Campus Announcement: New UWT Help Desk System

UWT is launching a new campus help desk system before noon on Thursday, July 7th. The new system, which is powered by Unipress Footprints software, replaces the RightNow Technologies system with which you are familiar. It will be administered by Computer Services.

The help desk environment will have a new look and feel, but the overall process will remain the same. You will still be able to search knowledge bases and submit requests online or via email. You will still receive confirmation emails as your requests are processed through the system. More information about the change is provided below.

New Web Site

The help desk system has its own Web site: http://help.tacoma.washington.edu/. The home page contains an index of customer support projects and a summary of services to help you find your way around. The main UWT web site has a variety of existing links and references to the help desk. Links and content will be modified as needed to point you to the new system.

Who Is Affected?

This change affects all faculty, staff, and students interacting with automated business functions including:

• Cashier
• Center for Teaching, Learning and Technology (CTLT)
• Computer Services
• Data Services
• Facilities
• Key/Card Access
• Library Information Technology
• Media Services

Help Desk Projects

The new help desk system is divided into projects by business function listed above. Each project is managed by its own staff of customer support agents. A project may offer an issue tracking database and/or a knowledge base as needed. Some projects feature a knowledge base, but do not currently handle customer requests (issues). Others handle requests, but have no knowledge base. These decisions are made by the parent department, not Computer Services. Remember that projects will evolve. We are excited to be offering a solid help desk foundation and anticipate more projects and services to be added in the future. Look for a Facilities Services project to be launched later this year.

Once you use the new system a bit, we think you will see the benefits of having one cohesive system across the campus. Customers have a quicker learning curve, while various business functions are able to operate independent projects and gather the data they need in order to efficiently service your requests.

If You Have Problems

Report help desk problems via email to tachelp@u.washington.edu. For personal assistance during the transition, contact Kris Symer at (253)692-4661.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I still search the knowledge base for common solutions?

All published solutions in the RightNow knowledge base have been imported into the appropriate project in the new FootPrints system. You can browse solutions or do a keyword search without logging in to the system.

How do I log in?

If you wish to submit an online request, or view your existing issues, you will need to log in to the customer interface. Due to security concerns, we have disabled the feature that remembers your username and password. Remember that this login and password combination is not the same as your UW NetID or Windows login.

Your username is your full UW email address: uwnetid@u.washington.edu
Your temporary password is: change_this_password_now

The first thing we hope you'll do is change your password.

What will happen to my old incidents? Will they disappear?

All RightNow incidents will be imported into the appropriate project within a day or two of the launch. Oh, and the name has changed: "Incidents" are now known as "Issues." You will be able to see any outstanding issues, as well as all historic issues dating back to 2002. All items you could see in "My Stuff" will be available in the new system under "View Mine", distributed among various projects (e.g., media requests will be in the Media Services project).

What about my open incidents that are not yet solved?

All open incidents will be imported to the appropriate project (see above). If they were unresolved, in progress, waiting, etc. before the switch, they will have an equivalent status in the new system. You may want to print out your unresolved incidents, or refer to your email trail during the transition.

Can I still send email to tachelp or tacmedia?

Yes, as long as you send it from your UW email address (uwnetid@anything.washington.edu). All service-related email accounts will continue to work without interruption. The emails will be forwarded to the new help desk system every three minutes. Note that the confirmation email you receive will look slightly different than before.

What about people without a UW email account?

Our primary audience is UWT faculty, staff, and students who are all given a unique UW email address for official campus business. The system will filter out non-UW email addresses as spam. There are some situations in which members of the public need to request services. They will be able to fill out online forms, but will not be able to send email directly into the help desk system.

Will there be any interruption in customer service?

No. Customer support agents will be servicing your requests normally throughout the transition and will update the issues in the database as soon as the import is complete. Rest assured that your requests will be completed without interruption, even if the issue is not immediately available in the system.

How did you get my contact information?

Your contact information (name, department, role, phone, email, room) was imported into the FootPrints address book from the online UWT directory database. We selected the primary department/role of people who have multiple roles or affiliations. You should have only one entry in the FootPrints address book, and it is tied to your email address so the system will recognize you when you log in. This info helps agents get in contact you when you need assistance. Because the system knows who you are, you don't have to enter any of this information when you submit a request. The old system did not feature an address book and it was sometimes difficult to identify people from their email address only.