Staff Profile

Jane TansuwanJane Tansuwan works in the Software Licensing group in Client Support. She has been with Stanford for eight years and was recently honored as an IT Services Quarterly Exceptional staff member for Summer Quarter.

How would you describe your current job responsibilities?

Generally, I'm responsible for helping members of the University community, individuals, and departments get the software they need and save money on their software purchases. I work with clients and vendors to determine software interests, negotiate agreements, iron out the many sticky eligibility issues, and just help people get the software tools they need to get their work done. I'm also the group's lead working with the Finance group to track Software Licensing's expenses and revenue and to assure that it meet the budget projections.

Which aspects of your job do you enjoy the most?

Absolutely, it is working with clients. I love having clients tell me that our group has made it possible for them to purchase software that may otherwise have been too expensive, and how that software has enhanced their research or course work, or helped them with their office work. I really enjoy working with our colleagues in the Unix group to help get software needed by faculty and students on the shared Unix cluster in Sweet Hall. I like working with vendors on first-time contracts and creating agreements where both Stanford and the vendor benefit. And, because of my financial background, I also like addressing the financial aspects of running a business.

What did you do before you came to Stanford?

Before I came to Stanford, I got a Bachelor's degree in Accounting from Santa Clara University and an M.B.A. from Washington University in St. Louis. I had several jobs including being the principal/owner of a computer franchise and an accounting manager for a small engineering firm.

What do you like to do when you're not at work?

I love to travel, especially internationally. My favorite location is England. I was born in Thailand and my most recent trip was to Bangkok to visit my parents. My family and I arrived just before the December 2004 tsunami and we ended up spending some of our time in the city of Krabi volunteering in the local hospital. It wasn't quite the trip we planned, but it was nice to be able to help out.

Staff Happenings

Nan McKenna may be feeling the effects of the recent hurricanes in the southeast a little bit more than most of us. Her husband Patrick, an active volunteer with the Red Cross, is currently on his second three-week visit to the New Orleans area. Patrick works closely with community leaders and other relief groups to help manage and give direction for the tremendous relief efforts. There's no typical day for most relief workers, but in the Mass Care and Logistics area where he works, the one thing you can rely on is that there's always an early start and a late night and that somewhere in between a lot of people whose lives have been turned upside down need food and shelter.

Jobs include anything from being the chef for a crowd, to coordinating the movement of truckloads of supplies, to driving a Red Cross vehicle that distributes meals and supplies to those who aren't in the shelters, to sorting through donated goods. Our hats go off to Patrick and all of the volunteers who set their lives aside to assist our friends in need!

Comings and Goings

The following people recently joined Information Technology Services. Welcome!

  • Kenneth Flauding (Shared Services, Facilities Engineering)

The following people have left Information Technology Services. Please contact their manager if you need to follow up on any open items.

  • Milt Mallory (John Freshwaters/Shared Services, Application Systems)
  • Sean Matheis (John Freshwaters/Shared Services, Application Systems)
  • Susan Sayne (Tony Navarette/Client Support, Computer Resource Consulting)
  • Manju Sharma (Carolyn Kane/Shared Services, Operator Services Center)
  • Charles Synegal (Cholada Chenhansa/Business Planning, Administrative Services)

Please submit Staff Happenings to itsinbits-submissions@lists.stanford.edu

Technology Training Courses

Seats are still available for the following ITSS Technology Training classes the week of November 14:

  • Web Design, Level 2: Tables and Cascading Style Sheets (ITSS-2502), Monday, November 14, 1:00 - 4:30, $150
  • IT Services Site Training (ITSS-8301), Wednesday, November 16, 8:30 - 12:00, no fee
  • Excel Pivot Tables and Charts (ITSS-1109), Wednesday, November 16, 1:00 - 4:30, $150
  • Access Query Design (ITSS-1703), Thursday, November 17, 8:30 - 12:00, $150
  • MySQL (ITSS-2523), Thursday, November 17, 9:00 - 4:00, $275
  • InDesign, Levels 1 and 2 (ITSS-1451), Thursday and Friday, November 17 and 18, 9:00 - 4:00, $500
  • Excel Power Techniques (ITSS-1103), Friday, November 18, 8:30 - 12:00, $150

If you are interested in signing up for one or more of these courses, we advise you to register by Monday, November 7. Classes with low enrollments may be cancelled one week in advance.

Please see the registration page for complete information on using STAP funds and signing up for classes.

- Phyllis Olrich
Technology Training Services

IT Employment Opportunities

There were no additions to the ITSS job requisition postings for this week.

To view the current listings or to apply for a position, visit the StanfordJobs web site at: jobs.stanford.edu.

There are other open Information Technology positions at Stanford. To see what other opportunities exist on campus, link to the full list of open positions from: itss.stanford.edu/staff/itssjobs.html

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Quote of the Week

"Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end; then stop."
- Lewis Carroll

News

Welcome

Welcome to the first issue of its in bits. We hope you like the web-based format; if not (or if so) please let us know by responding to the quick one-question survey at the end of this issue. Feel free also to email the editors to let us know what articles you enjoyed or what kinds of articles you might like to see in the future. Thanks for clicking!

A Note From Bill

I’m excited that we now have our own IT Services newsletter with its in bits and I especially like the web format. This is about us; it’s a great way for all of us to share what’s going on, and to discuss the key topics we’re facing.

I’ll use the first issue of each month to address issues that you have raised to me in our large gatherings, smaller meetings, and hallway conversations. In an effort to have more of these direct conversations, I am working with the Directors on regular visits to each of your workgroup meetings.

Our All-Staff Meeting was, once again, so heavily attended that we were spilling into the hallways. It felt like it really was almost all of our staff. Also, the questions you brought forward were clear and thought-provoking. Thanks to Nancy, Prescilla, and the whole team that put this together.

I’d also like to thank everyone involved in the recent IT Open House. It’s an energetic event that really helps us work more closely; not just with our clients, but our various IT partners around the campus. Thanks to everyone who helped coordinate this.

Finally, it was a lot of fun to see such a tremendous turnout at the Halloween Party. Here are a few photos we took at the party. Kudos to the whole Admin Team for making our gatherings so wonderful! I particularly enjoyed the costumes and the little kids. This is such a great way to support one another and have a lot of fun in the process.

I continue to appreciate everyone’s dedication to Stanford and that we have such a talented group to work with.

- Bill Clebsch
IT Services

Were You There?

IT Open HouseWere you one of the 700 or so folks who came by Meyer Library last week and said, "Actual people to talk to--Yes!"? Or did you think to yourself, "So many nagging little questions answered." Those are just some of the great comments we received from attendees at the IT Open House last week.

Needless to say, the show has been rated the best yet. The attendance of the vendors this year provided an opportunity to ask questions not only of Stanford organizations that use the hardware and software, but the actual vendors who represent that hardware and software. Another attendee said, "...openness of information, friendly staff, happy atmosphere."

If you wanted to visit the Apple section and ask about Stanford iTunes or take a tour of Green Library, this was an event to be present for. The hands-on demos by CWA (who also invited the vendors) were invaluable to attendees who had lists of questions.

The tours of Green Library given by Mike Keller were mentioned as one of the best things offered. Needless to say, participants and attendees had a great time this year. Just about every aspect of IT services at Stanford was covered and everyone had a great time.

- Carlos Zertuche
Client Support, Marketing Services

IT Services Adopts University-standard Logo and Identity Graphics

As Bill Clebsch mentioned in his September 14 email to all of IT Services staff, our organization will "evolve away from the ITSS name over the course of the next year or so." One of the first steps in this process has been to determine what to do about the logo. For the last several years, the mark of the ITSS "swoosh" has identified our services and products.

Rather than pursue another original logo design, Bill decided to adopt the University's standard logo and identity graphics for the IT Services organization. The standard logo includes the department name (spelled out) accompanied by the official seal of the University.

University Logo

Although an original logo can enhance a department's distinctive "branding" on campus, a standard University graphic sends a different, and compelling, set of messages:

  • These are central, University-provided services.
  • We work for Stanford.
  • We represent one of the world's leading universities.

The Documentation, Design, and Delivery group has released a new web page that provides links and instructions for downloading logo files that you can use in reports, letters, presentations, t-shirts, etc.:

www.stanford.edu/dept/its/docs/templates/logo/

For more information, including official University guidelines for use of the Stanford seal, visit:

www.stanford.edu/group/identity/

and

www.stanford.edu/group/webdev/

- Dave Ream
Client Support, Documentation, Design, and Delivery

A Year of IT Metrics

It was February 2005 when ITSS first make public our IT Metrics site, but we had been capturing data since October 2004. So now we have a year's worth of data on selected key performance and availability metrics for several commonly used services.

But what have we done with this information?

One example: the First Contact Resolution Rate (FCR) at the Stanford IT Help Desk. This metric tracks how well the Stanford IT Help Desk is performing against its targets for resolving help requests on "first contact," i.e., within their group and without having to escalate the request to another support group.

Our target goal is 75% of requests resolved on first contact with the Help Desk staff. Average after a year? 75.55%. Has nothing changed? Has nothing moved?

In fact, quite a bit has changed. See this chart for the current picture. This summer, we changed the HelpSU routing so that approximately 30% of cases which had been handled by the Computer Resource Consulting staff are now routed to the Help Desk for initial triage and resolution. At the end of October, we began routing certain order status requests, formerly handled by Order Management, to the Help Desk staff.

We use this metric as a control factor, to make sure that we are not adversely affecting customer service as we add new support items to the Stanford IT Help Desk. We review cases that the Help Desk staff cannot resolve and determine if additional training, documentation, or other support aids need to be developed. We continue to monitor this metric carefully as we fine-tune our support effort. The work is ongoing.

A special thanks goes out to our Help Desk staff, who have been doing an excellent job in taking on additional support activities.

- Chris Lundin
Client Support, Help Desk Services

Budgets and Redwood City

The most pressing questions I’m hearing are chiefly about our budgets and the move to Redwood City. Let me tell you what we currently know.

For the current year base budgets, we have met extensively with Randy Livingston over the last few months to address the shortfall that is between three and four million dollars across AS and IT Services. We are meeting with the Provost on November 16th to make our case for more funding. Thanks to Lynne and the Finance team for all of their help.

We got some great news on Monday October 31 that we received the funding for Host Self Reg, Kerb 4 to Kerb 5, Shibboleth, NetDB Migration, and Desktop Configuration Management. Thanks to all of you who put in so much time on the planning of these projects. The details on these projects can be found at www.stanford.edu/dept/itss/its

For our special projects for the year that require Budget Group funding, we will be meeting with the Provost, again on November 16th, to request funding for Network Security, Academic Multimedia, Storage, and Wireless Networking.

As we get any further information on the budgets, we will keep you informed through your Directors.

As Randy noted last week, the time frames related to Redwood City are not yet finalized. However, we do know that we need to open the new Data Center by November 2006 since Fosythe is running out of physical space for equipment and we need to meet our client's needs. In order to plan for the really long term, we have established three teams within IT Services looking at the various aspects of the moves: Systems, Services, and Staff. You can read more about these teams in the October 5th edition of the ITSS Digest.

- Bill Clebsch
IT Services

Winter Closure: Kronos Entries Due December 1

Stanford has decided to suspend operations, where feasible, during the winter holiday season. In support of this decision, IT Services offices will be closed from the end of the day Friday, December 16, 2005 through Tuesday, January 3, 2006 at 8:00 a.m.

As a reminder, the designated University holidays for this period include:

  • Friday, December 23, 2005
  • Monday, December 26, 2005
  • Monday, January 2, 2006

Since IT Services is closing for the entire time period, one additional paid day off will be offered. Staff will need to submit their Kronos entries no later than December 1, 2005. Employees are able to borrow from future vacation and PTO accruals. You should refer to Admin Guide memos 22.5. 22.7, and 22.12 for details. In brief, employees may borrow up to one month's vacation accrual, their total annual allotment of PTO, and the Floating Holiday if they do not have sufficient vacation time to cover the unpaid days off.

- Nancy Ware
Business Planning

- Nilda Bonet
IT Services

RSVP: A Must for the 2005 ITSS Holiday Party

We need to hear from you by Wednesday, December 7th to reserve a spot for you and your guest. Please respond to itss-rsvps@lists.stanford.edu, and be sure to include your name and the name of your guest.

When: Wednesday, December 14th from 5 to 8 p.m.
Where: Stanford Faculty Club

A cocktail reception with music and hors d'oeuvres will be held from 5 to 6:30 p.m., followed by dinner, and the evening will conclude with John's presentation. You won't want to miss this one!

- Teresa Janeway and Tricia Richter

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About its in bits

A regular summary of IT business, news about personnel, and pointers to other information of interest to IT Services staff. Coordinated, compiled, and published by the Communication Strategy and Standards Team. its in bits is published on the first and third Wednesday of the month.

Please send submissions to itsinbits-submissions@lists.stanford.edu for consideration. Submissions are due by Noon on the Friday before the scheduled issue. its in bits is distributed via email to its-all-staff@lists.stanford.edu and the new subscription list itsinbits-subscribers@lists.stanford.edu. People outside of IT Services can self-subscribe via majordomo.

The next its in bits will be published on Wednesday, November 16, 2005.