Bringing Agility to IT Services

IT SERVICES TRANSFORMATION

The mission of Information Technology is to partner with our community to provide exceptional services, innovative solutions, and resources. We seek to advance learning, teaching, and research in support of the university’s educational mission and strategic priorities. Our Digital (DX) Transformation Strategy was established to guide us in accomplishing these imperatives.

As part of our effort to provide exceptional service to the university, we have begun the work of revitalizing and transforming the processes and experiences related to IT Services. Work on this project began in December 2022 and will be carried out in phases until all desired outcomes have been achieved. Updates and milestones will be posted on this web page as a reference to the project's progress and university impacts.

It is with great appreciation that we acknowledge your patience and input as we work to develop and implement superior service at GVSU.

Progress and Implementation Highlights: Phase One

It is with great excitement that the GVSU Information Technology Division announces the successful completion of phase one of the IT Services Transformation Lean initiative. Our IT Services team has successfully reached their initial project goals and important milestones following months of unwavering dedication, collaboration with other IT departments, and hard work with the support of our extended stakeholder team.

Completed September - October 2023

The following is the final milestone of the initial project.

Track Ticket Completion to Promise: The tracking and reporting process for ticket completion is now fully deployed and operational. We have initiated the data-gathering phase in preparation for review and analysis.

Benefit: Keeping track of tickets allows us to meet our service commitments to the community by ensuring that requests are addressed promptly, increasing customer satisfaction and building trust.

Completed July - August 2023

Change to the Phone Tree: On August 11, 2023, the phone tree for GVSU IT support will change. Callers to the technical support lines (616) 331-2101 or (855) 435-7488 will be asked to select one of the following four options:

Option 1 for Classroom and computer lab-related issues
Options 2 for all password and system access-related issues, including difficulty getting into Blackboard
Option 3 for spam and/or phishing email inquiries
Option 4 for all other IT-related matters/topics

Benefit: The new phone tree will increase IT Services efficiency by promptly connecting GVSU community members with the relevant support teams. This will enable faster resolution of user account and system access problems.

Completed June 2023

Student Technician Tools and System Access Privileges: IT Services Student Technicians can now assist with user account management and have received training in the relevant processes.
Benefit: As they continue to practice and gain familiarity with their new abilities, we are highly confident about the positive impact this change will make to improve the speed at which we can resolve user account issues.
Updating Service Level Agreement to Service Commitment Goal: We have reviewed our service commitment goals, to make them more realistic and accurate. As such, we have modified the time limit for resolving issues, prioritizing, and categorizing requests.
Benefit: As a result of this work, members of the GVSU community will have a better understanding of what to expect from IT Services in terms of ticket resolution. IT Services team members will also gain a deeper understanding of the expectations of the GVSU community.
Service Commitment Goals Knowledge Base Article

Completed April 2023

Updated Service Ticket Notification Emails: We've updated the email notifications you receive after submitting a service ticket.
Benefit: Tracking the status of your ticket is now more user-friendly with a new look and feel. Users will be able to better understand the details of their submitted ticket and the resolution process.

Completed March 2023

Call for Help Process Set Up and Documentation: The Call for Help plan outlines scenarios for when the IT Services team has reached its capacity limit and needs assistance from all IT teams to assist with incoming and unassigned tickets.
Benefit: This will benefit the university as tickets will be resolved faster, even during the busiest periods of the academic year.
Triggers: Developed the definition and documentation of the triggers used to put the "Call for Help" process in motion.

Completed February 2023

New Ticket Triage Process: The updated triage process quickly evaluates the issues reported in the ticket, ensures the ticket has all relevant information, assigns the ticket to the appropriate support group, and resolves the ticket as quickly as possible.
Benefit: Community members will benefit from this as less time will be spent waiting for tickets to be resolved.

Completed January 2023

Paused Chat Feature: This feature was previously listed in the ticketing system as an option for interacting with the IT Service Desk However, it was found to be ineffective and required additional steps for a ticket to be resolved. This tool for communication has been paused and is being reviewed in order to make it more efficient and reliable.

Completed December 2022

Completion of Kaizen Event and Presentation, December 2, 2022
Development of Rollout Tracker and Audit Plan: Klein Consulting provided a Rollout and Audit plan for this initiative.
Confirmation of Capacity Model: Klein Consulting provided a formula to use to help identify resource capacity for IT Services.
Development of Communication Plan

Progress and Implementation Highlights: Phase Two, Continuous Improvement

In the process of completing this initiative, IT Services has identified some additional tasks that will be implemented as part of our continuous improvement.

In Progress

Reviewing resource gaps
Assessing the Role of Graduate Assistants

IT Services Transformation Communications

Transforming the IT Services Process at GVSU
In December 2022, Information Technology and Human Resources collaborated to evaluate and transform the IT Services process at GVSU using Lean methodologies. As a result of this event, a continuous process improvement plan was developed to enhance the operational performance of IT services (e.g., ticketing workflow and issue resolution process) as well as customer satisfaction. On the final day of the collaboration, an event was held to present the findings and plan to the GVSU community.