Identity Project Phase 1 Implementation on June 27

Starting June 27, all new ONID accounts will be provisioned with a new tool (Saviynt). This is phase 1 of the IGA project (IGA = Identity, Governance and Administration: a set of processes and policies that guide Identity Lifecycle Management). Later phases of the project will include more automation for onboarding new users. The IGA project is part of the “Smart Access” program.

Processes that may be impacted by the IGA change:

  • ONID account creation
  • Exchange online provisioning for new ONID accounts
  • Google Workspace Apps provisioning for new ONID accounts
  • Unix home directory provisioning for new ONID accounts – this can impact Citrix Apps 

From June 27th on, Service Desk should keep an eye out for anything unusual with the above listed processes, and escalate issues to the IAM team. 

Service Desk parent ticket for this change: https://oregonstate.teamdynamix.com/TDNext/Apps/425/Tickets/TicketDet?TicketID=21033139

Update to ticket handling process

We would like to formalize how notes are kept in tickets, with the goal being to simplify things when a ticket needs follow-up. 

To this end, we would like all of the things you do as you go through a troubleshoot to be recorded in the ticket feed (ie, Actions -> Update), and use the Tech Notes field only for the current status and possible next steps.   

This will mean that if a customer calls back on the ticket, the tech who answers that call can quickly review the Tech Notes field to know where things stand and what might need to be done, without having to scroll through the feed. 

We ask that you update the tech notes when necessary, to detail the current status. Doing this will take a little extra time, but it’s worth it to make things easier for the future. Always create/update tickets with the assumption that the customer will call back on the issue, and that someone other than you will get that call! 

In each ticket, please include the following: 

  • Description: The issue as reported by the customer, and (if applicable) which device is involved. Create this, save it, and continue. 
  • Done: Add notes to the feed (via the Update button) as you go along, detailing all the steps you have taken. A summary of what has been done should be added to Tech Notes so a tech taking over the ticket can quickly see what has already been tried. 
  • Doing: This should be in the Tech Notes, or via Update on simple & straightforward tickets, and should note what is currently happening. Examples:  
  • X is installing, customer will test and call back if they have trouble 
  • downloading Y, customer will call back when finished  
  • tested and working, closing ticket 
  • To Do: This should be in the Tech Notes and include anything that may be left to do. Examples: 
  • Help customer install X once the download has completed 
  • If the issue persists, try Y or Z 
  • Have the user log in to make sure everything worked properly 
  • I’m not sure what to do if this is not resolved- contact a full-timer for help 

Public vs private comments (via Update): Most of the information in a ticket should be visible to the customer if they log in to TD to look at a ticket. We want customers to be able to look at their ticket to know where things stand and what has been done! The only things that should be private, either by marking an update as private or by putting the info in Tech Notes, are comments intended for other technicians. That might include for example: 

  • Instructions to technicians on what to next that might not be relevant to the customer 
  • Any notes intended only for other technicians, e.g. “get the password from LAPS” (customers don’t know what LAPS is) 

In general, it’s better to err on the side of making comments visible to the customer. 

Don’t skip tickets: If you are looking through tickets in the between calls, please do not just open a ticket, then close it and move on. Customers can see who has viewed their tickets, and they tend to be justifiably grumpy if multiple techs have looked at a ticket and nothing has been done! If you see a ticket that you don’t know how to handle, please either ask for guidance or note in the ticket that you don’t know what to do to move forward.  

This will help in two ways- first, comments like that in a ticket will help us understand areas we need to train or document better. Second, if a customer sees a note like that it will let them know that the issue may be complex/difficult, and thus may take some time to resolve.  

It is also a good idea to respond to the customer as quickly as possible, even if it is just to say something like “we don’t have documentation on this issue, but are looking into it.” Or if you think the issue will require working with the customer’s computer to resolve – via phone or in person – please tell them so. 

Ticket handling example: 

  • Customer calls saying their Outlook has been crashing. 
  • Ticket creation details what the customer tells us and which computer is having the problem. 
  • First update: Removed unnecessary Outlook plugins.  Ticket is set for scheduled follow-up. 
  • Initial tech notes: Outlook plugins removed, seems to be working. Customer will let us know if the issue persists. 
  • Customer calls back, still having the problem 
  • Second update: Removed and recreated Outlook profile.  Outlook didn’t crash while we were working together. Customer will continue testing and will contact us if it happens again. 
  • Update to tech notes: Removed and recreated Outlook profile.  If customer calls back, it might be worth trying to update the Outlook version on the computer. 
  • Customer calls back, still having the problem 
  • Third update: Customer’s machine has Outlook 2016.  Uninstalled 2016, installed Office365. 
  • Update to tech notes: Upgraded Office version to 365.  If they still have trouble, let’s try removing all shared mailboxes and see if the issue continues. 
  • Tech Notes now looks like this: 

Phone codes changing 8/17/22

Telecom will be performing a substantial update to the Avaya phone system the evening of August 17th.  The most impactful effect of this upgrade for us is that everyone’s phone login code will be changing; your current code will no longer work after the update.  In addition, you will only need to enter #54 and then your login code. For example, if your login code is 40100, to log in to the Service Desk queue you will enter #54 40100.  To sign out, you only need to press #56. I have updated everyone’s information in CX Management as of the evening of the 17th.

What you need to do:

  • Check the CX Management site (https://tools.is.oregonstate.edu/management/) when you start your first shift on or after Thursday, August 18th to find your newly-assigned Phone Code.
  • Please note, this will NOT affect your assigned phone extension- only the code which signs you in to the Service Desk queue.

Additional note for OSU Campus Operators: The updated version of Avaya requires a separate login code to be used for the Operator queue.  CX management does not allow us to enter multiple phone codes for our techs, so I will email each of you directly with your assigned Operator login code, and will additionally add your code in the shift description field in W2W.  I should have enough Operator codes to give each person their own code.

Please contact Max if you have any questions!

Service Desk Blog 7/25/2022

Required Training for IAR/Decision Support Tools

Please complete the following new required training as soon as you can: Decision Support Tools

Let me know if you have questions!

Upcoming Change for Exchange Admin Access

Please use your admin account (wa_username, wa2_username, or sa_azr_username) for Exchange admin tasks. If you have been using your ONID account for Exchange admin tasks, note that that access will be removed later this week.

For a list of steps for common tasks in Exchange, see: Guide: Exchange Tasks

Reminders

Please be sure to carefully document computer information in the ticket. For CX computers, add the asset. For non-OSU computers, make note of whether it is PC or Mac, and what operating system version (e.g. Windows 11 or macOS Catalina)

Mac Tech Tip

We have how-to guides for using productivity tools on the Mac, including Teams, Zoom, Outlook, and Box. For a guide to KB articles for Mac users, see: Guide: Mac KB Articles

If you see errors in KB articles, please fix them or put feedback on the article – thanks!

Upcoming Events

The UIT annual barbecue is Friday, August 19 at the JSB from 11:30am-2pm. Please let Max know if you plan to attend or not.

Service Desk Digest – 6/16/2022


Welcome to Summer!

We are starting to (finally) get caught up on the ticket queue. Huge thanks to Max for hiring a record number of student techs this year, and thanks to our student techs for being here! Every day the OSU community fill out surveys saying how consistently helpful, kind, efficient, and courteous you all are. Thank you for everything you do.

I haven’t done a blog post in a while. This time, I’m focusing on some items that tend to come up a lot at the end of the school year. Let me know if you have questions! It’s smart to ask questions. If there are items you would like to see in a future blog post, let me know.

Extend VPN Access

VPN access is lost when a person is no longer a current employee or student. VPN access can be extended temporarily by request of another employee who is still current. There is a specific form to use. Service Desk can then grant the access in that case. Details here: VPN – Extend Access for Non-Current ONID User (Internal)

Extend Library Access

Library access is also lost when someone is no longer a current student or employee. Library access can be extended by request. The form creates a ticket for Library staff to process. For details, see: Library – Access Denied to OSU Online Library or Interlibrary Loan

Extend ONID Account Access

Students who have recently left but whose ONID accounts are still around can request temporary access to ONID. Often this is done to give the person time to grab their files, or to allow them to sign in to Online Services and retrieve pay stubs or tax forms. We escalate these requests to IAM. IAM cannot extend access to allow a former employee to get to their Exchange email. See “Former Employees” below.

This is also a good time to review one of our most requested knowledge articles, very popular at this time of year: ONID – Account Eligibility and Duration

Former Employees and Email Access

Former employees – people who have no current job and have been “terminated” in Banner – are not allowed to access their former Exchange email (this control does not apply to Gmail at the moment).

If someone has retired and needs access to some personal items in their mailbox, or if their department needs access to work items in their account, we can grant their former supervisor or other department contact temporary access to the mailbox in order to retrieve the items. See: Exchange Online – Former Employee Can’t Access Outlook; Error “You cannot access this right now” or “Error Code: 53003”

If the former employee is still doing some work for the department, or will be again soon, the department can sponsor their ONID account. Sponsoring the account restores access to Exchange email.

Special cases:

  • Retirees who show with “retiree” affiliation in RefTool are eligible for a special retiree mailbox. Before they can sign up for that, their original ONID account has to be deleted and recreated. It is recommended that all former employees, including retirees, grab any items they need before their job ends.
  • Emeritus have a special status with their department and will show with “emeritus” affiliation in RefTool. They are treated basically like employees and maintain access to their ONID account and all typical services.

Pro tip: sometimes people claim they have a status but they actually don’t. Check RefTool. If what they say doesn’t match what you see, they should talk to their department to get the right paperwork processed.

P: or S: Drive Keep Disappearing

If we have re-mapped a drive for a customer but it keeps disappearing for them, ask if they have changed jobs recently.

When a person moves from one department to another, we need to move their account to the right OU in Active Directory to ensure they get the right drive mappings. If we miss that step, group policy will not be able to auto-map their drives for them. The symptom to look for is: it’s not mapping automatically, or it keeps disappearing, but we are able to manually map just fine.