Help Desk Service Level Agreement
Summary
Hours Of Operation
Functions
Contacting the ACIS Help
Desk
Support List
Other Resources Available
Future
Summary
The Help Desk began as the result of an evaluation of system support and how ACIS could improve customer service. It provides our customers with a method for reporting problems and requesting services from ACIS. With the Help Desk, ACIS is able to serve its more than 1000 customers more fully by providing them with an efficient problem solving tool. Timely and accurate solutions are the goal of the Help Desk.
The Help Desk now runs the "Professional Help Desk" software. It is a client/server based application that runs under Windows. The software handles call management, problem resolution, and problem management.
The ACIS Help Desk is staffed by volunteer members of the Administrative Computing and Information Services department. Since ACIS supports so many different types of hardware and software, these call takers are not always able to solve the problems that are reported. In these situations they refer the call to other ACIS staff members who are more familiar with that area. Although it may often seem easier to call a staff member directly, keeping track of the calls by logging them in a central location is important in trouble shooting problems, such as bugs or training needs.
Hours of Operation
The ACIS Help Desk is open:
| Monday to Friday | 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. |
| 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. |
We are closed on all University holidays.
Voice mail is also
available when the Help Desk is closed or the call taker is unavailable.
Functions
Password Changes
Password changes must be sent via andrew mail (MacMail or Simeon) to acishelp@andrew.cmu.edu. Include your name, user id, the mainframe or server you are trying to access, and your phone number. The Help Desk call taker will call you with your new password as soon as the mail is received.
Kill Processes
Users can call or send mail to the helpdesk to have sessions killed on Utopia, Oasis or the VAX. A voice mail or email message must include the user's name, user id, the mainframe or server name and a phone number. The Help Desk call taker will contact you when the process has been killed and you can log back in.
Request System Services
Account removals or creations are requested through the Help Desk, but must be made by the designated contact or supervisor of the user who will receive the account. When requests are made, please include the user's name, user id, the mainframe or server name, and the software or access type requested. If the request is for an andrew account, please add the person's social security number and whether the person is faculty, staff or a student. Users can request increases in disk space and problems with their accounts themselves.
Initial Trouble-shooting of calls
The call taker will attempt to work through the problem with the user and glean as much information regarding the call as possible to determine the correct course of action to be taken in each situation. When mail is sent the call is routed directly to the staff member responsible for the area specified in the subject line (see How to Send Mail to the ACIS Help Desk).
Provide solutions to common problems
The call taker has access to a database with solutions to common problems and can work with the user to implement the recommended course of action provided.
Log and distribute hardware and software problems
Due to the number of applications that ACIS supports, it is not possible for the call taker to be knowledgeable in every application. Once it has been established that the call taker is unable to assist the user, calls will be dispatched to the appropriate ACIS staff member. It is important, however, that these calls be routed through the help desk so that we can monitor problems, bugs, network outages, etc. from a central location.
Contacting the ACIS Help Desk
Mail - acishelp@andrew.cmu.edu
It is often better to send mail to the help desk than it is to call. Mail is sent to the ACIS Help Desk via Andrew mail. The address of the Help Desk is acishelp@andrew.cmu.edu. The mail is forwarded from andrew to the PHDmail account. PHD checks every minute to see if mail is waiting. If mail exists, PHD takes the mail message and either creates a call or updates a call in the PHD database. When the mail is formatted correctly, the call is sent directly to the analyst and the Help Desk call taker is never involved. The analyst is notified by PHD that they have a call waiting for them and they will respond to the user directly.
How to Send Mail to the ACIS Help Desk
- Send your request to the Andrew mail account "acishelp."
- Enter on the subject line one of the following: (clarification
on some of the subjects follows)
| Account Creation | FRIS | PAS | Synergy |
| Account Deletion | GQL | Password Change | Training |
| Account Modification | Help Desk | PC MSMail | TTAS |
| BMARS | HRIS | PEP | UIS |
| Desktop | Kill Process | Printing | Utopia |
| Detailed Budget System | Mac MS Mail | RMTPR | VAX |
| DRIVE | Nirvana | Salary Review | WWW> |
| FMS | Oasis | SIS |
- Describe the problem in the text of the message.
- Include your name and phone number in the text of the message.
- Send the message.
Voice Mail - x8-7027
Please be aware that there is only one person answering the phone at a time - if you get connected to the voice mail system it is because we are helping another user. When leaving voice mail please make sure to include your name, your user id and your telephone number. You should leave a detailed account of the problem so that the call taker can pass the information directly to a specialist, without having to call you back unless we can help you directly.
Subject Descriptions:
- Account Creation and Account Deletion:
- Requests must come from the user's supervisor and refer to the servers supported by ACIS.
- Account Modification and Password:
- Includes quota increases, locking or unlocking accounts and password changes which must come via andrew mail.
- Kill Process:
- If a user has been forced out of a program on a mainframe such as Oasis; for example, their machine crashed while in SIS, the help desk can kill the processes that may still be running.
- Desktop:
- Problems with functionality of the machine itself. Also the configuration of the machine. Nirvana, Oasis, Synergy, Utopia and VAX: Problems accessing servers not related to any of the above, not seeing them in the chooser for example.
- Printing:
- Problems printing from local printers or through the server.
- Mac MSMail, PC MSMail:
- Problems viewing, accessing, recieving mail. Also account creations or deletions.
- Training:
- Requests and suggestions for training and the use of the Training Room.
- WWW:
- Request for WWW services or accounts.
- Help Desk:
- Requests that do not seem to fit anywhere else.
- Top
Support List
The following details the appropriate list of people to call when experiencing problems.
TTAS Help Desk - Marge Musial
8HELP - MacMail, Cyrus, problems
with MacSlip, and information or problems regarding Andrew Accounts
Efforts Help Desk - Jim Boshears
ACIS supports the following software:
| AIS | FMS Billing Inquiry | Parking |
| BCBS | FRIS/BMARS | PEP |
| Box Office | GQL | Property Management |
| CIMFAS/AP | HRIS | SHIS |
| Commencement System | ICS, Work Order, CMUPS, Project Management | Space Facilities |
| Detail Budget System | JES | Student Information System |
| DRIVE | MAXIMO | TTAS |
| FCE | On-Line Request System | University Info System |
Other Resources Available
Hints from the Help Desk
ACIS has often published "Hints from the Help Desk" in Bits and Bytes, some of which may be helpful when solving a problem.
Future
Client view
The new software package has the ability to allow users to check on their own calls and access the problem and solution database from their desktop (PC only). The Help Desk team is currently researching the possibility of providing this service to our users and is reviewing issues such as licensing and the availability of PCs.
Knowlege Packages
Some software vendors also supply knowledge databases for their packages. ACIS is looking in to the possibility of incorporating some of these packages into our Help Desk.
World Wide Web
Based on responses to our survey, we have been exploring the possiblity of duplicating our knowledge base on the Web, should the Client view not be available to everyone. Users would be able to perform a simple search using problem key words and have potential solutions returned to them.