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Distributed User Support and the
Gemini Observatory HelpDesk
Simon Chan and Phil PuxleySPIE
March 2000
Overview
Gemini user support model and rationale for the HelpDesk Division of responsibilities Desirable features of a HelpDesk
Implementation model HelpDesk tiers and structure Remedy AR system Workflow
Life cycle of a requestKnowledgebaseMetrics and user support performance
Shared Support
Operational context: Gemini Observatory operates two geographically separated
8m-telescopes (Hawaii and Chile) Gemini partnership includes nine user groups:
• 7 partner countries (US, UK, Can., Chile, Aus., Arg., Bra.)• University of Hawaii• Gemini staff
Each partner country has established a National Gemini Office (NGO) to support facility development and users
Principal issue recognised was that NGOs would not have adequate staffing to cover all areas of expertise and Gemini staff could be overwhelmed by large volume of queries
Distributed User Support Responsibilities
Observation execution and on-site support Including Contact
Scientists assigned to each classical or queue program
Expert support for user queries Distribute to support
network as necessary
Before and after observations
First point of contact for user queries Distribute to support
network as necessary
Gemini Observatory National Gemini Offices
Challenges for Distributed Support
ModelOpen access and fairness to all potential users
of GeminiEfficient and reliable distribution of queries to
designated responsible staff and of responses to users Any metric must recognize time zone dependency
Accountability to funding authoritiesStaff trainingCommunications bandwidth Implementation and infrastructure
maintenance
HelpDesk Solution to User Support
Leverage commercial “help desk” (a.k.a. knowledge database) technology. Undergoing major investment in software, electronic hardware
and service industries.
Evolutionary step forward from static web page solutions to “problem and knowledge management”:
“goal is the control and reduction of calls per person”
Provides call management... “the ability to accurately and effectively log, track, hold, forward and
escalate calls as necessary, preventing any call from being lost or forgotten”
...and problem resolution tools: “the timely discovery of an accurate solution to a help desk problem”
(PHD White Paper)
Desirable Elements of a
Help Desk : I (NB: all are featured in existing commercial help desk products)
User-friendly web GUI Easy user access
Filter and route queries to designated support individuals “Send all GMOS queries to person X in country Y”
Accounting and analysis tools Assist management of user support, generate usage
reports, efficiency metrics etc.• “How many queries about GMOS gratings?”
Feedback for updating static web information
Desirable Elements of a
Help Desk : IIAudit tracking and history
Track changes to database information; identify who answered a specific question
Integrate existing web-based documentation Complement to primary information resource
Intelligent language interface, options include: Natural language queries
• “What is the best GMOS grating for H” Expert or rule-based systems
• Efficiently moves through stored set of rules Fuzzy logic
• Guesstimates a solution when no exact match can be found
Desirable Elements of aHelp Desk : III
Experience-based learning Resolved problems stored in the database and available
to future queries…the system learns!
Distributed read and write access to database Support staff located at NGOs (and in some instances
more widely)
Simultaneous access by multiple users and scalable. Peak access around telescope application deadlines
Multimedia capabilities Use video files, sounds and pictures to make complex
issues clearer
User Support Model and
the 3-Tier HelpDeskUser self-support
Aim for majority of queries to be addressed by [1] use of ‘static’ web info or [2] Help Desk solutions database (via search engines)
Those that can’t are handled by the [3] HelpDesk
Tier 1: Front-end support NGO staff field requests for information from their own community Queries that cannot be answered are escalated to Tier 2 support
Tier 2: NGO-designated experts and Gemini staff Respond to queries from entire community Queries that cannot be answered are escalated to Tier 3 support
Tier 3: Gemini staff
localNGO
help desk interface s/w
no solution found- route to NGO
solution found automaticallyfrom existing database information
another NGO
request resolvedand entered in database
Gemini
phone/email
resolution
puzzleduser
enlighteneduser
webinterface
localNGO
Remedy AR system
Tier-1
Tier-2
Tier-3
HelpDesk Structure
Queries are categorised into three broad subject areas: Instrumentation Telescope performance and capabilities Proposal and observing process
Subjects are sub-divided further:
Helpdesk Responsibilities
Each NGO has assigned support staff personnel to each subject sub-category in Tier-1 look-up table Includes other staff to be notified
NGOs with community-wide responsibility and Gemini have assigned support staff in Tier-2 table Generally, partners that are providing the instrument or
facility provide tier-2 support Gemini provides tier-2 support for visiting instruments,
telescope capabilities and observing process
Gemini has assigned support staff in Tier-3 table.
Remedy AR System
Remedy Action Request system selected for Gemini HelpDesk Very robust and flexible toolbox of HelpDesk
components that is readily customised Possesses many of the features of a desirable
system Has a large share of commercial market Deployed elsewhere in astronomical community
(Keck, STScI, ESO) for various functions Used for internal Gemini Fault Reporting System
Implementation of Remedy AR System
remote users &support staff (any modern browser)
user interfaceserver
AR system hostedat Gemini North
queries and knowledgebase
Example support- staff form
Helpdesk Workflow Design
Requestor logs on to helpdesk (or registers if a new user). Request is routed to their local NGO using Tier-1 table.
Staff member is e-mailed that a request has been assigned to them; uses web tool to resolve.
Support staff member can escalate the request (using Tier-2 or -3 table) to the responsible individual (within an NGO or Gemini).
Requestor can check status on web and is e-mailed on each action or resolution. Resolution is copied to previously-assigned staff in lower tiers.
New Assigned Workin progress Resolved Closed
Tier-1, -2 and -3escalation
Knowledgebase
The knowledgebase (a.k.a. solutions database) is a self-help database Provides a searchable repository of solutions to
common requests• 2nd stage in user-support model
It’s purpose is to reduce the number of similar requests being submitted to the HelpDesk
Entries in the knowledgebase are derived from existing HelpDesk requests
Currently a simple free-text search engine is used with the knowledgebase
• Search by sub-category or keywords
Knowledgebase Search Screen
Help Desk Metrics
Remedy system time-stamps status changes corresponding to key events: Submission of request, assignment to responsible
individual, changes to work-in-progress log, resolution of the request, closure
System also records: User contact details, assigned group, subject
category etc
These data provide feedback for ‘static’ web pages Update / improve existing primary information
Example User Support Performance Metrics
The system data can be analysed in a multitude of ways; some examples: Measurement of load and balance:
• Number of requests received per NGO– per subject category, per country of origin etc.
• Number of requests escalated (e.g. to Gemini) Measurement of performance:
• Number (fraction) of responses and response time Measurement of fairness:
• Distribution of response times– by country of origin, by subject category etc.
Integrated User Support
web user interface
‘static’ webinfo
HelpDesk
knowledgebase
populates
feedback improvements
Integrated User Support
web user interface
‘static’ webinfo
HelpDesk
knowledgebase
populates
feedback improvements
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