Teaching old dogs new tricks

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Teaching old dogs new tricks
Making IT work for the University?
Im trying to
The evolution of the OUCS Help Centre Lou
Burnard, OUCS
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Organizational change the pattern

• Computing laboratory
• Research facility for some specific academic
  departments
• Computing Service
• Nationally-funded mainframe for the whole
  university
• Computing Services
• Machine-defined services (ICL, VAX, ermine)
• Functionally defined services (micros, archival
  storage, humanities, typesetting ) clustering
  around these
• Research oriented services and facilities
• Strategic push towards distribution of services

Good news wider range of expertise and a richer
variety of services
Bad news duplication of effort , risk of
contradiction, drowning in data
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Duplication of effort for example

• Where do I go to ask for help about OUCS ?
• Local Support Staff
• Advisory Service
• Registration Desk
• PC Consultancy
• Learning and Resource Centre
• Centre for Humanities Computing
• Arent these all doing much the same thing?
• Well, yes and no
• Will these all give me the same advice?
• errr, probably

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A reminder

• University policy is to devolve support to
  colleges, departments, divisions
• As a centrally funded department, OUCS has to
  consider the needs of the whole University
• This means we urgently need
• to respond to changes in the pattern of use
• to simplify access to our services
• By end-users
• By support staff

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Access facilities

• Modes
• Walk-in face-to-face consultation
• Telephone
• Email
• Web
• Finding the right person
• Asking the right question

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Wouldnt it be nice if there was

• An integrated knowledge-base of expertise
• Single point of contact for front-line walk-in
  support, coupled to learning access-points
• Single automated point of contact for telephone
  enquiry
• Single method of sharing, tracking, resolving
  email queries

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The Advisory Services Review Process

• October 2001 Helpdesk software procurement
  abandoned implementation of low cost alternative
  begins
• November 2001 Internal stake-holder
  discussions (with ITSS representation)
• Staffing, telephone service, training,
  facilities, email
• Timetable
• January Detailed proposals for a unified Front
  office endorsed at OUCS SMG
• February implementation begins
• April Help Centre opens

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At the same time

• Internal reorganization of OUCS
• Four major groups
• Infrastructure Services
• Technical Services Group
• Information and Support Group
• Learning Technologies Group
• Repositioning and reprioritization of all
  services

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OUCS Help Centre

• New walk-in service at Banbury Road
• 0830 -2030 support for
• all OUCS front-end services
• basic computing queries
• basic registration queries
• administrative enquiries
• direct access to self-help materials, books,
  videos
• specialist equipment (scanners, multimedia)
• Cybercafe-style access to facilities

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Telephone access

• Automated attendant installed by University
  Telecomms
• Help centre calls are routed to four pickup
  points
• Seems to be functioning well
• But email is the new telephone

http//www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/feedback/
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Email Services

• The preferred route for advice and support
• Hoorah for request tracker!
• Substantial RD investment is now paying off
• Integration with registration data via LDAP
• Logging and monitoring of all services
• Involves all staff at some level

http//www.bestpractical.com/rt
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OUCS Help Centre

• Who does it?
• Two fulltime managers
• Two rotas
• Registration staff, operators, demonstrators
• Expert advisors from all parts of OUCS
• Volunteers welcome!
• Whats in it for ITSS?
• Single point of contact
• All queries are monitored and tracked
• Complements distributed services

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Consultancy Services

• The OUCS virtual back office
• Services all queries from RT
• Buck-stops-here queries
• Directly accessible for ITSS
• Gives specialist advice by appointment
• Who does it?
• All OUCS staff, potentially
• An extension to itss-discuss

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Desktop systems consultancy

• Hardware and software
• By appointment only
• May become chargeable
• (Fixed quota for Undergraduates)
• Need for university-wide agreement on systems
  supported

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Who can use it?

• Anyone with a valid University card
• What, even undergraduates?
• OUCS withdrew eligibility for support from all
  undergraduates in 1995
• This led to a marked improvement in provision of
  IT support by colleges and departments
• and a decline in demand for support from OUCS to
  the point where it is uneconomic to make the
  distinction!
• It is the OUCS front window

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Where does it fit?

• Information and Support Group components
• Research Technologies Service
• Information Services
• ITS3
• Registration and Databases
• Gateway to complementary OUCS group activities
• Desktop Services and NSMS
• Infrastructure Group
• Learning Technologies Group

http//staff.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ISG
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Research Technologies Service

• Services
• Oxford eScience Centre,
• Humbul Humanities Hub, Oxford Text Archive
• British National Corpus, Text Encoding Initiative
• Technologies
• Corpus Linguistics
• Computational analysis
• Database technologies
• Grid computing
• Interoperability
• Text encoding
• Keeping in touch with the leading edge

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Information Services Section

• Integration of web sites
• Single XML source driving
• Web site
• (with customizable styles)
• Print documentation
• RSS feed / alerting service

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ITS3

• Promotes professional interests of IT support
  staff (training, awareness, lobbying)
• Informal communications channel and clearing
  house
• OUCS has now allocated 2.5 staff full time to
  this activity, and will expand as demand and
  funding permit

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Database and Registration Sections

• Development and maintenance of in-house database
  systems
• Special expertise in University administrative
  structure
• Work closely with Infrastructure in developing
  new technical solutions
• Provide extensive back-office support to Help
  Centre

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How are we doing?

• Steady flow of RT tickets over the week
• Over 80 of all queries are resolved within a day
• Majority of clients are University staff, senior
  members or postgrads (under 10 are
  undergraduates)

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Advisory (email) tickets by day of week
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Tickets raised in last 6 weeks, by queue
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All tickets by enquirer ()
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Password changes in May, by enquirer
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Whats next?

• New equipment to be installed over summer
• Training and recruitment exercise in the autumn
• Work with ITSS to develop common university
  policies
• On support levels
• On software and hardware
• On building up the knowledgebase

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ITSS strategy according to ICTC

• (w) The ICT Committee will work with Personnel
  Services, OUCS and other relevant bodies to
  ensure that the University provides a sound
  working environment for IT support staff. para
  46
• (x) The ICT Committee will work with the
  Personnel Committee to ensure that the outcome of
  the Bett Report results in a better understanding
  by departments and colleges of grading issues for
  IT support staff. para 47
• (y) OUCS will ensure that it builds and maintains
  a register of IT support staff, which it will use
  to ensure they receive focused support and
  development opportunities. para 48
• (z) OUCS will embark on a graduate trainee
  scheme, funding arrangements permitting. para
  48
• (aa) All units recruiting and employing IT
  support staff should make adequate arrangements
  for providing appropriate training and
  development opportunities. para 48

http//www.ox.ac.uk/it/strategy/2000/it012.htm