuses.

(c) The Board of Regents shall develop and adopt the following written policies for information technology development projects included in the strategic plan required of the system and each institution and college campus under par. (a) and that either exceed $1,000,000 or that are vital to the functions of the system, institution, or college campus:

1. A standardized reporting format.

2. A requirement that both proposed and ongoing information technology development projects be included.

(d) The Board of Regents shall submit for approval by the joint committee on information policy and technology any proposed policies required under par. (c) and any proposed revisions to the policies.

(2) Large, high-risk projects. The Board of Regents shall promulgate:

(a) A definition of and methodology for identifying large, high-risk information technology projects.

(b) Standardized, quantifiable project performance measures for evaluating large, high-risk information technology projects.

(c) Policies and procedures for routine monitoring of large, high-risk information technology projects.

(d) A formal process for modifying information technology project specifications when necessary to address changes in program requirements.

(e) Requirements for reporting changes in estimates of cost or completion date to the board and the joint committee on information policy and technology.

(f) Methods for discontinuing projects or modifying projects that are failing to meet performance measures in such a way to correct the performance problems.

(g) Policies and procedures for the use of master leases under s. 16.76 (4) to finance new large, high-risk information technology system costs and maintain current large, high-risk information technology systems.

(h) A standardized progress point in the execution of large, high-risk information technology projects at which time the estimated costs and date of completion of the project is reported to the board and the joint committee on information policy and technology.

(3) Commercially available products. The Board of Regents shall promulgate:

(a) A requirement that the system and each institution and college campus review commercially available information technology products prior to initiating work on a customized information technology development project to determine whether any commercially available product could meet the information technology needs of the system, institution, or college campus.

(b) Procedures and criteria to determine when a commercially available information technology product must be used and when the system or an institution or college campus may consider the modification or creation of a customized information technology product.

(c) A requirement that the system and each institution and college campus submit for approval by the board and prior to initiating work on a customized information technology product a justification for the modification or creation by the system, institution, or college campus of a customized information technology product.

(4) Master leases.

(a) In this subsection, “master lease” has the meaning given under s. 16.76 (4) .

(b) Annually, no later than October 1, the Board of Regents shall submit to the governor and the members of the joint committee on information policy and technology a report documenting the use by the system and each institution and college campus of master leases to fund information technology projects in the previous fiscal year. The report shall contain all of the following information:

1. The total amount paid under master leases towards information technology projects in the previous fiscal year.

2. The master lease payment amounts approved to be applied to information technology projects in future years.

3. The total amount paid by the system and each institution and college campus on each information technology project for which debt is outstanding, as compared to the total financing amount originally approved for that information technology project.

4. A summary of repayments made towards any master lease in the previous fiscal year.

(5) High-cost projects.

(a) Except as provided in par. (b) , the Board of Regents shall include in each contract with a vendor of information technology that involves a large, high-risk information technology project under sub. (2) or that has a projected cost greater than $1,000,000, and require the system and each institution and college campus that enters into a contract for materials, supplies, equipment, or contractual services relating to information technology to include in each contract with a vendor of information technology that involves a large, high-risk information technology project under sub. (2) or that has a projected cost greater than $1,000,000 a stipulation requiring the vendor to submit to the board for approval any order or amendment that would change the scope of the contract and have the effect of increasing the contract price. The stipulation shall authorize the board to review the original contract and the order or amendment to determine all of the following and, if necessary, to negotiate with the vendor regarding any change to the original contract price:

1. Whether the work proposed in the order or amendment is within the scope of the original contract.

2. Whether the work proposed in the order or amendment is necessary.

(b) The Board of Regents may exclude from a contract described in par. (a) the stipulation required under par. (a) if all of the following conditions are satisfied:

1. Including such a stipulation would negatively impact contract negotiations or significantly reduce the number of bidders on the contract.

2. If the exclusion is sought by the system or an institution or college campus, the system or that institution or college campus submits to the board a plain-language explanation of the reasons the stipulation was excluded and the alternative provisions the system, institution, or college campus will include in the contract to ensure that the contract will be completed on time and within the contract budget.

3. The board submits for approval by the joint committee on information policy and technology any explanation and alternative contract provisions required under subd. 2. If, within 14 working days after the date that the board submits any explanation and alternative contract provisions required under this subdivision, the joint committee on information policy and technology does not contact the board, the explanation and alternative contract provisions shall be deemed approved.

(6) Open-ended contracts.

(a) The Board of Regents shall require the system and each institution and college campus that has entered into an open-ended contract for the development of information technology to submit to the board quarterly reports documenting the amount expended on the information technology development project. In this subsection, “open-ended contract” means a contract for information technology that includes one or both of the following:

1. Stipulations that provide that the contract vendor will deliver information technology products or services but that do not specify a maximum payment amount.

2. Stipulations that provide that the contract vendor shall be paid an hourly wage but that do not set a maximum limit on the number of hours required to complete the information technology project.

(b) Compile and annually submit to the joint committee on information technology the reports required under par. (a) .

(7) Reports. No later than March 1 and September 1 of each year, the Board of Regents shall submit to the joint committee on information policy and technology a report that documents for each information technology project within the system with an actual or projected cost greater than $1,000,000 or that the board has identified as a large, high-risk information technology project under sub. (2) (a) all of the following:

(a) Original and updated project cost projections.

(b) Original and updated completion dates for the project and any stage of the project.

(c) An explanation for any variation between the original and updated costs and completion dates under pars. (a) and (b) .

(d) A copy of any contract entered into by the board for the project and not provided in a previous report.

(e) All sources of funding for the project.

(f) The amount of any funding provided for the project through a master lease under s. 16.76 (4) .

(g) Information about the status of the project, including any portion of the project that has been completed.

(h) Any other information about the project, or related information technology projects, requested by the joint committee on information policy and technology.

(7m) Information technology reports. The Board of Regents shall prepare and submit reports to the joint committee on information policy and technology upon request of the committee under s. 13.58 (5) (b) 3.

(8) Computer services data collection. The Board of Regents shall collect and maintain data necessary to calculate numerical measures of the efficiency and effectiveness of the mainframe computer services provided by the board at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

History: 2007 a. 20 ss. 731m , 731p , 736x ; 2009 a. 180 ; 2015 a. 55 .