The Root Cause team in IT is tasked with finding the causes of significant IT issues that affect campus. In this news update we draw your attention to some of the problems we have handled in the last month.
Wireless Tiger Team
The Wireless TIGER Team, detailed in the Root Cause Update June 2013 report, presented overall findings and proposed recommendations to the CIO and ITLC leadership group in early August. Main concerns of the different client groups on campus are:
• Faculty: Classroom laptop cart reliability. Reliability of student devices in class.
• Students: Authentication and overall coverage in the Residence halls and outdoor areas.
• Staff: Wireless coverage in the non-academic, non-residential areas.
A few immediate changes were put into action right before the start of the fall semester. Some of the changes included:
• Modifications of the wireless access point’s radio frequencies to address and improve network bandwidth.
• Reconfigure instructional laptop carts to use a different authentication method.
• Developed and implemented the use of an informational troubleshooting task list within our Cherwell Service Desk Management tool in order to gather data on wireless issues addressed by IT Staff.
Additional recommendations are being reviewed and planned for implementation within the next several months. One of which is the creation and maintenance of one “wireless information and access landing” webpage. So stay tuned! The Division of IT is committed to addressing the issues but some of the work may take some time.
IT Change Request Process Improvement
The review continues of the IT Change Request process which was discussed after some recently implemented undocumented changes. Change Type approval workflow drawings have been completed and the process document definition is being developed. Final documents will be presented to the IT Leadership group for approval before presentation at the next IT General Staff Meeting.
Resolved Global Problems
• CFC BlackBoard – 5
• Network – 3 (1=wired, 2=wireless)
• Software – 2
• Server – 1
The Division of IT is committed to adopting a proactive, process-oriented approach to prevent problems before they arise. We will continue to keep you informed on our progress.