Support Management and Evaluation System
for the Gottesman Libraries, Teachers College, ColumbiaUniversity
Prepared by A. Cocciolo
November 6, 2006
DOCUMENT HISTORY
Date / Author / Version / Description / Review11/6/2006 / ACOCCIOLO / .9 / First Draft / HSC
11/6/2006 / ACOCCIOLO / 1.0 / Second Draft
Table of Contents
1. Overview
2. System Design
2.1Client Interface
2.2Email Interface
2.3Client follow-up interface
2.4Support System Interface
2.5Administration interface
2.5.1Manage users lists
2.5.2Manage support areas
2.5.3Statistics
2.5.4F2F integration
2.6 Knowledge database
3 Next Steps
1. Overview
The purpose of this document is to outline the requirements and related design for a support management system for the Gottesman Libraries at Teachers College. The goals of the system are to:
1)Improve Support Quality: Provide a way of tracking patron support issues. Such a system could prevent support issues from “falling through the cracks” (ie- someone forgets to get back to patron, doesn’t get passed on to next person on-schedule, staff on vacation, etc.)
2)Improve Knowledge of Support operation: Provide a way of getting statistics on support issues by area.
3)Integrate electronic and face-to-face (F2F) support:Provide one central console for viewing statistics for F2F and electronic support queries.
4)Integrate with existing workflows: Integrate system with email system, the primary way that staff interface with patrons electronically
5)Improve security: Remove email addresses from Gottesman Libraries homepage. These email address can currently be collected by spammers.
6)Decrease training cost: Provide a way of transmitting knowledge about support operations to new staff members
2. System Design
There are six elements of the system design. These include:
2.1Client Interface
The client interface is a webpage that would replace links to email addresses on the library homepage. A mockup of the interface is shown in figure 1.
Figure 1: Mockup of Support Request page:
The following list is a re-statement of the support areas, and where the support emails will go. This list is comprehensive in that it covers all areas which mention email support on the current library website.
Research
(redirect to Tutor.com) I would like to chat with a librarian now about my research question
(library)I would like to schedule a consultation with a librarian or have my research question answered via email
(library) I have a question about the archives or general questions about the Gottesman Libraries
Interlibrary Loan, eReserves, Materials Requests
(interlib) I have an issue related to Interlibrary loan
(interlib) I have an issue related to eReserves or requesting materials
(library) I would like to suggest materials for the Gottesman Libraries to purchase
Books
(smntnnce) I can't find a book on the shelf- I would like to place a trace request
(smntnnce) I need a book in the closed stacks- I would like to make a retrieval request
(libcirc) I need a book that is checked out- I would like to recall a book
(libcirc) I need a book that says "In-Process" in EDUCAT.
Russell Hall
(librmres) I have a problem with a room reservation
(librarysupport) I'm having a problem (equipment, technology, etc.) in Russell Hall- help!
Project and Course Support
(tsg) I need help with a distance learning course or using Blackboard
(mdc) I would like help with multimedia design or to learn more about the EdLabDesignCenter
(tsi) I would like help with academic digital publishing
(csg) I would like to learn more about project facilitation support
Webpages & Electronic Resources
(tsi) I am having trouble with the library webpage or an electronic resource
Other
(library) I don't know or problem not shown.
2.2Email Interface
The system will use email to notify library staff and patrons. All emails should exclude patron or support reply-to email addresses to avoid the system from being subverted (and consequently loosing track of the support request). An example email to a library staff would include the following:
From:
To:
Subject: Support Request: General Question about the Gottesman Libraries
Message:
Hi, I was wondering what yearTeachers College opened. Thanks, Margie.
To reply, follow this link: . Do not click the reply button.
The system should send out auto-reply messages to patrons upon receive a request, such as the following:
From:
To:
Subject: We’ve received your request
Message:
We have received your inquiry and are happy to assist you. You will be responded to as soon as possible. Regards,
Staff of the Gottesman Libraries
The staff member would click the above link, enter the response, and the message to the patron would look like the following:
From:
To:
Subject: Response to Support Request: General Question about the Gottesman Libraries
Message:
Hi Margie,
Thank you for your inquiry. Teachers College opened for classes in the Fall of 1883. Best,
Allen Foresta
Senior Librarian
The Gottesman Libraries
For more assistance with this inquiry, please click the following link to write a follow-up: . Please do not click the reply button in your mail browser.
Your message (10/28/2006 3:05 PM):
Hi, I was wondering what yearTeachers College opened. Thanks, Margie.
In addition, if the ticket includes multiple back-and-forth between patron and staff member, those threads should be included in the email message for reference.
2.3Client follow-up interface
Below is a mockup interface of what the client would see if they needed to follow-up to a response they received from a library staff member.
Figure 2: Interface for client to reply to library staff
2.4Support System Interface
The support system interface is where staff members can view open tickets. It should not be “locked-down”, meaning that anyone on staff can see the tickets of others at any one time. The main interface should display all unresolved tickets.
To log into the system, one should use the TC Domain accounts username and password.
When a ticket has been resolved, a user will be allowed to select a “resolved” button.
Figure 3 illustrates the status of support tickets:
Figure 3: Viewing unresolved tickets
When viewing a support ticket, you have the option to reassign the ticket to another account account (tsi, library, etc.)
Figure 4 illustrates what viewing a ticket would look like:
Figure 4: Interface for library staff for responding to support issue
2.5Administration interface
2.5.1Manage users lists
An administrator should be able to manage list of accounts that tickets can be assigned to (library, tsi, etc.)
2.5.2Manage support areas
Interface for adding and deleting support areas, groupings, and default users who issues are assigned to. There should be certain support areas that are allowed to be invisible on the web-side but data can be provided on the F2F side.
2.5.3Statistics
The statistics interface should produce the following report:
Input: Start date and end date
Output:
Electronic: Number of support issues assigned to user (breakdown by user):
Electronic: Number of responses by user (breakdown by user)
Electronic: Number of support issues by support area (and include default responder)
Electronic: Number of responses by support area
F2F: Number of support issues by support area
F2F: Number of support issues by user
Total: Total support issues by area
Total: Total support issues by user
2.5.4F2F integration
For face-to-face (F2F) support issues, it is expected that staff will keep tally of support queries on white boards or paper, and on some interval (weekly, monthly, etc.), will enter the tallies into the support system.
The interface for taking in the paper tallies should include the following:
Input: Start date to end date
[ Submit ]
After submitting the start and end date, the user would then be supplied with an interface to enter the count totals:
TSI F2F Support counts data entry screen (October 1, 2006 to October 31, 2006):
Enter Count: X I would like help with academic digital publishing
Enter Count: X I am having trouble with the library webpage or an electronic resource
Enter Count: X Other
[ Submit ]
2.6Knowledge database
The knowledge database will store help materials both for patrons and staff (some materials will only be available to staff). Staff should not have to logon to view staff-only issues but a link should be provided in staff browsers or via a staff-specific library webpage.
Support issues from the ticketing system which reach maturity will be re-formatted (and in some cases re-written) and added to the support system. The person entering the support issue would needs to decide if it is staff-only or both staff and patron accessible.
The knowledge database should be Google searchable.
3Next Steps
The next steps are to:
a) Assess if this document accurately reflects the support needs of the Gottesman Libraries. Refinements will be made to this document until it accurately reflects the needs.
b) Once the requirements are solidified, the system will be implemented by either adapting or customizing an existing support system (ie- Open Source product), or if no suitable product is found, to undertake a custom implementation.