CSG Org WorkshopSlide 1 98/9/17, pel If I Ran the Circus... Phil Long Yale University.

CSG Org Workshop Slide 1

98/9/17, pel

If I Ran the Circus . . .

Phil Long

Yale University


98/9/17, pel


98/9/17, pel

Support Theory

• Distributed Support

• Put answers where the questions are

• Answer the need not simply the IT question– content knowledge helps greatly

• Clients are more understanding of staff whom they know

• Allow clients reasonable control over their support– Who is hired, how they are evaluated

– What is to be supported

– How much support is to be provided

• Demand that clients take responsibility for their support– Annual planning

– Living standard for support


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Distributed, Tiered Support

History of Art Facilities

Safety Net

pel, 98/4/13

Help DeskAcademic

Computing

Admin

Systems

Client Client Client Client

DCC DCC

Lib Selectors Business Center

Librarians Application Specialists, Engineers, Wizards Admin Experts

A Rich Network of Connections among Second and Third Tiers

Cli

e nt

Tie

r 1

Tie

r 2

Tie

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ITS


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Support for FAS Students• Late 80s: first systematic distributed support at Yale

• Student support is a unique application of standard skills– Hours: to midnight and later

– Location: clusters plus residence halls

– Courseware and materials unique to teaching and learning

• Currently 50 Computing Assistants provide support for– 4,400 resident undergraduates

– plus 24 clusters

• One Manager

• Supported by cluster, windows and mac professionals


98/9/17, pel

Faculty Support for FAS Departments• Basic departmental plan required• First Tier (humanities)

– 1/2 hour per faculty member per year of local support

– a new machine every four years

– casual employee, typically a graduate student

– trained, supervised by Academic Computing

• First Tier (science and engineering)– 1 hour per faculty member per year of local support

– no machine

• Second, Third Tier– Escalation for content and standard questions

– ITS Support for commodity questions

– Access to experts


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Support for Administrative Departments

• Library developed an “expert users” program– administrative version of distributed support

• ITS has adopted this model for the future– now working with departments to develop

– will take a year or two or three


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Support for Schools

• Planning consultation with all schools

• Medicine, Management and Law have substantial local support organizations

– Coordinate standards with Medicine

– Provide limited tier 2, 3 support for Management

– Law sub-contracts for email, PPP, student network

• Other schools sub-contract for student email


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Advisory Function

• Why?– To raise consciousness

– To inform

– To advise, confirm or set direction

– NOT to micromanage

– NOT (only) to gripe

• Well focused works best

• Chair is critical– Faculty chair is best, but hard


98/9/17, pel

Social Science Advisory Committee Works well

• Tightly focused

• Rigorous staff support/organization

• Faculty are very interested in the committee

– Their decisions have direct impact

• turned a lab into a classroom

• set software standards

• decided printing charge-back, etc.

– so they contribute

• direct contact to the Provost developed needed funding


98/9/17, pel

ITS Advisory Committee is more mixed

• Agenda is very broad

– many issues of interest only to a sub-set of faculty

• - What are the advisory bodies around IT (faculty, administrative, departmental). - Any other key committee, task-force structures. - How are some of the key functions managed within the central organization and campus wide (e.g., security, training)?


98/9/17, pel

Organizational Strains

• Project X

• The high cost of support– New applications

– Stealth demands (client/server needs)

– Rising Expectations

• The high cost of ubiquity and reliance– Must move from a boutique to a production model

• The pace of the IT industry

• Organizational change is difficult and costly– to staff

– to clients


98/9/17, pel

Phil’s Thoughts on Organization

Academic Common Services Admin

ProvostAVP

CIO

Acad applsEmerging SvcsUnique supportClient Planning

Dev & SupportAdmin appls

Unique supportClient Planning

“Commodity”Data, Voice, Video

OperationsEmail, Calendar, etc.Commodity Support

User Accounts

Security

CommunicationsSpecial Projects

Technology & Planing

BusinessHR

Computer Policy Board(Board of Directors)


98/9/17, pel

A Client’s View of Organization

Department

Client

Direct Accessto Services

Order ConnectionSet up Account

etc.(Web, phone, person)

Local Support

Acad or AdminConsulting/Planning


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“Board of Directors”

• A panel to set overall strategy and policy at the highest level

• At Berkeley, a meeting of the relevant officers and IT leader, chaired by the chancellor


98/9/17, pel

Reporting

• The IT organization needs close interaction for planning, budgeting and operational issues with– Academic and Administrative leadership

– either as a peer

– or by joint or separate full or dotted line reporting


98/9/17, pel

Academic• Primary interface to academic clients

– Work with departments to plan local environments

– Prepare for big local events

– Respond to major problems, issues

• Regional & institutional services to meet academic needs– initial major email implementation

– student network

– high performance computing, etc.

– Often may eventually migrate to production services

• University or consortial (departmental and grant) funding


98/9/17, pel

Common Services

• “Commodity Services”– Mature

– Production orientation

• Provides services common to academic and administrative clients

• Close collaboration with acad & admin– for planning

– to address difficult situations

• Typically charge-back either directly, or via


98/9/17, pel

Technology and Planning

• The “architecture” or “design” group

• Also tracks and pilots new technology

• Partners with acad and admin development/implementation

• Institutional orientation

• Once systems are developed, turned over to ITS for production


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Communications

• A critical, often short changed function

• Articulates the organization strategy for the community

• And for the organization!

• Staff must understand the issues and the strategy– this is not simply a “news reporter”


98/9/17, pel

Conclusions

• Organization provides formal channels to assure essential functions

• Organization cannot substitute for adequate staff

• But bad organization can unnecessarily sap client or staff time

• Flexibility is always essential

CSG Org WorkshopSlide 1 98/9/17, pel If I Ran the Circus... Phil Long Yale University.

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