Support Process

Client Requirements

The IT Works support process is designed to aid and assist users of IT Works Department ManagerTM , College AdministratorTM, Research Administrator TM, Department AccountantTM, and Effort AdministratorTM products. Support is provided to clients that have an active maintenance contract with IT Works. Support is provided by IT Works support and technical staff to a designated liaison(s) on the client’s staff.

Communications

The following communication methods are available to obtain assistance from IT Works for a technical support issue.

Implementation Support Team Response Methods

Telephone Response

During normal business hours from 9 AM to 5 PM ET , the goal is to service all incoming support calls within the same business day. Outside normal business hours, the goal is to return a customer’s call within the next business day.

Email Response

During normal business hours from 9 AM to 5 PM ET, the goal is to answer all email within the same business day. Outside normal business hours, the goal is to answer a customer’s email within the next business day.

Training Issues

Training issues are assigned to the IT Works training specialist or project manager based on the product knowledge of the customer and the complexity of the issue. When possible, training issues are assigned to project manager who has been working with the client. Training Issues are classified into two categories:

Note: The IT Works maintenance plan does not provide for extensive training beyond a client’s original training plan. Additional training fees may apply.

Technical Issues

Technical issues are defined as those where the IT Works software does not appear to be functioning as expected by the client. An IT Works product specialist or project manager is assigned based on type and complexity of the issue or problem reported. The person assigned maintains close coordination and communication with the client to provide timely status and to obtain additional information required for resolution.

Our goal is to resolve the issue as quickly as possible, on the first call if possible. Situations in which a client’s installation is completely down or inoperable are considered highest priority and are given immediate attention. Otherwise support calls are given a first come, first serve priority. The next section highlights our levels of service.

Priority Levels for Requests

IT Works uses the following guidelines to prioritize customer requests and strives to begin working on the reported issue or problem within the target timeframe. Actual response times may be shorter or longer depending on the volume of requests at any one time.

Priority Definition Response Time Completion Time
Very High An issue affects the use of the software across the installation base of the application(s). The application is completely down or inoperable. Within 2 business hours Within 4 business hours
High An issue with no known work around affects a single user and is critical to be addressed immediately Within 4 business hours Within 8 business hours
Medium An issue with no known work around affects a single user and is critical to be addressed immediately Within 8 business hours Within 2 working days
Low A change request or enhancement that does not need immediate attention but is important to improve the client’s experience Within 3 working days Within negotiated time frame

Technical Resolution Process

Remote Desktop Access: IT Works makes every effort to resolve issues at the time of the service call by using remote access tools. These tools allow our specialist or project manager to access the caller’s desktop remotely for the purpose of expediting the resolution of the call. The caller can view the activity on their local monitor as it occurs. Permission will be requested before accessing the machine remotely.

Client hardware or network problems: Technical issues may be the result of issues with the client’s network or computer hardware. In such cases, the client will be expected to provide the appropriate IT support to work with the IT Works Technical Team to resolve the problem.

Technical or training issue: Often technical issues are actually training issues. If, in the process of correcting the issue, the support specialist or project manager determines the issue is a client operator error, the issue will be treated as a training issue.

Change requests or enhancements: During the process of investigating an issue, it may be determined that the client is actually requesting new software capabilities. If this is the case, design specifications will be requested from the client, then IT Works will create a quote based on the scope to deliver the new capabilitie(s). Once the quote is approved by the client, the steps performed for a software modification will be followed.

Triage Process

Triage Steps Performed by IT Works Staff:

  1. Verify the issue with the client. Use a Web Demo session if needed.
  2. Determine if the problem is a result of a client’s hardware or network failure. If needed, gain access to the client’s IT staff to help resolve the issue.
  3. Determine if the problem is an installation issue or an issue that has been resolved by a recent software release. If necessary, perform the proper upgrade function. Note: this may include running a compact and repair process in the case where an Access backend has been installed.
  4. Determine if the issue is security related. Provide support with client’s administrative contact to correct user rights if necessary.
  5. Determine if the issue is data related, then instruct the client in how to correct the situation.
    1. Perform back-end queries if data issue was related to an initial data pre-load problem.
    2. Download appropriate data files and verify if the data is part of a file used by a custom import procedure.
    3. Otherwise, if issue is determined to be a software bug, construct an short-term work around if possible and follow the steps performed when a software modification if performed.

Steps Performed When a Software Modification is Required to Resolve the Issue.

  1. Set up or obtain the necessary data sets to reproduce the problem at IT Works and create correction specifications.
  2. Add the issue to the IT Works development release queue;
  3. Consult with the appropriate IT Works software development team members to obtain an estimated completion date.
  4. Provide the client with an estimated time of completion.
  5. Follow IT Works standard testing procedures once programming change has been completed.
  6. Notify client when the new software version has been released and schedule software upgrade if necessary.
  7. Confirm issue has been resolved with client.

Feedback

IT Works is interested in your feedback and is proactive in obtaining your comments on our service. You are encouraged at anytime to provide feedback to use by sending an email via our contact page.