1
ABP IT Operating Policy and Procedures
The Faculty has a comprehensive IT Policy and Procedures document which outlines policies and processes for the management and provision of most IT Services1. The range of IT Services provided by the Faculty
includes:
• Computer Hardware Provision • Software and License Management • ABP IT Service Desk
• IT Facilities Provided for Students • ABP IT Governance
• ABP IT Strategy
1.1
Computer Hardware Provision
This section details the Faculty’s policies and processes in relation to the provision of computer hardware to staff and students. The purchase of all computers for the Faculty complies with the approved ABP IT
‘Purchasing Process’
The ABP IT Hardware Provision Policy covers the following areas: • Computer Hardware Provision Policy
• Computer Hardware and Software Configuration • New Staff Provisioning of IT Resources. This includes:
o Computer hardware provision for research o Computer hardware provision for RHD students
o Computer hardware provision for teaching and learning spaces • Security Requirements for Faculty owned hardware
• Desktop Hardware Turnaround Cycle • Hardware Disposal
• Hardware and Software set up for new staff
1.1.1
Computer Hardware Provision Policy
The provision of computer hardware for both full-time academic and professional staff members adheres to the following policy:
• Academic and professional staff are provided with a desktop computer to support their roles and responsibilities, and to facilitate electronic communications
• The computer may be new or used, but should be within the three year warranty period to guarantee reliability and technical operability.
• Requests for new desktop computers, including any special hardware and software requirements are made directly to the ABP IT Manager.
• At present the budget allowance for the provision of hardware and supporting software is as follows:
Computer Budgeted Allowance Allowable Variance
Windows-based PC (preferred) $2500.00 $100.00 - $500.00
Apple Mac $2500.00 $100.00 - $500.00
Peripheral $500.00 $0.00
1.1.2
Computer Hardware and Software Configuration
Computer hardware provided to both full-time academic and professional staff members adheres to the following policy for software configuration:
• Currently most CAD software packages are only available for the Microsoft Windows operating system.
• Apple Mac users operate these CAD packages via Bootcamp, VMware Fusion5 tool or Parallel Desktop.
• Desktop computers with Microsoft Windows Operating System are offered in either ‘Standard’ or ‘Premium’ configurations. A description of the standard and configuration is provided in Appendix ‘ ABP Standard and Premium Software Configuration’
• Allocation of a Standard or Premium desktop is dependent on each staff member’s role within the Faculty. Generally:
Professional Staff and RHD staff members are allocated a Standard Configuration Desktop
Academic or staff requiring 3D Max Studio and Plug Ins such as Octane are allocated a Premium Configuration Desktop.
• Staff members that require equipment of a higher value than the ‘budgeted allowance’, such as an additional notebook and\or additional peripherals, or the Premium Configuration, may either supplement the budgeted allowance with funds from other sources such as research project funds, or submit an application to the Assistant Dean (IT) through the Executive Manager, Business Services for additional funding.
1.1.3
New Staff Provisioning of IT Resources
This process diagram listed below details the ABP IT process for provisioning IT hardware and software for new staff members.
ABP IT New Staff Provisioning of IT Resources Process Diagram
ABP HR
ABP IT Manager
ABP IT Te
am Member Procureme nt Office r Start 1.0
Request IT Setup for new staff (Hardware, Software, Network
Access/Folders , Printers)
2.0 Receives Request 3.0 Reviews and confirms request 4.0 HR request Complete? 5.0 Prioritise request
Yes Assign to IT Team 6.0 member 7.0 Review Task 8.0 Assigned correctly? 9.0 Commence Task Yes 10.0 Software/ Hardware available? No No 11.0 Procure Software/ Hardware No 12.0 Install Software/ Hardware/ Access
Yes Close task and 13.0 advise IT Manager
14.0 Completed
End
No
15.0 Advise HR of Fulfilment of
The steps listed below are used in the provisioning of Hardware and or Software for new staff members: • A request for the provisioning of Hardware and or Software is initiated by the ABP HR department. • The request is sent to the ABP IT Manager for validation and approval.
• Once approved the request is handed to an ABP IT officer for fulfilment.
• The ABP IT officer either fulfils the request using existing stock or approaches the Procurement Officer to do so. • Once the Hardware and or Software is available it is then commissioned
1.1.3.1
Computer Hardware Provision for Research
The provision of computer hardware for research purposes adheres to the following policy:
• Computer hardware that is purchased from research budgets and remains a University assets until completion of the research project unless stated otherwise in the respective research contracts. Such hardware is not subject to the 3 year replacement cycle.
• The purchase of computers through research funds complies with the ‘ABP IT Purchasing Process’. These computers are configured to comply with Faculty IT regulations before connection to the University network.
1.1.3.2
Computer Hardware Provision for RHD Students
The provision of computer hardware for RHD students adheres to the following policy:
• Full-time Research Higher Degree (RHD) students are usually allocated a permanent space equipped with a desktop computer of the Standard Configuration for the duration of their enrolment.
• The computer will generally be less than three years old and will be suitable for network access. • RHD students with a need for higher end computers can gain access to a machine from the
Postgraduate Computer Pool, situated on Level 1, 33 Lincoln Square South, and Parkville.
1.1.3.3
Computer Hardware Provision for Teaching and Learning Spaces
The provision of computer hardware for teaching and learning spaces adheres to the following policy:
• All teaching spaces in the Faculty have a computer and a projector as a minimum installation. A full list of IT facilities in the CAD laboratories is tabulated in ‘Section - Computer Laboratories’.
1.1.4
Security Requirements for Faculty owned Hardware
Security for Faculty owned hardware adheres to the following policy:• Faculty owned computers and peripherals are securely locked down and marked in accordance with University ‘Insurance Requirements’.
• Staff members using notebooks are responsible for maintaining the security of the equipment and ensuring that the appropriate risk management procedures as per the University ‘Insurance Requirements’2 have been completed before taking equipment outside the Faculty.
1.1.5
Desktop Hardware Turnaround Cycle
3ABP adheres to the following Desktop Hardware Turnaround Cycle policy:
• The Faculty maintains a budgeted three-year turnaround cycle on all desktop computers allocated to staff, RHD students, Teaching Spaces and CAD Labs.
• To support this, each year a proportion of the Faculty’s desktop computing hardware is replaced with equipment valued up to an amount determined in that year’s IT budget.
• Computers purchased through research funds will not be replaced by the Faculty at the end of their warranty periods.
1.1.6
Hardware Disposal
ABP adheres to the following IT Hardware Disposal policy:
• Surplus equipment or hardware to be disposed is returned to the ABP IT for asset recording and disposal subject to the University’s Financial Guidelines and Environmental Policy.
• All hardware marked for disposal is delivered to ABP IT where it is reviewed for possible internal redistribution.
• Hardware that can be put to use elsewhere in the Faculty is refurbished or rebuilt and redeployed. • Hardware that fails to meet the required standard is processed by ABP IT for final disposal after
wiping all data and software in the hard drives. • Final disposal involves 2 options:
o If the hardware is still of significant value, it is offered for sale to other Faculties, then if not sold, offered for sale to staff through the ‘ABP Student Only Purchase’ Web Page 4
o If not of significant value, or not sold, the hardware is disposed of through the arrangement the University of Melbourne has with Grays Online
1.2
Software Procurement and License Management
This section is based on information contained in the ABP IT 2011 Draft Policy unless otherwise referenced. This section details the Faculty’s policies and processes in relation to the provision of software procurement and licensing services to staff and students. The purchase of all software for the Faculty complies with the ‘ABP IT Purchasing Process’.
The ABP IT Software Procurement and License Management Policy cover the following areas: • IT Software Budget
• Software Configuration for Standard Computers • Software for Teaching and Learning
• Software for Research • Software Requests
• Software Re-imaging Policy
1.2.1
IT Software Budget
ABP adheres to the following IT software provisioning policy:
• Sufficient funds are normally allocated in the Faculty IT Budget to support and renew the software licenses on an annual basis.
• Software to support teaching activities may be sought from the Faculty Annual Budget, Resources Budget, or Discretionary Budgets.
• Funds to support ad-hoc software purchases are limited and are usually reserved for one-off items. Staff that have ad-hoc software requirements may either purchase the software with funds from other sources such as research project funds, or submit an application to the Assistant Dean (IT) through the Executive Manager, Business Services for additional funding as per the ‘ABP IT Purchasing Process’.
1.2.2
Software Configuration for Standard Computers
Software for standard desktops and computers adheres to the following guidelines:
• All desktop computers are provided with a standard build of the current operating system regardless of whether they are Standard or Premium configurations. The Standard build is detailed in Appendix - ABP Standard and Premium Software Configuration.
1.2.3
Software for Teaching and Learning
Software for Teaching and Learning is managed as follows:• The list of software available in the Faculty and the CAD Laboratories can be found in ‘Appendix – Software Available for Use in ABP CAD Laboratories ‘.
• The addition of new software packages into the CAD Laboratories are usually made before the commencement of each semester.
• Staff may request for any of these to be installed on their desktop computers subject to availability of licenses and distribution arrangements. To ensure that only registered software is loaded on the Faculty pc’s, the Lansweeper tool and the software license server 5 are used to monitor licenses.
1.2.4
Software for Research
Software for Research is managed as follows:• Computer software for research purposes is purchased from research budgets and remains as University assets until completion of the research project unless stated otherwise in the respective research contracts.
• The purchase of software through research funds complies with the ‘ABP IT Purchasing Process’6.
1.2.5
Software Requests
Software requests observe the following guidelines:
• Requests for software must be submitted at least one month before the commencement of semester
• Academic staff members requiring additional software for course development and teaching submit a written request to the Assistant Dean (IT) for consideration.
• RHD Students with requests for software should approach a member of the academic staff in the first instance to obtain advice on the suitability of any special software, and if in agreement, forward these requests in writing to the Assistant Dean (IT).
• Professional staff requests must be sought and approved through their respective line managers. Such requests must include a strong business case for the purchase of such software.
• Requests for software must include the following information:
Description of the course
Justified budget for the requested software
Details of software’s hardware requirements, licensing and other technical installation requirements
• At least one month is required for the ABP IT team to test new software for reliability, stability and functionality in the CAD Laboratories before use by staff and students.
1.2.6
Software Re-imaging Policy
• The following re-imaging policy applies in the Faculty: PCs in CAD Labs are generally re-imaged at a minimum, twice yearly, at the start of each Semester – updating software versions and licensing as required on advice from the Academic staff.
• Staff and Post Graduate student machines are re-imaged on an ad-hoc basis on request from the professional or academic staff members.
1.3
ABP IT Service Desk
This section is based on information contained in the ABP IT 2011 Draft Policy unless otherwise referenced. This section details the Faculty’s policies and processes in relation to the provision IT Service Desk services to staff and students. The ABP IT Service Desk Policy covers the following areas:
• Service Desk Hours of Operation • Service Desk Contact Options
• Service Request Volumes by Contact Options • Service Level Targets
• Service Desk Process
• Service Agreements with Vendors
1.3.1
Service Desk Hours of Operation
The ABP IT help desk operates Monday to Friday between 8:00 am – 5:00 pm, except for the last two weeks of the semester at which time it operates Monday to Friday between 8:00 am and 9:00 pm.
Occasional out of hours support is provided during the following events: • Faculty Open Day Activities
• EYES Exhibition Festival
• Special Conferences held by the Faculty
• Video conferencing for overseas parties working in different time zones.
1.3.2
Service Desk Contact Options
All general IT support requests from both staff and undergraduate students can be made through the following options:
Method Details
Walk-up Informal ad hoc engagement of IT Support team by approaching IT support office and team members at the ABP IT Team Office, Room 202, 757 Swanston Street
Email [email protected]
Portal/Web form http://www.abp.unimelb.edu.au/it-support
ABT IT Team Phones
ABP IT Service Desk number, 8344 8925 (Ext 48925) IT Manager 8344 3016 (Ext 43016)
1.3.3
ABP IT Remedy Incidents/ Request volumes
The following table lists the number of ABP IT incidents raised by ABP staff for the period of February 2012 through to February 2013. A total of 4800 tickets were raised during this period.
This represent an average of 18 remedy dockets a day based on 261 days of operation during the year. Remedy Request volumes
Faculty IT Staff
Type 2012 2012
Total 2103 Total Grand Total
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4
Direct Input 1 2 3 3
Email 1 1 2 2
Phone 1 2 1 1 5 10 1 2 1 4 14
Self Service 2 2 1 2 1 2 1 1 1 3 1 17 2 4 1 7 24
Walk In 1 1 1
Web 92 192 476 750 148 142 300 453 966 184 65 3768 100 115 262 461 938 4706
(blank) 3 3 2 3 1 4 12 11 39 1 2 8 11 50
1.3.4
Service Level Targets
There are no formally documented Service Level Targets for the Service Desk; however the aim is to: • Allocate all Service Requests and Incidents to an ABP IT Team Member within 1 hour of
request being lodged.
• Meet all standard requests within 2 days of the request being lodged. • To complete or attend to Urgent or VIP requests/ incident immediately
1.3.5
Service Desk Process
The following flowchart illustrates the ABP IT service requests fulfilment process.
ABP IT Service Desk Process
Client
ABP IT Manager
ABP IT Te
am Member
1.0
Request Service Desk support via, Web Form, Phone, Email or Walk-up
2.0
Receives request in Remedy or is advised of request received by ABP IT Team member Start
3.0 Is request via
Remedy?
4.0 Reviews and confirms request
Yes Is Request 6.0 Complete?
5.0
Reviews request with IT Staff member, Log request in Remedy No 7.0 Request clarification from client No 8.0 Client provides additional clarification 9.0 Prioritise Request Yes 10.0
Assign to IT Team member 11.0 Review assigned task 12.0 Assigned correctly? 13.0 Perform Task 14.0
Advise IT Manager that task is completed
15.0
Review that task has been completed satisfactorily 16.0 Task Completed? End Yes Yes No No
1.3.6
Service Agreements with Vendors
ABP IT has the following Service Level Agreements with vendors: Storage Services Agreement
The Storage Services Agreement includes the following:
• Storage Services Agreement outlining the services provided by Information Technology Services (ITS) for the provisioning and ongoing support for enterprise class storage to the University of Melbourne. • The purpose of this Service Level Agreement (SLA) is to formalise an arrangement between ITS and
ABP for the provision of storage services.
Unicard Systems 7
The Unicard Agreement includes the following:
• Provide the PCounter licences for the two print release stations • Provide and install the DLL’s to support the PCounter release stations • Provide and install two ePay terminals to support the release stations • Provide the money management for the collection of cash
• Disbursement of funds at the rate of 7% • Provide transaction and error refunds • Relocate the UNI.Loader for 24 hour access
• Provide appropriate assistance to users (response time average less than
15 minutes) during Unicard operating hours as formalised in the existing agreement
7Reference35 Appendix – Data Sources
1.4
IT Facilities Provided for Students
In addition to the services and assistance provided by ABP IT Service Desk detailed above, ABP IT also provides additional IT resources for both undergraduate and post-graduate students such as CAD Laboratories, a Digital Fabrication Laboratory and local printing services.
This section covers the following areas: • CAD Laboratories
• Digital Fabrication Laboratory (Fab Lab)
1.4.1
CAD Laboratories
The CAD laboratories are provided primarily for students to access the specialist digital design software to support student coursework and assignments.
• Web access functionality is provided for access to networked resources such as the Learning Management System (LMS) and web browsing for study or research purposes.
• All Web browsing conducted on these machines are monitored by ABP IT for compliance with University IT policies.
• The location and facilities provided in these laboratories are tabulated in section ‘Computer Laboratories’ above
• CAD laboratories are available for use 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, except when being used for teaching.
• A number of desktop computers with the Standard configuration are available on Level 7, 757 Swanston Street for use by Faculty staff and students8.
1.4.2
Digital Fabrication Laboratory (Fab Lab)
Fab Lab staff members are located in G21, ground floor Architecture Building or send an email to abp-Fab [email protected] for further information.
The Faculty Facilities group manages a digital fabrication laboratory (Fab Lab) and provides equipment and facilities to help students build physical renders and extremely accurate models of their computer generated designs.
• These models are produced using a wide range of equipment including computer controlled laser, card and foam cutters, 3D printers and 3D scanners.
• This technology enables students to use a wide range of materials to achieve diverse results; from patterned facades, detailed screens, intricate hybrid structures and many more.
• The facility is available to students enrolled in subjects delivered by Faculty.
8
Reference7 Appendix – Data Sources
1.5
ABP IT Governance
This section covers the following: • Change Management Process • Fixed ‘No Change’ Periods • ABP IT Governance
1.5.1
Change Management Process
The Faculty has an informal change management process. The process operates as follows: • A service request is lodged in Remedy
• The Executive Manager, Business Services reviews the request • The request is either approved or rejected
• The parties involved in the request are advised of the decision and reasons • If approved the request is actioned
• If rejected the request is closed
1.5.2
Fixed ‘No Change’ Periods
Generally, changes are not approved for planned implementation during teaching periods or exam times. If a change is required to be implemented urgently, then it may be implemented during a weekend.
1.5.3
ABP IT Governance
IT Governance is provided in the Faculty by the Information Technology (IT) sub-committee. The role of the IT sub-committee is to provide oversight of the Faculty’s use of IT and multimedia in learning and teaching, research and administration as follows:
• To develop and recommend policies and guidelines concerning Faculty allocation for IT resources and equipment to support the Faculty’s academic and research programs, and administration
• To provide a consultative forum to the Faculty Executive to address IT matters arising within the Faculty
• To develop and recommend policies with respect to staff development and promotion of the use of IT in learning, teaching and research in the Faculty
• To coordinate Faculty-wide IT major equipment procurement or grant applications
• To address IT related issues in learning and teaching, research and administration, multimedia and web development
• To liaise with University Central IT Services, monitor relevant University IT policies and recommend actions to ensure compliance
• To provide such other functions as are prescribed or agreed upon by Faculty Executive and the Resources Committee
The composition of the IT Sub-committee is as follows: • Chair – Assistant Dean (IT)
• ABP IT Manager • Faculty Webmaster
• Associate Dean (Resources) • Nominee of the Director MSD • Nominee of the AD (UG)
• Staff Representation – Fabrication Lab
• Executive Officer (as nominated by Faculty General Manager)
1.6
ABP IT Strategy
In relation to IT Strategy , the IT Manager works closely with The Assistant Dean (IT) in the development and implementation of IT policy and strategies for the Faculty and in accordance with the broader University Information Strategy.
