ITS Help Desk Call Priorities

Introduction

This document outlines response time targets users can expect in relation to ITS (Information Technology Services) and communication incidents that are logged through the ITS Help Desk. A response time clock commences when a call is logged on our Help Desk support system. At this point the details of the incident or service are entered into the system.

When an incident or service request is logged as a call by IT Service Desk, it is allocated a unique reference number and assigned a priority. This priority is used by ITS to plan and allocate its finite resources. The priority of an incident or service request is assigned by the Service Desk as determined by its impact and urgency.

ITS prioritizes all issues by analyzing the campus impact and the customer urgency. For example, an issue will be given the highest priority if it is something that affects an entire building or system ( i.e. CNC registration doesn't work, or the network is down in a computer lab). Medium priority is given in cases where an individual may be affected, has requested a service, or there is a degraded service but it doesn't keep you from performing your work. Lower priority will be assigned for instances where your work can continue, the software request is not included in the suite of core applications (not supported on the standard desktop software suite), or the tasks are not necessarily related to College business.

Resolution times described below are targets and may vary based on current demand especially during peak times such as beginning of semesters. Targeted resolution times are also based on onsite availability. ITS will do what it can when addressing regional campus issues in a timely manner in co-ordination with the local technology representatives.

Incidents & Requests Queues
Priority	Criteria	Initial Response Target Within Business Hours***	Resolution Target**	Examples
Urgent	Emergency. Needs to be resolved as soon as possible. Major impact on more than one person or VIP.	1 hour	5 Hours (Immediate & sustained action using all available resources until resolved)	Network or Server Issues (effecting multiple user, ex. 50 users) Reputation of College may be effected Executive Person(s)/President Issues Maintenance to avoid imminent failure Critical service data integrity issues Critical Business functions Server down Phone system down Email down Web Server down
High	System or component is down, requestor cannot carry out normal work responsibilities and no alternative is available.	Within 4 hrs	24 Hours(Immediate response and staff action interrupting lower priority jobs until resolved)	Unable to log into Network (single user) Unable to log into account (single user) Database/Server/Application Access Incident Classroom Down (current class impacted) Computer not booting up User data integrity issue Printing issues effecting multiple users Required software/hardware update
Medium	System or component is down or degraded, but requestor can carry out normal work responsibilities and/or temporary alternative is available.	Within 8 hrs	5 Business Days	Network Printer Down (single user impact) Application Errors Desktop System Performance slow Minor Equipment Failure (able to find alternative) Database/Server/Application Access Changes Create new user account User data integrity issue Create new user account or grant access to an IT system
Low	Enhancement, planned change, general application questions.	Within 3 Business Days	21 Business Days	Software Installation General Application Questions System Enhancements Provide new phone/network connection Office moves
Change	Requests for changes to Major Services	Within 8 Business Days	As Scheduled (Determined between ITS & Customer)	Software upgrade effecting > 10 users Server Hardware upgrades Server Software upgrades
None (Projects) (Research)	Requires Software development. Providing New or additional IT Services. Involves Project teams	20 Business Days to assess scope of assistance required	No fixed time and will be evaluated against resources available	Project requests Work orders or request that require > 35 hours of work Investigations or Research Non Standard requests for services or information
* Off hours Urgent Incidents should be reported to Security. Security will escalate to ITS. Resolution time will vary depending on the nature of the issue and need for follow up or escalation. Certain policies will take precedence over these published resolution times such as lab updates where a separate ITS policy is already in place. *Business Hours: Monday-Friday (8:00am-12:00am/1:00pm-4:00pm)

Exceptions

At their discretion, the IT Help Desk Administrator or relevant ITS administrator personnel may amend the priority of call that is logged. Often calls can be responded to quicker than the target times but there will be occasions when targets will be missed. In particular:

Where a particular IT Service is supported by a single member of staff who is absent
During holiday times where staff holidays affect the ability of IT Services to respond to calls
During very busy times of the year (such as the first few weeks of the semester) when the sheer number of calls can cause delays
Contact and response times may depend on the availability of the network, email, and telephone system
Where a response requires information/support from external vendors
If a major system fails, and a full recovery is evoked, restoration of service will depend on the length of time needed to restore data (which could be up to 48 hours)

Wherever possible, IT Help Desk staff will inform users if it is likely that the call cannot be dealt with in the target times and the reason for this. Every effort will be made to keep the user informed once an issue or requests has been assigned as to the status until completion. Upon completion, ITS will follow up to confirm if the issue or request has been handled successfully and documented clearly in the ITS tracking system before closure.

Wherever possible, ITS staff will inform users if it is unlikely that the issue cannot be dealt with in the target times and the reason for this. When assigning priorities to calls we will have regard to any existing internal/external Service Level Agreements between IT Services and various Schools/Professional Services and external suppliers.

Support, and therefore response times will only apply to College supported software and hardware. On occasion the IT Help Desk will log calls for unsupported services and pass these to relevant personnel in the College. These will be marked as 'Unsupported' and there is no associated response or resolution times for this category when associated with another department.

Problem Tracking

The ITS Help Desk files a ticket for 100% of the interactions that must be escalated; the goal is to file a ticket for 100% of all interactions as well. If the problem is not resolved on the first contact, it is escalated to an IT department team member for service on site or through remote support, or to a Support Partner within the College. Open tickets assigned to the ITS Help Desk are reviewed daily.

Remote Desktop Access & Management

Depending on the availability of technical resources, ITS Help Desk staff will make every effort to resolve issues at the time of the service call by using remote access tools. This will allow an ITS member to access the caller's desktop remotely for the purpose of expediting the resolution of the call. The caller can view the activity on the local monitor as it occurs.

The ITS staff member will request and receive the caller's consent before accessing the machine remotely. If consent is not given, the call will be re-assigned the appropriate level of priority and escalated to the IT departmental staff.

Responsibilities

IT Responsibilities

The Helpdesk will make every effort to resolve issues at the time of the service call.
Helpdesk staff will log and assign priorities for all requests at the time of the call, based on specific definitions.
Requests will be handled according to the Priority assigned to them.
Support will be provided by IT based on the Priority of the call ticket.
Every effort will be made to keep the requester updated until their issue is resolved.

Customer Responsibilities

In order to facilitate the support process, members of the College of New Caledonia community are requested to:

Provide detailed information regarding Incident requests.
Make every effort to be available to communicate with a Helpdesk personnel if required. The Helpdesk will try to contact the Customer up to three times by email or voice mail. The Helpdesk will close the call ticket if they have not received any response from the client within the Resolution Time for the priority of incident.
Read and understand all the Information Technology policies that have been approved and posted.
Provide as much lead time for requests as possible so ITS may schedule and assign resources to meet College demand.
Provide consent for ITS personnel to access the computer remotely or in person in your absence when requested.
Check the IT website frequently for information and links to self-help assistance.
Exercise patience by understanding the volume of requests the Helpdesk receives each day and the rationale for assessing service priorities.
Check campus wide announcements via email.