Our primary mission is to help you perform your job through the sensible application of technology. Together, we can identify or build the tools that enable you to operate more efficiently and spend less time performing administrative chores and more time involved in the more meaningful aspects of your work. In most cases, the more fluid exchange of information and more effective communication means better service to the students, families, faculty, and alumni we all serve.

Our role in the organization is to empower you to better perform your job with the use of technology. We are here to provide guidance as you navigate the ever-changing and sometimes confusing technical environment. Our job is to understand technology and manipulate it to the organization's best advantage.

We understand that technology can be intimidating and accept that each individual has a unique comfort level with computers. We are here to help raise your level of expertise. At the same time, will direct you to resources that will allow you to be actively involved in improving your capabilities.  

Most of our major projects are identified at least a year in advance, and we always have a running queue of smaller projects identified months in advance. So thinking and planning ahead is critical to hitting a target date that works best for you.

We try to equitably distribute our work throughout the organization.  Monthly project meetings are held with most managers in Dowling Hall, the Graduate School of AS&E and the Office of Undergraduate Admissions.  Most project planning and priority setting is done at these meetings. As a result, last minute projects are difficult to accommodate.  If you are considering a technology project, you may want to work with the manager in your area to be invited to your area's next monthly project review. 

If you work in one of the functional areas that does not have participate in a monthly project review, Tricia and Andrew are always available to discuss potential initiatives or discuss a problem that you believe technology may help solve.

When we agree it is appropriate to move forward together, we define the scope of the project and realistic timeframe.  Although all situations may not require automation,  it may help just to get a fresh perspective. We can often point you to a tool that may already be available or piggy back on a resource that may already exist.

When the time to develop your project comes around, we need your active and timely participation on behalf of you, the sponsor, or the sponsoring department.   Sponsors must be realistic about dedicating heir time to project responsibilities. Your experience and perspective are central to the project. You must assume that we know nothing about your operation and vernacular, and clearly define the way you expect things to work. 

In turn, we understand that you do not necessarily communicate in technospeak and will do our best to speak English. If we are too technical with you, do not be embarrassed to ask us to explain. On the other hand, if you feel we are being too simplistic, tell us that, too. Everyone has a different level of comfort with technology, and one of our primary ambitions is to make you more comfortable regardless of where you are starting from.

Some responsibilities typically delegated to a sponsor include preparing mock-ups, writing specs, composing content, compiling information, fostering communications, and testing. You may want to plan to include others on your team to participate because the amount of work relative to the window of time to get it done can be overwhelming. It is great to involve end users, and one person should serve as a coordinator or liaison.

When we agree to a timeline and programmers are dedicated, we then have a finite window of opportunity to complete the project. It is important that you spend time thinking about the initiative in advance of development so that all requirements can be identified up front. That way, we can develop a realistic plan. Once we get to the final stages, we cannot make major programming changes for items that should have been identified up front.

When work is required on your part, we expect it will be turned around in a reasonable or agreed-upon timeframe. If a project fails to progress because of a lack of participation, the project may be closed or put on hold. In fairness to all of out customers when a project stalls, programmers will be assigned to other projects. Your project can be reopened at a negotiated time, but not necessarily your ideal time.

Once testing is complete, the last thing to think about is support. It is best to anticipate questions and proactively answer them before they are asked. It is also important to have feedback mechanisms and the staff to answer questions. Staff who will be answering questions need to properly trained to be able to provide customer service. We provide technical support, but most questions are not technical in nature. A majority of questions are usability issues and just require someone familiar and comfortable with the system to share information.

When implementing a major system, a programmer will monitor the initial activity and plan to be available if adjustments are needed. Many of the best ideas come when the real users hit a system for the first time. Sometimes small changes can make a big improvement, so we expect to make small adjustments in the first days of implementation. There is no substitute for good planning, and the most successful projects involve the final users in the development process.