Unidata Support Tools and Plans Unidata Policy and
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Unidata Support Tools and Plans Unidata Policy and Users Committee May 2005
A User’s View of Unidata Support • Email exchange with UPC staff • • • Searchived email: Google, glimpse, . . . Web presence: FAQs, tutorials, user guides, workshop materials, newsletters Topical email lists Drop-in consultation Telephone consultation Workshops: package-specific, regional, specialpurpose Proactive support Conference presentations, seminars, webcasts Site visits, community outreach, buddy system, . . .
Another Kind of Support • Making new data available to the community • • • identification of new data source of value to community negotiation for access to new data work with provider to adopt standards (e. g. , net. CDF conventions) incorporation of data into existing analysis/visualization packages announcement monitoring data changes
The Current Unidata Support Process • • • Home-grown system developed and evolved at UPC Initiated by site or UPC • • • contact through email, web form, phone routed to appropriate staff expert for response interactive questions/answers cycle via email resolution saved and indexed for future use Topic email list exchanges moderated by staff experts
Limitations of Current Support Process • • First-level routing of email is time consuming Not scalable to anticipated growth • • • more users in current community new communities lack of expertise in unfamiliar disciplines Current web interface is primitive Providing support competes with development resources • • • this is not new support also benefits packages contact with users is necessary and rewarding
Plans for Improving Support • Better facilities and tools for developers • • • Improving users ability to help themselves Evaluation of commercial solutions for features, ease of use • • e. Support www. kayako. com Request Tracker www. bestpractical. com/rt Each has different advantages, and we could transition to either easily Two sets of users: UPC support staff and community members Either system should improve efficiency of our support process
Plans for Improving Support(continued) • • • Roll out e. Support with facilities for submitting and tracking queries • • in version 2 of Unidata portal let users know it is experimental Incrementally add • • • knowledge bases from support archives FAQs troubleshooting networks Evaluate maintainability and extendibility
