With the advent of ServiceNow, many units and teams in ASR are using a central email address to manage work requests. Here are the central email addresses of teams in ASR that have moved to ServiceNow:
Coordinated IT Services Unit (CITSU) -- citsu@umn.edu
Web Team -- asrweb@umn.edu
DARS Support -- apasle@umn.edu
Imaging and Files -- asrfiles@umn.edu
Communications -- asrcomm@umn.edu
Beginning August 1, these two groups will be using ServiceNow:
Student Records Training and Support Team -- srhelp@umn.edu
Student Records Business Analysis -- srhelp@umn.edu
If you contact a group who is using ServiceNow, you can expect to see more automated email messages from the system. Also, when a team member using ServiceNow writes you back that your request is complete, you should resist the temptation to write back with a "Thank You," as this will re-open the ticket. It's always good to say "Thanks," but send your appreciation in a separate email or by way of a phone call for these groups.
More teams will be hopping on the ServiceNow train in the coming months, so you can expect to see more central email addresses popping up. For more information on ServiceNow, contact Matt Nuttall.
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Thursday, July 12, 2012
ASR picnic on August 9
The annual ASR picnic will take place on August 9 on the plaza by STSS. More details include the exact time and menu will be forthcoming, but you can count on it being sometime around the lunch hour. One thing for sure: no soup.
Better know the Project Management & Coordination unit
On April 27, a new unit joined the ASR family--the Project Management and Coordination unit. The unit was created to aid ASR staff members in completing projects effectively and efficiently.
Right now, this unit consists of Santiago Fernandez-Gimenez, unit leader, and Christa Nicols, administrative assistant. Both report to Grant Clavelle, director of ASR-IT.
Previously a member of the ASR Web Team, Santiago's years at the U and in ASR have prepared him to manage projects where it is often difficult to plan ahead. He has a master's degree in strategic communication, has been the chair of the Project and Change Management Collaborators network, and is a certified Scrum Master, a practice for managing software projects. This summer, Santiago is working on a certification from the Project Management Institute.
Christa has been in ASR since January 2011. She works partially in Imaging and ASR-IT as an administrative assistant. "Right now, I am managing my first project," Christa said. "I am working to redesign the way ASR tracks and monitors project progress."
In order to determine if the direction of this unit is going where staff want, Santiago and Christa have monthly round table discussions with current project managers (PM) to create a community of practice. The round tables are show, share, and learn sessions with staff tasked with PM duties.
"We have captured what we learned and will fold that into our coaching on future projects," Santiago said. "We are hoping to better match techniques, methods, and resources to the actual business needs of the individual projects."
When a project reaches a size and scope where it has an ASR manager as a sponsor, or will take over 2-3 months to complete, Santiago and Christa want to know about it. They can help facilitate and coach PMs to complete a project efficiently.
A standard tool kit will be provided for PMs to track, monitor, and communicate project progress. "Having the Communications Team involved early in projects is a predictor of success and keeps us user-focused," said Santiago. "The practice of regular communication of project status makes staff feel more informed and connected to ASR projects."
Christa is working to make the project tracking and monitoring process more efficient. "We want to help PMs have a standard way to report what is being worked on so there is increased visibility on project progress," said Christa. "The goal is to put better data in front of decision-makers, and increase transparency in ASR."
This standard tool kit will be done through Google Docs and will allow for PMs to fill out status reports that will update a main dashboard for ASR managers and other staff too look at. Ideally, this tool kit will automate the project tracking for PMs.
Overall, the goal is to aid staff in project management techniques. "Project management isn't rocket science, but we aren't getting things done as efficiently as we could," Santiago said. "By learning from each other, we want to facilitate excellent projects in ASR."
If you are currently acting as a PM and would like to participate in the round table, or want help facilitating and managing a project, you can email Santiago.
Right now, this unit consists of Santiago Fernandez-Gimenez, unit leader, and Christa Nicols, administrative assistant. Both report to Grant Clavelle, director of ASR-IT.
Previously a member of the ASR Web Team, Santiago's years at the U and in ASR have prepared him to manage projects where it is often difficult to plan ahead. He has a master's degree in strategic communication, has been the chair of the Project and Change Management Collaborators network, and is a certified Scrum Master, a practice for managing software projects. This summer, Santiago is working on a certification from the Project Management Institute.
Christa has been in ASR since January 2011. She works partially in Imaging and ASR-IT as an administrative assistant. "Right now, I am managing my first project," Christa said. "I am working to redesign the way ASR tracks and monitors project progress."
In order to determine if the direction of this unit is going where staff want, Santiago and Christa have monthly round table discussions with current project managers (PM) to create a community of practice. The round tables are show, share, and learn sessions with staff tasked with PM duties.
"We have captured what we learned and will fold that into our coaching on future projects," Santiago said. "We are hoping to better match techniques, methods, and resources to the actual business needs of the individual projects."
When a project reaches a size and scope where it has an ASR manager as a sponsor, or will take over 2-3 months to complete, Santiago and Christa want to know about it. They can help facilitate and coach PMs to complete a project efficiently.
A standard tool kit will be provided for PMs to track, monitor, and communicate project progress. "Having the Communications Team involved early in projects is a predictor of success and keeps us user-focused," said Santiago. "The practice of regular communication of project status makes staff feel more informed and connected to ASR projects."
Christa is working to make the project tracking and monitoring process more efficient. "We want to help PMs have a standard way to report what is being worked on so there is increased visibility on project progress," said Christa. "The goal is to put better data in front of decision-makers, and increase transparency in ASR."
This standard tool kit will be done through Google Docs and will allow for PMs to fill out status reports that will update a main dashboard for ASR managers and other staff too look at. Ideally, this tool kit will automate the project tracking for PMs.
Overall, the goal is to aid staff in project management techniques. "Project management isn't rocket science, but we aren't getting things done as efficiently as we could," Santiago said. "By learning from each other, we want to facilitate excellent projects in ASR."
If you are currently acting as a PM and would like to participate in the round table, or want help facilitating and managing a project, you can email Santiago.
New One Stop center: we have a date!
Reconfiguration of space in Williamson Hall to accommodate the new One Stop Student Services center (including GSSP and Third Party Billing) will start on August 2. That means staff should be able to move sometime during the week of August 6 and begin providing service shortly thereafter.
Note that it will likely be a bit noisy and cluttered in the 160 Williamson space while this work takes place. As a reminder, the 160 Williamson Hall front doors will be closed during the build, so please plan to meet your guests at the side doors to the space.
Note that it will likely be a bit noisy and cluttered in the 160 Williamson space while this work takes place. As a reminder, the 160 Williamson Hall front doors will be closed during the build, so please plan to meet your guests at the side doors to the space.
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Food truck!
This just in from a faithful News & Notes reader! The Cave Cafe Food Truck will be serving up Afro-Italiano fusion (you read that right) on the Williamson Hall plaza on Monday and Wednesdays from 11 a.m.- 2 p.m. You can also follow them on Twitter and Facebook to see where they'll turn up next. Nom nom.
Funding approved for the upgrade
Funding for the PeopleSoft 9.0 upgrade was approved at the Board of Regents meeting yesterday (July 11). This means work plans can continue to move forward; formal work on the upgrade is expected to begin later this summer.
One Stop is going mobile
We've just made life a little easier for students on the go. Putting their collective genius together, representatives from One Stop Student Services, the ASR web team, and the communications team have developed a mobile site offering One Stop's most useful content in a nice, tidy, easy-to-read format. (No squinting or constant scrolling over, promise!).
With so many students using their cell phone as their primary way to access the internet on campus (54% by our latest survey), One Stop's mobile site makes perfect sense. According to Google Analytics, onestop.umn.edu received 126,161 visits using mobile devices during a 60-day period ending March 11, 2012.
The mobile site includes timely and helpful "News" and "Contact Us" tabs, as well as a full site version for those preferring to view One Stop content in its entirety.
The site's launch date is scheduled for July 23.
With so many students using their cell phone as their primary way to access the internet on campus (54% by our latest survey), One Stop's mobile site makes perfect sense. According to Google Analytics, onestop.umn.edu received 126,161 visits using mobile devices during a 60-day period ending March 11, 2012.
The mobile site includes timely and helpful "News" and "Contact Us" tabs, as well as a full site version for those preferring to view One Stop content in its entirety.
The site's launch date is scheduled for July 23.
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