Summary:
This procedure outlines the process IT (Information Technology) staff will follow when communicating with the GVSU (Grand Valley State University) community regarding ticket-related matters. The procedure ensures that the defined IT service commitment goals are met. It further provides guidelines for effective communication.
Procedure Details
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Upon creation of a ticket, an automated notification is sent to the requester acknowledging receipt of the request or issue reported. The assigned staff member must then reach out to the requester to gather more information if needed and to confirm ownership of the ticket. The IT staff member should use the requester’s preferred method of communication to contact the requester and put the ticket in the “Waiting For Reply” status.
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If there is no response from the requester within 48 business hours (Monday-Friday 7:30AM-5:00PM) of the initial contact, the IT staff member should use the requester’s preferred method of communication to contact the requester again, seeking information or clarification. They should also put the ticket in the “Waiting For Reply” status.
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If the requester fails to respond within 48 business hours after the second attempt, the IT staff member should try to both email and call the requester before closing the ticket. This third communication will notify the requester of the closure of the ticket due to no response and what is still needed from the requester if they would like to reopen the ticket in the future.
It is important for IT staff to maintain accurate, detailed and updated documentation of communication attempts and actions taken on each ticket. Failure to follow this procedure by IT staff may result in disciplinary proceedings. The responsibility also falls on the requester to provide timely responses when needed.
The goal of the IT team is to resolve all issues as quickly and effectively as possible during the first contact or upon receipt of a request. However, the IT team's capacity does not always meet the demand for services. The ticket backlog is therefore handled by order of priority as outlined in the knowledge base article of the Service Commitment Goals. It is the community's responsibility to call in urgent and critical issues vs contacting IT via email or the Service Portal. Tickets that require immediate action or involve urgent and critical issues are handled differently following the procedures related to the delivery of the Service Commitment Goals.
Tickets related to ongoing projects or requiring extended periods of time for resolution may have different follow-up procedures. IT team members are still responsible for updating the tickets and for managing the expectations of the community members.