Migration of the ChemE Helpdesk to ServiceNow

ChemE Computing has been using the Request Tracker (RT) platform to manage help desk operations since 2008. Several years ago, Computing Services moved their help desk operations from a system known as Remedy to one known as ServiceNow. Since then, they have begun opening up this service to other support teams around campus.

On May 2, 2022 the ChemE Computing group will switch help desk operations from Request Tracker (RT) to ServiceNow.

Beginning in 2018 we started a long term plan to leverage more university services. This plan has included email/calendaring, mailing lists, Box/Google Drive, DSP Support, Virtual Andrew, Campus Cloud et al. Moving from RT to ServiceNow is a logical next step in order to more effectively support both internal and university provided services.

ServiceNow will greatly simplify our support process. The help desk email address will not change, however if we need to escalate a request to computing services we can do so directly with no intervention. Similarly, if computing services receives a ticket about one of our services, they can simply assign it back to us. In addition, utilizing ServiceNow will give local IT support personnel visibility into tickets submitted to Computing Services. This will allow us to monitor issues with University services and either provide feedback or escalate issues that are not being handled efficiently. These are just some of the benefits of this migration.

As with any migration there will be some changes associated with it. For most users/tickets, the only change will be a new format to help desk emails. Most other impacts should be minor for end users.

Q and A

Below are common questions answers about the ServiceNow Platform.

Oh no! Where do I send requests now?

All department IT requests should still be sent to cheme-computing@andrew.cmu.edu as before.

Just the same IT requests for university services should be sent to it-help@cmu.edu.

If you are unsure who the provider is, simply pick one and send it there. It will be routed to the correct team. (If you send to both cheme-computing and it-help, the request will land in it-help)

What is the biggest difference in user experience?

The biggest difference you will see will have to do with attachments we send to you. If we send you and attachment, it will not be included in the email you receive. Instead there will be a "View Ticket" button at the bottom of the email that will take you to the ServiceNow portal where you will be able to download the attachment.

What should not be sent to the helpdesk email?

Due to the small size of our IT team it is easy to think of the helpdesk as just another shared inbox and treat it that way, but in reality the helpdesk (RT or ServiceNow) is robust request management system. Email is just how users interact with the system.

Once migrated all IT personnel that use ServiceNow will have visibility into all tickets. As a result, the helpdesk should be used for IT requests and incidents only. Informational emails, announcements, etc. should not be sent to the helpdesk.

What should we do when we are working with 3rd party support?

Generally, if you are working with another support team such as a vendor/manufacturer, you should not CC the ChemE Helpdesk. However, ServiceNow does handle this much better than RT so it is less of an issue post-migration.

We do now have another email address that can be used for this, checomp@andrew.cmu.edu. This is a shared mailbox among the ChemE IT staff. If a ServiceNow request needs to be created we will do that for you.

The checomp mailbox is monitored during business hours.

Doesn't the ChemE Computing team handle many non-IT requests?

We sure do! However these requests are usually come from a select group of users or when primary contacts are out-of-office. We are working directly with these users to determine the best way to handle these requests.

Some of the more common requests are:

Poster Prints - These should still be sent to cc66.posters@gmail.com for now. This will automatically forward to ServiceNow. We are working to get a cheme-posters@andrew.cmu.edu alias for this
Facilities requests - (In Julie's absence) - TBD
Card Access request - (In Janet's absence) - These can continue to be sent to cheme-computing@andrew.cmu.edu as before.
Package Notices - These should be sent to checomp@andrew.cmu.edu or directly to ChemE IT Staff
Mailing List Updates - Mailman list membership are handle directly by their stakeholders in the department and should be sent directly to them. List issues or configuration changes should be sent to cheme-computing@andrew.cmu.edu.
Pre/Post-Purchase Financial requests - Such as receipt requests, POs and purchase documentation. These requests should be sent to checomp@andrew.cmu.edu.
IT Projects - Previously we used RT to track progress on both internal and external long term projects. We will not be using ServiceNow to track projects and will be using Monday.com for this. For external projects (requested by someone outside the IT team) the initial project request should be sent to cheme-computing@andrew.cmu.edu. Once the goals and timeline are set the project will be moved over to Monday and communication will be handle separately.
Department Website/Digital Signage Content Updates - These should be sent to Ryan Noone (rnoone@andrew.cmu.edu). ChemE Computing Website updates should be sent to cheme-computing@andrew.cmu.edu.