Systems Projects and Problems
When you've logged on to the Library Intranet, you’ve probably noticed that there’s a new feature on the home page. Located in the lower left corner of the home page is your Personal HelpDesk Summary, a list of the Problems and Projects you have in Systems HelpDesk (see red box in Fig. 1). I thought I’d explain a bit more about this information and give you some background on HelpDesk Problems versus HelpDesk Projects.
Figure 1 Library Intranet home page with Personal HelpDesk Summary outlined in red
The difference between Problems and Projects
Systems defines a Problem as any network, software, or hardware that is not working as expected. It could be that GroupWise won’t open, your printer won’t print, or you are unable to edit content on the Library website. Any of these issues require that we fix something that is not working.
We define a Project as either something that is new or an update of something that is already in production. Since this is such a broad definition, Projects can range from something small like installing a new printer or updating existing software to the newest version to something large like changing from one spine label program to a brand new one.
As you know, Systems has used HelpDesk to organize and track Problems for years with great success. Our Projects, however, were not organized so formally. We tracked Projects using spreadsheets, and Bill Chollett would send out updates periodically to the EVERYONE group. With the advent of the Intranet, we were able to track Projects there, but this was still not an efficient way to keep up with these important tasks. We eventually determined that we needed to organize Projects like we’d organized Problems.
By adding some new functionality to our HelpDesk, we are now able to utilize this existing tool to track Projects, while still keeping them separate from Problem reports. Furthermore, we are able to pull information from each request type and give you up-to-date information on all Problems and Projects that may be associated with your logon.
Personal HelpDesk Summary and what it means to you
Back to the homepage of the Intranet. How do we arrive at the number of Problems and Projects that show up each time you login? These are counts of HelpDesk items that are associated with either your Novell login or your name as listed in the Staff Directory. The numbers are based on a combination of the following criteria:
- A HelpDesk Problem that you have submitted
- A HelpDesk Problem that was submitted on your behalf
- A HelpDesk Problem that you have submitted on someone else's behalf
- A Project that was entered by Systems Staff for you
- A Problem or Project for which you have asked to receive email updates
If you wish to see updates on any of these Problems or Projects, simply click on each link. This will take you to a list of open issues, and you can follow the link to get information on the status of each.
Systems' All Projects page
If you are interested in all the Projects that Systems is involved with, you can go to the Intranet and select Administration, then Systems. You may choose the different areas of Systems to see their Projects, or you can select All Projects (see Fig. 2).
Figure 2 Systems' Projects Intranet page
The All Projects page (see Fig. 3) lists the ID number, Description, Priority, and Last Update date for each Project. The Projects are color-coded both by ID and Priority. The ID color specifies which area of Systems owns the Project. Client Operations is green; Web Access and Application Development, purple; and Network, orange. In the Priority column, red indicates Level 1 priority, and yellow indicates Level 2 priority. Any priority level lower than Level 2 is white.
Figure 3 All Projects Intranet page
Along with the color-coding, you will notice that the Projects are divided into stages. These stages show how far along a Project is in the process.
- Finalize Stage
- These Projects are almost complete. We are done testing, and they are ready to deploy, or are newly deployed.
- Manage Stage
- This is where we are doing the actual work on the Project, testing, documenting, and getting ready for deployment.
- Initiate Stage
- This is the earliest stage where the Project is still an idea. Can it be done, who will do it, what are the specific goals? All this is discussed and documented in this stage.
Using the blue arrows 
,
you can sort the Projects within each stage by ID, Priority, or Last Update.
Once a Project is totally finished, it gets moved to the Completed Projects page.
In addition to viewing Open Projects, you can view Projects that are on Hold or that have been Closed. If a Project is on Hold, that means Systems is waiting for something before we continue. It could be we are waiting to hear from someone, waiting for a hardware order, or even waiting for approval.
Closed Projects are those that have been closed without making it to the Complete stage. For example, someone asks us to see if we can upgrade to a new version of a specific software. This Project is added and is in the Initiate stage. We do some research and find that this new version is incompatible with our setup at this time. This Project is then Closed since we are unable to go any further with it, but it is not Complete. To view Projects that are on Hold or that are Closed, simply click the appropriate link above the Projects list.
Do I have a Problem or a Project?
So how do you know if a request you submit is a Project or a Problem? Don’t worry—when you put in a HelpDesk ticket, Systems will move your request to the correct queue for you. In fact, sometimes a Project will start out life as a Problem. For example, if a Problem is reported, and cannot be fixed with existing software, the solution may be to use a different piece of software. This becomes a Project, since we need to investigate, test, deploy, and document it like any other Project. Likewise, a Project can become a Problem if it’s delayed too long.
If you would like to learn more about Projects and Problems, you can contact me, Cathie McQuistion, or Bill Chollett for more information.