Service Catalog - Content and Organization

Transcription

1 Introduction Document purpose This document outlines the organization of the IT Service Catalog and provides guidelines for creating content within each Sub-Service. It is intended to be used by authors of the IT Knowledge Base and Service Catalog. Our mantra for the Service Catalog: ONLY WRITE TEXT THAT WE CAN AND WILL MAINTAIN. Contents Terminology: What is a service, sub-services, etc. on page 2. Content and organization of Sub-services on page 3 Guidelines for content and organization on page 6 Last updated: September 19, 2007 page 1 of 6

2 Terminology: What is a service, sub-services, etc. Core service One of the nine general categories of services of which the Service Catalog is composed for example: Telephone, Network, Wireless Teaching & Learning Computer Systems & Storage Sub-service The different services found under the Core Service, eg. under Networks, a sub-service would be Wireless) Sub-service Template KB article Service vs. System General information about the service, the sections described above. Supporting documentation for the sub-service (eg. How to configure blabla for Windows Vista ) It is important to understand that for our Service Catalog structure we have attempted to separate by definition what we call a "Service" and what we term a "System". A system is a technology solution ( i.e. comprised of hardware, software, facilities and people, that provides a capability to satisfy a stated need or objective), whereas a Service is a capability which enables a business process. A service is supported by one or many systems. An example is Messaging ( a Service) that is supported by Exchange ( an IT System). In our Catalog model, the applications or systems could be listed within the Services. When it comes to the actual Service names, where possible we have referred back to the functional Experts who are the Service owners to have a final say on what they want the name to be. Based on the above, the key rules that we have used in our Service Catalog structure are: A service always refers to a capability and not a specific technology A service does not make reference to an organizational function, department or structure e.g ISR, ICS, NCS etc A service is supported by one or many systems. Eg: Messaging is supported by Backberry and Exchange Except for a front end web page, the content of the Service Catalog will be in the KB. A service relates to the activities or tasks performed in order to achieve a goal, e.g: , online bill payment, online course registration, synchronization of handheld/mobile devices. Last updated: September 19, 2007 page 2 of 6

3 Content and organization of Sub-services Service description - What is the service? The service description should be brief and provide an overview of the service. In this section we can point out important things that the user needs to know, but we should not go into detailed procedures here. If there are related KB articles, we can conclude the text with: See related articles located in the right side panel. Who can use this service - Does it apply to me? List all parties that may use this service, e.g., McGill faculty, staff (including casual staff), students, hospital affiliates and guests How to request/access - How can I get it? Who do I contact? What info do I need? This section should include whatever information would be needed by each person accessing the service. If there are procedural things the user needs to do, provide a link to a KB article containing the procedural steps. Don t elaborate on specific technical details in this section. Example of How to request/access from VPN service: The McGill Username and McGill Password are needed to access VPN. McGill faculty, staff and students automatically have a McGill Username and McGill Password. Hospital affiliates (non-mcgill staff working in a hospital that is a member of the McGill Affiliated Health Sciences Library Consortium and whose work has an association with McGill) can apply for a McGill Username by filling out the IT Services/ form and returning it to NCS. The form must be filled in annually and signed by a sponsor who must be either a McGill employee or the Director of the applicant s hospital library. For temporary wireless access, you may request a guest network account by filling out the Guest Network Account form. VPN needs to be configured on your computer. Search the knowledgebase using search term vpn for configuration instructions specific to your operating system. Cost - Do I have to pay to get it, and how much? This section should mention any up front costs, as well as ongoing costs for the service. If the service is basically free, use this standard text: There is no cost associated with this service. <If students are among those listed on the Who can use this service tab, the add: If you are a student, this service is covered under your student fees. > Last updated: September 19, 2007 page 3 of 6

4 Availability - When is the service available? What are the scheduled down times? When describing any 24 X 7 service, use this standard text: This service is available 24 X 7, except during scheduled and unscheduled maintenance. Check the IT at McGill <link> home page for announcements regarding service interruptions. Whoever is doing Computer labs service should use this text: Check Computer labs <link to for hours of availability. Frequently Asked Questions - What questions/problems have others experienced? The FAQ section will generally link to KB articles that answer a question, such as How do I set up MS Outlook 2007?, How do I log in to the mymcgill portal?, What should I do when the Check Browser utility shows an error about my version of Java?, etc. These FAQ articles will contain the procedures (steps) to follow, screenshots, other details. Other KB articles that are not FAQs should be linked as related articles within the KB admin interface. They will be accessible to the user via the right side menu. Note: If the question requires a procedure for an answer, and there is no KB article written as yet, create the KB article first and then link to it. Best Practices - How can I use this service most efficiently and effectively? Best Practices links to one or more KB articles and other web pages/sites where the user can find best practices about that service. The links should contain meaningful text (not just a URL), but the URL can be included in cases where it s important for the user to know. In cases where the link goes to a location outside the McGill web, I would put a decriptive name and also show the URL. Last updated: September 19, 2007 page 4 of 6

5 Training and Documentation - Where can I get more information on using this service? This section will contain links to : Courses requiring registration (descriptions on the ICS site) if available. Self-serve resouces, i.e. How To documents and / or videos, if available. Example: Courses requiring registration: WPS Intro and editing <link to course description> WPS Site Management Self-serve resources: (PDF icon) How to use the McGill Web Publishing System (flash icon) How to <whatever> Support - Who do I contact when I m stuck? How and when can I contact support? Submit your request via a web form: Support form for <whatever service> Send an support.ist@mcgill.ca Call or visit us at BH112 Support service hours <link to the ICS Service Desk article, ideally to a single tab where the hours for phone support and walk-in office hours are maintained) Contact: (not usually applicable, but in cases such as site licenses) susan.duciaume@mcgill.ca for <whatever> gabrielle.krim@mcgill.ca for <whatever> Related articles & Related Links KB articles that are relevant, but not really FAQs or Best Practices can be linked through the KB administrative interface as Related articles. Other web links, that are not KB articles and don t belong in the Best Practices section can be put into Related links. The user will access both Related articles and Related links via the side bar menu. which will be displayed by default. The earlier section called More information disappears. Last updated: September 19, 2007 page 5 of 6

6 Guidelines for content and organization Avoid details we cannot maintain or which belong in KB articles The Service Catalog provides the organization of that content and connections between higherlevel concepts. The meat of the content should be in the KB articles. The Service Descriptions provide an overview of the service; the tabs should provide only enough detail to get users to the KB articles for instructions. Example: How to request/access tab often seems too detailed. If there are detailed instructions, provide links to a KB article OR to the site where these details are maintained. Don t use: In Services for Alumni > Access. Too detailed. Also for McGill Antispam System > Access. Use: For Alumni > Access: When you receive your invitation to join Alumnilife, go the the web site and follow the instructions to become a member. You will be able to choose an option to create an ELF account for your McGill Address. For Antispam: Go to the <whatever link> web site and log in as instructed. Click Options, opt in, and Save. Avoid super-long service names. Single line only. Don t use: REZ Voice and Data Service for Students Living in McGill Residences Boilerplate text Use: REZ Voice and Data for Students in Residence Can the template include default text for certain tabs, so the content editor doesn t have to type or copy/paste standard information, causing errors/maintenance. See examples above for typical service catalog sections. Spelling There is a spell checker within the KB editing tool. Use it on all sections (tabs) when you have finished entering text. See the document named ITAtMcGill-WritingStandards.pdf for formatting and writing style. Last updated: September 19, 2007 page 6 of 6