Tech Corner

Tech Corner
IT Help is on the job

BY ANDREA POUND
Special to the Rice News

The Division of Information Technology (IT) has continued to refine IT Help, the new problem tracking site that replaced Dr. Problem in February.

Driven by new customer relations management software, IT Help boasts new features such as priority escalation, better queue organization and automatic customer info updates via an online directory database. New input fields on the IT Help Web site, <http://helpdesk.rice.edu>, allow customers to request appointments or grant authorization for the work to be completed even if the customer is not present when the IT consultant arrives.

Because the features allow IT consultants to manage their workflow more efficiently, customers will get the help they’re seeking faster.

“The real advantage of the new system is one that we can’t see yet,” said Rick Russell, IT Client Services Supervisor. “The ability to gather statistics on requests logged in the system will reveal what areas need more support.”

Stanley Dodds, associate professor of physics and astronomy, helped IT test the system and said that the problems he reported through IT Help had been handled quickly and noted the value of the new features of importance flagging and automatic upgrading. “The latter is particularly important, because problems sometimes just vanished into Dr. Problem, presumably lost in some queue,” he said.

Carolynne White, an IT support specialist, has received several positive comments about IT Help. “[People] feel that they get a quicker response, and that the e-mails generated by the new system are easier to understand.”

IT staff report that the system is making a difference for them. It is a primary way that IT staff communicate with each other about problems they’re working on jointly, and the new system facilitates the handoff of tickets from one group to another.

The new system makes it easier for staff to see urgent or unclaimed tickets and for managers to track the tickets their team is working on.

To request assistance for a computer or technology-related problem, visit the IT Help Web site at <http://helpdesk.rice.edu>. Customers may also call the Help Desk at 713-348-HELP (4357) or e-mail <helpdesk@rice.edu>.