Recommended by ITM Steering Committee: June 27, 2012 Recommended by President s Council: November 9, 2012 Approved by Executive Committee: January 24, 2013 NAIT Guideline ITM.1.6 ITS Help Desk Implementation Date: November 9, 2012 Replaces: New Table of Contents Section Description Page 1.0 Guideline 1 2.0 Background 1 3.0 Scope 2 4.0 Parameters and Procedures 2 5.0 Enforcement 6 1.0 Guideline The primary goal of the ITS Help Desk is to create an environment where users can direct their NAIT related IT inquiries, service requests and service interruptions. The ITS Help Desk Guideline provides the parameters to achieve the desired service delivery outcomes. The Chief Information Officer shall be responsible for the development, administration and procedures implemented in compliance with this guideline. 2.0 Background The ITS Help Desk activities, inputs and outcomes must be planned and purposeful to deliver reliable and effective services. NAIT relies on the ITS Help Desk to respond to institute needs for information and technology related inquiries and service requests; and to restore normal service operation as quickly as possible and minimize adverse impacts on institute operations, thus ensuring that the best possible levels of service quality and availability are maintained. NAIT relies on ITS Help Desk processes that are aligned with strategic priorities and which take into consideration the need for prompt action, reliable service and compliance with policy. DOC0010077 Rev 0.3 1
The ITS Help Desk Guideline offers best-practice direction to manage inquiries, service requests and service interruptions. A call ticket (a record of interaction with the ITS Help Desk) will be created for all interactions submitted through the ITS Help Desk. This call ticket will be assigned a number and the interaction will be categorized, impact and urgency will be assessed, and resources will be appropriately assigned. The priority of service requests and service interruptions is determined by impact and urgency. 3.0 Scope The scope for the ITS Help Desk Guideline includes all inquiries, services requests and service interruptions related to supported business services including: 1. Learning Management Systems 2. Administrative Line of Business Applications 3. Communication Services 4. Desktop and Mobile Computing Services 5. IT Infrastructure Services 6. IT Professional Services 7. Network Connectivity Services 8. Web Content & Collaboration Services ITS Help Desk Analysts are trained to support NAIT s standard configurations and corporate applications. The Analyst may transfer out of scope issues and requests to a Local Area Expert or Local Area Technician for assessment and prioritization. Interactions of this nature will be logged when received, and the user will be provided a call ticket number for reference. The Analyst may also route the out of scope service requests to the appropriate ITS level of management for further assessment. 4.0 Parameters and Procedures 4.1 Assigning a Call Ticket Number When users contact the ITS Help Desk, the Analyst will enter their interaction into a Service Management System which will generate a ticket. The users will receive a system generated response which includes the ticket number. The ticket number is the user s reference when checking on the status of an open issue or referring to a previous one. Users should retain the ticket number until the issue is resolved to their satisfaction. Using the ticket number will provide a quicker reply to an inquiry. DOC0010077 Rev 0.3 2
4.2 Impact Major A service interruption where the impact on the group is or could be massive for example, a departmental or institution-wide service interruption, or a network-wide or service-wide service interruption. Significant A service interruption where the impact is widespread for example, a department or a specific group of configuration items is impacted. Minor A service interruption or service request affecting a limited number of individuals or configuration items for example, an issue with a printer used by only a single department consisting of just a few users. 4.3 Urgency Severity 1 - End-users are unable to work and no work around is available Severity 2 - End-users require expedited restoration of service, but can bear minimal delays - End-users may or may not have a work around available, or workaround may only provide partial relief Severity 3 - End-users may or may not have a work around available or workaround may only provide partial relief Severity 4 - End-users may be inconvenienced, but a suitable workaround is available to allow the end-user to continue working, or a delay in resolution is considered acceptable 4.4 Prioritization Model Priority indicates the relative order or sequence in which a series of items should be addressed and is primarily driven by a combination of Impact and Urgency, but it is also influenced by considerations of risk and resource availability. Prioritization Model Urgency Severity 1 Severity 2 Severity 3 Severity 4 Impact Major Emergency High Medium Low Significant High High Medium Low Minor Medium Medium Low Low DOC0010077 Rev 0.3 3
Emergency - All support teams provide an immediate and sustained effort using any and/or all available resources as required until the issue is resolved - Hierarchical escalation is invoked, on-call procedures are activated, and vendor support invoked High - Assigned support team responds immediately, assesses the current situation and may interrupt other staff working lower priority incidents Medium - Assigned support team responds with elevated priority if resources can be diverted using standard procedures and operating within normal supervisory management structures Low - Assigned support team responds using standard procedures and operating within normal supervisory management structures 4.5 Call Ticket Handling Users can expect that all interactions with the ITS Help Desk will be responded to by a qualified Analyst. Should the call not be resolved on first contact the Analyst will gather detailed information, assess the impact and urgency of the issue, attempt resolution, and set expectations for call resolution. If the issue is critical in nature and requires immediate attention, it will be transferred to a specialist in that area of expertise. The goal of the ITS Help Desk is to resolve interactions at the first contact. If an interaction requires additional work, the Analyst will either keep the case or transfer it to another resource. Each interaction logged is assigned to an Analyst who is responsible for its resolution and response. Users will receive callbacks and status updates based on the ticket s assessed priority level. In addition, they can view their ticket status through the Service Management System s self-service portal. Should a reported service interruption be classified as an emergency, the ITS Help Desk will take appropriate action to notify the institute of the situation and the expected resolution. The ITS Help Desk will use all reasonable channels available to it to communicate the emergency, but will depend primarily on status updates posted to the web portals. Should this not be an option other available channels will be considered. 4.6 Call Ticket Discrepancies If users feel that the response to and/or resolution of the issue they reported to the ITS Help Desk has not met their expectations, they may contact the ITS Help Desk to request issue escalation. Referencing the call ticket number will provide a quicker reply to the inquiry. DOC0010077 Rev 0.3 4
4.7 NAIT Supported Computing Devices Not all computing devices carry the same level of supportability. The support available for computing devices is described in the ITS standard ITM.1.6.1 NAIT Supported Devices. Specific purchasing guidance for approved NAIT computers and printers is described in the ITS standard ITM.1.6.2 NAIT Approved Equipment List. These standards are updated by ITS as required. Personal computing devices are permitted to access NAIT s network resources and may be provided limited support. The support available for personal computing devices is available in ITM.1.6.1 NAIT Supported Devices. Access to NAIT technology resources through personal devices must comply with ITM.1.1 Acceptable Use of NAIT s Technology Resources. 4.8 Call Ticket Tracking All tickets will be tracked and move through the following stages: 1. New the user has logged the interaction 2. Active the call ticket has been classified, prioritized and assigned 3. Awaiting Problem the interaction is part of a greater problem and the incident will be resolved when the problem record has been solved 4. Awaiting Information the user or vendor has been contacted to provide more information 5. Resolved the work has been completed and the ticket requires a final review for accuracy, completeness and quality 6. Closed finalize all activities to close the call ticket 4.9 Contacting the ITS Help Desk Acceptable methods to contact the ITS Help Desk are posted on the Staff Portal. Note: When contacting the ITS Help Desk about issues believed to be critical, users should choose the telephone as their first choice of communication. 4.10 User Information Requirements To expedite request fulfillment or service resumption the user should gather the following information before contacting the ITS Help Desk: 1. Identification number 2. Detailed description of the issue. Having answers prepared for the following questions will assist the conversation when describing a service outage: a. Has this problem occurred before? b. What were you trying to do when the problem occurred? c. What application were you working in? d. Have any recent changes been made to your system? e. Has your process for using the software changed? f. Details or screen shots of any error messages received? DOC0010077 Rev 0.3 5
Note: If using email, screen shots sent as attachments are preferable to images pasted in the body of the email. 4.11 Hours of Operations 1. Business and on-call hours are posted in the IT Service Catalog. 2. On-Call Hours. Limited support is available during On-Call hours. Some types of service interruptions, including emergencies may not be addressable during this time due to a lack of expertise available in on-call pools. While every effort will be made it is possible that services may be impacted until the start of the next business day. 3. Holiday Hours No support is available on statutory holidays. On-call support may be available for non-statutory holidays (eg: Christmas Break). User Messages are published with updated information on coverage. 4. Outside of Business and On-Call Hours - There is no expectation of a personal response outside of Business and On-Call support hours. Service interruptions, including emergencies may not be restored until next Business day or On-Call support window. Request fulfillments that are available via the Service Management System s self-service portal may still be available. 5.0 Enforcement Employees who are found to be in non-compliance with this guideline will be subject to appropriate disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment. Contractors who are found to be in non-compliance with this guideline will be subject to termination of contracted relationships. DOC0010077 Rev 0.3 6