ipod, uPod, wePod... Doubling Your Client Support and Strengthening Team Ties With Virtually No Extra Resources

摘要

It's a Wednesday afternoon at the Princeton University OIT Help Desk phone room. An undergraduate calls in a panic. Their Windows 2000 laptop, which contains all their work for a paper due that Friday, is displaying a blue screen that reads: "Inaccessible Boot Device." Their comp sci roommate has already worked on the computer, but can't get it to boot. What's the best way to handle a situation like this - one that needs immediate hands-on consulting? For Princeton, the answer was to provide an accessible open-lab environment that allowed students to work with consultants at their convenience. The Help Desk at Princeton University has restructured their no-charge, in-person support room from a "By-Appointment Only" service to a "Walk-In Lab" service. This environment allows the client to back-up data to an iPod (to protect their intellectual property), be directly involved in the diagnosis and resolution of their computer problem, and walk away with a working computer. The open-lab has allowed us to double the clients we service, with no increase in assigned staff. This paper will discuss how our restructuring increased services to the campus community, allowed us to empower our clients by instructing them on basic computer maintenance and usage, cross-train our staff members, and build stronger ties with other support teams on campus. We will also detail the tools (software and hardware) we use in the lab environment.