OATdb Archive

2012 - 2013

IT Enterprise Services

Goal
Efficient Service Delivery Processes
ES will continuously improve perceptions of the IT service-delivery experience by the students, faculty, staff, and alumni, and recruits.

Objective
Client Perception Of Time To Complete Service Requests
ES will monitor the client perception of the time to complete service requests via the work order system as reported on the Client Satisfaction survey.

KPI
Client Perception Of Time To Complete Service Request
Client Perception of time to complete service request >= 4 out of 5.

Result
91.3% Satisfaction Rating
Out of 519 survey responses, 474 respondants or 91.3% indicated satisfaction with the time to complete the service request.

Action
Improve Intake And Prioritization Process
Although the goal was met, we are continuing to review the processes by which work requests are submitted and prioritized to further improve the process thereby improving client perceptions.

Objective
Client Perception Of The Level Of Communication Received
ES will monitor the client perception of the level of communication received in the completion of the service request as reported on the Client Satisfaction survey.

KPI
Client Perception Of The Level Of Communication Received
ES will monitor the client perception of the level of communication received in the completion of the service request as reported on the Client Satisfaction survey.

Result
93.45% Satisfaction For Level Of Communication
485 respondants out of 519 total responses, or 93.45%, reported satisfaction with amount of communication of Enterprise Services staff when addressing the respondants' service requests.


Action
Continue To Monitor Communication
Although the goal was met, we are continuing to monitor the perceptions of level of communication as we modify other processes so that we continue to meet this goal.

Objective
Client Perception Of The Level Of Knowledge Of ES Staff
ES will monitor the client perception of the level of knowledge held by the ES staff member in the completion of the service request as reported on the Client Satisfaction survey.

KPI
Client Perception Of The Staff Level Of Knowledge
ES will monitor the client perception of the level of knowledge held by the ES staff member in the completion of the service request as reported on the Client Satisfaction survey.

Result
94.41% Satisfaction Rating
490 respondants out of 519 total responses, or 94.41%, reported satisfaction with level of technical comptenance of Enterprise Services staff in addressing the respondants' service requests.

Action
Evaluate Level Of Satisfaction By Staff Member
We will monitor perceptions of staff knowledge by staff member and request so that we can target training dollars as needed to enhance staff skills.

Goal
Quality Pofessional Development
ES will provide professional development opportunities for their staff to enhance their value to the students, faculty, staff, and alumni.

Objective
Attend Ellucian Live To Learn And Share New Concepts For Improving Services
ES will send staff to Ellucian Live to learn and share new concepts for improving services

KPI
Identify 2 New Ideas For Implementation In FY 2014
Identify 2 new ideas that will be implemented in FY 2014 to improve ERP operations

Result
ODS 8.4.x And Materialized Views
In FY2014, an upgrade to ODS 8.4.x will provide functionality for eliminating the error-prone Oracle Streams process and replace with faster, more reliable Materialized Views process.

Result
Database Performance Improvements
In discussions with other Ellucian customers at Ellucian Live, we determined that our runtimes, although improved for select processes, were still slower than other schools. Through these discussions and our own research and testing, we were able to significantly improve the overall performance of the Banner database by modifying some system parameters. Most notably, the effects are seen in the financial aid processes that took approximately 48 hours for a single run in Fall 2012, took approximately 8 hours in Fall 2013. These results were for the iniitial Financial Aid disbursement. 


Action
Continue To Provide Professional Development Opportunities.
We will continue to provide professional development opportunities for staff to further enhance their knowledge and their ability to support campus.

New technologies and processes that are determined to be valuable will be discussed with IT and functional staff to determine priorities.

Objective
Make Presentations At National, State, Or Local Level
ES staff will present 2 topics at the national, state, or local level.

KPI
Make 2 Presentations At The National, State, Or Local Level
ES will make 2 presentations at the national, state, or local level.

Result
5 National Presentations Presented Or Co-presented
Enterprise Services staff were involved as presenters with presenting 4 presentations at Ellucian Live:
  • Amason, Eric, & Chandler, Jacob. 1908 - Lessons Learned in Implementing TouchNet for FlexReg and Application for Graduation Payments. Ellucian Live
  • Gross, Jim. 2126 - DMR (OLAP) Development for Financial Reporting and Financial Decision Making. Ellucian Live
  • Gross, Jim, & Chandler, Jacob. 1804 - Using Cognos for Room Utilization Transparency. Ellucian Live
  • Parks, Forrest, & Chandler, Jacob. 1909 - Improving Efficiency: Processing Student Funds at Sam Houston University. Ellucian Live

Result
Room Utilization Presentation To SHSU Academic Affairs Council
During 2013, Jacob Chandler presented the work of the Space Utilization Efficiencey committee to the SHSU Academic Affairs Council. This included the presentation of several dashboards and other reports that provide insight into the Space Utilization Efficiency (SUE) numbers calculated by the state of Texas. 


Action
Continue To Look For Presentation And Collaboration Opportunities
ES and PMO staff will continue to look for opportunities to present in local, state, and national staff development opportunities.


Goal
Quality Service Delivery Experience
ES will monitor and improve the quality, delivery and availability of services to students, faculty, staff, and alumni consistent with expectations for the service

Objective
Monitor Planned Service Uptimes
ES will monitor planned service uptimes of core ERP functions (i.e. mySam, INB, SSB)

KPI
Core ERP Planned Service Uptimes
ES will strive for 99.999% up time

Result
100.00% Planned Service Uptime
During 2013, there were 30.5 hours of scheduled downtime during which upgrades and system maintenance were conducted. All maintenance was completed in planned windows resulting in 100.00% planned service uptime.


Action
Redefine Core ERP System And Monitor
In FY 2013, we observed an significant increase in dependence on ODS and Cognos. In FY2014, we will add these systems to our defined core ERP system for monitoring for uptimes.

Objective
Monitor Total Service Uptimes
ES will monitor total service uptimes of core ERP functions (i.e. mySam, INB, SSB)

KPI
Core ERP Total Service Uptime
ES will strive for 99.9% up time

Result
99.65% Total Service Uptime
During 2013, there were 30.5 hours of scheduled downtime during which upgrades and system maintenance were conducted resulting in 99.65% total service uptime.

Action
Investigate New Ways To Decrease Downtimes
In FY 2013, we observed an significant increase in dependence on ODS and Cognos. In FY2014, we will add these systems to our defined core ERP system for monitoring for uptimes. 

Additionally, we will work with departments to consolidate upgrades, where possible, to reduce downtimes. Additionally, we will further test some of the abilities to upgrade the core systems without complete downtime. 

Goal
Quality Services
ES will monitor and redesign critical processes as needed to increase campus efficiency.

Objective
Monitor And Improve The Financial Aid Disbursement Process
ES will monitor and improve the Financial Aid disbursement process

KPI
Reduce Runtime Of Financial Aid Disbursement Process
ES will reduce the run time of the Financial Aid disbursement process by > 20%

Result
83% Reduction In Financial Aid Disbursement Process Runtime
By making improvements to processes, technology, and people communications, we were able to reduce Financial Aid Disbursement Process Runtimes by 83% from Fall 2013 to Fall 2013.


Action
Continue To Monitor Performance Of Improved Processes And Identify New Processes For Improvement.
We will continue to monitor performance of improved processes and identify new processes for improvement.


Update to previous cycle's plan for continuous improvement N/A

Plan for continuous improvement In FY2013, IT Enterprise Services was able to meet most of the established goals. The new Project Management Office will be tracked in OATdb in 2014 as well.

Based on 2013 results, the Continuous Improvement Plan for IT Enterprise Services and the IT Project Management Office involves continued focus on the following key areas:
  • Ongoing educational opportunities for staff to stay current on technologies.
  • Evaluation of internal IT processes to provide better services
  • Evaluation of functional department processes to assist in implementing technology improvements
  • Review and evaluate the software that is used for providing services to minimize costs, where possible, and ensure that software still meets business needs.
Many of the goals will remain the same for FY2014. However, the objectives may change to meet the needs of the university - specifically, in the areas of process improvement.