Customer Support
There are three main sources of feedback for VFusion;
· Stakeholders,
· Users
· Standard publishing authorities.
Requests coming from these sources are assessed, prioritized, scheduled, implemented, approved and released according to the Change Management Plan.
Requests can be classified into three categories;
· Enhancement of the existing functionality,
· New functionality
· New software module.
Functionality enhancement and adding new functionalities that have no effect on the modules other than the module it is in and requires small or no change in the database structure are considered as minor releases. Adding new modules to the system or changes that have impact on multiple modules and/or requiring significant manipulation on the database structure and/or operational data are considered as the major releases. Frequency of the update cycle decreases linearly over the time.
Modules of VFusion system can be upgraded independently minor releases are published as soon as they are approved. Minor releases are published even daily basis when needed. Major releases are generally published on weekly or monthly basis.
Change approval process includes stress testing phase that is conducted with a database containing 100.000 students which is running on the recommended hardware stated in VFusion Performance Tuning Guide.
Third parties that are licensed to use VFusion binaries can import unobfuscated .dll files into their Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 development environment to extend the existing software.
A three-layer support strategy will be managed:
First-level includes direct access to a person for problem identification and triage.
Second level support will include experts in systems operation and business process.
Third level support will include resources from the systems manufacturer who are deeply experienced in systems operation.
In accordance with the support strategy the development and maintenance of a help desk will be assisted and ticket system to record will be established to track and manage the help desk process.
Online and hard copy support materials will be available to users in the reference systems and shall be used by the first and second level help providers.
Additional material required to resolve problems shall be identified and included in the reference system.
Frequently-asked-questions (FAQ) module in the ticket system with online access as an option for user access will be formed.
Reports will be developed from the help desk system to track use and identify ways to improve system capabilities or performance.
The help desk shall include provide:
· non-blocking access to first level support,
· one hour access to second level support,
· four hour access to third level support.
During the first year of implementation, the help desk will be formed with 1 support specialist for 50 schools. After completion of installation the number of staff at help desk can be reduced up to 1 support specialist for 100 schools.
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