After Hours Support & Resource Sharing Practices/Experiences

CQUniversity

• Rockhampton, Bundaberg, Gladstone, Mackay, Emerald, Noosaville

• “International Campuses”: Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Gold Coast. Operated as a wholly-owned subsidiary

Campuses

Clients

• 20,000 students (14,000 EFTSL)• 30% of students flex/distance• Reliance on:

• network/videoconferencing (to 9 or 10pm) 150 hours per week

• Web-based lectures (on demand) – 100 hours per week

• Course websites• 2,300 staff(Note: Figures based on end 2007 data)

ITD

Information Technology Division:• 96 established (operational staff) positions

Recently:• All ICT staff centralised• ICT infrastructure centralised• Restructured• Downsized (from around 125)

• Most ITD staff based at Rockhampton• Teams of 2 (Field Support) at Mackay,

Gladstone, Bundaberg• Contracted support for Emerald &

Noosaville• Helpdesk counter combined with Library

service counter

International Campuses

International Campuses:• Hours of operation vary• Reliance on infrastructure in Rockhampton

‘Normal’ Hours of Operation

Helpdesk/ITD working hours:• 8am – 5pm Mon-Friday all campus• Not on public holidays

Teaching Space Support/Videoconferencing• 7.30am – 10pm, Mon-Fri (teaching weeks)

Systems ‘available’• 24x7

‘Preferred’ Maintenance (system downtime) Window• 7pm-Midnight Wednesdays• Clients informed of downtime on preceding

Monday

‘Normal’ Hours of Operation

Helpdesk:• Call Centre: 8am – 5pm Mon-Friday

(Rockhampton based)• Local campus support (larger campuses)

8am-5pm• Over-the-counter: 9am – 5pm Mon-Friday

(combined with Library service counter)

‘Normal’ Hours of Operation

Teaching Space Support/Videoconferencing:• 7.30am – 10pm, Mon-Fri (teaching weeks)• Telephone hotline• After 5pm - Rockhampton-based remote support

only, 1 staff member• Remote support tools• Established “backup plans”/scripts• Escalation to senior manager (not formalised)

After Hours Support - now

Infrastructure support:• On-Call Saturday & Sunday - 8am-6pm (No on-call on weekday evenings)• 4 x level 3 staff: Windows Sys Admin + Unix Sys Admin + dBA + Networking• Infrastructure event alerts/paging• Hotline number -> on call mobile (diversion managed by a web interface)• Who can call the hotline?

– Library (they work weekends)– International Campus IT support staff (work some weekends)– ITD staff (e.g. Teaching support during extended hours)– Significant service failures only

Small campuses: • outsource contract includes 3 hour ‘emergency’ response during extended

hours

Compensation - now

On-call:• 7.5% loading after hours on weekdays

10% loading for weekends15% loading for public holidays

• 2-hours minimum overtime for call-out• Overtime:

– 150% for 1st 3 hours– 200% thereafter

Industrial

• Minimum 10 hour break

New CQUniversity EBA (UCA):• ITD staff are ‘special’:

– HEW8 IT staff can be paid overtime (usually cuts off at HEW7)

– Infrastructure + Support staff can be asked to work 6am-12midnight, 7 days per week as part of a roster (15% loading if starting at10am or later, Sat & Sun attract 150% pay rate)

Some challenges

• Infrastructure alerts don’t pick up all of the service issues• Network team not big enough to support a shared on-call

roster• 4 x level 3 staff required to cover all critical systems on-call• On-site support @ remote campuses• No extra funding• Recent sustained period of change & resultant pressure on

staff• Effect of shift rosters on “day-time” workload• After hours helpdesk VS after-hours service support – where

should our focus/investment be?

Strategies

• Self-service– Integrated client CRM/Knowledge base (Onyx/KNOVA)– Web-based password reset facility

• Build resilient student-facing services– Technical reference group, solution design checked/approved

• Improve monitoring and alerts– Application-based monitoring

• Trialling a modest increase in ‘normal working hours’ during weekdays

• Refine approach: On-call support + monitoring/alerts as a standard part of implementation planning/handover to production

• On-call/shift work built into all Infrastructure & Support PDs• Cross-skilling on-call staff• Knowledge base/documentation

Some ideas to explore

• Teaching space support team work to 10pm now – use them to provide a/h call centre/screening and/or extended hours student helpdesk?

• Partnering with other organisations• Local power company – pays an annual

loading to Infrastructure staff, which includes on-call duties + some call-outs

Course Websites – Utilisation Patterns

Pages/Hits/Bandwidth