In order to build a strong foundation for the future tracking and management of IT assets, it is vital to first create and document a formal, comprehensive taxonomy of Asset Classifications and associated Attributes across the University. This involves three major steps:
- Document Asset Classes and Attributes currently in use
- Document Asset Classes and Attributes needed for future use
- Document current asset tracking tools and their capabilities
To complete these phases and properly take stock of the University’s IT assets, the program core team has currently identified 58 total stakeholder groups (these groups are flexible and fluid and will be added to over time), and will meet with 32 of these stakeholder groups during this phase. These stakeholder meetings will seek to answer the following questions:
- What Asset Classes and Attributes do you track?
- What Asset Classes and Attributes would you like to track?
- What tools are you using to track Asset Classes and Attributes?
The subsequent data identified from these questions will be:
- Asset Classes: Asset Types or Classifications such as servers, workstations, and network devices.
- Asset Attributes: What we need to track about each asset, such as model, CPU type, purchase date, and warranty info. May vary by each Asset Class.
- Asset Priority: As defined by stakeholders.
- Tools: Systems and methods stakeholders use to track Asset Classes and Attributes.