Operating Level Agreement: IT Service Desk
This agreement defines OIT’s commitment to the OHIO campus by documenting:
- Responsibilities of OIT as a provider of services and of the customers receiving services
- Levels of response, availability and maintenance associated with OIT-provided services
- Maintenance schedules and outage notification processes
- Measurement and reporting of service levels
Services provided by OIT are documented in the Service Catalog. The service catalog is regularly updated to provide information on services offered, how to request services and any associated costs.
This agreement remains valid until revised and will be reviewed at least annually by OIT.
OIT Responsibilities
- Meet service delivery commitments outlined in the Service Catalog and meet response times associated with the priority assigned to incidents and service requests
- All scheduled and unscheduled maintenance and outages will be posted on the status page. Depending on the scope and scale of a maintenance and/or outage event, additional communication to stakeholders may occur.
Customer Responsibilities
- Utilize procedures defined in this document to request services and support
- Respond to inquiries from OIT regarding incident resolution and service requests
- Comply with the following University Policies:
IT Service Desk
The IT Service Desk is the primary point of contact between OIT and the end users. It is responsible for managing incidents and service requests and handles communication with the users.
A service request is defined as a formal request from a user for information, advice, a standard change or access to a service. An incident is defined as an unplanned interruption to an IT service, a reduction in the quality of an IT service or a failure of a configuration item that has not yet impacted an IT service.
After a ticket is submitted, OIT is committed to timely response and resolution of the service request or incident. Response time is defined as the amount of time between the user first creating a ticket through the service desk and when they are notified that their request has been received and is being addressed. Resolution time is defined as the amount of time between the user first submitting a service request or incident report and when the service request is fulfilled, or the incident is resolved.
Hours
The IT Service Desk is available from 6 am to 10 pm ET Monday through Friday, and from 10 am to 6 pm Saturday and Sunday. The IT Service Desk is closed for Ohio University observed holidays; OIT on-call scheduling ensures coverage to respond to high priority incidents.
Support Contact Information
To make a Service Request or report an Incident, customer must contact the IT Service Desk to create a ticket. One of the following methods may be used.
- Self Help for many common IT-related issues can be accessed via https://ohio.edu/oit/help
- Send an email to servicedesk@ohio.edu
- Access the live chat feature by selecting the chat icon at the bottom right of your screen from any OIT page
- Call 740.593.1222*
* High Priority Incidents can be reported to the IT Service Desk by phone to further expedite response and resolution.
* When you contact the IT Service Desk by phone you can expect to be on the phone for an average of 7 minutes.
* When you contact the IT Service Desk by chat you can expect to be on that chat for an average of 15 minutes.
How We Communicate with End Users
Depending on the request we use the following methods:
- IT support ticket platform: To communicate updates and request additional information on tickets that have not been resolved
- Phone: For urgent incidents
- In person field support: For incidents and requests that require work on site
- System Status (https://status.ohio.edu): To provide up-to-date information on outages and maintenance
- Email: To communicate updates and request additional information on tickets that have not been resolved
- Twitter: (@OhioIT): Supplemental outage updates and high-profile event notifications
Maintenance Schedule
OIT will publish standard maintenance windows online. All maintenance that will cause an interruption in service will be communicated to the OHIO community using the OIT notifications email list in advance of the planned interruption.
Response and Resolution Commitments
Incidents and Service Requests will be assigned a priority, determined by OIT in collaboration with the customer, based on the impact and urgency, as defined below.
- Impact: University loss and potential damage (e.g. financial, student/faculty/staff, regulatory, security, reputation, brand) caused by the incident.
- Urgency: Speed at which the university expects the incident to be resolved
A Service Request is any request made by the customer to OIT for routine operational support, modifications, and additions. Service Requests are managed on a first-come, first-served basis within each priority category.
An Incident is any outage or degradation of the normal functionality of a service.
Resolution commitment metrics exclude tickets in a status of “Waiting for Customer.” Service Owners will routinely assess satisfaction with service levels and will be available to address concerns with the overall service.
Incident Response and Resolution Times
|
Incident Type |
Initial Response Time* |
Resolution Time* |
Target Level |
|---|---|---|---|
|
High Priority Incident that affects multiple service offerings, entire segments of the infrastructure or high traffic, high visibility websites. |
1 Hour during normal business hours** 2 Hours outside normal business hours |
8 Hours |
90% Response and Resolution Timelines Achieved. |
|
Medium Priority Incident with low impact; may be single or multi-user impact in a non-critical area. |
1 Business Day |
3 Business Days |
90% Response and Resolution Timelines Achieved. |
|
Low Priority Incident that is localized, with a single user affected; general break/fix issue with no or little impact |
1 Business Day |
7 Business Days |
90% Response and Resolution Timelines Achieved. |
Service Request Response and Resolution Times
|
Service Request Type |
Initial Response Time* |
Resolution Time* |
Target Level |
|---|---|---|---|
|
High Priority Service Request to meet a critical need related to the success of a high-profile function, stakeholder, or event. |
4 Hours during normal business hours** 8 Hours outside normal business hours |
Varies according to the service requested and resource availability. For cost recovery services, resolution time will be provided with the project charter. |
90% Response and Resolution Timelines Achieved. |
|
Medium Priority Service Request that is important, but has been planned for and is not urgent |
2 Business Days |
90% Response and Resolution Timelines Achieved. |
|
|
Low Priority Service Request that is low impact, “nice to have,” and can be accommodated in a reasonable time frame. |
2 Business Days |
90% Response and Resolution Timelines Achieved. |
* From the time OIT is made aware of the issue
** Normal business hours are 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday (Excluding Holidays)
Metrics & Reporting
This section outlines how OIT will measure and report each commitment made in this OLA:
- Overall service availability/uptime: Within 1 business day after each OLA impacting event is resolved the Service Owner (or designee) will publish a short report detailing the duration of the event, the reason for the event, the resolution of the event and the volume of customers impacted by the event. The total amount of downtime will be subtracted from the FY uptime to date and published to the OIT website.
- Performance expectations: Each Semester or more frequent analysis will be conducted showing how each metric is performing. An abbreviated result showing progress over time will be published to the OIT website.