SOP - Service Desk

Service Desk SOP, version 1.3

Page 2 of 35

FCMAT/California School Information Services

Standard Operating Procedure

for

Service Desk

i-1.4

September 19, 2009

DRAFT

This document incorporates ITIL Best Practices


Page 3 of 35

Table of Contents 1. Service Knowledge Management System ..............................................................................6

1.1 Program Documents Hierarchy ................................................................................................... 6 1.2 Intended Audience and Reading Suggestions ............................................................................. 7

2. Introduction..............................................................................................................................7 2.1 Document Purpose....................................................................................................................... 7 2.2 Document Conventions ............................................................................................................... 7 2.3 Revision Schedule ....................................................................................................................... 8 2.4 Approval Authority ..................................................................................................................... 8 2.5 Document Organization............................................................................................................... 8

3. Overview ...................................................................................................................................8 3.1 References and Links ................................................................................................................ 10 3.2 Assumptions About the Procedure ............................................................................................ 10

4. CSIS Products or Services Related to this SOP..................................................................10 4.1 Services Supported by the Service Desk ................................................................................... 10 4.2 Applications Supported by the CSIS Service Desk................................................................... 10

4.2.1 State Reporting and Records Transfer System (SRRTS) ...................................................... 10 4.2.2 California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS) .............................. 11

5. Clients Served and How the SOP Helps Ensure Value ......................................................11 6. CSIS Support Roles and Responsibilities ............................................................................12

6.1 Level 1....................................................................................................................................... 12 6.2 Level 2....................................................................................................................................... 12 6.3 Level 3....................................................................................................................................... 13

7. CALPADS Service Desk Standard Operating Procedures................................................15 7.1 CDE Roles and Responsibilities................................................................................................ 15 7.2 CALPADS Request Fulfillment ................................................................................................ 15 7.3 CALPADS Incidents ................................................................................................................. 15 7.4 CALPADS Metrics Reports for SLA ........................................................................................ 15

8. CSIS Service Desk Standard Operating Procedures..........................................................15 8.1 Service Operations..................................................................................................................... 15

8.1.1 Request Fulfillment ............................................................................................................... 17 8.1.2 Incident Management............................................................................................................ 19 8.1.3 New Service Requests........................................................................................................... 20 8.1.4 Manage Support Email In-box .............................................................................................. 21 8.1.5 Manage Support Voicemail box............................................................................................ 23

8.2 Common Service Operation Activities...................................................................................... 25 8.2.4 Monitoring SRRTS Availability ........................................................................................... 25 8.2.5 Voicemail Greeting Procedures............................................................................................. 25 8.2.6 Use a Mail Merge.................................................................................................................. 28 8.2.7 SIS Vendor Engagement ....................................................................................................... 29

8.3 Ensure Student Confidentiality.................................................................................................. 29 9. Procedure Diagrams ..............................................................................................................30

9.1 Phone requests ........................................................................................................................... 30 9.2 Email Requests .......................................................................................................................... 30 9.3 Service Desk High Level Process Diagram............................................................................... 31 9.4 Intake Request Diagram ............................................................................................................ 31 9.5 Categorization and Analysis Process Diagram.......................................................................... 32


Page 4 of 35

9.6 Escalation Process Diagram ...................................................................................................... 34 9.7 Closeout Process Diagram......................................................................................................... 35

10. Key Performance Indicators.................................................................................................35


Page 5 of 35

Revision History

Name Date Reason For Changes Version Angela Ratty 4.1.2009 Rewrote the Help Desk SOP; incorporated

ITIL standards i-1.0

Angela Ratty 4.15.2009 Updated with feedback from the CALPADS prep team.

i-1.1

Angela Ratty 5.01.2009 Updated with feedback from the CALPADS prep team.

i-1.2

Angela Ratty 08.04.2009 Added process for Direct Certification i-1.3 Angela Ratty 09.18.2009 Updated section on listserv maintenance now

that the LS have been consolidated. i.1.4

Approval History Approved By Title Version Approved Date Approved

Review Cycle Review Cycle Review Date Reviewer Status-Action Needed Every other year


Page 6 of 35

1. Service Knowledge Management System CSIS uses SharePoint as its Service Knowledge Management System for program documents such as standard operating procedures (SOPs). SOPs are stored in the following location in SharePoint:

CSIS Document Library/Plan and or Procedure Documents/Standard Operating Procedure Guides

1.1 Program Documents Hierarchy The CSIS Program Documents Hierarchy graphic is included to illustrate the relationship of this SOP to higher-level program documents such as the Program Charter for CSIS and the Strategic Plan for CSIS. The documents hierarchy for this SOP is included below.


Page 7 of 35

1.2 Intended Audience and Reading Suggestions The primary audience for this document is the Client Services staff of the CSIS organization. Client Services staff and those designees responsible for support activities and procedures must be thoroughly familiar with the processes defined by this document. Other CSIS staff who interact with clients may want to be familiar with the procedures for logging service requests. Those reading this document may find it useful to read the following documents for background information:

The CSIS Program Charter and CSIS Boot Camp training material.

These documents are located in Sharepoint CSIS Boot Camp

2. Introduction

2.1 Document Purpose This document provides a framework for the Service Desk processes and procedures in the Client Services (CS) department within the California School Information Services (CSIS) organization.

2.2 Document Conventions The title page and header of this document should contain a version number in the form i-X.Y where:

i means the document has been written or revised to align with ITIL Best Practices.

X is the version number in sequence 1 through N

Y is the revision number in sequence .1 through .N

The first approved version of the document will be numbered i-1.0.

Subsequent versions that represent substantial change to the document (for example, changes in scope such as adding or deleting work products or processes or major changes in the process) and will be serially numbered to the left of the decimal (for example i-2.0, i-3.0,...) once it has been approved by CSIS management.

Minor revisions (that is, format, spelling, updates to links or reference documents) will retain the major version number and increment the revision number to the right of the decimal (for example i-1.0, i-1.1, i-1.2,…).


Page 8 of 35

2.3 Revision Schedule This document shall be reviewed at least every other year and updated as necessary. SOPs are living documents. As procedures change or reference documents or links are updated, this SOP should be updated as soon as possible.

2.4 Approval Authority The CSIS Chief Operations Officer (COO) shall approve the initial version of this document and updates to it that result in a change in the “X” part of the version number. Minor revisions (e.g. changes in the “Y” part of the version number and minor updates to procedures do not require COO approval; these revisions are approved by the manager responsible for the SOP.

2.5 Document Organization Section 1 presents SharePoint as the CSIS Service Knowledge Management System for program documents, the CSIS Document Hierarchy, the intended audience and reading suggestions.

Section 2 is an introduction to the document, describing the document purpose, conventions, revision schedule, approval authority, and document organization.

Section 3 provides a brief overview of procedure, references and assumptions.

Section 4 describes roles and responsibilities related to this SOP.

Section 5 describes CSIS products or services related to this SOP.

Section 6 describes clients for the products or services related to this SOP and how this SOP will ensure value to clients.

Section 7 discusses the CALPADS Service Desk

Section 8 details the process step-by-step procedures for this SOP.

Section 9 includes the diagram of the procedures.

Section 10 includes key performance indicators for the process.

3. Overview Section 49080 of the California Education Code states that the Legislature finds and declares that the mission of the California School Information Services (CSIS) program is to achieve the following goals:


Page 9 of 35

• Build the capacity of local education agencies to implement and maintain comparable, effective and efficient pupil information systems that will support their daily program needs, assist local education agencies in improving the outcomes of pupils, and promote the use of information for educational decision making by school site, district office, and county staff.

• Enable the accurate and timely exchange of pupil transcripts between local education agencies and to postsecondary institutions.

• Assist local education agencies to transmit state and federal reports electronically to the State Department of Education, thereby reducing the reporting burden of local education agency staff.”

The CSIS Service Desk supports Local Education Agencies (LEAs) in the above endeavors. The CSIS Service Desk Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) outlines the procedures to process LEA support requests. The Service Desk is the single point of contact for users requesting information, requesting a service, or reporting an incident. The CSIS Service Desk is responsible for handling phone and email intake and providing a resolution.

In response to the federal No Child Left Behind Act, in 2002 the California Legislature passed Senate Bill 1453 authorizing the state to build the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS). In partnership with the California Department of Education (CDE), CSIS provides Helpdesk services to support the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS). CDE and CSIS have developed a Service Level Agreement (SLA) with Service Level Objectives that will be used to measure the Service Desk performance.

The Service Desk staff will respond, document, track, manage, resolve, and report on all end user requests.

The SOP will document the following:

• How to categorize, process, and escalate a request

• The location of various reference documents to assist in request resolution.

• Acceptable communication practices with users by keeping them informed of request progress, notifying them of system changes, disseminating milestone and deadline information, etc.

• How to maintain contact information

• Steps to maintain student confidentiality

• Process flows for ensuring Service Level Objectives are met

• Staff roles and responsibilities


Page 10 of 35

3.1 References and Links References and links are provided in Appendix A of this document.

3.2 Assumptions About the Procedure Service Desk intake is for external clients using our products, such as SRRTS, or a stakeholder inquiry about results from our products. Internal technical support is not in the scope of the Service Desk responsibilities. Internal technical support procedures are documented in the Information Systems Support SOP.

The processes and procedures for carrying out training activities are not documented in this SOP. The CSIS Training SOP covers these activities.

4. CSIS Products or Services Related to this SOP

4.1 Services Supported by the Service Desk The Service Desk supports all external components of the CSIS service catalog. The service catalog is published here: (location TBD).

4.2 Applications Supported by the CSIS Service Desk

4.2.1 State Reporting and Records Transfer System (SRRTS)

In the past, the State Reporting and Records Transfer System (SRRTS) has been the main application in support of the CSIS mission. CALPADS will be replacing most of the SRRTS functionality. SRRTS is the legacy electronic system of student information transfer for state reporting and student records transfer. DataGate is the component of SRRTS that the LEA users currently access. Program functions are resident in the user workstation and on the CSIS server, which validates, processes, and ultimately sends LEA data to the appropriate consumer of the data. Listed below are the SRRTS modules that will continue to be maintained and supported.

Records Transfer:

• CSIS' Academic Records Transfer (ART) and Eligibility in the Local Context (ELC) submissions provide local education agencies with a cost-effective and secure means to electronically transfer student transcript data to other education institutions.

User Preferences:


Page 11 of 35

• Translations: This interface enables LEAs to use their own local codes for such items as Ethnicity, Home Language and many other data elements. CSIS has implemented translation tables to enable mapping of local codes to the standard set of state codes noted in the Data Dictionary Code Tables. Translation settings apply to all data submissions and are invoked whenever an applicable data element is used.

• Preferences: This interface enables LEAs to set the error return threshold on various reports, as well as other transaction options.

Triggers:

• The trigger panel is used by SRRTS administrators to schedule when and where batches of data are to be sent.

Job Scheduler:

• Job Scheduler is a back-end tool that allows SRRTS administrators to check transaction statuses and manually configure it to execute a number of different tasks.

SRRTS Administration panel:

• The SRRTS Administration Panel is the tool used to administer user profiles and roles.

4.2.2 California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS)

CALPADS will be the foundation of California’s K-12 education data system, enabling the migration from the current numerous aggregate data collections to a flexible system based on detail student- and teacher-level data. In partnership with the California Department of Education (CDE), CSIS will provide service desk services to support CALPADS.

5. Clients Served and How the SOP Helps Ensure Value Clients for the purpose of this SOP include staff in Local Education Agencies (LEA), CDE staff, other government agency staff, Student Information System (SIS) vendors, and staff in Postsecondary institutions.

All CSIS SOPs are designed to enhance the value CSIS provides to its clients through a focus on utility and warranty.

• Utility, or fitness for purpose, is the functionality offered by a product or service to meet a particular need.

• Warranty, or fitness or use, is a promise or guarantee that a product or service will meet its agreed requirements.

1. A description of how the SOP will help ensure it enhances the utility of these products and services for the clients identified in the section above.


Page 12 of 35

2. A description of how the SOP will help ensure each product or service meets its requirements.

This SOP will enhance the warranty of CSIS products and services by providing direction, improving communication, reducing training time, and increasing consistency and efficiency in the services that are delivered. The value to the client is quick and effective access to our services.

To help continual improvement of this process, this SOP includes key performance indicators (KPIs) in Section 10. See that section for an explanation of how KPIs contributes to the CSIS continual service improvement process.

6. CSIS Support Roles and Responsibilities In general, the Service Desk should be the single point of contact (SPOC) for external clients. Most requests for service should be routed through the Service Desk so that they can be logged and managed through the procedures documented in this SOP.

6.1 Level 1 Client Support Technicians

The CSIS Client Support Technicians are the primary point of contact for CALPADS and DataGate end users. The technicians log and prioritize all incoming support requests, communicate resolutions to users, and escalate issues where appropriate.

6.2 Level 2 Data Analysts

The CSIS Data Analysts are subject matter experts and provide second level support. Issues escalated from Level 1 are routed to the Analysts for diagnosis and resolution. The Analysts are also responsible for monitoring LEA progress and ensuring LEAs meet the submission deadlines. The Data Analysts may determine that a service request is actually a defect and will route the incident to Problem Management.

Field Support Technicians and Field Support Specialists (Conditional)

During peak processing times (i.e., submission deadlines) the Field Support Technicians and Specialists also provide second level support. Requests that cannot be resolved by Level 1 Support may be routed to the trainers for diagnosis and resolution. The trainers are also responsible for creating and maintaining submission based training materials, scheduling and


Page 13 of 35

conducting trainings, and hosting Q & A sessions. Reference the Client Services Training SOP for the full scope of trainer’s responsibilities.

Service Architect

The CSIS Client Service Architect monitors the performance of the Service Desk staff ensuring that service requests are responded to and resolved in accordance with the SLA and that procedures are followed in accordance with this SOP. The Service Architect also drafts communications sent to the user base regarding system functionality and outages, prepares reports for upper level management, and provides second level support as needed.

6.3 Level 3 Director of Client Services

In conjunction with other CSIS management staff, the Director of Client Services is responsible for planning and policy decisions. The Director also works with Student Information System (SIS) vendors to ensure their products are compliant with the state’s data collection requirements. The Director is accountable for the overall quality and level of service provided by the Service Desk.

Implementation Specialist

Implementation Specialists provide third level support to local education agencies with data challenges that are the result of poor local data management practices. LEAs that need extensive Level 1 and Level 2 assistance and do not seem to be making adequate progress on their own, LEAs that are consistently late with their submissions, and LEAs with excessive errors are all candidates for level 3 support from the Implementation Specialists. Because this type of level 3 support can often involve the Implementation Specialist traveling to the LEA to investigate local practices, LEAs that could benefit from this type of level 3 support are referred to the CSIS managers who jointly make a decision about when to deploy the Implementation Specialists for level 3 support, how long this support will be provided, and whether the service is free or provided on a fee-for-service basis. Implementation Specialists are also responsible for training new LEA data coordinators on data management practices, as well as conducting other trainings on local data management practices and hosting Q&A sessions on local data practices. The Implementation Specialists are responsible for creating and maintaining training materials and best practice tools and examples for these training sessions.

Table 1: Some Responsible, Accountable, Consulted and Informed (RACI) definitions

Role Role Code Definition

Responsible R This role conducts the actual work/owns the problem. There can be multiple R's. “The Doer.”

Accountabl A This role approves the completed work and is held fully accountable for it.


Page 14 of 35

e There should be only one A. “The buck stops here.”

Consulted C This role has the information and/or capability to complete the work. Two-way communication (typically between R and C). “In the loop.”

Informed I This role is to be informed of progress and results. This role receives one-way communication, usually from the R. This role is “kept in the picture” but is not involved in creating it.

Table 2: Service Desk RACI

Process Roles / Activities/Within Process

CS Tech

Data Analyst

Field Support

CS Architect

CS Director


Other CSIS Staff

Log all incident/service request details

R R R A C R

Update support voicemails for holidays

R A I

SRRTS Certificate Management RA C

Process CTC credential files RA C

Manage Transactions RA C C Assist SIS Vendors RI RI RA R C Set triggers I R/A I Analyze call statistics for continual improvement opportunities

I I I RA C I

Monitor service desk customer requests to identify training needs

RA C C

Manage LEA contact information R/A

Manage Listsrevs R/A Prepare KPI reports for management R/A C

Level 2 Support RA R R C


Page 15 of 35

Process Roles / Activities/Within Process

CS Tech

Data Analyst

Field Support

CS Architect

CS Director


Other CSIS Staff

Level 3 Support RA R Host Q & A sessions RA I I Incident Management R/A I R

Some of the processes documented in this SOP involve staff from other CSIS departments. For example, Incident Management is closely tied to the Problem Management process and New Service Requests are related to the Change Management process. Those processes are currently being revised. This SOP will be updated with more Roles and Responsibilities across the CSIS functional departments after the revisions are finalized.

7. CALPADS Service Desk Standard Operating Procedures

7.1 CDE Roles and Responsibilities Please reference the CSIS/CALPADS Service Level Agreement (location TBD)..

7.2 CALPADS Request Fulfillment Please reference the CALPADS Service Desk User Manual (location TBD).

7.3 CALPADS Incidents Please reference the CALPADS Service Desk Process Manual (location TBD).

7.4 CALPADS Metrics Reports for SLA Please reference the CSIS/CALPADS Service Level Agreement (location TBD)..

8. CSIS Service Desk Standard Operating Procedures

8.1 Service Operations The CSIS Service Desk is a function in the Service Operation lifecycle. Within the lifecycle, the CSIS Service Desk supports the following processes:


Page 16 of 35

• Request Fulfillment

• Incident Management

• New Service Requests

The requests that are routed through the Service Desk, typically through voicemail, calls, and emails, are classified and logged. CSIS is transitioning to a new Help Desk tracking software system. At the time of this writing the new tool is yet to be determined. The steps below outline the general process for tracking incoming service desk requests. The SOP will be updated after new the tool is implemented.

Table 3: Request Types

Request Type Description

Service Request A request from a user for information, advice, or for a standard change or access to a service.

Incident An unplanned interruption to a service or a reduction in the quality of a service (excluding user induced incidents, such as a failed hard drive).

New Service Request A request for a new service or feature to meet a new need.

Table 4: Request Type Examples

Service Request Incident New Service Request

• Transaction managing

• Corrupted Certificate

• Password resets/access to service

• Data reconciliation

• Technical assistance

• Information

o Business Rules

o Deadlines/Timelines

o Data Questions

• System outage

• Defect

• Inoperable phones

• New functionality

• Specialized service above the existing service catalogue


Page 17 of 35

Service Request Incident New Service Request

• Expected Schools

• Local hardware configuration issues

8.1.1 Request Fulfillment

Description: Request Fulfillment is the process of dealing with Service Requests. A service request is a request from a user for information, advice, or for a standard change or access to a service. Further details on the procedures commonly used to fulfill requests are detailed later in this document.

Objective: The objective of request fulfillment is to provide an avenue for users to request and receive standard services and information.

The CSIS Service Desk is the single point of contact for all SRRTS users, providing a single consistent level of communication and support. Clients may contact CSIS by phone, e-mail, or via web forms to report issues and to request assistance.

• CSIS support hours are from 7:00 AM – 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday, excluding State, Federal, and local holidays observed by CSIS.

• CSIS Support Phone Number: 916-325-9210

• CSIS E-mail Address: [email protected]

• CSS Web Forms: http://csis.k12.ca.us/support/ContactSupport/ Steps:

There are five basic steps to the request fulfillment process:

1. Intake: When a client makes contact with the service desk the support technician must first gather specific cursory information before continuing to categorize the request. Create a request in the system to track interaction with enough information to:

contact the customer back if unintentionally disconnected. understand what is being requested to move into Categorization process.


Page 18 of 35

2. Categorization: Once the initial intake of information is complete, the technician needs to take steps to determine if the request can be supported, how to support it, when it should be supported, and who is most appropriate to resolve the request.

3. Analysis: Determine the service needed and initiate the fulfillment procedures.

Utilize available tools and resources such as the Knowledge Base (tool is TBD), TEAM records, other CSIS staff.

4. Escalation: If the agent cannot resolve the request, steps need to be taken to escalate to proper level. Reference the Support Level Guidance table below.

• Determine the support level needed. • Any request that needs to be migrated to Problem, Issue, or Change

management will be done by Level 2 or higher. • Avoid cold transfers by remaining on the phone during client handoffs

and providing a brief summary of the situation or by providing detailed information in the ticket

The two main types of Escalations are:

1. Support Level Escalation

The technician needs higher levels of expertise to resolve a request.

2. Functional Escalation When the technician determines that the request should move to an Issue, Problem or Change, or be assigned to a CDE staff person, approval is required by Level 2 support or higher.

5. Closeout: Once the solution is provided, steps should be taken to properly document

and closeout the request.

Confirm the solution satisfied the request Ensure good service and communicate the resolution to the requester Update actions taken and resolution in the ticket Change status to closed

Table 5: Support Level Guidance

Level Service

Support Level 1 • <30 minutes to resolve


Page 19 of 35

Level Service

• Basic functionality

• Basic How To’s

• Work flow steps/status

• Requests for information

• User Access/Admin

• Change charter school reporting status

• Network/technical issues

• Answer is contained in the knowledge base

Support Level 2 • File errors

• Data Reconciliation

• Best practices

• Complex workflows

• Problems (possible indication of defects)

• New service requests

• Business rules and requirements

• Data population

• Complaints

Support Level 3 • Defects

• Policies

• Complex Issues

• Assist SIS vendors

Deliverable/Artifact: Service Requests are processed in a consistent manner; CSIS customers have a high level of satisfaction with the service request fulfillment process.

8.1.2 Incident Management


Page 20 of 35

CSIS is transitioning to a new Incident tracking software system. At the time of this writing the new tool is yet to be determined. The steps below outline the general process for tracking incidents. The SOP will be updated after new the tool has been implemented.

Description: An incident is defined as an unplanned interruption to a service or a reduction in the quality of a service. The bulk of calls to the Service Desk are Service Requests, but occasionally there are interruptions to service that need to be documented and managed. Incident Management is the process for logging, recording, and resolving incidents.

Objective: The objective of this process is to return the service to users as quickly as possible, often through a workaround or temporary fixes.

Steps:

1. The steps are almost identical to the Request Fulfillment process addressed above: Intake, Categorization, Analysis, Escalation, and Closeout.

2. First determine if it is reproducible: a. No: Closeout b. Yes: Problem Determination

3. Next determine if the issue is new or existing. If the issue is existing the incident should

be linked to the global (parent) incident.

4. Record detailed information on the resolution of incidents. This information is used to speed up the resolution time on future related incidents. It also may be used to help identify permanent solutions if the incident manifests frequently.

5. Incidents that cannot be resolved or reoccur frequently are routed to Problem Management. The Problem Management process involves members from each department at CSIS.

More on this section to be flushed out later.

8.1.3 New Service Requests

Description: Occasionally requests for new services or new functionality originate from the Service Desk. These requests need to be documented and potentially routed to the Change Management process.

Objective: The objective of this process is to document requests for new service/functionality.

Steps:

1. The steps are almost identical to the Request Fulfillment process addressed above: Intake, Categorization, Analysis, Escalation, and Closeout.


Page 21 of 35

2. All New Service Requests should be routed to Level 2 for analysis. Level 2 will determine if the request has already been documented. If so, the requests will be linked. If not, determine if the request is viable. Gather the required information:

a. What service is being requested

b. Who requested the service

c. What process will be used to fulfill the request

d. Who it will be assigned to and what actions will be taken.

3. In some cases a New Service Request can be accommodated within the Service Desk. If not, the request should be routed to the Change Management process.

More on this section to be flushed out later.

8.1.4 Manage Support Email In-box

Description: Half of the Service Requests come from E-mail messages. The Service Desk has established procedures to assign, categorize, and process the requests.

Objective: The objective of email management is to process and resolve email Service Requests quickly to improve productivity and increase the quality of the service provided to our clients.

Steps:

1. Level 1 Support should check the Support in box every 30 minutes.

2. There are designated folders for individuals as well as for various procedures. The main box should be empty or close to it most of the time. Move the message to the appropriate folder.


Page 22 of 35

Table 6: Support Email Folders

Folder Content

Completed Fulfilled Services Requests from regular email (see Submission Form below). Only move messages here once the request is resolved (i.e., do not include back and forth messages with the client).

Level 2 Requests that require 2nd Level Support

Submission Form Fulfilled Services Requests from the web form. Only move messages here once the request is resolved (i.e., do not include back and forth messages with the client).

Individuals Messages addressed to individual support staff.

3. Requests should be responded to within 4 hours at most. During peak processing times the response may be within 8 hours.

4. After opening a message (which marks it as “read” move it to an appropriate folder (could be your own folder).

5. Begin the Service Request intake and resolution process identified above.


Page 23 of 35

6. When the request is resolved, move the last correspondence to the “Completed” folder OR if it was a message from the web form move the last message to the “Submission Form” folder.

7. Do not leave messages marked as “read” in the main box. Other support staff will assume that the request is being worked on and will not react to it. To change the status back right click on the message and choose “Mark as Unread.”

8. Level 2 should always cc [email protected] on responses to escalated requests.

9. If after three emails from the client the issue is still not resolved the technician should place a phone call to the client to expedite the resolution.

Timing: The Support Email in-box should be monitored every 30 minutes at minimum in case an emergency situation arises.

Deliverable/Artifact: Service Requests are processed in a consistent manner; CSIS customers receive timely and accurate responses and have a high level of satisfaction with the service request fulfillment process.

8.1.5 Manage Support Voicemail box

Description: Calls to the Service Desk are answered in the order they are received. This means that a large percentage of calls go to voicemail. The Service Desk has established procedures to retrieve, categorize, and process the requests.

Objective: The objective of voicemail management is to process and resolve voicemail Service Requests quickly to improve productivity and increase the quality of the service provided to our clients.

Steps:

1. To retrieve the voicemails:

• Press the Support voice mail key


Page 24 of 35

• Type 7743 (SSID) when prompted for password

• Press P to play message

2. In general, Level 1 Support Technicians are responsible for answering the phones and checking voicemails.

3. Voicemail should be checked every 30 minutes. The calls should be logged and then the normal Request Fulfillment process followed.

4. If the call is related to data or business requirements and more than 30 minutes have elapsed without a resolution the call should be escalated to Level 2.

5. Although, LEAs are asked to leave their name, phone number and a brief description of the problem, the messages tend to be cryptic and it can e difficult to type as fast as the messages are delivered. Use the built in phone functions to assist with logging all of the information

• To Pause the Voicemail press 1

• To Rewind the call, press the * Key

• To Fast Forward, press the # key

6. Calls that cannot be resolved by Level 1 should be routed to the appropriate Level 2 or Level 3 support staff.

7. Miscellaneous general guidelines:

• Acknowledging a voice mail can be a return call or email. Sometimes the question asked can be answered quicker with one of the existing email templates

• Calls received after 4:30 p.m. do not need to be responded to until the following business day, except during peak submission windows.

Exceptions: During periods of high call volume, or when the Service Desk is short staffed, Level 2 staff will be asked to assist in monitoring the voicemail inbox.

From the office phone (not in the 1st level queue)

1. Dial 7300 2. Press the * key 3. Type in 210 4. Enter the password 7743 (SSID)

Timing: Voicemails should be responded to within 60 minutes. The voicemail box should be checked every 30 minutes at minimum to monitor for high priority items.


Page 25 of 35

Deliverable/Artifact: Service Requests are processed in a consistent manner; CSIS customers receive timely and accurate responses and have a high level of satisfaction with the service request fulfillment process.

8.2 Common Service Operation Activities

8.2.4 Monitoring SRRTS Availability

Description: SRRTS occasionally crashes in the late evening hours. There are no alerts sent to IS when this occurs, thus the Service Desk must verify the system’s health every business morning.

Objective: The objective of this procedure is to provide an early alert if something is wrong with the system and attempt to resolve it before most users begin accessing the system.

Steps:

1. Each morning the first support technician that arrives to the office logs in to DataGate via the DSL connection.

2. If the system is up and healthy send an email to the Client Services Director and the Services Architect confirming SRRTS availability.

3. If there are any problems with the system log an incident and send a high priority message to the All_CSIS Management distribution list. This step applies any time SRRTS becomes unresponsive.

8.2.5 Voicemail Greeting Procedures

Description: A large percentage of the requests that come to the CSIS Service Desk are routed to voicemail. It is important to keep the greeting accurate and up to date. Scripts are available in SharePoint here: Administration/Voicemail Message Scripts

Note: There are standards for personal voicemail greetings as well. The SOP is located in SharePoint here: Plan or Procedure Documents/Standard Operating Procedures/SOP – Office Procedures

Goal: The goal of this process is to provide accurate information in the Service Desk voicemail greeting based on the current schedule/workload.


Page 26 of 35

Steps:

1. Access the admin mailbox

Note: Setting up the support voicemail box is usually done at the end of the day prior to the holiday.

a. From the office dial 7300 and press *

i. Please enter the mailbox – enter 210

ii. Please enter the passcode – type in 7743

iii. Listen for the options, the option to Changer User Options is currently set to 8 (U)

iv. Listen for Setup Temporary Greeting this option is currently set to option 8 (T)

v. Select the number of days with the current day being 1. For a three day weekend you would choose 4.

vi. Once completed, dial the support number 325-9210 let it go to voicemail, your new message should be heard. If not repeat the above steps.

Note: It is useful to type out what you are going to say and practice it two or three times. There is an example at the bottom of the instructions. Change the wording to make it work for the correct holiday(s)

b. From outside the office dial 325-9210 press *

i. Enter the Support Mailbox extension number 210

ii. Enter the password for the support mailbox which is 7743

iii. Listen to the options and choose 8 (U) “Change User Options”

iv. Choose 8 (T) to set up Temporary Greetings

v. Select the number of days with the current day being 1. For a three day weekend you would choose 4.


Page 27 of 35

vi. Once completed, dial the support number 325-9210 let it go to voicemail, your new message should be heard. If not repeat the above steps.

vii. Number of days to use the temporary greeting (count today as day 1)

c. Upon return to the office to resume normal operations check the voicemail, dial 325-9210, and ensure the standard greeting is playing.

Hello, you have reached the FCMAT/CSIS Support Line.

The CSIS Support will be closed Dec, 31 and Jan 1st in observance of New Year.

CSIS support will reopen on Jan 2, 2009, at 8:00AM.

Thank you,

To change the main greeting

1. Access the admin mailbox

a. From the office dial 7300 and press *

b. From outside the office dial 325-9210 press *

2. Enter the Support Mailbox extension number 210

3. Enter the password for the support mailbox which is 7743

4. Press 4

5. Message:

Hello, you have reached the Voicemail for FCMAT/California School Information Services support. We apologize for any inconvenience, but we are handling other calls at the moment. At the tone, please leave your name, District, Phone number, with area code, and a brief description of the issue We will return your call as soon as possible.


Page 28 of 35

8.2.6 Use a Mail Merge

Description: Occasionally the Service Desk needs to send out emails that cannot be shared with the general public on the List Servs. For instance, if a password is sent out to all of the LEAs we would not want to broadcast that information on the main List Servs.

Objective: The objective of this procedure is to send out bulk email notifications to individual LEAs with customized content for each client.

Steps:

1. Notify IS Support that you are about to send out a large volume of emails. Note the number of messages and the time that they will be sent.

2. Begin with a MS Word document that has the content of the mail message. On the Tools menu, point to Letters and Mailings, and then click Mail Merge to open the Mail Merge task pane.

3. In the task pane, click the document type you want to create (usually e-mail). Click Next: Starting document at the bottom of the task pane to move to the next step.

4. Choose your starting document by clicking an option in the task pane.

5. Click Next: Select recipients at the bottom of the task pane.

6. Click one of the options in the task pane to:

• Connect to a data file on your computer or on a server that already exists. You'll have to browse to locate the file, and then choose the worksheet or table within the file that you want to use.

• Connect to your Outlook Contacts file. You'll have to choose the contact list folder you want to use.

7. Create a new data file from scratch. Type the information in the New Address List dialog box to create a mailing database (.mdb) file.

8. After connecting to or creating the data file, the Mail Merge Recipients dialog box opens. Use the column headings, check boxes, and buttons to sort and choose the data file records you want to use in the merge.

9. Click Next: Include the letter at the bottom of the task pane.

10. Type, insert, or paste into the main document the content that should appear in each merged copy.

11. In the task pane, click the:


Page 29 of 35

• Address block link to add an address block field.

• Greeting line link to add a greeting line field.

• More items link to add a field representing any column from your data file.

12. Use the buttons and links in the task pane to preview the merged documents. If errors are identified, click Previous at the bottom of the task pane to return to the previous step and correct the problems.

13. Click a link in the task pane to:

• Print the merged documents.

• Electronically send the merged documents, if they are e-mail messages or faxes.

• For letter, envelope, or label document types, create a comprehensive document that contains all the merged documents, one document per page.

8.2.7 SIS Vendor Engagement

Description: Levels 2 and 3 of the Service Desk are responsible for engaging with Student Information System (SIS) vendors to assist with becoming CSIS capable as well as the ongoing steps to maintain this designation. Other CSIS department staff, including Communications and Projects, and Requirements Management, are also involved with supporting SIS vendors. Objective: The objective of vendor engagement is to provide the tools (systems), processes, training and support necessary for vendors’ clients (LEAs) to facilitate the electronic transfer of information to satisfy local needs and to meet state and federal requirements. Steps: Please reference the Vendor Engagement Policy document located here: http://www.csis.k12.ca.us/library/Vendor-Engagement-Policy-v1-0-20060321.pdf

8.3 Ensure Student Confidentiality Description: By itself the Statewide Student Identifier (SSID) has no personally identifiable information, but when troubleshooting data problems some LEAs attach entire files to email messages and send them to CSIS Support. Email is one of the least secure ways to transmit data. Objective: The objective of these guidelines is to protect student confidentiality.


Page 30 of 35

Use the guidelines below to ensure that student confidentiality is not compromised.

• Never attach text files to an email • Don't send screenshots Online Maintenance with student names • Do ask the LEA to send the SSID via email • To have an LEA upload a file for troubleshooting have them go to:

https://www.csis.k12.ca.us/upload/ To retrieve their uploaded file go to: \\csis-berry2\uploadedfiles

• If you must send a file via email be sure to zip it and password protect it. Use a 13 character password and call the LEA directly to provide the password.

9. Procedure Diagrams

9.1 Phone requests The figure below demonstrates the process flow for resolving requests initiated from phone calls.

9.2 Email Requests


Page 31 of 35

9.3 Service Desk High Level Process Diagram

9.4 Intake Request Diagram


Page 32 of 35

9.5 Categorization and Analysis Process Diagram

Service Request: IntakeS

ervi

ce D

esk

No

Yes

Phone

Record Details

Request

CSIS Web Form

Type?

VoiceMail

QryDB has Contact Info?

Enough Contact Info?

Email

No

Yes (First Call Resolution)

Quick solve?

Record Details

No

Callback Commitment

Hold?

No

Yes

Closeout

No

Contact for more info

Enough Request

Info?

Yes

Yes

No

Quick solve?

Analysis

5//1/2009


Page 33 of 35

Service Request Categorization and Analysis

Ser

vice

Des

k

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

No

Yes

No

No

Determine Procedure for

Requested Service

Existing Service Request

Close Out

Escalation

Known Outage or Incident?

Change Mgmt

New Service Request

Escalation (Problem

Determination)

Update request & inform user.

Incident Resolution

Initiate Fulfillment Procedure

Troubleshoot

Merit?

Reproducable?

Categorization

Solved?

Technician


Page 34 of 35

9.6 Escalation Process Diagram

Service Request: Escalation

Ser

vice

Des

k

CSIS Level 1

Support Level Escalation

Tech needs Higher Level of Expertise to Resolve the Request

Functional EscalationTech deems the request an Issue,

Problem, or Change

CSIS Level 2

CSIS Level 2

EscalationLevel 2 approval

process for request escalation

Approved?

Analysis

No

Route to Issue, Problem, or

Change Management

Solved? Closeout

Yes

Yes

Closeout Service Request

CSIS Level 3

Escalate to Level 3

Resolve

5/1/2009


Page 35 of 35

9.7 Closeout Process Diagram

10. Key Performance Indicators KPIs are metrics that are used to help manage a process, IT service or activity. Establishing and collecting data on KPIs related to this SOP helps CSIS evaluate the effectiveness of this SOP and provides data that can inform future improvements to the SOP. These improvements will help ensure the process and procedures described in this SOP contribute to the value CSIS provides

Service Request Closeout

Ser

vice

Des

k

YesYes Yes

No No

Was fulfillment Successful?

Request Closed

Confirm Request Resolution

Has the Incidet been Resolved?*

Update service request & inform

user

Analysis

Has Service Been

Resumed?

5/1/2009


Page 36 of 35

its clients.

Key Performance Indicators for the Service Desk are:

• Total number of Service Requests

• The mean elapsed time for resolving Service Requests

• The volume of current backlog of outstanding Service Requests

• Level of client satisfaction (measured how?)

Timing/Frequency: