Process Refinement and Documentation

Client

Greenhills School Department of Information and Technology Services

The Challenge

The various network and servers systems at Greenhills School were undocumented, as were the procedures for managing these systems, such as creating new users and installing applications. While the processes for working with different systems were understood by individuals in the department, often only one of them knew how to do each task. Thus, when individuals were away from school, it was difficult or impossible to make changes. Personnel transitions were especially difficult.

The Solution

The department's techincal processes were reviewed and documentation for these was written, including best practice tips as picked up by the experiences of the department members. Processes were mapped visually with detailed textual descriptions. In the process of designing the documentation, several cumbersome processes discovered. These processes were refined so that less technical users could perform the tasks using custom interfaces built in Microsoft Excel. Processes that were simplified include adding computers to the network, creating user accounts and updating the school's course management system.

Technologies