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CUSTOMER SERVICE ASSESSMENTBusiness Information Technology Services (aka BITS)The customer service assessment for the Business Information Technology Services (BITS) was conducted in December 2006 through January 2007. As a result of this assessment, it was determined that overall BITS is performing well and our customers seem to be pleased with the service provided by the Department. BITS conducted two separate surveys at this time. One survey was aimed at our external (to the Division of Business and Finance) campus constituents. A second survey was conducted for Business and Finance employees. The campus constituent’s survey was a shorter version of B&F survey, with more targeted questions in regards to the systems that may be utilized by our campus constituents. The internal survey also contained questions constructed to garner information pertaining to the functional user’s interaction with technology (something not really required of the campus constituents). Students were not targeted as we have minimal interaction with the student population on campus; we support the departments who serve the students. Thirty four employees accessed the survey; fifteen accessed the shorter survey, and nineteen accessed the long survey. Of these, twenty two completed the survey; seven completed the short survey, fifteen the long survey. The fact that nine other surveys had been released by Business & Finance starting in October, prior to the release of the BITS surveys, could have affected the number (verbal comments received by campus constituents highlight this point). The following is a summary of the key questions asked of both groups: Quality of Most Recent Service: The following are combined ratings of “Very Satisfied” and “Satisfied” for this service.
BITS will need to improve its Customer Service with our Campus constituents. The following are combined ratings of “Good” and “Excellent” for these services. These ratings are an aggregate of multiple questions in regards to specific systems BITS administers.
Looking at the campus constituents responses it could be taken to be rather low score, but when the ‘Not Applicable’ response (the respondent did not interact with us on that particular system) were factored in, we received a near perfect score (Responsiveness received one Poor and Helpfulness received one Fair mark). Internally within B&F, we are doing well, but with room for improvement.
Overall, BITS is doing well, again, with room for improvement. Since the web is a major tool utilized in communicating information to the campus and the division, we asked both groups to assess a few basic features of the web services. The following are combined ratings of “Good” and “Excellent” for these services.
Overall the web server fared well, but there is some major work to be done to bring that up. We’ll need to work on the Site Navigation and Search implementation. We’ll need to do a lot of work with the campus community to fix the shortcomings of our web presence. The new web design being created for the campus may offer us an opportunity to improve these services. We implemented a new A-Z index last summer 06 and started to expand it in the fall 07. We may want to investigate highlighting this option on the B&F web site. We also implemented a new look to the main B&F web page that garnered many verbal comments of support. Continuing this positive change is warranted. The major complaint heard in the past, but not noted here on the Forms question is: “I want to save my data with the form.” This unfortunately is a limitation of the Adobe Acrobat PDF Forms we utilize. Adobe Acrobat PDF is a defacto standard for distributing information and forms, but the main complaint with everyone who uses them is the inability to save data using the free Adobe Reader. There are solutions available, but they have been very cost prohibitive. With the newly released Adobe Acrobat 8, it is now possible to save data with the form using the free Adobe Reader 8 and we are in the process of investigating this (the service comes with caveats we discovered upon installation) and will be implementing this once we understand the limitations imposed by this new feature. Hopefully with the changes scheduled for web services we can provide the level of service expected of this major communication tool. All respondents indicated that the systems and services BITS maintains are very important to their work; highlighting the need to keep these systems operational, and keep the lines of communication open between the campus constituency, BITS, and the functional departments that are the custodians of the data and services we offer and maintain. The following information is in regards to the comments that were submitted by the campus constituents. In reviewing the on-line responses of items that the respondents noted as very important to the campus constituency included: · Payroll · Personnel Information · Budget Reports and Data Extracts was referenced multiple times · Outlook compatible Contact List. We are hoping that being a pilot school in implementing eApps has allowed
our campus constituents better access to their Personal Human Resources,
Payroll, and Benefits information. The Outlook compatible Contact List was a surprise entry in the list. This was a side service created for internal use and offered as an extra to the University community. Changes in phone systems and directory responsibility (responsibility for the directory has never resided with BITS), and changing roles within BITS has curtailed the production of the electronic phone directory recently. We have been working with ITS (before we received the survey responses) in testing a ‘live’ Contact List instead of the once a year static list we previously produced. This ‘live’ list will be offered to the University. In reviewing the on-line responses of items that respondents would like to see improved, the following two comments were left: · Overall knowledge, and latitude to properly resolve problems on their own · Too many options on the side bar on the Business & Finance web server We continue to cross train the BITS Tech support team, but it is not always possible for any one particular technician to know all the components of a system. Not knowing the full story of this comment I can only responded with multiple hypothetical answers. Some systems are composed of multiple servers, or the technician helping someone may be the back up technician and is still in the process of learning that particular system. We feel it is important that the secondary technician be involved and the best way for them to gain more experience is for them to aid in troubleshooting. With the complexities of the system in use now, it is sometimes safest to have multiple viewpoints on a problem to be assured that the solution proposed is the correct one. We also have issues with some problems that require interpretation with the functional department personnel. We may understand the system, but we may not understand why something looks like it does until we talk with the department that entered the data. There are also times when only the vendor of a system knows what the solution is. As we continue to outsource systems, we will continue to run into situations where not knowing the exact cause or solution will be more common and consultation with vendors is required. In addition to continuously adding systems to the services we offer, it is not possible to know all the in’s and out’s of every system we maintain. We must work with those whose software it is, and with different technicians as systems become more connected and dependent on each other. We will continue to research methods available to present a full list of all the services that the Business & Finance Division offers, but not hide any service below many layers of web pages forcing our campus constituency to dig for the information they require. It is a fine balancing act to offer as much information as required, without overwhelming the person looking for the information. The campus constituents also expressed a desire for future expansion: · Expansion of Asset Inventory system · Make Purchase Orders paperless These two systems are part of the University System of Georgia’s GAFirst Project. The Project is implemented across the USG system for a majority of the schools in the system and changes and enhancements must go through the GAFirst Project approval process.
The remainder of the CS Assessment will summarize the questions asked only
of B&F. 1. Interaction with BITS. 2. How are the B&F personnel working with computers (do we have concerns that need to be addressed?) 3. What needs do they see in the future.
When asked about how the division felt about security, 80% responded Excellent/Good, with a 20% Neutral response. We know we need to provide more security training and communications and we are working with the campus IT community to provide training and communications. Recent changes in technology has hampered the ability to provide training that was scheduled last fall. When they were asked about particular procedures utilized on the computer that may put their data or computer at risk, it was very evident that more education is required to ensure a safe working environment. We received good information concerning the software packages they find important, and what systems that are not required as much. This information will help us plan on how to move forward. |
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