CLIENT SERVICE,
IT(IL) BEST PRACTICES &
REQUEST TRACKER
ON A
FEDERATED IT CAMPUS
C L I C K
http://ist.uwaterloo.ca
Peggy Day, Manager Service
Desks
pday@uwaterloo.ca
Lisa Tomalty, Manager Customer
Relations and Support
ltomalty@uwaterloo.ca
AGENDA
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Overview
IT Best Practices (ITBP) Project
Goals
Customer service connection
Progress
Other connections...
Request Tracker 4 (RT4) Implementation Project
Goals
Customer service connection
Progress
Other connections
Service Desk Initiatives group
Mission
How?
Progress
Impact
Summary/Questions/Contact info ….
OVERVIEW
• Federated approach to IT service and support
• Campus IT projects/initiatives:
IT Best Practices (ITBP) Project
Request Tracker 4 (RT4) Implementation Project
Service Desk Initiatives group
• Endeavour to bring campus IT units together
to share in discussions and planning
IT BEST PRACTICES
(ITBP) PROJECT
Campus wide IT project
ITBP GOALS
• The ITBP project endeavors to
Examine three key IT processes*
Define new best practices using ITIL as a resource
Goal: improve value of the related IT services
Share recommendations with management, campus
IT committees and dependent projects
• Increased capability and productivity of IT staff
• Improved systems/applications availability
• Improved campus IT
collaboration/communication
• Clearer roles and responsibilities/terminology
*Change Mgmt, Service Ops, Knowledge Mgmt
WHAT IS ITIL?
( I N F O R M AT I O N T E C H N O L O G Y
I N F R A S T R U C T U R E L I B R A RY )
• ITIL can be a resource for effective IT
Service
Non-prescriptive (can use parts)–”ITIL-lite”
Framework of “suggestions” for managing IT
services
Provides approaches/models/etc.
• E.g. Continual Service Improvement (CSI)
Validated across many other organizations
• Customer focused
Focus on providing the value to customers
C USTOMER SERVIC E C ON N ECTION
• Service Operations
Messaging to users from RT4
Improve efficiency, turnaround time, transparency
Ensuring user requests are owned; reminders
Prioritization
• Knowlege Management
Knowledge Base
• Share info/solutions between IT units improves quality of service
• Improve efficiency when solving user requests
• Allow users to search public knowledge base
Examine and make recommendations around ways
information is stored and accessed
• Change Management
Ensure systems are available AMAP
Ensure good communications with customers/users/other IT
staff when changes occur
PROGRESS
• Initial processes have been chosen
Change Management (CM)
Service Operations (SO) (generally at first)
Knowledge Management with focus on Knowledge Base
(KB)
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Planning/timelines are complete
Discussions on the three processes in progress
Initial recomendations for KB complete
Initial recommendations for SO complete pending
team approval
• CM is developing recommendations
And using current CM initiative as case study
OTHER CONNECTIONS
• Part of an emerging service quality program of
projects:
ITBP
RT4 Implementation ( dependent on ITBP)
SLA
Asset Management
Service Catalogue (TBA)
Others (TBA)
• Recommendations from ITBP will
Be passed to RT4 project (KB, SO, some CM (e.g.
Service Updates))
Influence emerging IT Service Quality Program
REQUEST TRACKER 4
(RT4) IMPLEMENTATION
PROJECT
Campus wide IT project
GOALS
• Enable IT units to share/collaborate on IT incidents,
requests, problems
• Leverage new functionality of RT4
• Move request forms to RT4, ensure usability/accessibility
• Provide training, documentation and communication
• Expand use of system to other IT units on campus
• Implement recommendations from ITBP and previous RT
Investigation Project
• Shared knowledge base
ADDITIONAL GOALS
• Shared administration and development
• Ability to integrate with asset management and
other systems
• Future integration with Service Catalogue
C U S TO M E R S E RV I C E C O N N E C T I O N
• Improved IT service support through
User request interface
Efficiency
• Training “issue solvers”
• Workflow/linked tickets
• Knowledge base
• Prioritization/escalation
• Future integrate with asset management and
other systems
Collaboration between and within IT groups
• Eventually self serve knowledge base
PROGRESS
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Development and production systems
Testing
Training/Documentation
Knowledge base (“Articles”)
New user request forms
Recurring tickets
Tools investigation for synchronizing
accounts/groups with AD/LDAP
• Reporting/metrics investigation/planning (using
Cognos reporting tools)
• Shared queue administration
• Customizable email templates
PHASE 2
• New Features (e.g. workflows, escalation)
• Migrations
• Make operations and upgrade
recommendations
• Searching: improve UI and/or “canned”
searches
• Metrics
• RT Administrator’s group
• Ongoing training/documentation
OTHER CONNECTIONS
• Dependencies
ITBP (criteria)
Cognos 10 Reporting tool (metrics)
• Future integration with
Service Catalogue
Asset Management
SLA project (SLA plug in)
SERVICE DESK…
• clip…
https://uwaterloo.ca/information-systems-technology/services/computing-helpinformation-place-chip
MEMBERSHIP
• This group has representation from all
faculties and most IT units on campus
• Grew out of an already existing campus wide
group of IT user support professionals
Service Desk Initiatives Group
• IT Service Desk collaboration
• To allow members to focus on improvements
and new initiatives
Service improvement
Shared documentation and training
Advertising/marketing
Communication (e.g. new web site)
Tools and solutions
HOW DO WE DO THIS?
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Regular meetings ( one per term)
Presentations from specialized service areas
Tracking emerging initiatives
Co-op training
All faculties and departments are invited
2 days in length
Covering everything that a new co-op would need
to know
Includes customer service training
Social events that everyone is invited too
IMPACT
• Positive impact on IT services and
support across campus.
Collaboration
• Improved interaction between faculties and IST, as well as
after hours service desks (library and residence)
Customer experience
• Positive feedback from clients regarding referrals done by the
service desks on their behalf
Service quality
• Services across the campus have improved through good
interaction between units
FEEDBACK
• Good buy in from all facilities
• Co-op training is very well received
“What I saw was a well put together series of
appropriate material for our two co-op students (and
me!). Please pass on my compliments to all involved
in setting this up and count me in for upcoming
terms. C Holmes CECA”
SUMMARY
• Federated IT initiatives take more time but…
Collaboration
Sharing
Raising awareness
Inclusive
• Keep in mind collective end goals
Service quality
IT value
Customer experience
QUESTIONS?
Thank you! 
• Lisa Tomalty
ltomalty@uwaterloo.ca
• Peggy Day
pday@uwaterloo.ca