Administrative Services IT Service Level Guidelines

Overview

The University of Akron Information Technology Services (ITS) ZipSupport Center (ZSC) provides support to The University of Akron (UA) and other institutional customers as the single source for support and computer help..  The efficient operation of these service products require that ITS and its customers share and understand support procedures, roles and responsibilities, lines of communication, and expectations.

                                      

In order to ensure an acceptable level of customer support, ITS established and follows consistent and efficient processes and procedures that are outlined and defined within these Service Level Guidelines (SLG).

Service Level Guidelines

 

Service Level Guidelines define the processes and procedures that guide and determine support goals and objectives.  It is based on customer requirements and support center capability.  From a high level it defines, but is not limited to, the products supported, the services offered, the methods customers use to request services, priority levels, and target response and resolution times.

 

An SLG benefits customers and the support center by outlining guidelines to

 

The ITS /University of Akron SLG

 

The ITS /University of Akron SLG ensures that an acceptable level of service is defined for and provided to The University of Akron and its customers through ITS-ZSC.  The focus is on technical (installation, setup/configuration, upgrade, release/patch/fixes, defect correction to baseline product, test-to-production migration, infrastructure, etc.) and functional (production application, business processes, business impact, etc.) support of The University of Akron ITS products and services.

 

More specifically, this SLG outlines customer support to The University of Akron and its customers.  It is an outline of support methodologies, processes, and guidelines and is not a contractual agreement in any form.  As such, best practices and standards outlined herein reflect ITS’s processes that

 

The processes described within this SLG are subject to change as ITS-ZSC continues to improve customer support.  Customers will have the opportunity to make comments and suggestions through the SLG change review process (refer to Appendix H - SLG Change Review Policies and Procedures section in this document for more information).

 

ITS-ZSC Support Strategy, Philosophy, and Focus

 

ITS-ZSC facilitates and manages support and service to The University of Akron and its customers for ITS products and services using a professional and credible line of communication.  ITS-ZSC strives to provide customer satisfaction through knowledgeable, timely, consistent, efficient, and courteous responses to all requests.  The focus is on customer support, business/organization, and continuous improvement of key information technology components through consistent, best business practices and plans.

 

ITS ZipSupport Center:  Single Point of Contact for ITS Support

 

To simplify support for customers, the ITS ZipSupport Center is the single point of contact for all customer requests.  ITS ZipSupport Center then processes support requests using a three-tier strategy and support model.

 

or


 

Through its three-tier support model, ITS


Services Provided and Application Products Supported

 

Refer to Appendix A


 

The Support Request Process - How ITS Customers Request Support

 

The support request process involves communication between the customer and ITS.  In order to achieve good customer support, ITS and the customer play roles and are responsible for activities and deliverables.

 

The basic components of the support process are outlined in the following table.  These components are explained in detail, in the order presented in the table, in the sections


 

Who’s Responsible?

What They are Responsible For

Customer

Determine if the problem requires ITS support.  This step includes knowing the environment, isolating the problem, reviewing documentation, and consulting local institution Subject Matter Expert (SME) and/or help desk.

Refer to What to Do Before Contacting ITS: Customer's Checklist

If the issue/problem cannot be isolated to a local hardware, network, performance, business process, or software operation issue, the institution should:

  • Collect information.  This step includes collecting error message number(s) and/or text, diagnostic information, customer name and contact information (telephone number(s) and e-mail address) for primary and backup institution staff.
  • Determine urgency.  In this step the customer describes or selects an urgency based upon impact of the issue/problem from an individual customer, institution business/organization unit, or overall institution perspective.
  • Contact ITS-ZSC.  In this step the customer determines which method to use to contact the ITS-ZSC based upon urgency or type of issue/problem.

Refer to Contact ITS.

ITS-ZSC

Establishes the priority of the case.

Refer to Establishing Priority.

Might engage external support groups or vendors.

Refer to Engaging External Support Groups or Vendors.

Response and resolves support request based upon target response and resolution times.

Refer to Target Response and Resolution Times

Communicates the solution to the customer and solicits customer feedback about the solution.

Notes:

  • It might be necessary for ITS-ZSC to contact the customer to confirm a solution to a problem or issue was, or was not, successful.  Refer to Appendix - E Customer Contact-Solution Procedure for more information.
  • If the customer is not satisfied with a solution or the way an issue was resolved or communicated, the institution should designate a representative to contact the ITS-ZSC and request to communicate with the ITS-ZSC Manager or Customer Service Director.

 

What to Do Before Contacting ITS-ZSC: Customer's Checklist

 

Determine if the Problem Requires ITS Support

 

 

Notes:

·        The ITS-ZSC is the single point of contact for secondary support if an customer identifies a local, customer specific, business interrupting (production down) event or incident that impacts services delivered by ITS to that customer.

·        When an issue or problem is isolated to be a local issue or problem that impacts services delivered by ITS to that customer,  a customer representative should contact the ITS-ZSC immediately by telephone.  The ITS-ZSC might notify ITS functional and technical resources.  Depending upon the nature of the interruption or service impacted, ITS-ZSC might elect to notify external support groups or vendors.

 


Notes:

·        The customer can help ITS-ZSC provide better customer service by providing accurate and detailed information when submitting a question, problem, or request.

·        Sensitive information (social security numbers, credit card numbers, student IDs, etc.) within screen shots, documents, or other communications (e-mail, fax, etc.) should be removed or made illegible before sending to ITS-ZSC. If sensitive information must be shared with ITS-ZSC it should be communicated in a way that does not compromise the security or sensitivity of the information.

 

 


 

Which Contact Method Should be Used

 

Issue/Problem

Method

Note: Support requests submitted through e-mail or self-service are monitored only during business hours.  For after-hours support, refer to Procedure for Off-Hours Support (Emergency and Non-Emergency).

Submit new or update existing production down (emergency) support request

(For more information, refer to Procedure for Off-Hours Support)

Telephone

  • local
  • long distance or toll free

Refer to Telephone section for more information

Submit new, non-production down support request

Self-service support request form: http://www.support.uakron.edu

Refer to Customer Self-Service Request Form for more information

Update an existing non-production down support request.

E-mail: supportdesk@uakron.edu

Refer to Format for E-mail Requests for Support

Submit (non-emergency) after-hour support request

Refer to Procedure for Off-Hours Support

 

Hours of Operation, Street Address, Directions, and Fax Information

Spring/Fall semester

 

Summer

 

Note: Exceptions are inclement weather days and announced, University of Akron holidays and intersessions.

185 Carroll Street Akron, OH 44325-5001

 

Customer Self-Service Request Form

 

ITS provides a support request self-service web interface at

https://www.footprints.uakron.edu

 

Contact the ITS-ZSC to participate.  Each user receives a user ID and password.

 

Through this service, ITS customers can

Format for E-mail Requests for Support

 

 

Telephone

 

 

The telephone numbers are

 

330-972-7690

330-972-8429

330-9728437

330-972-6333

 

Procedure for Off-Hours Support

 

Emergency

 

      telephone system for leaving an emergency, production down message. The call   

      will page emergency on-call support staff 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

 

Prior to contacting the ITS-ZSC, customers should contact and engage local customer Information Technology (IT) or business unit leadership or management resources.

 

The customer should provide the following institution staff information for the duration of an emergency production down incident:

 

For information about business procedures ITS-ZSC follows for downgrading an emergency, production down (urgent) support request, refer to Guidelines for Downgrading Emergency, Production Down Support Requests.

 

As soon as possible, the customer should provide the following applicable troubleshooting aids:

 

Non-Emergency

 

A ITS institution representative must schedule a request for non-emergency after-hours support at least two weeks in advance using one of the following methods:

 

What Happens After a Customer Requests Support: ITS Support Process

 

When a customer requests support ITS-ZSC establishes the priority of the case, might engage external support as necessary (refer to Engaging External Support Groups or Vendors), and then resolves the case based on the target response and resolution times for that priority (refer to Target Response and Resolution Times).

 

Note:  For more information about the ITS-ZSC support process and workflow managed through ITS-ZSC's case management system, refer to Appendix G - ITS Support Process and Case Management System Workflow.

 

Establishing Priority

 

Priority defines the severity of problems and has an impact on the volume level and timeline of ITS resource engagement.  Priority is based upon, but is not limited to

 

While the ITS_ZSC  representative is logging the support request, the representative and the customer will assess the customer urgency using the same criteria that define priorities. These individuals will set initial priority for the support request.

 

Note: Urgent priority support requests engage ITS support resources 24 hours a day 7 days a week, and take precedence over high, medium, and low priority support requests.


 

Priority Definitions

 

Priorities are defined in the following table:

 

Priority

Definition

Urgent

emergency/production down

Emergency/production down.

Refer to Appendix D - Business Interruption (Production Down) by Product/Service for definitions and guidelines of production down incidences.

 

Note:  The criteria for production-down status for the products and services supported by ITS are outlined in Appendix D. Although the criteria are not all inclusive, they represent the most common production-down, business interruption scenarios that validate an emergency situation, urgent priority, and 24 by 7 dedications of ITS resources.

 

Urgent priority support requests take precedence over all other support requests.

High

urgent/production difficult

Defects or major problems that might slow down production. However, with technical intervention or a functional work-around, the customer can complete the current production cycle or access the ITS hosted service, enterprise application, or web-based information. Examples include, but are not limited to

  • Issues that might require the following:
    • Scripts
    • Patches
    • Revisions to web-based information
    • News releases
    • Other announcements
  • Production results or deliverables might be date/time (calendar) driven or dependent upon hard deadlines (infrastructure/application up, but slow, date-driven news, announcements, or information)

 

High priority support requests take precedence over medium and low priority support requests in a specific area of support.

Medium

standard/production normal

Problems related to development, system administration, management issues or web-based information content updates not defined as urgent or high. This is the most common priority level and is generally processed using a ‘bank queue’ process (First In, First Out).

 

Medium priority support requests take precedence over low priority support requests in a specific area of support.

Low

low/production normal

Problems that are not production related. General questions on use, informational items, testing, or minor defects are reported or requested, however production or implementation can continue.

 

Low priority support requests are processed when there are no urgent, high, and medium priority support requests in a specific area of support.

 

Engaging External Support Groups or Vendors

 

ITS enlists the services of third-party vendors whose products and services are an integral part of selected ITS business solutions and hardware. Since support provided by vendors has an impact on response and resolution target times, ITS works closely with vendors to ensure alignment of support services.

 

The production server (hardware) that hosts institution production instances is maintained under a 24/7 maintenance agreement with third-party vendors with a four hour response time. Servers are configured to minimize hardware failure impact on production services.

 

In order to ensure that the level of support for these integrated business solutions adheres to the standards set forth and governed within this SLG, ITS develops and maintains Operational Level Guidelines (OLG) with each integrated solution vendor.

 

The purpose of an OLG is to

 

Target Response and Resolution Times

 

The target response, resolution, and update times outlined in the table below depend upon the assigned priority. ITS makes every effort to meet the target times.

 

Target Response Time

 

Response time is the period between the customer‘s initial contact of the ITS-ZSC with a support request and the time when the ITS -ZSC, tier 2, or tier 3 representative acknowledges receipt of the request or begins diagnosing or exploring the issue with a customer or an ITS vendor/partner.

 

Response time refers to the initial response to the request, and to a response to an additional request on an existing support request.

 

Target Resolution Time

 

Resolution time is the time between when ITS acknowledges the support request and the time the customer accepts the solution. In other words, resolution time is the time it takes for a support request to go through a business process workflow.

 

Support request target times for response, resolution, and updates:

 

 

Priority1

Urgent

High

Medium

Low

Respond to customer within

1 hour

2 hours

4 hours

4 days

Resolve within

12 hours

2 days

4 days

3 weeks

Update support request (minimums)2

Twice daily

Daily

Twice weekly

Weekly

Update Customer

Daily

Twice weekly

Weekly

Monthly

1 Refer to Factors Affecting Target Times for more information

2 If the support request is resolved at tier 1, or resolved quickly in tier 2 or 3, the minimum number of updates may not be necessary.

 

Factors Affecting Target Times

 

Typically, ITS follows the guidelines for target response, resolution, updates, and customer communication times during the hours indicated in the table below.

 

ITS also follows guidelines that can affect target resolution times by

 

Priority

Time Period

Urgent

(business interruption/production down)

24 by 7 - standard ITS business and non-business hours

High, Medium, Low

Standard ITS business hours

(8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., Monday - Friday)

 

While ITS makes every effort in advance to minimize conditions that may have an impact on resolution target times, the following factors may affect target times for high, medium, and low priority support requests:

 

Note: Target response, resolution, backup and/or recovery target times could also be impacted by issues that arise in the event of an act of nature (weather), power outage, or an unexpected occurrence where demand exceeds service, product, or support supply limits.

 

If a support request is not resolved within the timeframe specified, or if circumstances have changed requiring a change in priority, the customer should contact the ITS-ZSC with the ticket/case number and the reason for the change in priority for the support request.

 

Downgrading Emergency, Production Down Support Requests

 

ITS follows general guidelines for downgrading emergency, production down support requests:


 

Corrective Measures and Escalation Process

 

ITS defines escalation in terms of priority for urgent support requests. For high, medium, and low priority support requests, ITS defines escalation in terms of support resources required for response and resolution, not priority level.

 

ITS escalations are described in the following table:

 

Priority

Definition

Urgent

As configured within ITS’ case management system, aging automatically escalates unassigned/unresolved urgent priority issues to the attention of an ITS program or technical manager based upon target response and resolution times.

High, Medium, Low

Aging does not automatically escalate high, medium, or low priority items. For example, medium priority items do not become high priority items if they are not resolved within the targeted time frame, however, some high priority items will certainly become urgent priority if not resolved.  ITS bases reassignment of priorities on the re-evaluation of criticality to the overall organization, application, service, or product business impact or the individual or collective technical or application systems involved.

 


How ITS Communicates with Customers – General Communication Guidelines

 

Outside of the regular support request workflow, ITS communicates with its customers through five contact channels and through other specialized functional, technical, and application-specific mailing lists, for announcements of general interest or emergency situations.  The primary channels are

 

ITS Announce-L Mailing List

 

The ITS Announce-L mailing list is for customers staff members who want to receive general ITS service and support announcements by e-mail.  Announcements can contain, but are not limited to, the following:

 

To subscribe to ITS Announce-L, send e-mail as follows:

 

E-mail Field

Information

To

listserv@listserv.uakron.edu

Subject

Leave blank

Body

subscribe itsannounce-l firstname lastname

 

Where firstname is the subscriber’s first name, and lastname is the subscriber‘s last name.

Additional Instructions

·         Before sending e-mail, ensure e-mail signature is turned off

·         Send e-mail as a text file without styled text, fonts, colors, etc.

 

Your request to subscribe is followed by an e-mail to you requesting confirmation that you wish to join that list, and/or followed by a confirmation that you have been subscribed.

 

Functional, Technical, and Application-Specific Mailing Lists

 

ITS maintains functional and technical program or application-specific mailing lists. Customers who would like to receive ITS program or application-specific information by e-mail should subscribe to one or more of these lists. For further information regarding program, application, or service area specific mailing lists, contact the ITS-ZSC.

 

No less than one week before an upgrade is to be applied, pre-release notifications are posted through the program or application specific mailing lists.  Notifications will contain, but are not limited to, nature of release, date, time, scope, prerequisites, functional or technical impact, modifications, or information regarding future releases.

 

Subscribing to Functional, Technical, or Application-Specific Mailing Lists

 

Customers can subscribe to a mailing list through the University of Akron listserv page at http://www.listserv.uakron.edu .  Customers can also register to access mailing list archives and look up other lists for subscription.

 

Institutions that want to subscribe internal, institution owned or managed mailing lists, e-mail groups, or aliases to ITS owned mailing lists should contact the ITS-ZSCh.

 

Mailing List General Communication Guidelines

 

Mailing lists are used to host discussions and share information through e-mail.  ITS provides subscription and notification services for many of these lists. Each customer should have key staff subscribed to ITS mailing lists based upon need and area of responsibility in regards to ITS applications, services, and products.

 

ITS posts official communications through selected mailing lists to disseminate information about specific production application or technical releases, known issues, training, conferences, defect corrections, patches, etc.

 

Although ITS staffs regularly monitor mailing lists for informational purposes, these lists are not a substitute for requesting ITS support through the ITS-ZSC using the procedures outlined in this SLG.  ITS staff responds to product and service support requests only when issues are logged with the ITS-ZSC and assigned a support request number.

 

Web Sites

 

ITS announcements including planned and unplanned service interruptions, other service-related information, and situational updates are posted to:

 

ITS-ZSC Call Center Service Information Message

 

ITS announcements including planned and unplanned service interruptions, other service-related information, or situational updates are posted through the ITS-ZSC telephone call center (local, or long distance or toll free).

 

Emergency Communication Services

 

ITS Emergency Communication Service (ECS) provides initial, single notification through a wireless device, such as a cell phone or pager, to key ITS and customer functional and technical staff, and then situational updates through a web site, http://status.uakron.edu. (to be created)

 

ITS uses this service to announce emergency, unplanned events that result in major or extended loss of access to or service provided by an ITS enterprise application, service, or infrastructure resource.  Examples include scheduled maintenance overruns exceeding one hour, or any scheduled maintenance overruns when a ‘Sorry Service’ announcement is unavailable.

 

The ECS service augments, rather than replaces, existing functional and technical product and service communication channels such as mailing lists. ECS subscription is voluntary but encouraged.


 

How the Service Works

 

In an emergency, ITS delivers an initial one-time, one-way emergency announcement as a short text message targeted for wireless, mobile communication devices (cell phones, pagers, etc).

 

Following the one-time announcement, ITS provides subsequent situational status/updates through two self-service options:

 

 

Audience

 

ECS is designed for key ITS and customer staff or contacts. While a broad audience is desired, the service is not intended for all application or service users across each customer. These key staff can then post and share information at their site or provide the URL for status updates to their staff.

 

Subscription Information

 

Refer to Emergency Communication Service - Guidelines for Use (PDF, 62kb) for more detail including mobile device text message e-mail address formats and prerequisites for enrollment and participation. This document is available on the ITS Customer Services web site: http://www.uakron.edu/customer_services/info/ecs.phtml   (to be created)


Maintenance, Backup, and Retention

 

ITS maintains a regular maintenance schedule and provides advance notice for additional maintenance.  Customer’s administrators are encouraged to share this schedule with users so they can plan appropriately for the maintenance period. ITS recommends that administrators place these events on the institutional calendar and communicate the information through the announcement tool and other regular channels of communication. Customers are also encouraged to post links to the ITS Customer Services web site Service Level Guidelines page on key institution calendars (http://www.uakron.edu/customer_services/guidelines/).  (to be created)

 

Maintenance Schedules

 

While every effort is made to optimize the availability of services, ITS schedules regular maintenance, with no pre- or post-notification, for backups and other contingencies. ITS also schedules additional maintenance in advance, with notice. The regular and additional maintenance schedules are outlined in the Regular and Additional Maintenance Schedules table.

 

Regular Maintenance Schedule

 

A regular maintenance schedule is necessary for any enterprise application and includes tasks such as database snapshots, system backups, application of patches and fixes, upgrades, defect corrections, security releases, and database interventions.

 

Depending on the activities to be carried out, it may not be necessary for ITS to use all of the scheduled time. However, to better allow customers to schedule their activities around maintenance, ITS reserves the full maintenance period at each occasion. The schedule is outlined in the table below.

 

Additional Maintenance Schedule

 

The additional maintenance schedule is for emergency maintenance and maintenance on systems and services that do not have a regular maintenance schedule. ITS provides advance notice for additional maintenance, as shown in the Regular and Additional Maintenance Schedules table.

 

Note: Should regular or additional maintenance extend beyond an end time posted in this table, or a pre-arranged and mutually agreeable end time for additional maintenance, ITS will communicate through the Emergency Communication Service with situational updates posted through ITS Announce-L mailing list, http://status.uakron.edu web site, and the ITS-ZSC Call Center Service Information Message.


 

Regular and Additional Maintenance Schedules

 

Products and Services

Regular Maintenance Schedule

(services unavailable during these times)

Additional Maintenance Schedule

(services unavailable during these times)

Example service 1

1:00 a.m. – 5:00 a.m. daily

 

11:00 p.m. – 7:00 a.m. with notice 48, 24, and 8 hours in advance

 

1 weekend per month for extended maintenance at a mutually agreeable time

Example service 2

11:00 p.m. – 7:00 a.m. daily

Event driven, with notice 24 and 8 hours in advance whenever possible and practical, or otherwise, as needed based upon circumstances.

Example service 3

 

10:00 p.m. – 7:00 a.m. alternating Fridays

 

For more information: URL

Event driven, with notice 24 and 8 hours in advance whenever possible and practical, or otherwise, as needed based upon circumstances.

Example service 4

 

3:00 a.m. – 6:00 a.m. Monday – Saturday

 

11:00 p.m. – 7:00 a.m. Sunday

11:00 p.m. – 7:00 a.m. with notice 24 and 8 hours in advance

Example service 5

Not applicable

Connectivity for specific customers may be unavailable at times needed to perform equipment upgrades or swap-out, detect corrections, or correct service interruptions.

 

For more information: URL

Example service 6

2nd Friday of each month, 3:00 - 7:00 a.m. Eastern Time (ET)

Event driven, with notice 24 and 8 hours in advance whenever possible and practical, or otherwise, as needed based upon circumstances.

Example service 7

2:00 a.m. – 6:00 a.m. Monday – Saturday

 

11:00 p.m. – 7:00 a.m. Sunday

11:00 p.m. – 7:00 a.m. with notice 24 and 8 hours in advance

Example service 8

Not applicable

A minimum of 7 days advance notice will be provided for all scheduled outages and updates

Example service 9

Not applicable

11:00 p.m. – 7:00 a.m. with notice 24 and 8 hours in advance

 

Backup Procedures

 

ITS follows backup and retention procedures for all supported systems. Production and non-production systems are backed up daily, 365 days a year.

 

Off-Site Backup Cycle

 

Backup strategy includes an off-site rotation.

Retention Procedures

 

ITS follows retention procedures for enterprise production systems and non-production systems.

 

Enterprise Production Systems

 

The enterprise production systems are

 

The backup and retention schedules for enterprise production systems are outlined in the following table:

 

Backups

Retention

Daily

Each kept for 7 days

Weekly

Each kept for 4 weeks

Monthly

Each kept for 4 months

 


 

Non-Production Systems

 

Non-production systems are backed up daily and retained 3 days. Non-production systems include the development and test systems for ITS enterprise production systems.

 


Appendix

 

Appendix A - Acronyms

 

Acronyms used throughout the ITS SLG are defined within the following table.

 

Acronym

Definition

ITS

Information Services Technology

ITS-ZSC

Information Services Technology ZipSupport Center

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Appendix B - Software Product and Vendor Names

 

Software product and vendor names used throughout the ITS SLG are defined within the following table.

 

Software or Vendor

Description

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

Appendix C - Format for E-mail Requests for Support

 

E-mail Field

Information required

Detail

To

ITS-ZSCe-mail address

supportdesk@uakron.edu

Subject

Customer Name

·         Akron

·         Lorain

·         Etc.

ITS customer environment and specific service or application impacted

Note: Refer to Supported Products and Scope of Services in the Overview section of this document for a list of products and services.

·         Production – Problems or questions regarding institution production environment

·         Test – Problems or questions regarding institution test environment

 

Other relevant summary information

Not applicable

Body

Customer Name

 

Contact

·         ITS contact name (if available or applicable)

·         Customer representative name and contact information (telephone number and e-mail address)

·         ITS ticket/case number (if available or applicable)

·         Service/Product (Refer to Supported Products and Scope of Services)

·         Detailed description of the problem/question/request/incident

Attachments

Screen Shot

Provide a screen shot of the error diagnostic if this is a software problem.

Threaded e-mail

Do not send multiple (threaded e-mail) as a separate e-mail - include threaded e-mail conversations as an e-mail attachment.

 

 

Example Support Request E-mails

 

Example 1:

New Support Request

To

supportdesk@uakron.edu

Subject

Lorain Production HR

Body

Lorain, John Doe (999999), John.Doe@LorainCCC.edu)

HR

We are having a problem transmitting our ACH file.

 


 

Example 2:

Updating Existing Support Request

To

supportdesk@uakron.edu

Subject

Lorain Production HR

Body

Mary Smith with ITS requested we provide this information to ITS-ZSC:

Lorain, John Doe (999999), John.Doe@LorainCCC.edu)

FootPrint ticket 999999

HR

Local area network connection in Payroll Office is not currently in service

 


 

Appendix D - Business Interruption (Production Down) by Product/Service

 

Product/Service

Business Interruption Definitions

Example Service 1

·         All Library Automation access affected

·         All ITS customer sites affected

Example Service 2

·         Cannot register students

·         Cannot access SIS application

·         Cannot award or disburse financial aid (cannot issue checks to students)

·         Cannot complete end-of-term processes (roll out grades, calculate GPA, or produce transcripts)

·         Cannot meet significant deadline, such as reporting to National Student Loan Clearinghouse, etc.

·         Cannot process fee assessment

·         Cannot accept fee payment (eCommerce application not functioning)

Example Service 3

·         Cannot meet significant deadline

·         Cannot access third party server or service as needed for critical process

·         Cannot upload data

·          

Example Service 4

·         Cannot access PeopleSoft application (application file server located on campus, data resident on server hosted by ITS) after verifying there is no local or wide area network connectivity issue

·         When new release is issued, problem occurs with PeopleTools (file server, client, or database)

·         Cannot execute critical process (e.g., cannot issue checks in Financials)

Example Service 5

·         Cannot issue checks (payroll, etc.)

·         Cannot execute/complete direct deposit

·         Cannot access PeopleSoft application (data resident on server hosted by ITS) after verifying there is no local or wide area network connectivity issue

·         Cannot perform critical processes (Priority = High)

o    Month end

o    Quarter end

o    Year end

o    Significant deadline

Example Service 6

·         An institution using external authentication with LMS and a local institutional issue associated with external authentication being compromised or down so that an entire institutional community cannot access LMS. Institutions currently using external authentication are:

o    1

o    2

o    3

·         Cannot access LMS

·         Cannot use system because performance is slow (takes minutes to move from screen to screen)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

Appendix E - Customer Contact-Solution Procedure

 

This procedure is used, when it is deemed necessary by ITS or the customer, to receive a verbal or written confirmation of a solution to an open support request.  The customer is asked to confirm, by telephone or e-mail, that the solution is satisfactory.  The procedure is outlined in the following table:

 

If...

Then...

ITS develops a solution for a customer’s support request…

ITS staff

·         Notifies customer of the solution by telephone or e-mail

·         Requests that the customer report back to ITS that the solution was, or was not, successful within 3 business days

The customer reports back to ITS within 3 business days…

 

If the solution is successful, an ITS representative will resolve the support request.

Or

If the solution is not successful, ITS continues to work toward a solution.

The customer does not report back to ITS within 3 business days…

An ITS-ZSC representative will contact the customer by telephone or e-mail to continue requesting feedback regarding the solution.

 


 

Appendix F - Support Request Early Closure Procedure

 

In the instance of an open support request in which the customer has not provided sufficient information for ITS to proceed, and attempts to contact the customer for more information are unsuccessful, then ITS closes the support request using the procedure described in the following table:

 

If...

Then...

ITS does not have sufficient information to proceed with a support request…

ITS representative e-mails the customer and requests that the customer provide the information within 5 business days.

The customer does not respond within 5 days…

ITS representative e-mails a follow-up request that the customer provide the information within 3 days.

The customer does not respond within 3 days (total of 8 days)…

ITS representative attempts to contact the customer by telephone and request that the customer provide the information within 2 days.

The customer does not respond within 2 days (total of 10 days)…

ITS representative closes the support request.  Customer must contact the ITS-ZSC and open a new support request for the same problem or issue.

 


 

Appendix G - ITS Support Process and Case Management System Workflow

 

To meet customer support expectations outlined within the SLG, ITS follows a three-tier Supportdesk model.  The support process, responsibilities, and workflow associated with each tier are described in this section.

 

Tier 1 Support – ITS-ZSC

 

The ITS-ZSC is responsible for providing a 24 hour a day, seven days a week single point-of-contact for customer support.

 

The ITS-ZSC is comprised of the following:

 

Staff Responsibilities

 

ItS-ZSC responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following tasks:

 

 

NOTE: Incidents submitted through support request self-service are automatically logged within the ITS case management system and will be monitored and reviewed in real-time (during ITS business hours of operation) by the ITS-ZSC

 

 

Tier 2 Functional Support and Tier 3 Technical Support

 

Tier 2 and 3 support groups are responsible for support requests that cannot be resolved by the ITS-ZSC.

 

Tier 2 Functional Support and tier 3 Technical Support are comprised of the following:

 

Tier 2: Business Analysts, Subject Matter Experts, and Consultants

 

Staff Responsibilities

 

 

Tier 3: Developers, Database Administrators, Technical Analysts, and Workstation Support

 

Note:  Before the ITS-ZSC  transfers a case to tier 3, tier 2 staff will diagnose the problem, which might require specific expertise in a given area such as workstation configuration, database issues, or report maintenance.

 

Staff Responsibilities

 

 


Appendix H - SLG Change Review Policies and Procedures

 

ITS reserves the right to make changes to the SLG and any supporting operational level guidelines (OLGs). ITS will adjust the SLG and its requirements as support to ITS enterprise business applications and/or technical services or products change.

 

Service Compliance Meeting Schedule and Review Procedure

 

ITS will conduct internal SLG and OLG focused review meetings at 90 day intervals.  ITS will schedule and conduct annual SLG review meetings with customer representation.

 

Annual Review Meeting

 

ITS will issue a call for agenda items no later than two weeks prior to the annual review meeting.  Agenda suggestions must be received at least one week in advance of a meeting. Please send agenda comments and suggestions to slagree@uakron.edu

 

ITS will provide the agenda in advance to meeting participants.  Action minutes will be recorded.

 

Change Communication

 

SLG change suggestions will be communicated through each customer's Chief Information Officer (CIO).

 

The latest version of the SLG is posted and available on the ITS Customer Services web site: http://www.uakron.edu/its/hoss/helpdesk/index.php/customer_services/guidelines/