Tier 4--April 2002
Summary of Responses

(web survey distributed to all ITS Tier 4 Core Experts)

N of Responses = 13

What emerging technologies in your area will dictate change in the 4-Tier IT support model at CU-Boulder? What might those changes be?

• Web services such as webmail, WebCT, portals, calendaring, electronic chat
• Java middleware
• Further shift of support to Tier 3, and more self-help documentation

What current services or technologies in your area should be retired in the next four years?

• Nothing; technology will change, but will still need to offer services; services that "could" be retired would have to be analyzed on a case-by-case basis.
• Unidata; oracle middleware, legacy databases

What are the support responsibilities of the core experts (Tier 4 of the IT support model)?

• Foundation for other tiers; highest level of support for a product or service; answering screened technical questions beyond the knowledge level of Service Center staff
• Providing excellent customer service and communicating
• Communication with Service Center, distribution of product and service information and documentation
• Provide campus-wide infrastructure functionality and implementation of new technologies.

How has the 4-Tier support model been most helpful in providing IT support to campus technology users?

• One stop shopping, single and consistent point of contact for customers
• Clearly defined roles for individuals and departments within ITS

How has the 4-Tier support model been least helpful in providing IT support to campus technology users?

• Tension between the tiers and some confusion on the part of users about who is responsible for what.
• Tiered support isn't flexible, and forces customers into an often unnecessary journey through the tiers to get to the person they've been working with for twenty years.
• Doesn't allow provision of services the way the user wants, but the way the service unit wants.
• Clarify increases workload, is incident-based instead of user-based, and doesn't fit with core expert group's dynamics and technologies.
• Sense of a need for personal contact with customers, and human voices instead of web page documentation.

If you were empowered to make changes to the 4-Tier IT support model, what would they be?

• Provide better and more consistent training for all: front line staff, all campus IT personnel; improve ability of Tier 4 experts to create web documentation
• Replace Clarify.
• Improve flexibility of model
• Clarify and improve communication about roles of tiers, and ensure that everyone on camps knows who his or her Tier 2 liaison is.

How will we know that the 4-Tier IT support model is successful four years from now??

• Reduction of customer complaints, positive feedback that describes ITS as "facilitators" and "providers of enabling technology."
• Ease of operating within the model for users.

What other input would you like to give about the 4-Tier IT support model?

• Model documentation needs to be accessible to all UCB personnel.
• Clarify roles to avoid duplicity, or to merge groups where appropriate.
• Explain the model on the ITS website.

Please direct questions about this survey to Deborah Keyek-Franssen at deblkf@colorado.edu.