Technology Department  

Our technology department is led by the technology director which is an administrative position. At a district level there are three computer technicians and one network administrator. At the building level, there is at least one lab tech aide who is considered the "first level" tech person. This is the team that is primarily responsible for troubleshooting technology problems.

Process of Troubleshooting

Within a system, it is important to have good troubleshooters and a good system for problem notification/ classification/ and solution. A good troubleshooter is a good problem-solver very hard to find. Skills sets are easilty taught, but troubleshooting is difficult to teach, because it is not knowledge, but a way of connecting ideas together. Successful troubleshooting requires a logical, consistent approach that seeks to narrow down the source of a problem by figuring out what is and isn't working until a single cause is identified.

The "help" desk is the first line for reporting technology issues. Our district currently uses a a shareware web-based help desk application that runs under Microsoft called WN Help Desk Web (www.wickett.net). WN Help Desk Web allows the technicians access to the help desk from a web browser however, there are many weaknesses to our current system and we are in the process of finding software to help restructure the technology problems are solved in our district. Communication is the key to preventing user frustration and keeping a system moving smoothly. Our current system provides no communication to the user. It is a goal of the district to establish a system where it is easy to initiate a request, users are updated as to the status of their request. We want users to be able to have access to the system to be able to figure out status, and track problems. The system we will choose will include a knowledge base where first level techs can look up past problems. We want our technicians to have an easy way to monitor workorders and establish trends. One software package that is being considered by the district is BridgeTrack Suite (www.kemma.com). Even with good software, you need a good process in order to keep the network running successfully. The following is a model that was used successfully in the former district of our current technology director.

Notification of a Problem

Since t he "help" desk is the first line for reporting technology issues, all users should have access to the help desk in order to report and track problems.

Ideally when a work orders is created it should include the following items:

• name of the user
• creation date and time
• description of the problem

A good help system is webased and works in a push and pull method. Push meaning that once a work order is created, information is pushed out to the user (ie. "thank you for submitting your request...." and pull meaning that within that user information is a way for the user to go out to the web to check the status of their request.

Identifying the Problem

Once a problem is recieved by the help desk the following steps should be followed:

• Identify priority level (Low, Medium, High, Urgent)
  This can be set by the user when placing the request, but is often modified by the technicians or building principals when compared to other requests in the help system.
• Categorize the problem (Hardware, Software, Network)
  Hardware: Often the most common problems are hardware problems. Hardware work orders come when computers do not work as expected, such as not turning on or off, disk drive malfunctions, trouble using attached external hardware such as scanners or digital cameras, or inability to store or retrieve files, One of the most common issues is with printing. They are often described in terms of printers that do not function properly, such as incorrect paper feeds, blank page output, paper jams, illegible output or non-response to commands. Many times hardware problems are able to be solved within a building by the first level technology support person.
  Software: Software problems include descriptions such as the program freezing, the software not loading due to a conflict, or applications not processing a request as expected. Software problems can be related to hardware issues since drivers may be involved or other software and may occur when there are recent changes / add-ons to a machine. When software problems may also be related to network issues. Recently I had a software problem when DocuShare software was installed, the Inspiration software on my computer no longer opened correctly.
  Network: Network issues center around login/connectivity for email, access to the Internet, use of the student information system, attendance system, purchasing system, and any other managerial or application software that is accessed from the network. Software problems in this category are different from software issues where the application is installed on the local drive. The name of the software involved helps to identify, at least initially, whether the issue is local or network in scope.
• Assign a specific technician / building point person to troubleshoot
  Work orders are kept in a separate queue for each technician ordered by priority. Work requests with the highest priority, should be completed first. If all work orders are of the same priority, then they are processed in the order in which they were received. Users should have the ability to check on their requests. Throughout the process requests are monitored by the network administrator and close attention is paid to how long a request has been in the help desk. For any requests that sit for over 3 days director becomes directly involved with network administrator to find out what is keeping the request there. When a request is over 10 days. it gets hit first. A list is generated and once a week this list forwarded to buildings –either to the tech liason or building principal to determine priority.

Troubleshooting the Problem

Once a problem is categorized and assigned, the troubleshooting process begins. It takes a lot of patience to work through the process one step at a time. It means identifying whether it is a real problem or one perceived by the user; whether is is an individual, building, or network issue; in order to isloate the problem. Sometimes problems start out in one category and change to another category during the troubleshooting process. When troubleshooting a computer related issue it us usually best to follow a process and take notes:

Hardware: Here are some things to try if a hardware problem is suspected.

1. Try to recreate the problem
2. Check that everything is properly connected
3. Check that connections are free of dust and dirt and all cables /chords are working properly
4. Check that everything is turned on
5. If the hardware problem can not be resolved using any of the troubleshooting processes, try replacing the hardware with another working device.
6. If the problem can be narrowed down to a specific piece of hardware, it may be necessary to contact the hardware vendor for additional support.

Software: Here are some things to try if a software problem is identified.

1. Try to recreate the problem
2. Check that the necessary media is intact (e.g. CD ROM or disk)
3. Check for expiration notices or error messages created by the program
4. Try performing the software operation in a different way such as using the “Start” menu vs shortcuts to launch the program
5. If the problem produces an error message that is unknown, research the message using the internet, manuals, or other individuals.
6. Try rebooting the computer. Many software related issues can be resolved by simply restarting the computer.
7. Check that the application specifications match the hardware
8. Look at other applications or even the operating system itself for problems that may be causing a specific application to operate incorrectly.
9. If the problem still persists and a resolution cannot be found elsewhere, it may be necessary to contact the software application’s vendor for help.
10. Try uninstalling and reinstalling the software

Network: Dealing with network related issues can often be difficult. School district networks can be complicated; comprised of many components, all of which rely on one another to operate. Network problems are the most difficult to troubleshoot. Click HERE for some samples of how some perplexing network issues were solved.

1. Try to recreate the problem.
2. On the individual computer:
   Check all network cabling.
   Make sure the NIC (network interface card) indicates that there is a connection
   Ask questions such as: Does the computer get an IP address from the network? and Is this the only computer having this problem?
3. If the problem still persists, continue by looking for a more complex resolution
   Move on to the next piece of network equipment that is attached cable or device
   Ask questions such as: Is the network switch operational? Is the network cable connecting the computer and switch intact and terminated securely? Does moving the network cable to another port on the switch correct the issue? Is the network switch configured correctly?
4. Continue moving through the network, checking each device and tracing the path that the computer will follow back to the core of the network.
5. If the problem can be narrowed down to a specific piece of hardware, it may be necessary to contact the hardware vendor for additional support.
6. Examine the pieces of the WAN
7. Continue to follow these steps until the problem is isolated.

Solving the Problem

Once an issue is resolved the work order can be closed. It is imporatant at this time for the technician to identify:

• completion date and time
• amount of time to complete work
• problem resolution

Checking your work

At the same time a work order is closed, an e-mail should be pushed out to the reporting user to determine their satisfaction with the solution. This allows the technology department to track whether or not the solution met the users need.

Follow through

Follow through with a Knowledge base is an essential part of the troubleshooting process. During follow through, the technicians should log the problem and solution so that other users can easily look up their problems the next time. Good follow through can enable many of the above steps to be skipped for future problems.