Good Fences Make Good Neighbors Presented by Rick
Good Fences Make Good Neighbors Presented by: Rick Peterson and Bill Klemm Rice University Southwest Educause Conference Austin, TX, February, 2006 "Copyright Rick Peterson, Bill Klemm, 2006. This work is the intellectual property of the authors. Permission is granted for this material to be shared for non-commercial, educational purposes, provided that this copyright statement appears on the reproduced materials and notice is given that the copying is by permission of the author. To disseminate otherwise or to republish requires written permission from the author. " 9/30/2020 1
Building the Community of the Future • Does it have “fences? ” Are there boundaries? • What would Robert Frost say about this? “Before I built a wall I'd ask to know What I was walling in or walling out, …” From “Mending Wall” by Robert Frost
A Community without Boundaries • Some possible downsides of a “boundary-less” higher ed IT community: – Excessive stress on IT staff • they try to be all things to all people – No clear sense of what is “right” to do and what is “wrong” to do - when, if ever, have I crossed a boundary? • see upcoming film : -) – “Customers” want to understand what services are and are not provided, and often have trouble with limitations
A Community with Boundaries • Ideally, everyone knows what is within and what is outside a “boundary. ” • Creating a Service Level Agreement between IT and the community is one way to clarify/set a boundary(ies). – Sets clear expectations, establishes trust (especially if little already existed), and builds confidence
Getting Clear on Boundaries • Talking about and setting boundaries can be: – Just plain dull – Difficult to discuss and define – Scary – A process that gets protracted beyond belief • Lots of political effort required here…
But we may laugh a bit at ourselves… • Bill created a “day in the life of an IT support person” video • While cast lightheartedly, the scenarios depicted in the video are representative examples that are similar, perhaps, to ones many IT support people have faced • They illustrate the types of situations that, if not addressed and discussed openly, could affect service quality and morale at your institution.
And now… • Bill’s Short Film
Any comments on the film? • We’re happy to hear a couple of comments on the film… – if you didn’t “see yourself” or your organization in the film, you probably DON’T need an SLA : -) ) …then we’ll talk a bit about Rice IT’s efforts to communicate services provided (many of them new) and set clear IT support expectations.
Some Background Data Regarding Service Level Agreements (SLAs) • Percentage of all institutions with SLAs of various types*: Academic / Research Support Admin Systems Desktop / User Support Instructional Technology Support Media Services 2002 11. 3% 28. 5% 25. 7% 11. 7% 8. 8% 2003 11. 2% 30. 7% 27. 6% 13. 9% 8. 4% 2004 12. 4% 25. 4% 29. 6% 13. 5% 9. 3% • * - public data of institutions responding to the Educause Core Data Survey, 2002 -2004
Some Background Data Regarding Service Level Agreements (SLAs) • Percentage of all institutions with SLAs of various types*: Netw Print Tele Web Othe No ork Servi com Servi r SLAs Servi ces SLAs ces 20 02 25. 6% 9. 6% 20 03 27. 1% 10. 6% 25. 3% 12. 9% 6. 0% 46. 4% 20 04 24. 2% 8. 9% 52. 6% • 25. 4% 12. 5% 4. 7% 20. 8% 4. 9% 6. 7% 50% * - public data of institutions responding to the Educause Core Data Survey, 2002 -2004
Thoughts from the Data • Desktop / User Support is the only category that has grown each year, 20022004 • Service Level Agreements (SLAs) – Are they needed in your environment? • Are people already clear on services and expectations? • Are your IT folks “feeling the love? ” • Are customers hoping to discontinue your “salary continuation program? ”
Thoughts from the Data �So maybe. SLAs are NOT right for everyone. Why not? – Perhaps higher ed culture dislikes SLAs and other written agreements – reeks of inflexibility • “Something there is that doesn't love a wall, …” – People often are resistant to change – Takes too long to create, get buy-in, communicate – Everyone gets the “FUD” – No one in higher ed can make anyone do anything anyway – Lack of clarity may be “good” for some people
Why SLAs at Rice? • Boundary-less IT services/support culture • Expectations that IT can be everything to everyone • Growing support burden - explosive growth in complexity and quantity of IT help needed • Some frustration among IT clients • Distributed funding, distributed decision-making • Needed to address IT ennui - we have good people and we want them to stay
Examples • Support EVERY browser, EVERY email client, many, OSes and applications (not Lotus Notes, though ) • No standard authentication mechanism, no identity management • Some unnecessarily restrictive services - 50/150 MB email quota • distributed file, storage, print solutions • No automatic updating or patching – community feared unauthorized IT access to their data • Random hardware
New Leadership Advocated a Change • New VP for IT formed Faculty IT Advisory Committee – got buy-in to articulate/provide new services and support standards • We are writing four SLAs: – – Core Services (desktop support) Research Services Instructional/Media/Classroom Services Undergraduate Services
One Down, Three To Go • Core Services SLA endorsed by Faculty IT Advisory Committee – took over a year, start to “finish” – Defines a “reasonable, limited, but not overly restrictive” set of supported systems and services – Focused on non-research related systems/services related to desktops and core infrastructure • Making “grass-roots” effort to communicate
SLA Forum for Deans, Directors, Department Chairs
Service Core Services SLA: Overview Matrix Office Desktop and Laptop Hardware Supported Currently Supported under SLA by Rice All makes, all models, any number person/unit Provide physical moving of equipment Pick a reasonable number of hardware vendors whose products IT would support. Will ONLY support one desktop and one laptop person. Rice IT will prepare systems for moving, but will NOT move them
Core Services SLA: Overview Matrix Service Supported Currently Supported under SLA by Rice Office Desktop and Laptop Software All software, all vendors Full support for most current two versions of core software applications, e. g. MS Office. Rice IT will establish supported software list for individual dept. s/units. Rice IT will publish a generic list of recommended software applications for community information.
Core Services SLA: Overview Matrix Service Supported Currently Supported under SLA by Rice Centralized disk storage and backup/recover y services Various solutions on numerous servers and desktops 3 GB/faculty, 2 GB/staff & grad students, 1 GB/undergraduates, 20 GB/ unit. Recovery services for data stored on central IT servers
Core Services SLA: Overview Matrix Service Supported Currently Supported under SLA by Rice personallyowned computer support Email All makes, all models, any number person/unit Support distributed email clusters. Core IT email server has 50 MB/150 MB quotas enforced. Not Supported Full support on single, centralized email server. NO quotas enforced.
Core Services SLA: Overview Matrix Service Supported Currently Networkin Various g transmission speeds of varying quality, running various protocols Network port activation Supported under SLA by Rice 100 Mb/sec to the desktop. Wireless network connectivity across campus. IP only supported transport protocol (NO Apple. Talk support). Requested ports for primary desktop and/or laptop computers activated within three (3) business days.
Core Services SLA: Overview Matrix Service Supported Currently Departmenta Various makes, l Server models, any support number person/unit Supported under SLA by Rice All currently supported departmental servers will be supported for a transition period. Support for necessary “services” will continue to be provided. Systems must adhere to Rice security policies.
Core Services SLA: Overview Matrix Service Supported Currently Client Varied, best Services available Response effort. Commitment s Problem Supported under SLA by Rice Professional support for noncritical systems is available 8 am – 5 pm, Monday –Friday. Operations Center monitors systems 24 x 7. Response Expectation Urgent <= One (1) Hour Important <=Four (4) Hours Standard <=24 Hours
Core Services SLA: Overview Matrix Service Supported Currently Supported under SLA by Rice Remote Access Provided for all types of computers until computer successfully can access Rice IT resources Remote Access Configuration support. Best available effort for personally-owned computers.
Core Services SLA: Overview Matrix Service Supported Currently Supported under SLA by Rice Personal Digital Assistant s (PDAs) Various makes, models, services A reasonable number of vendor PDAs will be selected for support (e. g. , Treo, Blackberry, etc. )
Core Services SLA: Overview Matrix Service Supported Currently Supported under SLA by Rice Web Hosting Various web servers on multiple different hardware platforms. Web hosting space distributed and varied. Personal Web Hosting provided for all individuals out of their individual space. A reasonable Web server and associated supported services will be identified (e. g. group access for modifications, Apache, My. SQL, etc. )
Core Services SLA: Overview Matrix Service Supported Currently Supported under SLA by Rice Print Services Various printer makes, models, any number person/unit Will support networked printers connected to Rice central print services. Rice will limit support to printers produced by a reasonable number of vendors Will support locallyconnected printers in individual offices.
It’s All About the Process • Talking to customers (individually and through open forums, faculty committees, etc. ) • Talking to IT staff • What do/can we do well? • What does/does not make sense? • Whether you have an SLA or not – do you/your staff/your customers understand what is and is not supported/provided by IT?
Final Document • Final Rice Core Services SLA available here: – http: //www. rice. edu/it/resources/sla/index. html • This presentation available here (and on Educause conference site): – http: //is. rice. edu/~bk/goodfences. ppt
"Mending Wall" by Robert Frost Something there is that doesn't love a wall, That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it And spills the upper boulders in the sun, And makes gaps even two can pass abreast. The work of hunters is another thing: I have come after them and made repair Where they have left not one stone on a stone, But they would have the rabbit out of hiding, To please the yelping dogs. The gaps I mean, No one has seen them made or heard them made, But at spring mending-time we find them there. I let my neighbor know beyond the hill; And on a day we meet to walk the line And set the wall between us once again. We keep the wall between us as we go. To each the boulders that have fallen to each. And some are loaves and some so nearly balls We have to use a spell to make them balance: "Stay where you are until our backs are turned!“ We wear our fingers rough with handling them. Oh, just another kind of outdoor game, One on a side. It comes to little more: There where it is we do not need the wall: He is all pine and I am apple orchard. My apple trees will never get across And eat the cones under his pines, I tell him. He only says, "Good fences make good neighbors. “ Spring is the mischief in me, and I wonder If I could put a notion in his head: "Why do they make good neighbors? Isn't it Where there are cows? But here there are no cows. Before I built a wall I'd ask to know What I was walling in or walling out, And to whom I was like to give offense. Something there is that doesn't love a wall, That wants it down. " I could say "Elves" to him, But it's not elves exactly, and I'd rather He said it for himself. I see him there, Bringing a stone grasped firmly by the top In each hand, like an old-stone savage armed. He moves in darkness as it seems to me, Not of woods only and the shade of trees. He will not go behind his father's saying, And he likes having thought of it so well He says again, "Good fences make good neighbors. "
THANK YOU! Bill Klemm bk@rice. edu Rick Peterson rick@rice. edu
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