overview
DESCRIPTION
TRANSCRIPT
U V I C S Y S T E M S
S T A T U S U P D A T E
A U G U S T 2 0 0 8
Overview
l Our campus SharePoint Service is now in production. This means clients may now request SharePoint sites and support for existing sites via the Computer Help Desk.
l The Computer Store is extremely busy with back-to-school sales.
l The main Enterprise Data Centre 1 now has sufficient power capacity thanks to a power upgrade earlier this month.
l Tim Smith has joined University Systems as the Manager of our Windows Services Team.
l We're Moodling! New users of learning management systems are choosing Moodle over Blackboard.
l The Emergency Notifications System (PC0054) will be in production on September 4. This allows us to send broadcast messages using a variety of mediums to members of the university community.
l The Computer Store achieved highest Apple sales per FTE for all Higher Education resellers in Canada for the period of July, including over $250,000 in on-line sales.
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ContentsOverview...........................................................................................................................1Client Technologies...........................................................................................................3Computer Help Desk.........................................................................................................3Computer Store.................................................................................................................5Departmental Computing Support Team..........................................................................6Development and Database Services...............................................................................7Information Security.......................................................................................................10Infrastructure Services....................................................................................................10Learning Systems...........................................................................................................11Media Services................................................................................................................13Network Services............................................................................................................14Project Management Office.............................................................................................16Student Facility Services.................................................................................................18Systems Services............................................................................................................18UVic Online Systems.......................................................................................................19Web Services Office........................................................................................................20Active Chartered Projects................................................................................................21
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Client Technologies
Leader: Lance Grant
Accomplishments
l Assisted with moving SharePoint services into production ensuring support and site provisions systems are in place and subject matter experts are available for client consultation on site development. Created new SharePoint sites for Marketing, Venus, PICS, and Purchasing and provided one-on-one training to the respective site administrators.
l Recruited a new part time assistant, Feng Xie, to provide training and staffing resources to the ECS project.
l Completed Vista deployment training with other members of University Systems.l Performed technical reviews for a higher number of purchases than normally
expected in the summer.l Completed the installation of a uHire - Internet Access terminal in Housing Janitorial.l Jason Ambeault held several meetings surrounding the MEDS default workstation
images for the MEDS Support Project.
Next Steps
l Plan and implement Vista Business deployment infrastructure for UVic to allow for University Systems to share deployment resources and allow for more consistent Vista installations in the future.
l All senior technical analysts to supplement Computer Help Desk (CHD) staff during September back to school.
l Ensure migration of CHD server services such as Jabber and Homer are performed without impact on Client Technologies.
l Prepare for deployment of the Technology Integration and Evaluation (TIE) project portable carts of laptops and tablets.
l Complete Client Technologies portion of Systems annual service plan.
Computer Help Desk
Leader: David Street
Accomplishments
l Completed the project charter for PC0064, the MEDS Support Pilot project, and presented to the PRC. The Computer Help Desk has been granted approval to execute.
l Computer Help Desk Manager attended an ITIL Foundations certification course held on campus for UVic Systems senior staff.
l One Computer Help Desk staff member attended an Official Microsoft course on deploying Windows Vista business desktops in preparation for the support of Windows Vista on UVic workstations.
l Completed the Project Lite LPC0095 for procurement of the remote support appliance Bomgar.
l Staff at the Computer Help Desk operated a booth at the new student parent orientation held on August 30. The staff provided information to new students and parents on the services and support provided by the Computer Help Desk.
l Completed orientation sessions and training for new co-op students working at the Computer Help Desk for the September to January term.
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l Computer Help Desk staff completed rigorous testing of the Computer Help desk online services as part of project PC0061 in preparation for migration to the Enterprise Data Center.
l Computer Help Desk online services were successfully migrated to the Enterprise Data Center as part of PC0061. This will improve accessibility to the Computer Help Desk website and reduce the risk of down time and will improve the reliability and performance of the Informed system, and the Homer trouble ticket system by hosting them on servers in the Enterprise Data Centre. In turn, this infrastructure will support the betterment of the distribution of information to the university community, and increase the collaboration between units in University Systems.
l Help Desk consultants attended a training session on support issues related to the new SharePoint services offered by UVic Systems as part of the ECS project.
Next Steps
l Complete training of the new co-op student consultants working at the Computer Help Desk for the fall term.
l Handle exceptionally high call volume to start of the fall term. l Procure the Bomgar support appliance which will enable the Computer Help Desk to
provide remote support of client workstations.l Close out report to be written for the Computer Help Desk project PC0061.
Challenges
l Vacations at the Computer Help Desk resulting in fewer staff available to leave for site visits and train in coming co-op students for the fall term.
Performance Metrics
Description ValueTrouble tickets opened 565Total active trouble tickets 52Total unticketed calls to the CHD 990Total trouble ticket progress items 3690Library Satellite client contacts 76Trouble tickets closed 411
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Computer Store
Leader: Kevin Burns
Accomplishments
l Apple back-to-school (BTS) promo maintains strong sales; to date over 530 units have been purchased since the promo began.
l Toshiba BTS offering selling strongly with bundle prices starting at $899 including a multifunction printer.
l Fujitsu BTS offering very popular; choice of two models with extended warranty, accidental damage protection and Computrace theft protection on selected models starting at $849.
l Developed and distributed electronic marketing materials for distribution to students that are signed up to the Computer Store E-Mail Alerts.
l Finalized planning Student Orientation staffing levels for Labour Day weekend opening. Store open 9:30 am to 4:30 pm on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
l Completed cleanup of document storage area to aid in timely retrieval of documents as well as timely secure disposal when required including installation of new shelving to aid in speedy retrieval of documents.
l Continued training staff on accessories and attachment sales.l Achieved highest Apple sales per FTE for all Higher Education resellers in Canada for
the period of July, including over $250,000 in on-line sales.
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Next Steps
l Develop "Welcome Letter" for new faculty outlining Computer Store services.l Adapt current electronic marketing for display on UVic Bookstore Infocaster system.l Post job vacancies.l Complete "Performance Plan" with senior staff.l Continue to develop and distribute electronic marketing materials for students that
are signed up to the Computer Store E-Mail Alerts.l Continue workflow improvements in Accounts Payable and Receivables including
paperless reporting using PDF Portfolios.
Challenges
l Huge volume of in-store traffic due to new school term.l Finding effective ways to market to students such as MySpace and Facebook.l Staff and resource crunch due to vacations.l Recent challenges with staff absence due to illness.
Performance Metrics
Description ValueESABC Fees remitted, Printers 175ESABC Fees remitted, Desktops 99ESABC Fees remitted, Notebooks 264ESABC Fees remitted, Displays 98
Departmental Computing Support Team
Leader: Ricardo Draper
Accomplishments
l There were two training opportunities offered to DCST staff this month. First, several DCST staff received training in APEX, the Oracle rapid web application development tool for the Oracle databases, and second, two staff members had training for Microsoft Vista deployment using the Business Desktop Deployment tools.
l Given the time of year, there were many new workstations and laptops ordered and deployed in August.
l DCST ATRS staff participated in the Ian Stewart Complex Front counter renovation project by providing technical assistance and liaising with various groups during the project on technical matters.
l DCST MEDS staff liaised between the Island Medical Program, client technologies and the Computer Help Desk to plan a purchase of new workstations to replace old workstations. The replaced workstations will be retrofitted with the new workstation build as well and deployed for other uses.
l DCST Business support investigated podcasting and as a result, developed a webpage for the BUSI podcast media player launch on Sept 17. This involves site wide changes to all 1800 + pages. Also, much work time spent developing 3 reports that are generated via a webpage, and performed much updating of staff pages, co-op pages and corrections on exec programs pages.
l The Education labs themselves have had a significant amount of work done – effectively a new lab has been created. Renovations have been done, new furniture installed, and new machines and software configurations designed, including a new image stream for quick workstation reconfigurations. The work is ongoing, and must be ready for September 3rd, when the first classes of the year take place.
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Next Steps
l With the opening of the new Services building soon, we are preparing for more building moves again.
l We are still receiving requests for new workstations and laptops, as noted above. We expect the flow to reduce once the school year begins.
Challenges
l The Education labs ePortfolio system continues to pose occasional challenges and these have been quickly resolved.
Performance Metrics
Description ValueNumber of calls 1756Calls completed 1573Calls outstanding 279
Development and Database Services
Leader: Jane Godfrey
Accomplishments
l Student Accounts Receivable - Grad Student Tuition Income Offset Plan: Graduate Students have the option of participating in a Graduate Student Tuition Income Offset Plan. This plan allows graduate students to pay tuition fees in 4 equal instalments over each four-month term, with payments taken directly from a student’s bank account via automatic withdrawal. This is intended to better align the payment of tuition to the receipt of fellowship and employment income received by many graduate students. A new application is under development which will be used to collect the student banking information and will send monthly debit requests to the bank to debit the student accounts. The application will also notify students prior to each withdrawal.
l Mailroom Billing Application: This project was for the development of an interface to feed journal entries from the new Mailroom Billing software to Banner. The application was implemented in production in August and has been used successfully by the department for the June and July billings.
l Convocation System Upgrade: Phase 0 of the Convocation System Upgrade will go into production this September. This phase will allow the CermRoll system to work with Banner student and Continuing Studies instead of the previous Student system (ISIS). Development work to convert data to the legacy format for the ConvRoll and CermRoll systems is complete. Data mapping is now completed between the ISIS data and Banner data. Two new Oracle reports: Marshalling report and Procession order report will be installed into production this September. 11 Exception reports have been created to catch any data conversion errors.
l Employment Equity Survey System: As a participant in the Federal Contractor’s Program, UVic is required by the Government of Canada to produce regular reports on equity hiring issues. A number of improvements to this system have been completed and moved into production.
l ID Card System: The system that produces ID Cards for students, faculty and staff requires replacement to raise photo capture and print quality to current expectations. Requirements gathering, vendor selection, and planning has been completed for this new system. Implementation will take place this fall.
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l Transcripts: Significant progress has been made in the production of transcripts from Banner. Functional teams are currently validating the results prior to migrating the new transcript program into production.
l Emergency Notification system: The purpose of this project is to develop and implement a system, process and technology, to allow officials to quickly and efficiently notify students, staff, faculty and other groups in the event of a major emergency. A significant test was completed last week, and the development team is performing final adjustments based on the results of the test. The production system will be deployed in early September.
l ViewCat Reporting: The ViewCat reporting tool has proven to be immensely popular for simpler operational reports, with over 150 reports delivered since its release in November 2007. ViewCat draws its data from a nightly snapshot of Banner, however the popularity of this tool has exceeded the capacity of the Banner snapshot database. Therefore we have deployed a new, more powerful Banner snapshot database. As a result, ViewCat users should see improved performance.
l SAS Reporting: Working closely with Institutional Planning and Analysis, we are in the process of deploying the SAS Business Intelligence Server and Web Reports Studio to meet the reporting needs of users who require complex or year-over-year analysis of data. While the SAS system is still under development, SAS was successfully used to create the first Banner-based Auditor General’s Report of EETs for Summer 2008.
l Business Continuation Planning (BCP): To ensure that University business can continue in the event of a disaster involving the Clearihue Enterprise Data Center, an emergency BCP Data Center has been established in TEF. Banner and other critical administrative systems were successfully restored in the TEF BCP Data Centre this past month.
l Banner Database Upgrade: To maintain technical currency, we are in the process of upgrading the Banner database to Oracle 10g. In the past month, the development database was successfully upgraded. The production database is scheduled to be upgraded in November 2008.
l Document Imaging: The Xtender imaging system that connects to Banner contained a number of documents that did not match the correct person records. In order to rectify this, a re-matching process needed to be run. This re-matching process was successfully run on the development and pre-production databases. Upon the completion of User Acceptance Testing, the re-matching process will be run on the production database.
l HR Data loader: The HR Data loader application is used by HRIS to load external files to the payroll system. The application was modified in August to allow the loading of Parking deductions through the application.
Next Steps
l Deposit Reconciliation application upgrade: This project will address issues raised by Internal Audit review; we will be working with Finance to upgrade the deposit reconciliation application to improve accuracy of the reconciliation process. The initial steps that have been completed for this project including data loading of new coding elements for Finance which will improve the identification of the source of a deposit transaction. Currently the reconciliation processes are handled manually by the Finance department as the legacy application was no longer addressing the reconciliation process with sufficient accuracy. The next step in this project will include gathering specifications for a more automated reconciliation process.
l Student Data Conversions: We are in the final stages of converting student data from ISIS to Banner. There are currently 8 conversions in final validation, which are scheduled to be complete by the end of September.
l Mainframe Decommissioning: The project charter to move remaining data on the previous Payroll system (CHRIS) to a new database and also transfer all CHRIS year
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end backups (from 1997) from tape to the new database is complete and will be presented to the Project Review Committee (PRC) on August 1st for approval to execute. Development of the transfer of the remaining data from the legacy Payroll system (CHRIS) to a new database is underway. Data transfer will include all CHRIS year end backups (from 1997) from tape to the new database. The export jobs have been modified and now contain a year field which allow restoration of a number of mainframe jobs by year which can then be exported out to the new 'CHRIS Illusion' database. The CHRIS Illusion database needs to be designed and a user interface for reporting on the data needs to be built.
l Oracle Database Upgrades: All Oracle databases (60 of them) need to be upgraded from v9 to v10: Banner development environment and the Blackboard development environments have been upgraded. Planning is ongoing for the remaining database environments.
l Reporting: A number of reports will go into production in September to address client requests for operational reporting needs including Future Dated Jobs report and HRIS, Employee Status Change report for Research, System access report for Finance, Charity return report for Finance, Future Dated Adjustments report for HRIS and updates to the Stats Canada Report for Institutional Analysis, the VPAC Salary Data report and the CAUBO report to meet the latest requirements for Finance.
l Direct Deposits for Employee Reimbursements: Investigation work has begun on implementing new functionality in Banner Finance which will result in payment by direct deposit for employee expense claims.
l Student Accounts Receivable - Grad Student Tuition Income Offset Plan: Development work will continue on this application. The next milestone will be creation of the bank file and testing with the Royal Bank application.
l Occupational Health & Safety training application: This application will address the legislative requirement to provide all new employees with Safety Training. The application will track the hiring of new employees and will notify the employee and supervisor of the health and safety training requirements. New employees and their supervisors will be prompted to 'sign off' when training has been completed. The application will report to Occupational Health and Safety when new employees have received training and which employees have not yet met the health and safety training requirements.
l Mainframe Decommissioning: CHRIS Illusion - This project to move remaining data from the previous Payroll system (CHRIS) to a new database and transfer all CHRIS year end backups (from 1997) from tape to the new database is underway. The new CHRIS Illusion database will be built under the newly created operational reporting database.
l Custom form to load Continuing Studies students to Banner Advancement: A new form is under development which will allow the Development office to load graduating Continuing Studies students into Banner.
l FAMIS Upgrade: Complete the upgrade of FAMIS in the production environment of release 1 patches. This upgrade, which increases the functionality of FAMIS for clients and ensures the application is in a supported version has now passed User Acceptance Testing (UAT) in pre-production and is awaiting installation into production.
l Alumni Development Web Donations: Complete implementation of the Alumni and Development Web Donations system which will allow the University to receive secured credit card donations via the web for Advancement Services.
l Surplus Furniture Sales: The new web based application for Facilities Management, UVIC Surplus Furniture, that will enable the ability for on-line reselling of used furniture to UVic departmental customers, requires data provided by Facilities Management to be loaded into it.
l Duplicate Records in Banner: Thousands of duplicate person records exist in Banner for historical reasons and continue to be generated through data entry processes.
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These records need to be consolidated to improve data integrity. Some of these records are being dealt with on an as needed basis, but a project will be initiated to deal with the majority of the record consolidation.
Information Security
Leader: Eric van Wiltenburg
Accomplishments
l The Information Systems Security Task Force met for the first time. The first major order of business for the task force will be to begin work on an Information Security Policy.
l The first of several meetings with various stakeholders across campus. These meetings are meant to introduce the role of Information Security Leader, discuss new security initiatives on campus, and gather information from the stakeholder perspective on what is going well and what needs working on in the Information Security area.
l A phishing-awareness campaign was initiated using posters and a new Help Desk phishing page (http://helpdesk.uvic.ca/phishing). While the number of phishing emails has been increasing, the number of compromised accounts has been decreasing. However, with new students and staff coming to campus, the number of 'duped' clients is expected to rise.
Next Steps
l Continue meetings with stakeholders.l Begin work to revamp the Information Security Team.
Infrastructure Services
Leader: Colin Leavett-Brown
Accomplishments
l The power upgrade to the Clearihue building and Enterprise Data Centre 1 was completed on the weekend of August 16. Despite the inconvenience of the power interruption, the event exercised some of our failover and business continuation processes, all of which proved robust and successful. The electrical upgrade work took a little less time than expected. The building and data centre have been working without (electrical) incident for the last 12 days. Enterprise Data Centre 1 is now ready to host the first phase of UVic's National Platform high performance computing.
l Enterprise Data Centre 2 construction continues on schedule. The completed building will consist of a steel frame and siding on a concrete foundation. This month we have seen the pouring of the concrete foundations at the west end of the building and the erection of forms for the remaining foundation walls.
l University Systems Infrastructure conducted a competition to fill the position of Windows Services Manager. The competition was won by Mr. Tim Smith who commenced his new duties as of August 1. Congratulations Tim!
l Work continues on our new identity management systems allowing the automatic account and privilege provisioning within any application based on the changing roles a person may have at the university. This past month, Active Directory accounts, and
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therefore access to Exchange mailboxes and calendars, are no longer provisioned by the legacy system, but by the new automatic Identity Manager.
l A project charter was created and approved to implement automated monitoring of Microsoft Windows servers. Proactive server monitoring will improve the security, reliability and availability of services running under the Microsoft Windows operating system, including Exchange email and calendaring, the uSource web portal, SharePoint web services, file services and remote desktop services.
l Upgrades to the Enterprise Collaboration Services (ECS) storage management, mentioned in the ‘Next Steps’ section of last month's report, were successfully completed. These upgrades allow mailbox allocations to grow or shrink, improve email and calendaring performance and improve Exchange backup efficiency.
Next Steps
l Implementation of a second email gateway within the Business Continuity data centre to improve throughput and to facilitate email routing in the event of an Enterprise Data Centre outage or failure.
l With the approval of the charter for proactive monitoring of Microsoft Windows servers, attention will now focus on the acquisition of software and licenses and a managed deployment, firstly to important development services and then to all production services. During this phased deployment, valuable experience will be gained in configuring and managing this new capability.
l Preparations for the beginning of term include the augmentation of the uSource service to handle the large seasonal volumes expected. The capacity of the web portal will be doubled by the beginning of classes.
l Due to the growing storage demands, the campus wide backup service is running at full capacity. Planning is underway to increase the capacity, speed and reliability of the service and, with advent of a second data centre, leverage new capabilities for information security.
l Evaluate maintainability of legacy Filemaker Pro applications no longer supported by the vendor(s), liaise with the security leader and formulate initiative for solutions to the potential security exposures.
Learning Systems
Leader: Erica Price-Edney
Accomplishments
l Discussed potential iTunes U interest with CFUV, Fine Arts, Computer Science, Music & Media Library, and Registrar. iTunes U project is initiated to provide faculty and students access to additional teaching/learning materials as well as provide the University with promotional opportunities to aid in increasing enrolment.
l Created step-by-step instructions and an instructional video to guide instructors through the new process and protocol for requesting a teaching tool.
l Solidified workshops on the use of Moodle with four departments to date.l Tested Moodle 1.9.2 upgrade extensively but due to pending Banner script issues,
are not updating at this time.l Met with Computer Help Desk senior staff and SFG facility coordinators to discuss
current support issues with Moodle and Blackboard.l Updated knowledge base with Banner/uSource issues and the detective trail used to
attempt to narrow down the issues in order to provide better escalation to the Computer Help Desk.
l Due to increasing interest by instructional staff, have coordinated discussions and action on centrally supporting the use of clickers on campus.
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l August Metrics: Total support contacts for Moodle is 410; Blackboard 490; Total Moodle courses is 195; total Blackboard courses is 316. (This includes email, phone calls, consultations, and workshop participants.)
l Offered 11 workshops for Moodle and Blackboard; total attendance 60.l Have booked 11 student orientations requested by instructors; the objective of a
student orientation is to make sure the students know where to find their online course, ensure their NetLink credentials are working and familiarize the students to the structure, content and tools in the course.
l Blackboard CE6 cross-listing is now complete and in operations. This process will save both faculty and staff time in requesting, generating and setting up cross listed courses in the Blackboard and Moodle learning management systems as the script will do the cross-listings automatically.
l Upgraded Moodle to version 1.9. This upgrade promises to provide instructors and students with better services.
l A Learning Management Systems' Course Policy is now in effect. This policy outlines Learning Systems' commitments as well as the instructor's responsibilities for course content and communication.
l Although approved by CAB, made the decision to hold back the Blackboard SP3 upgrade scheduled for August and postpone until the December outage window. This upgrade will provide better services but there were heavy concerns over the Banner integration piece and resources were stretch.
l Received approval to decommission the WebCT4 server. Have notified instructors to advise if they require any content restored.
l Completed Contribute training for Library staff - 5 workshops, 50 staff. This training was to provide Library staff the ability to create and edit content on the new Library website.
l Provided training to eight Library staff regarding the integration of instructional materials into Blackboard. This will increase their ability to service faculty and students with regard to the use of learning management systems. Will do the same for Moodle.
Next Steps
l Plan for Blackboard SP3 upgrade later this term.l Complete the charter for the iTunes U implementation on the UVic campus; continue
contacting other various faculties and administrative departments on the potential iTunes U; follow up on status of Apple's iTunes U contract.
l Build a learning management systems roadmap for the next few years.l Develop support strategy for clickers.l Continue working on Fall Educational Technology event intended to profile
instructors' use of online instructional tools.
Challenges
l Writing documentation and supporting instructors on how to use the `Self Service: Your Job? uSource channel to request a Moodle/Blackboard course shell or Mailman mailing list without access to a development server to test and step instructors through the process.
l Keeping up with volume of support required for both Blackboard and Moodle.l Continued work on LMS/Banner Student Integration. Ongoing issues combined with
issues using uSource and lack of information in Banner is causing the unit to create numerous courses manually to ensure instructors have their courses.
Performance Metrics
Description Value
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Total Courses Moodle 195Total Courses Blackboard 316
Support Inquiries/Contacts August 2008, Moodle and Blackboard
Media Services
Leader: Lance Grant
Accomplishments
l We completed Systems Webcasting (PC0067) Project Plan and submitted it to the Project Management Office or presentation to the Project Review Committee. We have prepared to present this project to ISSC in early September.
l Concluded competition for term Media Analyst and formulated recommendation to Director of Client Services.
l Completed classroom renovations in decanted space in Cornett, HSD, Clearihue and MacLaurin Buildings in preparation for these classrooms being used in September.
l Continued monitoring the Science Building Audio Visual installation, coordinating mitigating issues with last minute painting, electrical and millwork modifications as occupancy of the building was occurring.
l Implemented work plan changes to allow the technicians to clear Apple repair backlog and discuss steps to be taken to reduce impact should Apple repairs continue to remain at such a large number of clients.
l Completed review of Telus scope of work for TIE project (PC0045).
Next Steps
l Visual Defense to complete the Science Building Audio Visual installation and prepare for deficiency checks.
l Perform final deficiency checks with Genesis in Fraser 159 lecture theatre.
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l Investigate and implement Apple training and certification for Colin Newell and Wayne Oliver to broaden technicians capabilities and ensure we can keep up with client demands for Apple warranty and non-warranty repairs.
l Complete competitions for AV Assistants for the Sept-Dec term, coordinate training for new assistants.
l Prepare for higher level trouble calls in Social Sciences and Math Building lecture theatres, Science Building lecture theatres, and Fraser 159 as all these facilities are new and largely untested in classroom delivery.
l Prepare Social Science and Math A144, A142, A136, and A132 for new equipment installations (PC0084).
l Work with Ian Blazey implementing initial components of the "Gateway to Sciences" showcase installation in Science Building.
l The Social Sciences and Mathematics Audio Visual systems are nearing completion with final deficiencies being worked out, once the lighting controller issue is resolved the installation can be declared complete and ready for classes in Sept.
Performance Metrics
Description ValueVideo conference calls 7Video recording events 4
Network Services
Leader: Ron Kozsan
Accomplishments
l The Emergency Notifications System (PC0054) will be in production on September 4l The Wireless LAN Infrastructure project (PC0055) has seen all existing services
migrated to the new infrastructure. Eduroam, which allows visitors from participating institutions to use their “home” login credentials at UVic and our NetLink-IDs at their institution, is now available campus-wide.
l Due to intensive pre-planning efforts, there was very little fallout from the 14 hour, campus-wide power outage on August 17th
Next Steps
l BCNet and UVic staff will be assisting TRIUMF with their conference downtown in late September.
l Upgrade Internet traffic management equipment (PC0086)l BCNet, Victoria Transit Exchange major technology refresh has been post-poned until
late September. This will set the stage for 10Gbps and higher network connections to UVic.
Challenges
l Staff workloads are presently very high (doubled since May) due to major & minor capital projects and back to school "urgent" requests; August saw a sharp increase in unplanned, urgent work arriving due to "Decanting". Temporary resources have been brought in to assist, but existing staff are under enormous strain.
l An outstanding issue with Telus's long distance service means we have not been able to dial Alaska since May 15.
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Performance Metrics
Description ValueAverage number of in-progress client service requests
237
Average number of client requests serviced per day
25
VoIP Phones Installed - July 28, 2008 to August 28, 2008
Wireless Usage - July 28, 2008 to August 28, 2008
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Hack Attacks - July 28, 2008 to August 28, 2008
Project Management Office
Leader: Navdeep Bassi
Accomplishments
l Worked with Sarah Webb, the Campus Sustainability Coordinator, to evaluate some ride-sharing software. Our evaluation uncovered some security concerns, and Sarah Webb accepted our recommendation to not deploy this software until these security concerns have been addressed. In the interim, we are using Microsoft SharePoint to provide some of the required functionality.
l We have now launched our SharePoint Service. SharePoint is a new online collaboration technology deployed as part of the Enterprise Collaboration Services (ECS) project. SharePoint sites and support can be requested from the Help Desk: http://helpdesk.uvic.ca/software/applications/ecs/sp.php
l The next phase of the Enterprise Collaboration Services project is under way. The first phase focused on migrating existing Oracle Calendar users to the new system, and we achieved this for 1,067 users (94%). The second phase is focused on developing the processes that will allow students to migrate to the new system as well. This phase has been temporarily suspending as we address some potential privacy concerns from stakeholders.
l Worked to improve processes and templates according to ITIL guidelines. ITIL (IT Infrastructure Library) is a set of best-practices applicable to IT service providers.
l Formalized the specifications for resource planning and project prioritization modules within our Project, Resource, and Organization Management Information System (PROMIS). These modifications will allow us to better manage our work and ensure that we are using our resources to provide the best value for the university.
l Project Review Committee (PRC) Meetingsm PC0063, Decommission CHRIS Legacy System, was granted approval to
execute. This project will make the data from the CHRIS system available even after the mainframe is gone.
m PC0082, UVicID Technology Upgrade, was granted approval to execute. This project upgrades the technologies used by the UVicID system, which provides ID cards to staff and students at UVic and managed access to services such UPASS and RecPlus.
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m PC0065, SCOM, was granted approval to execute. SCOM is technology which allows dynamic monitoring and logging of Windows-based servers and allows us to provide better performance and reliability of these services.
m PC0067, Systems Webcasting, was granted approval to plan. This project aims to provide a general webcasting service for campus use. Webcasting will be used for streaming convocation and lectures online.
l Delivered training sessions on how to use the Project Management Office (PMO) templates and had approximately 20 attendees during each session. These sessions are freely available to all who are interested: http://cass.uvic.ca/pmo/pmo-training.php
m PC0066, FAMIS XiR2 Upgrade, was granted approval to plan. This project will upgrade FAMIS to the latest version so we are on par with the latest technology from the vendor.
m PC0064, MEDS Desktop Support Pilot, was granted approval to execute. This project pilots a new model of desktop support, involving the Help Desk and DCST in order to maximize response time and minimize work interruption for clients.
m PC0068, Guest Identity Sponsorship System, was granted approval to execute. This project will develop a system to allow members of the university community to sponsor guest access to university systems. E.g for visiting reseachers.
Next Steps
l Finalize the processes necessary to ensure that students can be migrated to the new Microsoft Exchange email and calendar system as part of the Enterprise Collaboration Services (ECS) project.
l Continue to work on fixes and enhancements for the Project, Resource, and Organization Management Information System (PROMIS), which we use for information gathering and status reporting. Enhancements include refinements to the project prioritization mechanism and resource planning module.
l Work on refining and developing the next version of our Project Management Methodology, version 4. This version will focus on improving communication within Systems and yet also offer more for external departments who would like to employ project management practices. There will also be a training series scheduled to coincide with the launch of PMM 4.
Challenges
l Late-emerging concerns about Exchange Calendar. The system has been built to approved specifications, but key stakeholders are now uncomfortable with these specifications.
Student Facility Services
Leader: Patrick Konkin
Accomplishments
l The Computer-Aided Language Learning (CALL) Facility has hosted a group of Taiwanese students learning German as part of their MBA program. This fosters the CALL Facility’s focus on assisting the language acquisition by students of varied backgrounds.
l Bookings for September class orientations are being scheduled again in large numbers in the CALL Facility. These orientations provide the students with all the information they need to use the CALL efficiently over the course of the term.
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l Orientations to the Student Computing Facilities were presented for approximately 200 incoming MBA and International Business students in SCFBEC and as part of the Front of the Line tours to 1200 undergraduate and graduate students in the Clearihue Computing Facilities. This provides students with valuable information that will help them use the Facilities more efficiently and with fewer problems.
l Completed project to deploy new workstations into the Island Medical Program computer labs and lecture theatres. This project helped to increase integrations of IMP computer systems with UVic Systems computing systems, and fostered a better relationship between the two organizations.
Next Steps
l Train new staff to ensure that they are well-prepared to assist our Facility users to the best of their ability, so that users can use our Facilities efficiently and with few problems.
l Hold a Staff Orientation session at the end of September for staff with presentations from various groups on campus to better prepare staff for situations that they might encounter in the Facilities.
l Provide the best possible customer service to new and returning students coming to the Computing Facilities during the busy month of September. We will especially focus our assistance to help students with the new student registration system, uSource and the Learning Management Systems, Blackboard and Moodle.
Performance Metrics
Description ValueAssistance requests 0
Systems Services
Leader: Trish Kearley
Accomplishments
l SharePoint: created United Way and Information Systems Security Task Force sites and workspaces; created sites for UVic Communications Services and Research Administration; updated SharePoint documentation.
l Created a Wiki for on-line collaboration of all General Office documentation, instructions and procedures; staff to review old procedures and post updated instructions to the Wiki; this is underway and will provide an easy reference guide to all General Office staff, especially when providing backup responsibilities.
l Sent vacation status update to Accounting for PEA employees who currently have over 40 days vacation outstanding and for CUPE 951employees who have over 15 days vacation.
l Budgets: completed the transfer of two Systems base budget positions to the Computer Store ancillary; prepared status report on base funds available to create a Communications Officer position; presented June Budget Summaries and prepared July 2008 summary reports that provide transaction details and balances of all one-time fund allotments, carryover and reserve accounts as well as fiscal year end forecasting on twenty-four departmental operating budgets.
l Service Plan: began preparing the General Office goals and objectives, budget requests and accomplishments.
l Exchange Calendar: Identified anomalies occurring with various meetings; researching and testing to resolve issues.
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l Policy Advisory Team: After more than 1.5 years of discussions with the Professional Employee Association and Human Resources, an approved policy has now been posted that clarifies departmental policy regarding Cumulative Time Off (CTO) and various types of work: Irregularly Scheduled, Extended Operations, Standby, Callout
Next Steps
l Budget Reports for Aug 2008l Prepare for hiring of new administrative staff position
Performance Metrics
Description ValueTechnical Approvals 30
UVic Online Systems
Leader: Garry Sagert
Accomplishments
l Leadership team attended ITIL foundations course. This course taught us valuable lessons on how to continually improve service delivery.
l Defined and implemented improved move-to-production processes that should satisfy stated concerns of external auditors.
l Defined improved development workflow that will better guide developers through the development process from project initiation to deployment in production.
l Began review of requirements and implications of transitioning of Research Administration support into Systems.
Next Steps
l Test and implement improved development workflow that will better guide developers through the development process from project initiation to deployment in production.
l Continue to look for ways to improve development and operational processes to enable superior service delivery and a quality working environment.
Web Services Office
Leader: David Wolowicz
Accomplishments
l uSource Project: Investigation and planning for the next version of uSource has continued. Andrew Jung started in his position of Information Architect for the project.
l UVic.ca Content Management Framework: A new code base has been added to support the functionality required by the University Secretaries site. UVic.ca also handled the power outage well. The system remained up, delivered content cached content correctly, and displayed correct messaging for those centrally hosted systems that were not available.
l Faculty of Engineering Website: Planning on the Faculty of Engineering has begun. Information from users and stakeholders are currently being worked into the site plans.
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l UVic Events Calendar: A new version of the UVic Events Calendar will be Launched on September 4th (estimated). The new version contains a new public interface and a number of bug fixes. The Calendar is used by 34 departments and units to manage public events. The improvements will help with the display of events on multiple web sites.
l PICS Expertise Database: The PICS Expertise database has been completed and handed over. The PICS office will be configuring the database and adding Researcher Profiles before launching the application on their web site.
Next Steps
l Completion of uSource Planning and delivery of the uSource Implementation Planl Completion of the Faculty of Engineering Plan and Information Architecturel Completion of the USEC web site
Performance Metrics
Description ValueDevelopment tasks completed 7Trouble tickets resolved 34Development tasks created 31Trouble tickets opened 41
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Active Chartered Projects
Project Code Name Description Project Manager Status % Complete Health Est. Completion Date
PC0001 Inside Building Wireless Expansion
The goal of this project is to increase wireless data network coverage to achieve 100% in-building signal coverage for all buildings on campus
Patricia Todd Monitoring 98 Green 31-OCT-08
PC0002 ResNet Refresh Upgrade and modernization of the data network infrastructure in the Student Residences. Patricia Todd Monitorin
g 70 Green 31-DEC-08
PC0005 IT Security Audit Develop an RFP for an IT security audit, issue the RFP, select a vendor, and proceed with the audit Andrew Cartwright Closing 99 Green
PC0006Enterprise Collaboration Services
The implementation of an Enterprise Collaboration Services project John MacDonald Monitorin
g 95 Green 29-DEC-08
PC0008 Systems Web Site Redesign
Redesign of CASS websites in support of a service-oriented organization structure which eliminates redundant entry points and integrates with LCMS.
David Wolowicz Closing 95 Green
PC0011Nova Interfaces and Legacy Systems Migration
Plan the replacement of systems peripheral to NOVA that reside on the mainframe or use data that resides on the mainframe. The intent of this project is to only identify and prioritize what services will no longer be viable post-Nova.
Jane Godfrey Monitoring 65 Green 31-DEC-08
PC0018 Convocation System Upgrade
Merging of two disparate systems currently used in the Convocation process at UVic John Foxgord Monitorin
g 89 Green 19-SEP-08
PC0020 WebVote Upgrade of the WebVote system to integrate with Banner and add other requested features Michael Motek Monitorin
g 60 Green 31-DEC-08
PC0021 OP Copper Inventory A project to generate an inventory of the University's Outside Plant Copper Cable infrastructure. Patricia Todd Monitorin
g 50 Green 31-DEC-08
PC0023 ATRS Technology Renewal
Technology renewal for ATRS including desktops and a Recreational Management System David Street Monitorin
g 95 Green 15-MAR-08
PC0028 USEC Web Site Redesign
Redesign of the Office of the University Secretary web site Arie Epstein Monitorin
g 85 Green
PC0030 Links Database and Web Site
The creation of a web-based database of links that will allow controlled searching and categorization of local and external links
David Shaykewich Monitoring 90 Green 22-DEC-07
PC0031 Electronic CVA project to build an information system that will allow faculty and research scholars to collect their CV related information in one place
Mark Roman On Hold 0 Yellow
PC0032 UVIC Web Site Redesign
Redesign the UVic central web presence and recruitment website Robin Sutherland Monitorin
g 90 Green 31-MAR-08
PC0035 TappDir Decomissioning
The replacement of the personal information component of the online Telephone Directory System with Banner
Scott Thompson Planning 15 Green 31-JAN-09
PC0037Business Continuation Essential Capability
To establish minimal infrastructure to maintain essential information services in the event of a catastrophic failure and long term unavailability of the university's Enterprise Data Centre
Kim Lewall Monitoring 94 Green 30-APR-08
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PC0038 Library Search Technologies
Central hosting of two server-based applications facilitating end-user searching across a wide range of digital information resources licensed or otherwise made available by the Library
John Durno Monitoring 99 Green 31-JAN-08
PC0042 Research Information Systems Renewal
Timely accurate institutional data is needed for accountability and institutional decision making on quality control and research management; this project plans the implementation of a system to support these activities
Jim Toner On Hold 20 Green
PC0045 TIE Research Lab Creation of videoconferencing and mobile lab facilities in support of the TIE project Lance Grant Monitorin
g 29 Green 31-MAR-08
PC0049 AP Reply Workflow Upgrade
Revisions to the AP Reply workflow due to the requirement to comply with Tri-Council research guidelines as communicated in a recent June 2007 monitoring visit (audit).
Shannon Hayward Monitoring 97 Green 30-MAY-08
PC0051SAS Reporting Solution for Project NOVA (Phase 1)
To leverage our existing investment in SAS by adding the SAS Business Intelligence Suite for custom reporting, ad-hoc querying, point-in-time reporting, time-series reporting and statistical analysis
Michael Motek Monitoring 96 Green 04-APR-08
PC0052 uSource Redesign
To explore the options available in updating the content/organization and/or the underlying portal technology and internal content technologies for uSource
David Wolowicz Planning 8 Green
PC0053 Legacy Migration
The purpose of this project is to request execute the replacement of ISIS-related services and functions that will no longer be viable post-Nova and are not covered under project Nova. It is a followup to the identification that was performed under PC0011.
Jane Godfrey Monitoring 90 Green 31-DEC-08
PC0054Emergency Notification System Project
The purpose of this project is to develop and implement a system, including people, process and technology, to allow officials to quickly and efficiently notify students, staff, faculty and other groups in the event of a major emergency.
Ron Kozsan Monitoring 90 Green 01-SEP-08
PC0055 New Wireless Infrastructure Model
This project will extend the capability and manageability of our wireless infrastructure. Dianne Lee Monitorin
g 90 Green 31-AUG-08
PC0056 Legacy Telephone System Clean-up
A clean-up and consolidation of the legacy telephone system. Patricia Todd Monitorin
g 56 Green 15-JUN-08
PC0057 HFCS Software Replacement RFP
The selection of a vendor to provide housing software for HFCS Samuel Wallace Monitorin
g 20 Green 16-OCT-08
PC0058Banner 10g Oracle Application Server Upgrades
The upgrade of the Banner application servers from Oracle 10gR1 (9.0.4.3) to (10gR2 10.2.02) in development, pre-production and production.
Anne Welch Monitoring 40 Green 23-AUG-08
PC0059 Banner 10g Database Upgrades
The upgrade of the Banner databases from Oracle 9.2.0.8 to 10.2.0.4 in development, pre-production and production.
Anne Welch Monitoring 0 Green 12-NOV-08
PC0060 Alumni and Development Web Donations
Donors are asking to make donations to the University using the web as the entry point. The web functionality needs to be executed in a secure credit card environment and donors should be able to give
Scott Thompson Monitoring
40 Green 15-SEP-08
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one-time payments.
PC0061Computer Help Desk Online Infrastructure Upgrade
Transitioning from legacy Help Desk servers to the EDC.
Marcus Greenshields
Monitoring 85 Green 29-AUG-08
PC0062 Upgrade BlackBoard DB to Oracle 10g
To upgrade the database server used by the Blackboard learning management system from Oracle 9i to Oracle 10g.
Mark van Hoek Monitoring 25 Green 22-AUG-08
PC0063 Decommission CHRIS Legacy System
The decommissioning of the Payroll legacy system (CHRIS). This will include creating a new reporting application in APEX to replace the MS access application Phantom CHRIS
Jill Stringer Monitoring 33 Green 31-DEC-08
PC0064 MEDS Desktop Support Pilot
A new Desktop Support model pilot for the Division of Medical Sciences (MEDS) at the University of Victoria. David Street Monitorin
g 2 Green 31-JAN-08
PC0065Windows Services Monitoring and Management
The purpose of this project is to implement Microsoft System Centre Operations Manager to provide a centralized management tool to proactively monitor University Systems Infrastructure Microsoft Windows servers.
Tim Smith Monitoring 10 Green 20-JAN-09
PC0066 FAMIS XiR2 Upgrade The upgrade from FAMIS 8iR1 to FAMIS XiR2 Alison Byers Planning 0 Green 31-OCT-08
PC0067 Systems Webcasting The implementation of a Webcasting service by Client Technologies to clients internal and external to UVic Jason Ambeault Planning 4 Green 15-DEC-08
PC0068 Guest Identity Sponsorship System
The development of an Enterprise Guest Identity Sponsorship system that will allow UVic Faculty and Staff to sponsor a guest to use online resources at UVic
Corey Scholefield Monitoring 8 Green 30-NOV-08
PC0075Provisioning: Social Sciences and Math Building
The purpose of this project is to manage the contribution that CASS (primarily Network Services and Client Technologies) will make to the major capital project (the Social Sciences & Mathematics Building) being managed by Facilities Management.
Patricia Todd Monitoring 99 Green 29-MAR-08
PC0076 Provisioning: Science Building
The purpose of this project is to manage the contribution that Network Services (NETS) and Client Technologies (CLTE) will make to the major capital project (the Science Building) being managed by Facilities Management.
Patricia Todd Monitoring 89 Green 29-MAR-08
PC0077 Provisioning: First People's House
The purpose of this project is to manage the contribution that CASS (primarily Network Services and Client Technologies) will make to the major capital project (the First People's House) being managed by Facilities Management.
Patricia Todd Monitoring 12 Green 01-SEP-09
PC0079 Provisioning: Support Services Building
The purpose of this project is to manage the contribution that Network Services and Client Technologies will make to the major capital project (the Support Services Building) being managed by Facilities Management.
Patricia Todd Monitoring 78 Green 15-OCT-08
PC0080 Campus Security Information Systems Refresh
The purpose of this project is to replace hardware and operating environments such that they are built and maintained according to UVic Systems best practices and aligned with institutional strategic applications
Divani Geditz Monitoring
8 Green 04-JUL-08
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and services.
PC0081 UVic Furniture E-commerce Site
The purpose of this project is to create a new e-commerce type website for reselling used furniture to UVic departmental customers.
Alison Byers On Hold 95 Yellow 15-JUL-08
PC0082 UVicID Technology Upgrade
The purpose of this project is to procure and implement a new ID card system to replace the current UVicID ID Card application.
Scott Thompson Monitoring 22 Green 24-DEC-08
PC0083 FAMIS 10g UpgradeA project to upgrade FAMIS applications servers to 10g and bring the FAMIS application up to current patch levels.
Alison Byers Monitoring 80 Green 21-JUN-08
PC0084
Systems Videoconference Infrastructure Renewal
The renewal of the production videoconference facilities operated for the University community by University Systems Client Technologies Media Services group.
Lance Grant Monitoring 12 Green 15-AUG-08
PC0085Faculty of Engineering Website Redesign
A project to redesign the UVic Faculty of Engineering web presence Robin Sutherland Initiating 15 Green 25-DEC-08
PC0086Internet Traffic Management Equipment Upgrade
Renew the University's Internet traffic management equipment. Dianne Lee Monitorin
g 10 Green 30-SEP-08
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