Wednesday, September 26: Pre-Seminar Workshops

9:00 am - 12 noon
(Break: 10:15 - 10:30 am)

Management Track: Project Management Methodologies: What and Why--Part 1
An examination of various methodologies with an eye to what has worked or not worked with legislative IT projects and why, how methods fit with project team and stakeholders, discussions of actual experiences.
Introductions:

• Tim Rice, Executive Director, Legislative Information System, Illinois

Trainer:

• PN Narayanan, Senior Project Management Team Leader, Department of Technology & Information, Delaware

Technical Track I: Building Electronic Committees
Requests for committee information are constantly growing.  This session discusses new technologies, processes and procedures employed by states to push committee information out to the public.  Join us to discuss topics like electronic forms of testimony, electronic voting, electronic witness sign in, storing and publishing submissions, audio/video equipment and broadcasting committees live on the web. 
Moderator:

• Terri Clark, Document Management System Manager, Division of Computer Services, Kansas

Speakers:

• Charles Blanchet, Granicus, San Francisco, California
• Dave Larson, Director, Legislative Computer Services, Kansas
• Rich Zwiebel, K2Audio, Boulder, Colorado

Technical Track II:  Operating Systems and Beyond
A look ahead at directions legislatures are taking with regard to their operating systems, user and application environment, the latest devices and data considerations. Discussion will include methods or considerations of neutralizing an environment to be more flexible with future decisions.

Moderator:

• Gary Wieman, Network Manager, Legislature, Nebraska

Speakers:

• Mark Allred, Information Systems Manager, Office of Legislative Research & General Counsel, Utah
• Alan Osborne, Network Manager, Legislative Information Services, Tennessee
• Sean McGrath, Chief Technical Officer, Propylon, Dublin, Ireland

 1:30 pm - 4:30 pm
(Break: 2:45 - 3:00 pm)

Management Track: Project Management Methodologies: What and Why--Part 2
An examination of various methodologies with an eye to what has worked or not worked with legislative IT projects and why, how methods fit with project team and stakeholders, discussions of actual experiences.
Trainer:

• PN Narayanan, Senior Project Management Team Leader, Department of Technology & Information, Delaware

 1:30 pm - 2:45 pm

Technical Track I:  Models for Developing Legislative Software
States take various approaches to developing legislative software--in-house, out-sourced custom development, and third-party vendors; pros and cons of each; possible combinations of these models; potential of the open-source model. 
Moderator:

• Tim Rice, Executive Director, Legislative Information System, Illinois

Speakers:

• Clyde Hatter, Vice President of Legislative and Regulatory Solutions, Propylon, Dublin, Ireland
• Mark Wenda, Application Services Manager, Legislative Information System, Illinois

Explore a range of Web issues in this web site roundup--Web hardware (configuration of Web servers; load balancing; storage issues; performance concerns), legislative wikis, and more.  Review legislative web sites and join in the discussion about these issues.
Moderator:

• Joel Redding, Webmaster, Legislative Research Commission, Kentucky

Speakers:

• Soren Jacobsen, IT Specialist, Legislative Services, Idaho
• Troy Windisch, Systems Analyst III, Legislative Information System, Illinois

Technical Tracks I and II:  Vendor Experiences
Join in a constructive roundtable discussion of experiences with vendors.  This session is open to legislative staff only; no vendor-bashing allowed.
Facilitator:

• Tim Rice, Executive Director, Legislative Information System, Illinois

Food and drink at one of downtown Springfield's most popular establishments provide a great backdrop for meeting and greeting old and new acquaintances. Even if you miss the day's workshops, make sure to join us in kicking off the seminar.

Thursday, September 27

9:00 am - 12 noon
Illinois Room

Welcome and Opening Remarks

Five Minutes of Fame: State Roundtable
Here's your opportunity to hear a concise overview of accomplishments and current issues in the states--and a chance to offer your experience and expertise and to let others know where you’re looking for advice and assistance.
Facilitator:

• Tim Rice, Executive Director, Legislative Information System, Illinois

• Application integration with external entities
• PC  management
• OS and security updates
• Security (technical aspects)
• Backup and recovery issues
• Others to be determined

Reception and Exhibits

• Capstone Consulting/PTC
• CJL Software Development
• Granicus
• International Roll-Call
• K2Audio
• Media Vision USA
• Propylon
• Sierra Technical Services

Friday, September 28

8:30 am - 12:30 pm
Illinois State Capitol
(Meet in hotel lobby at 8:30 am for the short walk to or for shuttles to the Capitol)

Site Visit: Illinois State Capitol
IT Solutions in Historic Environments

In the House and Senate chambers, Illinois’ clerks and secretaries discuss renovation work and the use of technology in the chambers.  Legislative Information System personnel will be available to answer questions.  You'll also tour the building and hear about the history of the Capitol.
Introductions:

• Tim Rice, Executive Director, Legislative Information System, Illinois

Speakers:

• Scott Kaiser, Assistant Secretary of the Senate, Illinois
• Mark Mahoney, Clerk of the House, Illinois
• Deb Shipley, Secretary of the Senate, Illinois

• Mark W. Sorensen, Assistant Director, State Archives/Office of the Secretary of State, Illinois

State Demonstrations
A hands-on, close-up look at a sampling of innovative legislative applications in Illinois and several other states, including:

• Voting System: Virginia Senate
• Voting System: Illinois House and Senate (in-chamber demos)
• Bill Drafting: Maryland
• Bill Drafting and Filing: Illinois
• Daily Calendar Preparation (new prototype): Illinois
• Chamber Laptop System (new prototype): Illinois
• My Legislation: Illinois Web Site
• Time Entry System: Illinois

Open Evening
Nothing formal is planned immediately after the day at the Capitol, so you can network with colleagues over dinner at one of Springfield's fine restaurants and experience the International Route 66 Mother Road Festival being held downtown, featuring cars, entertainment, cars, food, cars, drink, and cars.

Saturday, September 29

9:30 am - 10:45 am

Management Track:  Technology and Access to Information: FOIA and Open Meetings
Technology advances have increased methods of communication, as well as the collection and exchange of information.  What was once considered confidential information or a privileged communication may now be covered by Freedom of Information Acts (FOIA) and Open Meetings Laws.  Learn how changes in the interpretation of FOIA and changes in open meetings laws are addressing our modes of communication and exchange of information.
Moderator:

• Gary Schaefer, Information Systems Coordinator, Senate, Louisiana

Speakers:

• Sharon Crouch Steidel, Systems Director, House of Delegates, Virginia
• Pam Greenberg, NCSL Liaison to NALIT, NCSL, Denver, Colorado
• Scott Maddrea, Deputy Clerk, Committee Operations, House of Delegates, Virginia
• Fred McDowell, Technical Support Group Manager, Legislative Service Center, Washington

Technical Track I: Authentication of and Permanent Access to Electronic Documents
Explore considerations in ensuring that electronic versions of documents are authentic and issues and solutions for insuring continual permanent accessibility of electronic documents regardless of technology changes.
Moderator:

• Jim Greenwalt, Director, Senate Information Systems, Minnesota

Speakers:

• Mary Alice Baish, Associate Washington Affairs Representative, American Association of Law Libraries, Washington, D.C.
• Tim Rice, Executive Director, Legislative Information System, Illinois
• Keith Ann Stiverson, Director, Chicago-Kent College of Law Library, Chicago, Illinois
  

Technical Track II: VPN and Remote Access
Legislators and staff are increasingly asking for access to the tools they use while in the legislature, but from home or other remote locations. Learn what other states employ to give users the access they need, along with the problems and successes encountered with implementation.
Moderator:

• Gary Wieman, Network Manager, Legislature, Nebraska

Speakers:

• Glenn Harris, Division Director, Information Technology, Legislative Services Office, Idaho
• Richard Tribble, Manager of Technical Service, Legislative Council, Texas
• Aaron Truax, Network Manager, Legislative Information System, Illinois

• Gary Schaefer, Information Systems Coordinator, Senate, Louisiana

Speakers:

• Karl T. Kurtz, Director, Trust for Representative Democracy, National Conference of State Legislatures, Colorado
• Bill Stovall, Director of House Constituency Services/Assistant to the Speaker, Arkansas
• Jim Swain, Chief Information Officer, Legislative Research Commission, Kentucky

Technical Track I: Document Management Systems
Consider options, experiences, and best practices in document management.  Learn about managing workgroup documents and other collections and enabling collaboration.
Moderator:

• Scott Darnall, Senior Programmer/Analyst, Legislative Research Council, South Dakota

Speakers:

• Terri Clark, Document Management System Manager, Division of Computer Services, Kansas
• Duncan Goss, Director, Information Technology, Legislative Council, Vermont
• Patty Wells, Information Technology Specialist, Legislative Service Office, Wyoming

Technical Track II: Network Systems and Monitoring Tools Determining network and system health requires methods to aggregate information from different sources. Learn what tools are used to monitor their systems and networks and assist in finding the solution should a problem occur.

Moderator:

• Gary Wieman, Network Manager, Legislature, Nebraska

Speakers:

• Troy Adkins, Network Administrator, House of Delegates, Virginia
• Dennis Loudermilk, Systems Analyst-Programmer, Legislative Automated Systems Division, West Virginia
• Aaron Truax, Network Manager, Legislative Information System, Illinois

Management Track:  Change Management
Modem day projects are no more a Technological challenge.  The project success depends on people’s contribution to and acceptance of Project objectives. This session will discuss the critical role of Organizational change management in Projects, the readiness, the cultural challenge, the processes that can influence the success of a project.  Further in this session change management risk matrix, integration points with in Project management processes, and tools and methods will be addressed.
Moderator:

• Laura Graham, Software Engineer, Legislative Service Center, Washington

Speaker:

• PN Narayanan, Senior Project Management Team Leader, Department of Technology & Information, Delaware

Technical Track I: Document Format Options
Several states have initiated efforts to make state documents conform to the Open Document Format (ODF).  This  session will introduce microformats and discuss pros and cons of ODF, OpenXML, XML, and others.
Moderator:

• Dave Larson, Director, Legislative Computer Services, Kansas

Speakers:

• Clyde Hatter, Vice President of Legislative and Regulatory Solutions, Propylon, Dublin, Ireland
• Colin Nurse, National Technology Officer, Microsoft State & Local Government, Microsoft, Virginia

Technical Track II: Server and Storage Solutions
Server consolidation and virtualization, clustering, SAN vs. NAS, iSCSI vs. fibre channel - benefits, liabilities, methods, hardware and software, best practices, experiences.
Moderator:

• Steve Landers, Systems Engineer, Legislative Research Commission, Kentucky

Speakers:

• David Coles, Network Administrator, Legislative Research Commission, Kentucky
• Alan Osborne, Network Manager, Legislative Information Services, Tennessee
• Gary Wieman, Network Manager, Legislature, Nebraska

Management Track: NALIT and NCSL
Learn about NCSL's organizational structure and NALIT’s role and interaction with other staff sections.
Moderator:

• Tim Rice, Executive Director, Legislative Information System, Illinois

Speakers:

• Sharon Crouch Steidel, Systems Director, House of Delegates, Virginia
• Jim Greenwalt, Director, Senate Information Systems, Minnesota
  

Technical Track I: Constituent Communications
Legislators are increasingly looking for solutions to help them manage and enhance constituent relations.  This session looks at constituent management systems developed in three states and explores the various policy, privacy and support issues these systems raise for IT staff.

Moderator:

• Ann McLaughlin, Director, Legislative Information System, Delaware

Speakers:

• Hanley Loller, Programmer Analyst, Legislative Research Commission, Kentucky

• Linda Pittsford, Manager, Computer Support Center, Legislative Council, Texas

• Bill Stovall, Director of House Constituency Services/Assistant to the Speaker, Arkansas

Technical Track II: Managing Complexity and Quantity of Legislative Applications
What steps can we take to manage the growing complexity and quantity of custom legislative applications while continuing to be responsive to requests for new functionality? This session looks at agile software methodologies and application design strategies explored by legislative application development groups to address this issue. Discussion will include lessons learned.
Moderator:

• Laura Graham, Software Engineer, Legislative Service Center, Washington

Speaker:

• Jason Montgomery, Information System Analyst, Legislative Information System, Illinois

• Bryan Nehl, Software Development Supervisor, House Information Services, Missouri

Reception and Dinner: Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum
Sponsored by Propylon
Join us for our capstone event on Saturday evening at the world-class Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, which opened in 2005.  The Museum's interactive, state-of-the art technology brings Lincoln and his legacy brilliantly to life.