The Carlson School's Department of Information Technology (CSOM IT) is undergoing process improvement in order to determine where to situate resources to serve clients efficiently while also aligning with Carlson School and central University of Minnesota initiatives. Currently there are three major forces affecting CSOM IT:
The requirement to better align CSOM IT strategies with University of Minnesota's IT regarding Standard Technologies.
The need to create greater efficiencies of scale in utilizing local support and central services
The need to manage CSOM IT services under a newly implemented UMN budgeting model
The surveys were created as part of the Strategic Task Force II. The task force identified three main clients at Carlson: faculty, students and staff. It was determined that these groups were different enough from each other that each group should receive its own survey. The three surveys were delegated to three sub-groups on the task force. Each sub-group was responsible for the design and development of their survey. Initially, a set of questions were developed by one team member. These questions were used as a platform for departure where each sub-group then could use those questions and/or develop others. This process was used to create a draft version of the survey.
Once the drafts were complete, each sub-group contacted potential members of the faculty, staff or students at Carlson to invite them to participate in a think-aloud session. The goal was to have a least three pilot sessions for each survey. The think aloud process essentially asks the participant to think-aloud when completing the draft survey. This process assists in identifying questions that need rewording or question incompleteness. It also is useful for sensitivity analysis.
After the pilot of each survey, the survey questions were set. The survey questions were then entered into an online survey software program. This program allowed for branching, depending on question response, as well as follow-up email to participants who had not yet completed the survey.
The survey did not use sampling; the intent was not a random sample. Rather, the survey was geared more towards a census. The ideal participants were active Carlson students, staff and faculty members. However, it was later identified that the lists used to solicit these groups were incomplete and possibly overlapping. In the future, the task force identified more time should be spent to fine tune the queries that produce the participant lists.
The survey design process was informed by the design theory principles of Dillman's "tailored design method" which uses social exchange theory as a basis to inform survey design. This approach is based on the model of reducing item non-response and question non-response through a process designed to reduce the costs of the survey and thereby increase the benefits of participation.
