Q&A: What ITM’s new Service Desk is all about!
January 7, 2019
On January 7, 2019 Information Technology Management (ITM) launched a new online and physical Service Desk to help TRCA staff with ITM related needs.
I sat down with ITM technician Asif Shah, who has been leading this initiative to learn how the new Service Desk will function.
By Daniela Macleod
Q: Can you first tell me about the online version of ITM’s new Service Desk?
A: The new online Service Desk is replacing Spiceworks – what IT has been using to receive and manage IT related requests from staff for the past 2 ½ years. Our new Service Desk is based on a software called ‘Jira Service Desk’ which is a complete solution for modern IT/Service Teams. This first iteration will only deal with IT requests, but the plan is to consolidate our support groups and include GIS and Database requests in the future.
Q: Why are we switching from Spiceworks?
A: Spiceworks was the first platform that we used to move away from a Lotus Notes database and at the time it met our basic needs. When I started working at TRCA just over 2 years ago, I took over the managing of Spiceworks and knew there were better products in the market. Spiceworks is not very flexible or customizable, the customer experience isn’t ideal, and reporting is limited. Our new Service Desk will enable us to leverage things like automation and much better reporting and self-service tools. It will allow us to deliver a much better service experience!
Q: Is it easy to use? Will staff be able to figure out how to put in requests?
A: Yes. Putting in a request will be straight forward, but staff will be seeing new functionality such as a self-help tool that allows staff to type in their problem. They will also see different categories to use depending on the request. Staff will have the ability to escalate a request and have a discussion with the ITM staff assigned to their request. Staff will also know the status of the request i.e. Assigned, waiting for customer, work in progress, etc. The experience will continue to improve and change as we begin to use it and collect feedback. The platform is very flexible. Common requests and categories will be curated to our needs and these will be updated to include GIS and Database requests in future iterations. We will also be able to create a knowledge base as we receive similar requests. What staff see on January 7 will be a minimum viable product which means the Service Desk will have just enough features to satisfy early customers, but we will be acquiring feedback and making it work better. A chat function will also be coming.
Q: Let’s talk about the physical Service Desk…what should Staff expect?
A: We have reconfigured the IT area on the 2nd floor of Head Office, to provide a better customer experience. If you come in person to see us with an IT issue, you will be helped at our new ITM Service Desk. IT staff will take turns/shifts if you will at the Service Desk, which will be serviced from 8:30 am – 4:30 pm, lunch included. We are also working on a waiting area to make it a more pleasant experience for Staff. Staff will also be able to reach us by phone by dialing x4357 (HELP).
Q: Do you love the new ITM Service Desk?
A: Yes! We are so excited about this. I have been wanting to implement this new platform since I started with TRCA. With the change in direction from our new Chief Information Officer, Chris J Moore, we have been able to make this dream into a reality.
Join us on January 7 for our launch! Come visit the new ITM Service Desk.
Online ITM Service Desk: https://devhub.trcastaff.ca/support/ or https://support.trcastaff.ca
Physical ITM Service Desk: Head Office 2nd floor IT area from 8:30am–4:30pm
Phone: x4357 (HELP) from 8:30am–4:30pm
For more information on Jira Service Desk: https://www.atlassian.com/software/jira/service-desk