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With Numara™ FootPrints® service desk automation software, Boalt Hall implemented a web-based system that fully automates its web-based help desk operations and delivers service to 1400 faculty members and students. University of California, Berkeley UC Berkeley's Boalt School of Law is ranked as one of the top law schools in the nation. Known for its renowned faculty, exceptional students, and innovative programs, as well as its interdisciplinary approach to the study of law, the school maintains some of the highest standards of academic excellence in the country. Boalt Hall's curriculum is continually evolving with more than 160 courses each year at the law school, including seminars, skills classes, and clinics that offer special perspectives on legal practice today. The Challenge Boalt Hall has over 1,000 students and 300 faculty and staff members, providing the school's Information Systems and Technology department with a steady flow of technical requests, ranging from printer problems to lost passwords. Prior to selecting Numara FootPrints, the school relied on a chain of loosely connected email threads to track technical requests which were captured via email and telephone. John Weber, Supervisor for Desktop Support at Boalt Hall, began noticing that issues were falling through the cracks. He found it difficult to ensure that each request submitted to the help desk was handled appropriately, and within a timely manner. As incoming workflow increased, he saw the need to automate the school's help desk processes and replace the existing email-based system. The need for a centralized, web-based service desk solution quickly became apparent to Weber. The Numara FootPrints Solution @ UC Berkeley's Boalt Hall Numara FootPrints provided Boalt Hall with an easy-to-use, web-based support system that required little training and enabled agents to be proficient on the system quickly. Weber purchased the Numara FootPrints Dynamic Address Book Link add-on module. He was especially impressed with the seamless integration of Numara FootPrints with the school's UNIX system and LDAP-based corporate address book, plus Numara FootPrints' ability to work with his Linux® system. The software is installed on a Sun® Solaris™ platform and an Oracle database.
Internal Help Desk: Numara FootPrints is used by Weber's team of 10 agents who are part of the school's Information Systems & Technology department. This group provides technical support to the school's 300-plus faculty and staff. Agents receive trouble tickets and requests via email and phone which are logged into Numara FootPrints.
Numara FootPrints two-way email management streamlines the process of submitting service requests. When a user submits a request via email, Numara FootPrints automatically logs the appropriate information taken from the LDAP address book and creates a ticket. This information is routed to an available agent to address and resolve the issue.
By centralizing all service requests into one system for all agents to access via a web browser, Numara FootPrints is enabling Weber and his team to improve the overall quality of service. It also enables agents to better track issues and analyze trends. "As a result, call volumes have been significantly reduced. Our agents can spend more time troubleshooting and resolving more complex issues at a faster rate." The school also provides the capability for faculty and staff to resolve their specific problem by searching through Numara FootPrints' online knowledge base.
In addition to the internal help desk, Weber and his team extended the use of Numara FootPrints to support various projects and more than 1,000 students at the school, including: Student Help Desk, Library Computing Support, Web Development, Telecommunications Support, and the Maintenance Department.
The Results Numara FootPrints helped the school automate its support operations, improve workflow, and build more effective communication among faculty, students, and the IT support staff. "It is refreshing to open up old tickets from four or five months ago to review how they were resolved," says Weber. "As a manager, it is definitely beneficial to have a big picture view of how our resources are applied. We can now evaluate how our help desk responds to calls, where our support dollars are being spent, and what recurring issues need frequent support."
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