Developing a Service Catalog for Higher

Education Information Technology Services

Andrew H. Lyons Hobart and William Smith Colleges

lyons@hws.edu Geneva, NY

Introduction

Provide better service with a service catalog

Meet customer needs

Easy and quick

Take action

Continue ITIL implementation

Situation

Old IT Services site

Lots of massed

information

Organized by

technology

Complex structure

Redundant content

and links

Situation

Customer needs

Access information when they want it

Take action

Instructions

Request submission

Know what to expect

Problem

Old IT Services site ≠ Customer needs

Proposal

Rebuild the IT Services Web site

Simplify layout, organization, wording

Get rid of dead weight (redundancy, orphans)

Focus on customer needs

What services we provide

How to request the services or get instructions

Where to get help

Plan

Scale

Product

Technology

Features

People

Team

Input from users and IT department

Plan

Priorities

Customer-oriented

Simple organization

Searchable

Actionable

Regular language (not jargon)

Internal

Consistency

Set expectations

Plan

Timeline

Hard deadline for launch

Define phase goals,

documents, and

milestones

Set schedule

Phase Task Days

Planning 25

1Determine services and

categorization80

2

Define and document

services with service level

agreements

50

3aDesign service catalog

and templates20

3bBuild catalog from content

and templates20

3cTest catalog release

candidate5

3d Initial launch 2

4Review response, edits,

plan new content50

5Review effectiveness and

plan development50

Preparation

Services

Collect, review, cull, add

Template for

standardized definitionsService Name:

Summary (what you get):

Services included:

Prices:

When customer receives it:

What is not included:

Related information:

Where/how to request this service:

Where are requests routed?

Preparation

Categories: How to

group services

By technology with user-

friendly names?

Too many and still

complex

Questions customers

might ask?

Too long and too many

Simply the kind of need

Do somethingShow a film, record A/V, install anti-virus software, ship a package, reset password…

Need somethingNetwork folder access, equipment loan, new e-mail address…

Fix a problemRequest immediate help

Get informationPolicies, instructions…

Buy somethingComputer repair (prices), print credits, software, computers (specifications)…

Work in ITJobs list

Offer an idea/ask a questionNone of the above

Creation

Build services from template

Forms

Always available (no hours)

Standardize information captured

Flexible input on one page

Forms

Execution

Partnered with Communications

Tweaks

Instructions

General informational content

Link to service request database

Result

Increase in traffic

Improved information in requests for services

Increase in customer satisfaction

Decrease in call volume

Result

Result

Finished?

Feedback

Continual Development

Edit, add, remove

Service level agreements

Future Plans

Database/CMS-driven dynamic content

Role-based authentication to available services

Automated approval process