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LEISURE WORLD 5-YEAR STRATEGIC TECHNOLOGY PLAN

Prepared by the Ad Hoc Technology Review Committee

April 2016

Executive Summary As of early 2016, the blindingly rapid pace of technology developments sometimes catches even "experts" by surprise. At the first meeting of the Ad Hoc Technology Review Committee in June 2015, one of the members showed the group a “Smarthings” hub, one of the latest devices for home automation and security. By the end of July, the hub was obsolete, replaced by Samsung, the manufacturer, with capabilities that went far beyond the original. This example encapsulates why Leisure World (LW) must take steps to help all the components of our community—the residents, the mutuals, and LW operations--make use of technology that is important to them, and to lay a foundation that will support the rapid pace of technological change. LW intends to be the “most desirable and secure active lifestyle adult community in the Mid-Atlantic States.” To help realize that vision, articulated in its 2010 strategic plan, the LW Board of Directors (BoD) determined that it needs an integrated, systematic approach for identifying, prioritizing, implementing, and maintaining technology—both information technology (IT) and other types of technology—in order to enable LW to: 



Provide the infrastructure required to support connectivity for individual residents, promote safety and security for the community as a whole, and improve the effectiveness and cost-efficiency of maintaining LW’s physical properties. Take advantage of technological advancements as they continue to occur.

This vision for how LW will use technology drives the Leisure World 5-Year Strategic Technology Plan—a path toward a sound, enduring technology program that will improve the lives of the residents, and that can be used by anyone to enhance and ensure health, safety and quality of life. In spring 2015, the BoD, on the recommendation of the Community Planning Advisory Committee (CPAC), established the Ad Hoc Technology Review Committee, directing the Committee to evaluate “...needs and opportunities to improve the operations and services of LW through modern technologies.” This 5-year plan describes the results of the Committee’s work to date. The country is in the middle of a sea change--affecting the lives of the young and old alike--in how people get their TV, how they use their smartphones, and how their Internet broadband is delivered, to name some examples. A rapidly increasing demand for video and data media is driving corresponding rapid developments in technology. In addition, the cellular, Wi-Fi, and broadband communities are in a state of convergence. New routers, the devices that distribute signals in your home or office, offer seamless interconnectivity between Wi-Fi and cellular technology. Some of the newer phones may use a Wi-Fi signal when it is within range and then transfer to a cellular network Strategic Technology Plan

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Executive Summary when needed; the user of the phone cannot even tell that this type of transfer is occurring. Comcast’s newer Xfinity routers, which are common within LW, can use both wireless and cellular signals and pass them through the Comcast network. These changes are driving innovation for delivery of broadband. What will become available and practical for LW is not clear, but the probability is high that in 5 to 10 years, some wireless or other options will be more attractive than the present cable implementation. The major carriers are planning to provide competitively priced broadband over fifth-generation cellular technology, with AT&T beginning their testing in 2016. Google is testing delivery of wireless broadband from solar powered drones. Comcast is increasing the capacity of its cable system for broadband to 2 Mbps with a new network protocol, and it may want to upgrade its system at LW to all fiber. Bolstering the need for change is the growth in LW where 40 percent of current residents have Comcast broadband service, and an additional percentage use Verizon DSL for Internet connectivity. (And percentages are likely far higher for newer and younger members of the community.) According to 2010 Census data, the turnover rate in LW is about 10 percent per year, so by 2020, 50 percent of the residents in our community do not live here now.. Almost all new residents will come from households that are using Internet and modern communication methods. In one of the newest buildings in LW, over 90 percent of the residents use email as a common means of communicating with their neighbors. The Committee’s recognizes that all members of the LW community are the stakeholders of this plan: the individual residents; the governance structures of the BoD and the mutuals; and, the administrations and operations performed by the Leisure World of Maryland Corporation (LWMC). To meet the technology requirements of the stakeholders, the Committee developed a set of four interlocking strategies, defined in terms of technology-related business functions that LW will always need, rather than specific technologies. The strategies are as follows: 



Support LWMC IT initiatives. This strategy encompasses the implementation and maintenance of the infrastructure (hardware and software) required to support the Administration and to enable every LW resident and office to access affordable high-speed connections to internet, television, and phone services. Support the use of other technologies. This strategy encompasses the implementation and maintenance of the infrastructure required to enable LW to take advantage of technologies that do the following: o Promote the safety of individuals. o Enable stakeholders to communicate effectively no matter where they are on the LW campus.

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Executive Summary





o Provide timely access to information on LW community services and activities. o Improve the effectiveness and cost-efficiency of maintaining LW’s physical properties through technologies such as drones, solar power, electric vehicles, driverless cars, and remote monitoring of building smoke detectors and other sensors. Manage the use of technology. This strategy encompasses functions such as: o Evaluate business procedures—for example, procedures for tracking work order status, granting visitor access, and updating information on tenants—and redesign opportunities that could lead to greater productivity for management and improved services for stakeholders. o Use industry-standard practices for the acquisition, selection, development, and deployment of new and replacement technology systems. o Monitor the evolution of technology, with recommendations to advisory committees, management, and residents on advances or replacements that LW should consider implementing. Educate and support stakeholders. This strategy encompasses efforts to ensure that stakeholders understand and can use modern technologies and to provide education and assistance for residents who want or need to use technology, including how to better cope with diminished vision, hearing, and mobility.

Clearly, it is not possible to “do everything for everybody immediately.” To arrive at a prioritized set of recommended projects and timelines, the Committee realized that the responsibility for meeting the LW requirements is spread among the stakeholders. LW cannot possibly support all the potential needs, nor would it be feasible to try. Therefore, as a first step, the Committee sorted solutions into four distinct groups: 1. LW should provide the solution, e.g., fiber-optic cable exploitation, campus security, accessible web portals, Wi-Fi access. 2. LW should enable solutions that the individual residents will procure, e.g., cell phone service adequate to support monitoring and notification functions for residents’ personal safety. 3. LW should offer information and expertise to residents, e.g., a resource center for assistance and product expertise. 4. LW does not need to be involved in the solution, e.g., personal mobility solutions with no need for infrastructure. Those selection criteria allow the BoD to leverage the use of technology for maximum gain at a reasonable investment cost. The Committee identified ten projects that meet the first three criteria. In identifying the projects, the Committee is working in close

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Executive Summary coordination with Hartman Executive Associates, who are upgrading the IT capabilities of LWMC. The projects are described in the body of the report. They are: 1. Improve cellular service--particularly to support emergency alert pendants and smart, communicative fire detectors. 2. Improve wireless service--better Wi-Fi in LW public facilities and grounds. 3. Improve residential broadband connectivity--from inexpensive (slow) to Gigabyte speeds--use broadband to improve cell phone reception; utilize new fiber ring. 4. Implement IT projects--assist ongoing Hartman network and VOIP phone projects, enable best practices for acquiring new products and services, ensure adequate cyber security, and enhance emergency communications software. 5. Improve Comcast service--via routine assessments and meetings with appropriate Comcast technical personnel. 6. Prepare for Comcast contract re-competition--ensure competition from other vendors, e.g., Verizon or Google fiber. 7. Evaluate the use of drones in property management--examine new FAA regulations. 8. Evaluate driverless and semi-autonomous vehicles--in conjunction with Security and Transportation Advisory Committee. 9. Monitor the use of alternative energy sources--work with the Energy Advisory Committee to investigate charging stations for electric vehicles and solar and other alternatives. 10. Provide education and outreach to stakeholders--via LWN articles, resident internet portals, and technical advice as needed by other Committees, Mutuals, Board of Directors, and LWMC managers. The Committee also recognizes that the recommended projects, as well as the Hartman projects, depend on changes in the way technology is acquired and implemented. The critical success factors include:     

Base IT planning and decisions on the overall value to the residents and management of LW and use customer focus in decision-making. Establish interaction and joint projects among advisory committees and the Technology Committee. Institute human resource practices that encourage and embrace change in the workplace that successfully incorporates the most modern technology. Define and monitor service levels to measure the performance of LWMC in delivering services to residents. Ensure staff involvement and buy-in through communications and adequate training.

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Executive Summary  

Ensure that any investment or infrastructure installed for LW be compatible or ungradable to the latest generation technology. Discontinue the pattern of LW being behind in technology relative to that available in surroundings areas and among its competitors in the adultresidential marketplace.

Because technologies, requirements, budget, and many other things change over time, a strategic plan is only a guide. The strategies will remain relatively constant for several years, but the projects chosen to fulfill them will evolve.

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Table of Contents Executive Summary .......................................................................................................... i Table of Contents ............................................................................................................ 1 Chapter 1 Introduction .................................................................................................... 3 Background .................................................................................................................. 3 Strategic Technology Planning Process ........................................................................ 4 Chapter 2 Requirements.................................................................................................. 7 Accessibility to IT Products and Services .................................................................... 11 Chapter 3 Strategies ...................................................................................................... 12 Chapter 4 Projects ......................................................................................................... 14 Representative Technologies ..................................................................................... 14 Approach to Prioritizing Projects ................................................................................ 16 Selected Projects ....................................................................................................... 16 Project 1: Improve Cellular Service ......................................................................... 20 Project 2: Improve Wireless Service and Broadband Connectivity .......................... 22 Project 3: Improve Residential Broadband Connectivity ......................................... 23 Project 4: Implement IT Projects ............................................................................ 24 Project 4A: Hardware and Software Functionality ............................................... 24 Project 4B: Business Functions and Applications ................................................. 25 Project 4C: IT Governance and Project Management .......................................... 26 Project 4D: Cybersecurity and Privacy Protection ............................................... 27 Project 4E: AssociationVoice℠ ............................................................................ 28 Project 4F: Emergency Communications ............................................................. 28 Project 5: Improve Comcast Services ...................................................................... 29 Project 6: Prepare for Comcast Recompetition ....................................................... 30 Project 7: Evaluate the Use of Drones for Property Management ........................... 32 Project 8: Evaluate Technologies for Transportation Alternatives ........................... 32 Project 9: Monitor the Use of Alternative Energy Sources ...................................... 33 Project 10: Educate Stakeholders ........................................................................... 33 Chapter 5 Recommendations and Critical Success Factors ............................................. 35 Strategic Technology Plan

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Table of Contents Recommendations ..................................................................................................... 35 Critical Success Factors .............................................................................................. 36 Budget ....................................................................................................................... 37 Appendix 1 Ad Hoc Technology Committee Roster. ....................................................... 38 Members ................................................................................................................... 38 Associate Members ................................................................................................... 38

List of Figures Figure 1-1. Strategic Technology Planning Steps and Outputs.......................................... 5 Figure 2-1. High-Level Requirements ............................................................................... 8 Figure 2-2. Requirements for Individual Residents ........................................................... 9 Figure 2-3. Requirements for Buildings and Campus ...................................................... 10 Figure 2-4. Requirements for Managing and Operating the Community ........................ 10

List of Tables Table 4-1. Technologies Examined by the Technology Committee ................................. 15 Table 4-2. Projects ......................................................................................................... 17

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Chapter 1 Introduction Leisure World (LW) intends to be the “most desirable and secure active lifestyle adult community in the Mid-Atlantic States.”1To help realize that vision, articulated in its 2010 strategic plan, LW determined that it needs an integrated, systematic approach for identifying, prioritizing, implementing, and maintaining technology—both information technology (IT) and other types of technology—in order to enable LW to do the following: 



Provide the infrastructure required to support connectivity for individual residents, promote safety and security for the community as a whole, and improve the effectiveness and cost-efficiency of maintaining LW’s physical properties. Take advantage of technological advancements as they continue to occur.

This vision for how LW will use technology drives the Leisure World 5-Year Strategic Technology Plan—a path toward a sound, enduring technology program.

Background In late 2014, the LW Board of Directors (BoD) began to take steps to improve the community’s technology capabilities. It approved installation of a fiber-optic cable ring around LW, costing $350,000, to enable installation of a modern telephone system and computer network for the Leisure World of Maryland Corporation (LWMC), which administers and operates services for LW2, and reports to the BoD. A year later, the BoD approved a related capital funding expenditure of $256,000 to replace computer network servers and network hardware, thereby taking advantage of the fiber optic installation. In spring 2015, LWMC still had only a small staff focused on IT and it had no entity that focused on other technologies and their potential for supporting the LW vision. To address this, LWMC contracted with Hartman Executive Advisors to assess the IT organization and its procedures and to develop a strategy focusing on LWMC IT requirements. Hartman undertook a detailed analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) to accomplish their task. On June 23, 2015, Hartman submitted its Information Technology Strategy Assessment which highlighted the most glaring IT weaknesses: “Organizational structure, training, knowledge sharing, process methodologies, priority setting, productivity measures and budgeting processes are

1 2

LW Strategic Plan 2010, p 1. Because of its role, we will use “Administration” to describe the functions performed by LWMC.

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Introduction weak or non-existent, making it difficult to effectively align IT work effort to business objectives.” Also in spring 2015, the BoD, on the recommendation of the Community Planning Advisory Committee (CPAC), established the Ad Hoc Technology Review Committee. The members were selected by the BoD to represent a range of technical expertise, rather than as representatives of each mutual. Appendix 1 describes the membership of the Technology Committee. The BoD directed us to evaluate “...needs and opportunities to improve the operations and services of LW through modern technologies.” We held our initial Committee meeting early June, 2015 and this 5-year plan describes the results of our work to date. After reviewing Hartman’s first-rate effort, the Committee decided to develop a consolidated strategic technology plan covering both IT (building on Hartman’s work) and other technologies. We also decided to broaden the customer set beyond LW Administration to include individual residents and the LW community as a whole, including governance entities such as the BoD and individual mutual boards. In other words, the Committee decided to develop a strategic technology plan that would ensure that LW has the infrastructure, organization, and processes in place to take advantage of advancements in IT and other technologies (such as emergency alert devices for individuals and smart smoke detectors for residences) that will benefit LW stakeholders—individual residents, the community, and LW Administration—well into the future. We continue to have fruitful technical interactions with the Hartman representative on his Administration IT projects, thereby enabling our Committee to expand its efforts on a host of individual and community-related needs. Equally important, the Administration’s IT staff director, Mr. Jamie McDonald, regularly attends Technology Committee meetings and provides much-needed insights on modernization challenges throughout LW. Our plan encompasses the recommendations of the Hartman report and addresses the conclusions of the SWOT analysis.

Strategic Technology Planning Process Because many members of the LW community may be unfamiliar with strategic technology planning, we will briefly describe the process that we followed to arrive at the Strategic Technology Plan. Figure 1-1 depicts the Technology Committee’s planning process.

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Introduction FIGURE 1-1. STRATEGIC TECHNOLOGY PLANNING STEPS AND OUTPUTS

Define Stakeholders

Gather Requirements

Residents Governance Administration

What do stakeholders need

Define Vision

Identify technologies

Applicable to needs

Select Strategies

High level approaches to needs

Screen Requirements

Define Projects

Specify Tactics

Define alternatives and details

Select projects and timelines

As the figure shows, the process has eight basic steps: 1. Define vision. Articulate what the plan needs to achieve in order to be a success. 2. Define stakeholders. Determine who are the stakeholders (or customers) whose needs are to be met. For this plan, the stakeholders are all of the residents of LW, from those in the smallest individual houses to the largest high rises, as well as the Administration and the governance structures. 3. Gather stakeholder requirements. Identify each of the stakeholder’s requirements, or what they hope to achieve. 4. Screen requirements. Select the requirements that are feasible and that can be adequately defined at this time. 5. Identify current and future technologies. Identify the technologies that are available, or will be available, to meet the requirements. 6. Select strategies. Define the high-level strategies that can be used to select the projects that will be implemented. Strategies are selected from among the different ways of accomplishing a goal. For example, support for Administration IT can be done by: in-house staff; by hiring contractors to perform the function; or by completely leaving it in the hands of a company who provides the functionality as a service. 7. Define projects. Identify and develop the project alternatives and descriptions that will meet the selected strategies. Strategic Technology Plan

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Introduction 8. Establish tactical implementations. Determine the priority, timeframes, and order of the selected projects. Because technologies, requirements, budget and many other things change over time, a strategic plan is only a guide. The strategies will remain relatively constant for several years, but the projects chosen to fulfill them will evolve. The following chapters describe the requirements, the strategies, and the projects that we are recommending. We conclude with a summary of the recommendations and the critical success factors for implementation.

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Chapter 2 Requirements “As a resident concerned with falling, I need to be able to use devices which will notify my family, friends, and LW Security in the event of a bad fall.” “As a mutual board officer, I need to communicate information to my residents either electronically or by paper, depending on their individual preferences.” “As a person with diminishing sight, I need to be able receive communications about LW services or be notified in emergencies in a way that I can understand.” These are examples of the requirements that are at the core of a strategic planning process. Requirements identify what each stakeholder needs in order to accomplish or achieve a particular goal or receive a specific service. Requirements tend to remain stable over a long period of time, even as their solutions change to take advantage of a new technology. The Technology Committee gathered requirements or needs in a variety of ways:       

interviews of several LW mutual presidents and their respective property managers; feedback from residents to articles about technology in Leisure World News; resident inputs via emails, phone calls, and conversations; close interactions with other advisory committees—Health; Security and Transportation; Energy; Emergency Preparedness; and Physical Properties; interviews with the LWMC IT staff; question and answer sessions in mutual meetings; and one-on-one interview with other Administration staff.

We obviously could not document every need or concern of our community, given its size and the variety of stakeholders, but we identified three categories that cover much of what we heard:   

needs of individual residents; needs related to dwelling units, buildings, and the LW campus; and needs related to LW management and operations.

We found the categorization challenging, as there are as many ways to sort the requirements as there are people trying to do it, but the categories make the requirements more understandable and we can more easily identify strategies and projects that would address them. Figure 2-1 identifies the high-level groupings for the requirements we identified. Subsequent figures provide additional detail.

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Requirements FIGURE 2-1. HIGH-LEVEL REQUIREMENTS Requirements

Individual

Physical

Mobility

Services

Access to information

Buildings and Campus

Smart dwellings

Management

Security

Administration (LWCM)

Governance

Business processes

Data and information

Applications

Infrastructure

Entertainment

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Requirements The individual requirements in Figure 2-2 begin with the areas that affect any retirement community--the decline in physical capabilities and mobility of the residents, many of which can be eased with the technologies that are coming available. Access to information and the ability to interact with the Administration are essential components of modern life and are a top priority of this plan. The direct delivery of services to the residents and improved delivery of entertainment will improve their quality of life. FIGURE 2-2. REQUIREMENTS FOR INDIVIDUAL RESIDENTS Individual Requirements Physical

Diminished Hearing

Diminished Vision

Mobility

Living space

Within LW

Access to Information

What’s going on What services are available

Services

Entertainment

Food

Streaming video

Groceries

Collaborative club websites

Meals Health

Activity monitors

Walking

Outside of LW

Communicate with administration

Telehealth

Governance/ mutual info

Nighttime

Telemeetings

The buildings and campus requirements shown in Figure 2-3 address physical aspects of our environment. “Smart dwelling” can improve the efficiency and safety of residents with smoke alarms that do not require that residents perform emergency notifications, and devices such as smart thermostats that reduce energy costs. Security requirements cover both individual buildings and the campus as whole and the need for electronic communications among all parts of the community. Many of these requirements are under the purview of advisory committees, but are gathered here for completeness.

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Requirements FIGURE 2-3. REQUIREMENTS FOR BUILDINGS AND C AMPUS

Buildings and Campus

Smart dwelling Smoke alarms

Security

Energy sensors

Campus entry

Dwelling unit entry

Building entry

Smart doors

Building cameras

Figure 2-4 shows the categories of managing and operating LW itself. The requirements cover the technology services that LWMC performs both internally and in support of the residents. The Hartman projects are fulfilling many of these requirements. Governance requirements improve the functioning and communication among the BoD, the mutuals, and the Advisory Committees. FIGURE 2-4. REQUIREMENTS FOR MANAGING AND OPERATING THE COMMUNITY Management and Operations

Administration (LWMC)

Business processes

Data and information

Resident database Property database

Strategic Technology Plan

Governance

Applications

Application modernization

Property management software

Application integration

Software as a Service

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Infrastructure

BoD, Mutuals

Fiber backbone

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Requirements

Accessibility to IT Products and Services The requirement to ensure that all residents and employees have accessibility to IT resources spans all three categories. “Accessibility” will be familiar to the BoD and management from its use in denoting and identifying the various laws and regulations that ensure persons who use wheelchairs, walkers, or live with other physical disabilities are able to live at LW without undue difficulty. LW is an accessible campus because our buildings avoid stairs, and comply with a host of additional architectural accessibility standards that facilitate including persons with physical disabilities at LW facilities. It will surprise no one that these accommodations only grow in importance to LW residents as they age. There are similar needs and similar industry standards designed to ensure that persons who live with communications or print disabilities can be properly supported in electronic communication and information systems such as the web portals proposed in this plan. Persons affected include those who are blind, or have various vision limitations (such as color blindness or a need for enlarged print), persons with deafness or hearing disabilities, and persons with mobility limitations such as tremors that prevent them from using a mouse effectively. All modern computer based environments, such as Microsoft Windows, Apple Macintosh, Android, etc. provide accommodations that make it possible for these persons to participate in the digital ecosystem. We have proposed educational support for LW residents who can benefit from these accommodations. However, the burden cannot be borne entirely by those who require the accommodation. It is critical that LW require industry standards support in the information and communication systems it develops or acquires for deployment. Just as the mobility solution requires accessible routes for wheel chair users to travel along, persons with print and communication related disabilities require information and communication systems that can correctly communicate with the assistive technologies that provide accommodations.

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Chapter 3 Strategies To meet the technology requirements of individual LW residents, the LW community as a whole, as well as LW Administration and management, the Technology Committee developed a set of four interlocking strategies, defined in terms of technology-related business functions LW will always need, rather than specific technologies. The strategies are as follows: 





Support LWMC IT initiatives. This strategy encompasses the implementation and maintenance of the infrastructure (hardware and software) required to support the Administration and to enable every LW resident and office to access affordable high-speed connections to internet, television, and phone services. Support the use of other technologies. This strategy encompasses the implementation and maintenance of the infrastructure required to enable LW to take advantage of technologies that do the following: o Promote the safety of individuals by, for example,  providing connectivity to enable personal assistive devices—such as those for detecting falls or sudden inactivity—to communicate with 100% reliability from any location (not just the home);  enabling monitoring of individuals by family, caretakers, or medical personnel; and  ensuring faster and more complete communication, particularly for emergencies, to encompass sharing information with residents via telephones, smart phones, text, and email. o Provide timely access to information on LW community services and activities. Examples of information of potential interest to stakeholders are  breaking news about LW—meeting room changes, gate closures, snow removal, etc.;  live streaming of important LW meeting; and  communities of interest—hobbies, histories, meetings. o Improve the effectiveness and cost-efficiency of maintaining LW’s physical properties through technologies such as drones, solar power, electric vehicles, driverless cars, and remote monitoring of building smoke detectors and other sensors. Manage the use of technology. This strategy encompasses functions such as: o Evaluate business procedures—for example, procedures for tracking work order status, granting visitor access, and updating information on

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Strategies



tenants—and redesign opportunities that could lead to greater productivity for management and improved services for stakeholders. o Use industry-standard practices for the acquisition, selection, development, and deployment of accessible new and replacement technology systems. o Monitor the evolution of technology, with recommendations to advisory committees, management, and residents on advances or replacements that LW should consider implementing. Educate and support stakeholders. This strategy encompasses efforts to ensure that stakeholders understand and can use modern technologies and to provide education and assistance for residents who want or need to use technology to better cope with diminished vision, hearing, and mobility.

In the following chapter, we describe projects that will support the implementation of these strategies.

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Chapter 4 Projects The Technology Committee recommends a series of short and longer-term projects to meet the needs of LW and to implement the strategies discussed in the previous chapter. We will provide details for each of the projects and will outline implementation plans for the most-immediate (most important) ones. We selected the projects on the basis of their overall importance and the need to integrate with other LWMC projects that are already underway. Before we discuss the projects, we identify some of the technologies that we examined in the course of our work.

Representative Technologies We are in the middle of a sea change--affecting the lives of the young and old alike--in how people get their TV, how they use their smartphones, and how their Internet broadband is delivered, to name some examples. A rapidly increasing demand for video and data media is driving corresponding rapid developments in technology. In addition, the cellular, Wi-Fi, and broadband communities are in a state of convergence. New routers, the devices that distribute signals in your home or office, offer seamless interconnectivity between Wi-Fi and cellular technology. Some of the newer phones may use a Wi-Fi signal when it is within range and then transfer to a cellular network when needed; the user of the phone cannot even tell that this type of transfer is occurring. Comcast’s newer Xfinity routers, which are common within LW, can use both wireless and cellular signals and pass them through the Comcast network. These changes are driving innovation for delivery of broadband. What will become available and practical for LW is not clear, but the probability is high that in 5 to 10 years, some wireless or other options will be more attractive than the present cable. AT&T is planning to provide competitively priced broadband over fifth-generation cellular technology and is beginning their testing in 2016. Google is testing delivery of wireless broadband from solar powered drones. Comcast is increasing the capacity of its cable system for broadband to 2 Mbps with a new network protocol, and it may want to upgrade its system at LW to all fiber. Bolstering the need for change is the growth in LW where 40 percent of current residents have Comcast broadband service, and an additional percentage (not available) use Verizon DSL for Internet connectivity. According to 2010 Census data, the turnover rate in LW is about 10 percent per year, so by 2020, 50 percent of the residents will be newcomers to our community. Almost all new residents will come from households that are using Internet and modern communication methods. In one of the newest buildings in LW, over 90 percent of the residents use email as a common means of communicating with their neighbors.

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Projects Because of the rapid, seemingly daily, changes in technology, the spectrum of possible technology solutions to the requirements of LW stakeholders is bewilderingly large. Some technologies, e.g., cellular, support many of the requirements; others are specific to individual resident’s needs. Table 4-1 summarizes the technologies examined by the Committee in the course of its deliberations. TABLE 4-1. TECHNOLOGIES EXAMINED BY THE TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE Category Physical limitations

Services Entertainment Mobility solutions

Access to information

Safety Broadband

Security solutions

Strategic Technology Plan

Technology Text to speech translation Markup for documents for accessibility for the blind Voice control of devices Wearable alerting devices Senior computers – simple, designed for easy use Easy smart phones that hide complexity Comcast assistive technology for TVs and remotes Groceries and other household supplies Meals Streaming video Tablets and smart phones Driverless cars Technology assisted driving Uber and Lyft type of services LW Rideshare program Electric vehicles Web pages Interactive TV LW Internet Electronic versions of LWN news “Push” technology for tailored articles for users HOA/community software Drones for examining buildings and grounds Smart fire alarms Interior door monitors Municipal/community private fiber networks Comcast offerings Verizon FIOS and DSL Entry controls Gate entry Keyless locks Smart doorbells Smart doors Camera connectivity for property managers 15

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Projects TABLE 4-1. TECHNOLOGIES EXAMINED BY THE TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE Category Telecommunications

Technology Faster transmission Cell towers/amplifiers Building wire Cell to broadband transmission Micro-towers in condo units Small cell and distributed antenna systems Wi-Fi

Approach to Prioritizing Projects Clearly, it is not possible to “do everything for everybody immediately.” To arrive at a prioritized set of recommended projects and timelines, the Committee realized that the responsibility for meeting the LW requirements is spread among the stakeholders. LW cannot possibly support all potential needs of the stakeholders, nor would it be feasible to try. Therefore, as a first step, we sorted solutions into four distinct groups: 5. LW should provide the solution, e.g., fiber-optic cable exploitation, campus security. 6. LW should enable solutions that the individual residents will provide, e.g., cell phone service adequate to support monitoring and notification functions for residents’ personal safety. 7. LW should offer information and expertise to residents, e.g., a resource center for assistance and product expertise. 8. LW does not need to be involved in the solution, e.g., personal mobility solutions with no need for infrastructure. Those selection criteria allow the BoD to leverage the use of technology for maximum gain at a reasonable investment cost. The projects that we selected all fall within the first three categories.

Selected Projects Table 4-2 identifies the projects we selected. Because of the priority and the time-frame for implementation, some of the projects are still at the notional stage, but we included them because of their long-term technical importance. The projects are designed to implement the four technology strategies:    

Support LWMC IT initiatives Support the use of other technologies Manage the use of technology Educate and support stakeholders.

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Projects Following the table, we describe each project in some detail, including our rationale for selecting them. We originally planned to provide detailed costs and implementation plans for the selected projects. However, because technology is changing so rapidly— and many of the projects are already in progress—we have kept the descriptions at a relatively high level. Detailed implementation plans will be developed and discussed with the BoD as projects begin. Three of our recommended projects—improving cellular service, increasing Wi-Fi coverage in LW, and implementing the fiber backbone—are complementary approaches to electronically connecting one device to another. If we were writing this plan in 2020, we would probably be able to ignore the differences between the types of transmission, but in the short term, distinctions remain so that we will look at improvements for each of the services. The combination of cellular, Wi-Fi, and broadband improvements will support short-term deployment of assistive technologies, emergency communications services, and smart dwelling unit features, including smart smoke detectors and smart thermostats. The combination will also accommodate the trend for exclusive reliance on cellular for all communication in lieu of traditional telephones. TABLE 4-2. PROJECTS No. 1

Project Improve cellular service

2

Improve wireless service

3

Improve residential broadband connectivity

Strategic Technology Plan

Description Examine the current level of cellular services and increase the capability to support personal safety devices, such as smart fire detectors or emergency pendants. Provide support for wireless devices in Trust properties such as Clubhouse I and II, and provide better wireless support throughout the grounds. Provide range of services from inexpensive, slow Internet services to the emerging functionality of Gigabyte broadband. Use broadband to improve cell reception from all carriers. Make effective use of the fiber ring.

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Time Frame Short term

Page No. 20

Short and medium term

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Medium and long term

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Projects TABLE 4-2. PROJECTS No. 4

4A

4B

4C

4D

4E

4F

Project Implement IT projects

Description Execute a number of specific IT projects and change the way that they are managed. Hardware and Install a wide variety of software infrastructure and software functionality improvements, primarily under the direction of Hartman. Business functions Install or upgrade business and applications systems and applications, such as finance and accounting, websites, and property management software. IT governance and Establish the steps for project successful acquisition of management new products and use “best practice” approaches to development, implementation, and program management. Implement cyber- Describe the need for security and information security to be privacy protection built into each hardware and software installation that is part of the modernization of LW technology. AssociationVoice Describe some of the capabilities of the AssociationVoice software suite as a potential solution for a variety of requirements. Emergency Describe the limitations of communications the older emergency communications software and recent activities to replace it.

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Time Frame Short term and ongoing

Page No. 23

Short term

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Short and medium term

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Ongoing

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Ongoing

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Short term

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Short term

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Projects TABLE 4-2. PROJECTS No. 5

6

7

8

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Project Improve Comcast service

Description Conduct routine service assessments and meetings with Comcast management. Prepare for the Investigate alternatives and recompetition of negotiating strategies for the Comcast the next bulk contract. contract Update Trust documents, where needed, to allow more effective negotiations. Ensure that multiple carriers, such as Verizon or Google fiber, can compete in any new LW-wide contracts. Evaluate the use Examine new FAA of drones in requirements for drone use property in LW. Determine which management property management activities would be improved through drone use. Evaluate Monitor the rapid technologies, such developments in driverless as driverless cars, cars in conjunction with the to provide Security and Transportation transportation Advisory Committee as an alternatives expansion of resident options for transportation. Monitor the use Work with the Energy and of alternative Safety Advisory Committee energy sources to support charging stations and billing methods for electric vehicles. Research use of solar panels and other energy technologies to reduce residents’ costs and promote carbon-saving efficiencies.

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Time Frame Short term

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Long term

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Medium to long term

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Long term

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Medium and long term

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Projects TABLE 4-2. PROJECTS No. 10

Project Provide education and outreach to stakeholders

Description Educate a wide-range of stakeholders—from novices to sophisticates—on the use of their technology and the rationale behind the projects in the Strategic Technology Plan.

Time Frame Ongoing

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Project 1: Improve Cellular Service Goal: Provide adequate cell signals from all carriers throughout LW to support key new technologies. Summary: Examine the current level of cellular services and increase the capability to support basic cellular communications and personal safety devices, such as smart fire detectors or emergency pendants. The Technology Committee cited improved cell phone service as a priority in its September 2015 Technology Needs and Opportunities report to the LW BoD to ensure reliable performance of newly emerging emergency pendants and smart smoke detectors. Further research since that meeting has demonstrated the importance of cellular improvements as more and more assistive devices rely on the technology for communication. The Ericsson Corporation, an electronics and smart phone manufacturer, published a Mobility Report in November 2015. The study cites statistics that help explain why we view cellular improvements as the most important of our recommended projects:   

About 70 percent of 911 calls are now made from wireless phones. Mobile traffic is growing at a rate 45 percent per year for smartphones, tablets, and mobile PC. Some 40 percent of households have wireless service only (no copper wire or Internet phone).

In addition to the personal convenience of cell phones and the use of smart phone apps, LW needs improved cellular service because it is recognized as the most dependable communication for emergency situations such as regional power outages or fire. This results in part from the geographic separation of the tower from the users and the generator backup power for the towers. In local emergencies, electric power, cable, and telephone can all be cut off. Wi-Fi is much more dependent on local power availability. Cellular is used for the following:

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Projects 



 

Emergency response, such as alerting fire and rescue, backing up a local fire alarm connection to fire department, contacting local emergency medical services, and supporting smart smoke detectors. (UL-approved systems require cellular connectivity.) Personal emergency communications, such as personal safety and medical alert devices, pendants and fall detectors when used outside the home, and calling for medical or other assistance when not at home. Assistive devices, the majority of which depend on cellular communication at least when away from one’s home. Convenience of residents. Even many 80-year-olds now have cell phones and certainly most younger people do.

New residents have had cellular service as part of their everyday life for around 20 years and expect LW to be a complete broadband-activated facility with state-of-the-art connectivity services including cellular and Wi-Fi in the common areas. In the future, they will expect support for the “Internet of things” and all their gadgets and cars. Several approaches are available for improving resident’s cellular service: 1. Persuade the carriers to improve its service to LW. 2. Install a macro cellular antenna on a selected high rise. 3. Place low-power distributed antennas (DAS) on LW Blvd. and selected other streets. 4. Leave it to residents to solve the problem themselves by switching to a provider who fits their service needs and location or installing a micro-tower inside their residence. A front page article in the December 18, 2015 LWN described several approaches for improving cell service. This approach, however, does nothing to provide residents with service outside their homes. A few years ago, some of the cellular carriers were willing to pay high-rise mutuals to put a macro antenna on their roofs to increase the service quality for LW. While carriers are no longer actively looking for buildings to locate the antennas nor paying for the privilege of doing so, they may be susceptible to the political pressure that our senior community can bring to bear. AT&T is of particular interest because its technology supports many of the assistive devices that are becoming important to our residents, as well as the communications from smart smoke detectors. In early 2016, the Committee began informal discussions with Crown Castle, one of the nation’s largest providers of shared wireless infrastructure, to determine the options that are available to improve cellular service. The company did a free mapping of LW to determine where coverage was deficient for each of the four major cellular carriers. Crown Castle provided the map to LWMC in late February.

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Projects In addition, because of questions that we raised about the capabilities of the emergency pendants, AT&T has begun its own determination of areas where coverage is poor. We hope that the Crown Castle and AT&T efforts may lead to needed improvements in service.

Project 2: Improve Wireless Service and Broadband Connectivity Goal: Improve the support for wireless devices in residences and the LW campus. Summary: Provide support for wireless devices in Trust properties such as Clubhouse I and II, and provide better wireless support throughout the grounds. Wi-Fi coverage in LW is similar to cellular service – its quality depends on where you are and the devices you are using. LW needs to make sure that Wi-Fi is available conveniently to all of its residents and to the mutuals at a reasonable cost. As with the planned LW Facility Enhancement Plan, the project for improving and rebuilding some of the Trust properties, providing Internet to LW residents is solving a current situation as well as looking toward the future. Better Wi-Fi access will, of course, benefit our current residents, but a major factor is also to provide for our future residents. Other senior communities will provide this capability, in some manner. Without LW doing the same, resale values will become depressed and the general viability of our community will ultimately degrade. An alternative to cellular in the home is now available with some cell phones that seamlessly switch voice calls between cellular and Wi-Fi. Carriers and phone manufacturers are increasingly incorporating this capability into their products, and most cell phones will likely have this capability within a few years. While not replacing solid cell reception throughout LW, this functionality could reduce resident cell phone operating costs and provide backup cell service when cell phone service is poor or not available. Hartman is testing the use of low-cost wireless equipment between buildings to connect these locations back to the fiber ring. Although these are capable of supporting the LWMC staff, they are probably not capable of meeting residents’ needs. The ongoing Hartman plan does provide for implementing robust open Wi-Fi in the common areas of LW such as Clubhouse I, Clubhouse II, the outdoor pool area, and the golf club. Though some limited Wi-Fi is available now, the performance is very spotty in these areas. The mutuals are responsible for local wireless in common rooms and public spaces. In our interviews, most of the boards did not see any great need for this due to the initial costs and need to maintain the equipment and service. This may change as the demographics evolve, but it will remain the responsibility of the mutuals to be responsive to their residents. One member of our committee found that Wi-Fi access was available in their party room, where you could now access the Comcast Xfinity Strategic Technology Plan

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Projects network (if you have an account). The newer Comcast routers installed inside the condo units serve as a “hotspot” for the XFINITY network. Unless the owner takes steps to disable that feature (which they should do to protect their computer from intruders), it is available to others within range of the signal.

Project 3: Improve Residential Broadband Connectivity Goal: Meet the increasing demands of residents that use the Internet for entertainment and the devices that make use of Internet communications. Summary: Provide residents with a range of Internet capacity from inexpensive, slow phone-connected services to the emerging functionality of Gigabyte broadband. Use broadband to improve cell reception from all carriers and make effective use of the fiber ring to improve overall communications. The Technology Committee applauds the installation of the fiber and the current plans to make effective use of it. In the long term, the fiber will be the base of what is commonly referred to as a Municipal Fiber Network. These are now being used to extend services across a community, while reducing costs and tailoring the offerings to the needs of the residents. Such fiber networks carry the large amounts of high-speed data, called backhaul, which is required to feed cellular antennas or feed the fiber or cable system in the high rises. The network will be a key factor in increasing competition of broadband or other communication services in the next 10 to 20 years. The fiber ring may also be an integral component in the solution to our wireless and cellular problems. It would be used to provide the backhaul for DAS or a high-rise macro antenna solution. Trust employees working in the mutuals require a connection to the LW administrative network, telephony, and business systems. The current fiber backbone connects only to Trust properties but not to the Trust offices that are located on mutual property. The preferred way to enable this connection is to extend the existing fiber to those offices. If this cannot be done in a timely manner, an alternative plan is to enable this connection vie a wireless RF system. Either method would give the Mutual managers Internet connectivity and access to the LW administrative applications and databases. The RF connection has bandwidth limitations that restrict it to just serving the Trust offices. A DAS for cellular would require extending the fiber closer to the high-rise buildings such that the incremental extension to Trust offices would be practical. Such extensions would likely preclude the need for the temporary RF system. The fiber ring build-out is proceeding under the Hartman initiatives, which will evaluate the cost of different connection options. A fuller engineering study of expansion to the mutuals, which examines the broader set of LW requirements, will provide additional cost data for the BoD to consider. Strategic Technology Plan

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Projects

Project 4: Implement IT Projects Goal: Modernize the LWMC hardware, software, and applications to improve productivity and service to the residents. Modernize IT governance to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of acquisition and implementation. Summary: Undertake a number of short- and medium-term efforts addressing hardware and software functionality, business functions and applications, IT governance and project management, cybersecurity and privacy protection, and two specific software projects, one related to the AssociationVoice and the other to emergency communications.

Project 4A: Hardware and Software Functionality Goal: Upgrade and replace obsolete and inadequate hardware and software components. Summary: Install a wide variety of infrastructure and software improvements, primarily under the direction of Hartman. LW is currently on a path to improve both its software and its hardware base and the way systems are being operated. Areas of improvement range from the desktop software that increases functionality to access for all authorized users to a common set of accurate information. The Hartman projects are addressing many of the hardware and software needs of the Trust, which will have indirect benefits to the mutuals. Major initiatives for the next 2 years include the following:     

Install Microsoft Office 365 software products. Replace the obsolete phone system. Refresh servers to consolidate infrastructure and reduce costs. Implement new help desk service management software and procedures. Develop a backup and recovery process.

A three-person staff provides most of the IT support, including installation and maintenance of hardware and software. Acquisition and contracting is done by the IT staff and by Trust management. Because of the small IT staff, the accounting and finance software that was installed in the last two years has used the “software as a service” (SAAS) model for support, in which the company that makes a software product remotely operates and maintains it. The Technology Committee is a strong proponent of this approach for both current and new software: it is simply too complicated for a small staff—no matter how talented—to understand, fix and upgrade the complex software that is in use for business and many other purposes. Indeed, one reason for using Office 365 is that upgrades and backups are automatically implemented on all computers, making it unnecessary for the IT staff to have to upgrade each individual machine, as was done in the past. Strategic Technology Plan

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Project 4B: Business Functions and Applications Goal: Modernize business functions and processes, and the applications that support them. Summary: Install or upgrade business systems and applications, such as finance and accounting, websites, and property management software. LW Administration operates systems for finance and accounting, human resources, property management, security, and similar cross-community functions. The mutuals vary widely in how much IT support they have (or want to have). Almost all use email to some degree for communications within their boards, but with a limited amount to residents. The residents’ use of email and web communications also varies widely from buildings with younger populations that are heavy users, to those with aging populations with lower use. Many residents would like have email notifications of events such as routine property maintenance, which reduces paper costs and delivery time. Residents should be able to give specific permission, renewed annually, on the types and forms of communication they would like to receive. In addition to the Trust applications, the following IT services are important to the residents and the mutuals:    

Resident Universal Database, which includes data on residents and units, including emergency contact numbers Website portals, accessible, as appropriate, to residents, board/committee members, and managers Work-order system that supports both physical properties and the larger mutuals Robo Call System, which few find adequate as an emergency communications system.

The LW Security and Transportation Committee is planning to streamline visitor access procedures; the recently installed fiber optic backbone, when connected to all the guard gates, will make streamlining much easier. Newer residents have been baffled that they cannot use email to inform the gates of scheduled visitors. The use of a common set of standard MS Office applications, along with the improvements in connectivity that are coming, will enable documentation and standardization of business processes, that will reduce errors, promote efficiency, and reduce costs. At a recent meeting of mutual board members, we observed a significant problem that faces the boards and Trust employees. With the turnover in members due to elections, sickness, and moves, the new board members have difficulty keeping track of all of the nuances and details of all of the different types of problems that they need to deal with. Attendees at the meeting discussed how insurance claims need to be Strategic Technology Plan

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Projects processed, approved, and paid by a combination of Trust and mutual officers and money collected from residents. Because of the reliance on paper documents and wordof-mouth explanations of how the processes worked, consistent processes were not being followed. This could potentially cost a mutual money if a timely recovery of funds was not made. An electronic document repository with current, accurate, step-by-step instructions, accessible to the mutual board members in common with their respective Trust support staff, would certainly be a benefit to all.

Project 4C: IT Governance and Project Management Goal: Modernize the way that IT hardware and software are acquired, developed, and maintained. Summary: Establish the steps for successful acquisition of new products, and develop the “best practice” approach to development, implementation, and program management. Information technology is an increasing cost to LW as the expectation of the residents and the needs of the Trust increase. The acquisition of new IT software and hardware and the way that the software is managed determine whether the funds that are being spent are reasonable, effective, and successful. Acquisition consists of several steps that are well-defined in standards and processes supported by international standards bodies such as International Standards Organization (ISO), American National Standards Institute (ANSI), and the Institute of Electronic and Electrical Engineers (IEEE). Numerous books and articles provide simpleto-follow acquisition steps, and describe best practices and lessons learned by others. At a high level, LWMC is the provider of the overall services for the community, and should follow defined acquisition processes. The steps include the following:      

Define the needs of the customers. Assign priorities for the various needs. Translate the needs into specific requirements against which engineering and supply contractors can bid. Research sources and contractors capable of providing the services and equipment required. Develop requests for proposals (RFPs) for competitive bidding by those suppliers. Award and fund the contracts.

The acquisition process becomes quite complicated when one is trying to fit many different products together, as any large community must. The process must be managed by skilled personnel to accurately define and articulate the needs of the customer in a way that vendors can respond to.

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Projects Once an acquisition is complete, the steps of implementation, maintenance, and project management become important:         

Monitor, schedule, and coordinate the contractors as they execute. Test, inspect, and approve contractor’s progress and issue payments. Develop operating procedures and policies. Train operations personnel. Audit and monitor operations. Develop maintenance procedures and policies, such as control of changes to software and hardware. Manage, schedule, and approve changes to software and hardware. Manage or contract for maintenance personnel and services as required. At end of life, decommission and roll over to replacement systems and services.

As software and hardware systems get more and more complex, most big problems occur during the operational phase, but these can be minimized if the system can be implemented and maintained as described. LW will need to rely on advice from the Technology Committee on overall strategies for planning and integrating LW systems, as well as on companies such as Hartman that can detail the requirements, conduct competitive acquisitions, and manage their implementation.

Project 4D: Cybersecurity and Privacy Protection Goal: Ensure the proper protection of the information stored in LW systems and shared in the various communications channels. Summary: Build information security into each hardware and software installation that is part of the modernization of LW technology. One reads almost daily reports of the use of technology to steal medical information or the misappropriation or outright theft of money. Security cannot be retroactively put into a weak application; the investment and management of security has to begin at the start of a project. The upgrade of all of the hardware and software that is now taking place, as well as implementation of new projects, could make LW vulnerable. Fortunately, at this time, the Hartman staff is well-versed in security protocols and procedures. Hartman is encrypting all the communications equipment that is being installed and ensuring that applications, such as the Resident Database, will have proper privacy controls. In the future, when these projects are completed, LWMC will need to put in place a process to ensure that security continues to be monitored and improved to cope with new threats.

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Projects

Project 4E: AssociationVoice℠ Goal: Provide robust software to address a wide variety of stakeholder needs. Summary: Describe some of the capabilities of the AssociationVoice software suite as a potential solution for a variety of requirements. At the request of one of the mutuals, members of the Committee participated in a search for software that could perform a variety of property management and resident information services. We identified one of the many software suites that perform those types of functions, AssociationVoice, as one that could address many of the outstanding needs that we have cited. We do not know enough about the AssociationVoice software offerings to say that this is the best solution, and LW has not developed a robust list of the requirements that the software needs to meet, but the Trust has already made some investment in this package and it does have promise. Of particular importance is that it integrates information with the Jenark Property Management Software, which LW uses as its accounting system. The software can support, among many other features,    

resident and management websites, with appropriate security controls; residents’ maintenance requests, resolution, and tracking; use of smart phone apps to receive and update information in the field; and tracking of work orders and inventories.

Some of these services are available in other software, such as the Field One software being used by Physical Properties. However, the Field One software has been difficult to use and cannot exchange data with the accounting systems. Lastly, we do not yet know whether AssociationVoice provides an industry standard accessible user interface.

Project 4F: Emergency Communications Goal: Provide an effective, efficient method to communicate to residents in a time of emergency. Summary: Describe the limitations of the older emergency communications software and recent activities to replace it. Although emergency communications could be considered “just another application,” we believe it merits a separate discussion of the software and services that the BoD and the Emergency Advisory Committee should consider. It is one of our highest priorities for improvement as it will give the community tangible results “fast” to show that technology can improve the lives of everyone in LW now.

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Projects Montgomery County’s Alert Montgomery system is the official communications service to alert residents during a major crisis, emergency, or severe weather event. Residents can tailor the types of alerts they receive and the way they receive them: text message, email, cell or landline phone calls, or TTY devices for the hearing impaired. The county’s system can tailor alerts to specific regions based on cell towers. So, if there is an emergency that is really local to, for example, LW, the alerts go out only to phones that are signed up and in the cell towers serving LW. Similarly, county residents can sign up for weather alerts from the National Weather Service. In contrast, the power outage in LW in September 2015, when a PEPCO substation had a problem, illustrated the issues with the current LW emergency communication approach. The residents had NO communication from the Trust or their mutuals as to why we were still without power. Some residents went out and talked to the PEPCO workers to get information. Calls to the security gates were met by continuing busy signals (a potentially life-threatening problem for those with Life Alert pendants). Subscription services are available that provide templates and standard messages or messages that are created for specific events. When an authorized person wants to alert the community, he or she submits a web-based form, and the message is sent out within 1 minute to everyone signed up. Messages can be sent to specific groups: everyone at LW, staff members, people in building X, people whose name is Jim, etc. The sender picks the groups and the messages go there. They are delivered to phones (text to speech), text, email, etc. And any user can have many accounts to which the message is sent. Thus, you could have messages come to your land line, your cell phone, your spouse’s cell phone, or even a relative or a caregiver. The Committee has discussed the issue of emergency communications at its meetings and is now working with LWMC and the Health and Safety Advisory Committee to help identify the best software to support LW needs. Much progress has been made since last fall, with excellent feedback from the residents about communications during the January blizzard.

Project 5: Improve Comcast Services Goal: Provide the residents with a better experience for their entertainment needs and respond more promptly when service is interrupted to the community or individual residents. Summary: Provide regular contact with senior Comcast management who can help resolve complex, long-standing issues that the 800 service numbers and Comcast service personnel are unable to resolve. We have identified two projects that relate to Comcast delivery: the short-term need to improve those services for the residents, and the longer-term need to create a more competitive broadband environment when the current Comcast contract is up for Strategic Technology Plan

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Projects renewal. The latter is addressed as a separate project since the contract does not expire for 5 years. Comcast is a connectivity tool, similar to cellular or wireless, through its high-speed connections to all residents of LW, but the principle function that it serves is one of content delivery. That is, it provides the residents with entertainment and telephony, and is the primary source of access to the Internet. Because of the importance of providing information to the residents in a variety of forms, LW websites, which we see as a key mechanism for accomplishing this, will rely on Comcast in the next several years. Verizon’s DSL service is also available for connecting to the Internet, but does not meet broadband speed specifications. In our interviews, we have routinely asked residents about their view of the Comcast contract. A number have expressed the view that the contract should be terminated and the cable service moved to another vendor. This is neither practical nor contractually valid and, to some degree, represents a view that the grass is always greener and a new contract would be better and cheaper than the current one. When pressed for details, many of the complaints date back to the early period of installation, and it appears that Comcast has improved its service in the past 2 years. Some long-term problems do exist: one member of the Committee contacted the president of Comcast before he was able to get a senior technician to address his problem. Others may still be using obsolete equipment from Comcast: many people are not aware—and Comcast does not advertise—that more powerful modems are put into service every year to 18 months. If they had their equipment updated they may find their service is better. LW’s sister community in Walnut Creek, CA, has a similar contract arrangement with Comcast. But there, a representative of Comcast has regular meetings with Walnut Creek management to make sure that things are running smoothly and that problems are being addressed. A similar arrangement here would provide an additional channel for resolution through LW management that would go beyond the repeated calls to the Comcast 800 number that can be infuriating. A senior manager for Comcast’s Xfinity Communities Programs, Sean McGrath, attended the March 2016 Technology Committee meeting. He discussed the deployment of their higher speed Advanced Community Network. More important for LW service delivery, he discussed a new Community Account Representative program that is being rolled out now that is similar to the one in Walnut Creek. This should give LW regular access to Comcast management.

Project 6: Prepare for Comcast Recompetition Goal: Update Trust documents to allow full competition for high-speed services.

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Projects Summary: Ensure that Trust documents allow LWMC to negotiate for the broad range of services typically included in contracts for high-speed services. Ensure that the changing technology capabilities for resident services are well understood in negotiating a new contract. A variety of technology factors are changing the high-speed landscape that will face LW when the current Comcast contract expires. The installation of the fiber ring will enable LW to introduce change into the cable contract when it expires in 2020. The landscape of broadband is already in a state of flux, with a decline in the number of TV subscribers at all of the major cable providers. People are “cutting the cord” as they find cable TV too expensive compared to the perceived value. Many are moving to broadband streaming of entertainment through the Internet or their smart phones. In addition to the fiber ring, a Federal Appeals Court ruling that upheld a Federal Communication Commission (FCC) rule may have an even greater effect on the Comcast service. The rule that was upheld says that a contract that provides exclusive use to a single cable provider is not enforceable. The FCC had stated that another provider must be given access to wiring to promote competition for the residents. In another change, the FCC issued a proposal in January 2016 allowing cable and satellite subscribers to pick the devices they use to watch programming. Nearly all customers now must get their boxes from their cable companies, and they pay an average of $231 a year to lease the devices. We believe that any new contract will be considerably different from the current one because of the changes that are now taking place. Below are a few considerations for the new contract: 





Include mandatory technology change clauses to ensure that new offerings from the service provider (which may no longer be Comcast) are made available within a reasonable period of time to our residents. Long-term technology contracts that appear very reasonable at the start may tie one into obsolescence long before the customer is able to change and upgrade. The current LW use of Centrex telephone technology in the Trust facilities is a good example: at the start of the contract, the system was state-of-the-art and cost effective; now, it is very expensive for what it offers, and limits the use of application systems for Trust employees. One user told us that he had to shut down all of his Internet applications before he could sign into the main Trust applications. Expand the options to include items at all ranges of Comcast service. Senior rates are available for as low as $9.99 per month outside of LW, and broadband at all speeds should be offered. Take advantage of the FCC ruling to broaden access to the cable plant and the community fiber.

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Projects From our interviews, we understand that LWMC and the BoD negotiated the last Comcast contract, using their authority under the Master Antenna clause of the Trust documents. Some interviewees thought that this limited the range of the negotiation, particularly in the area of broadband services. Regardless of whether this is entirely accurate, the BoD should initiate a review, at least 3 years prior to contract expiration, to ensure that any changes can be discussed and a path forward set in motion. Current regulations prevent exclusive contracts, so there is a real possibility that residents may have the option of FIOS, Comcast, or maybe even a wireless connection for their broadband.

Project 7: Evaluate the Use of Drones for Property Management Goal: Provide for the legal use of drones for property management services. Summary: Examine new FAA requirements for drone use in LW. Determine which property management activities would be improved through drone use. Montgomery Mutual (MM) and LWMC have found that drone technology is very effective in helping to manage their buildings. MM has used a drone to make a highresolution examination of roof-tops for their 93 buildings. LWMC can make use of drones to assess clearance of snow, stream erosion, and landscape conditions. Drones are very inexpensive, particularly when you consider the amount of ground that they can cover in a very short time, and the reduction in labor costs when contrasted with staff members needing to move and climb ladders to examine roofs. The FAA is in the process of a new registration procedure for drones, as well as new regulations on where and how they can be used. This project will monitor the FAA regulations and assess whether LW will be able to take advantage of the capabilities that drones have.

Project 8: Evaluate Technologies for Transportation Alternatives Goal: Implement the use of technologies, such as driverless cars, when their use becomes feasible within LW. Summary: Monitor the development, implementation, and use of transportation alternatives that can address the needs of residents more effectively than current methods of transportation. Beyond the projects already discussed, we have examined and will continue to evaluate some longer term items, such as driverless cars and electric vehicles. As each of these is being addressed by other advisory committees, we will work closely with them in proposing resolutions to the BoD. The progress in driverless cars, just within the past year, has been astounding. All the major automobile manufacturers and many of the major technology companies are Strategic Technology Plan

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Projects making large investments in them. New automobiles are having software downloaded into their computers to provide increased safety and traffic monitoring features. Federal and state governments are wrestling with the issues such as registration and use, insurance and liability, and the design and enforcement of traffic laws for autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicles. Although these technologies are not yet ready for implementation here, they will become available in the next several years, and could be a welcome addition to our transportation infrastructure. Many of the new technologies fall primarily within the scope of other LW advisory committees. We will work with these committees to help them find effective technologies that support their work.

Project 9: Monitor the Use of Alternative Energy Sources Goal: Identify and recommend technologies that improve our energy footprint, provide support to efficient vehicles, and adopt lower-cost, lower-impact approaches to meet resident needs. Summary: Monitor the use of new technologies and make sure that LW is able to support the rising use of energy-efficient transportation and buildings. As the cost and efficiency of different energy sources continues to change, LW needs to ensure that residents or mutuals who want to take advantage of these are able to do so. One Technology Committee member who has an electric car spent considerable time in discussing with the mutual whether and how he would be allowed to plug it in, and how much to charge (and how to pay) for its use. As the availability of electric cars grows, the community needs to prepare itself to manage and govern the new capabilities.

Project 10: Educate Stakeholders Goal: Ensure that LW residents and administration can use their technology effectively. Summary: Educate a wide-range of stakeholders—from novices to sophisticates—on the use of their technology and the rationale behind the projects in the Strategic Technology Plan. The Committee has found a wide range of capabilities and knowledge among the residents and management in LW. Many residents, particularly newcomers, are sophisticated technology users and have extensive technology experience. Younger residents, as we have noted, have a different knowledge base and different expectations, but many of the existing residents are equally sophisticated. We can increase technological knowledge and capabilities throughout LW by providing articles, technology fairs or expos, and a technology resource center. We have written many informative articles for the Leisure World News (LWN), ranging from explanations of cellular services to how drones are being used to help manage Strategic Technology Plan

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Projects property. We have met with the BoD and mutual boards and have conducted interviews throughout LW. In the future, we will do the following:     

Place articles in LWN, since it is read by almost everyone in the community. Make use of new resident portals, which will be an increasingly important information source for residents as broadband continues to grow. Explore technical topics with advisory committees, BoD, mutuals, and other interested groups. Push “smart” initiatives like the smoke detectors. Continue to help the LW advisory committees and the mutual boards recognize how technology can help them with their initiatives.

We are positioning ourselves to communicate more via website and other electronic means, because younger people who move in to LW will expect to have real-time information available on the Internet. Over time, the balance of the information sharing can shift from the LWN to the LW website. We are also considering cosponsoring a periodic Tech Fair, similar to the health fairs and the LW club expos. We will probably start with a single subject, such as how to use a smart phone. Below are examples of possible exhibits/expos/seminars:    



Use of smart phone Personal Assistants, both Android and iPhone, and healthrelated applications. Use of personal assistants such as the Amazon Echo, Google OnHub, and Apple TV (Version IV) to include demonstrations and sales. Use of big-screen TV for family videoconferencing, streaming of programs, and holding virtual medical consultations. Demonstrations of simple, affordable Chrome computers for browsing and email. Their sale often includes delivery, connection to broadband, and a 30minute demonstration. Advances in the “Internet of Things,” such as the capability to monitor thermostats and assistive devices.

Other suggestions have included establishing a Technical Resource Center, possibly in conjunction with another group, such as the MAC Club.

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Chapter 5 Recommendations and Critical Success Factors The Technology Committee has covered a wide variety of topics in selecting the projects that we believe LW needs to implement. We summarize below some of the most important of the recommendations from the projects. More important, we identify the key factors that are critical to successfully carrying out our recommendations. If the BoD and LWMC management cannot adopt and implement the critical success factors, the individual projects will accomplish little. The last of the recommendations offers our thoughts on the continuing need for the Technology Committee to assist the BoD and the broader LW community.

Recommendations The Technology Committee’s primary recommendations are as follows: 







Cellular improvements o Fund an engineering study to get an accurate picture of the cellular coverage within LW and to serve as the basis for an engineering design for short and long-term improvements.  This may be overtaken by the Crown Castle effort, but will be needed if that does not make satisfactory progress. o Continue the work recently started with AT&T to improve the service for safety pendants. o Continue to educate management and residents on options to improve individual cellular service to meet special circumstances and to support the installation of smart smoke detectors and other assistive devices. Wireless improvements o Continue the Hartman wireless projects in the trust buildings and assess whether they can be expanded to provide broader coverage. Comcast service improvements o On basis of the size and exclusive nature of the Comcast contract, request that Comcast appoint a Community Account Representative to work with LWMC to address outstanding resident concerns and service difficulties. One resident has become so frustrated with the lack of reliable telephone service in her condominium, her lawyer is threatening a lawsuit against the builder and Comcast over their failure to address her problems. Broadband recompetition o Continue to monitor the service offerings coming into the marketplace, and the potential for alternative approaches to providing TV and Internet service to the residents.

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Recommendations







o Identify and rectify any legal provisions that could alter the capability to award the most effective contract. Hardware/software IT functionality and integration o Continue the work laid out in the Hartman plan to modernize the key LW applications and make them work effectively together. o Place particular emphasis on upgrades to the systems and databases that have direct effect on the residents. These include visitor management and security and a universal resident database that can be an accurate source of resident information and securely accessible to those who need it. o Provide resident portals and websites along with other capabilities similar to the AssociationVoice software package, after validating its ability to meet residents’ and mutuals’ requirements. The portals and web sites should provide Level AA conformance to the then-current Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, as standardized by ISO and by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). To ensure that interactive LW web portals are made accessible, they should utilize the technical documents that are developed by the Accessible Rich Internet Applications Working Group, which is part of the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative. IT governance changes o Implement the day-to-day project management processes being put in place under the Hartman contract. In the long term, as IT increases its portion of the LW budget, an experienced senior technical person, essentially a Chief Technology Officer, may be needed to direct staff members and act as the technology director for LW. Future of Technology Committee o Continue to use the Technology Committee to serve as an informal advisor to the Board on technology matters and technology contracts and to work to support the other advisory committees. The Committee should continue to be composed of experts from a variety of technical areas. o Continue to monitor the rapid developments in areas such as assistive devices and connectivity, and keep LW management and residents aware of new capabilities and options. o Monitor the performance of the Hartman projects and the build-out of cellular and wifi improvements.

Critical Success Factors Below are the key factors critical to LW’s successful implementation of technology projects: 

Base IT planning and decisions on the overall value to the residents and management of Leisure World and use customer focus in decision-making.

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Recommendations      

Establish interaction and joint projects among advisory committees and the Technology Committee. Institute human resource practices that encourage and embrace change in the workplace that successfully incorporates the most modern technology. Define and monitor service levels to measure the performance of LWMC in delivering services to residents. Ensure staff involvement and buy-in through communication and adequate training. Ensure that any investment or infrastructure installed for LW be compatible or upgradable to the latest generation technology. Discontinue the pattern of LW being behind in technology relative to that available in surroundings areas and among its competitors in the adultresidential marketplace.

Budget Although we originally planned to present an overall budget and implementation plan for the projects we have identified, the changes in the technology environment are too rapid for that type of planning. In the short time, that we have been working, almost all of the projects have been started, and several are well underway. Given the environment, we believe that each new project will need to have more detailed project plans as they are started, and the budgets can be detailed as the projects move from concept to actuality.

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Appendix 1 Ad Hoc Technology Committee Roster. Members Dr. James T. Leong, Chair Tim Carrico Harold Crisp Robert Dargel Stanley C. Jones George Moy Dr. Arthur Popper James Robertson Joyce Smythe Jaina Sajka

Associate Members Les Lichter Lee Jones Ed Nicosia Jim Owen George Tressel

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