THE NEW ASKTECH Implementing A Ticketing System Platform

THE NEW ASKTECH: Implementing A Ticketing System Platform For Technical Services Resource Troubleshooting Dennis Christman Metadata Transformation Librarian, Duke University

THE NEW ASKTECH What is Ask. Tech? Problems with existing model Search for an alternative Implementation stages Going live Results Going forward

WHAT IS ASKTECH? A service for library staff to request work from Technical Services: Needs new spine labels Database access issues Catalog errors Rush order requests

WHAT IS ASKTECH? A listserv: asktech@duke. edu How it worked: Email came in from public services library staff Technical services staff read the email The staff member it applies to responds

PROBLEMS WITH EXISTING MODEL 10 years old: service has grown Staff time: everyone reads every message Unanswered tickets Multiple answers for the same ticket Lack of stats: Recorded: ~300 requests Actual: > 1200 requests

SEARCH FOR ALTERNATIVE: THE PLATFORM Factors to consider: Cost Complexity Customization Reporting Automated

SEARCHING FOR AN ALTERNATIVE: THE WORKFLOW The ‘Triager’ workflow: Email comes in from public services staff A designated group of ‘Triagers’ get the message A triager assigns the issue to the proper staff Staff responds to the issue as appropriate

SEARCHING FOR AN ALTERNATIVE: THE SOLUTION The solution: Spiceworks An IT ticketing system Designed for large-scale IT helpdesk organizations Highly customizable Low maintenance Cost: FREE

IMPLEMENTATION STEPS: SET UP Two versions of Spiceworks: Hosted or On Prem Went with On Prem for security concerns Set up a server and install the software: Handled by IT Create alerts, notifications, and category list Customize notifications: Liquid Templating Language

IMPLEMENTATION STEPS: TESTING 6 Testers: 2 Triagers 2 Techs to work on tickets 2 Users to submit tickets 3 ‘Sprints’: 2 days each: Each user would submit 3 tickets each day to be assigned answered At end of sprint, each tester would provide feedback Between sprints, feedback was implemented and roles were rotated

IMPLEMENTATION STEPS: TESTING Specific Scenarios: Reassigning tickets Ccing people on tickets Goals for testing: Get customizations right Learn what to emphasize on for training

GO LIVE! Month before: Train Triagers, create documentation Week before: Train everyone else, create accounts Week before: Communication sent to all library staff Day of: Change email address to point to the Spiceworks server instead of the listserv Ongoing: Weekly, then Bi-weekly meetings for Triagers

GO LIVE!: RESULTS Success! So far so good. Mostly, our users don’t really notice Still iterating. The infinite loop Stats! So far (3/28/18): 518 Tickets

STILL TO DO Visualizations: Waiting for more data Backups: We need vacations! Public facing FAQ Replace preexisting Qualtrics submission form with the built in Spiceworks Portal Keep on iterating

QUESTIONS? Dennis. Christman@duke. edu