How Do You Manage Requests in Your Organization?

StormShadw asks: "How do you manage IT requests in your organization? There seems to be a lack of software solutions specifically designed to track requests. Most that I've been able to find are either problem tracking systems or bug tracking systems, neither of which completely fit the 'request management' model. I work for a large bank and my department supports all of the internet web presence and online banking applications for the company. We receive hundreds of requests a week (my department has 51 people in it), typically through a variety of mediums (phone, email, hallway conversations). It's impossible to manage all these efficiently when there is no centralized system. What's the solution? What do you all use?"

"There is a 'workflow' aspect to many of these requests: we do our thing, then pass it off to the UNIX admins, firewall folks, or DBAs to process another portion of the request. Ideally, I'd like to have a web based system where our customers (internal lines of business) can submit their requests, get status, etc. We would also manage a queue of work through a web interface, assigning requests internally or to other teams we work with. Email notifications could be generated when requests are completed."

Round filing cabinet

[maroberts]

..with optional basketball hopop located just above it for an additional challenge when filing requests.

Hallway conversations

[dagnabit]

I just let people ask me questions in the hallway on my way to the break room and stuff. Then I use my superior intellect to forget it all anyway.

If it's really that important, they'll keep bugging me about it until I do something. If it wasn't important, I didn't need to worry about it in the first place.

Don't use...

[TKBui]

Post-it Notes.

e-mail

[sosume]

from: employee #680416
to: it-supplies
subject: 19" flatpanel

Hey guys, can you fix me up with one of them new 19" panels when the new pc shipments come in?

Thanks!

Process this

[sjbe]

I just tell anyone who needs any work done from me to file it in our intranet bugzilla site. Tracks status, assignment, etc.

My computer's down...

Re:Applix and Track

[UrgleHoth]

How is it ok and sucks?

Re:Process this

[xanadu-xtroot.com]

I just tell anyone who needs any work done from me to file it in our intranet bugzilla site. Tracks status, assignment, etc.

> My computer's down...

Send me an email.

Try This

[mslinux]

"Open Door Policy"

Re:e-mail

[WTFmonkey]

from: it-supplies to: Employee #680416 subject: re: 19" flatpanel

Well, we hear from from management that you won't be needing that computer for too much longer anyways, so the monitor's definitely out.

It's been nice working with you!

--Your company's computer guy

BOFH

[pauly_thumbs]

So you want your mailbox qouta expanded?
sure thing
clickety clickety clickety clickety click
there it's contents have now been deleted
plenty of room now
thanks for coming out

In my organization of 10,000 employees...

[Anonymous Coward]

...it is just easier for me to do everything.
(yeah, I'm really tired)

T.

BOFH console

[dattaway]

Here [uni-sb.de] is what the BOFH uses with great success.

Re:Help Request system

[Tin Foil Hat]

I have done this also for a very large organization (as part of a team). We found that the biggest problem was getting people to use it. More often than not, requests continued to come in the old-fashioned way: the customer would send an email to the CEO, who would instruct the CTO, who would instruct the project lead, who would then pass it down to us programmers, who would then fill out the change request forms we designed for the customer at the customer's request.

I don't have a job...

[Anonymous Coward]

... your insensitive clod!

Here's an unlikely idea...

[orthogonal]

How do you manage IT requests in your organization?

Allow each requestor to post his request on something like a bulletin board.

Allow some persons the ability to commend or denigrate a limited number of these posts, making the commended posts more visible and the denigrated posts less visible, by adding to or subtracting from, the post's "priority" points.

Occassionaly award a small number of (say, five) "priority points" to those posters who gain the most priority points from others, allowing these points to be assigned to yet other persons' requests.

Designate different types of "priority points" to distinguish types of requests, but make sure there's some ambiguous overlap: you might include points for requests that are, e.g., "Insightful", "Interesting", "Funny" as positive points, and "Overrated", "Troll", and "Flamebait" as negatives.

Make sure you patrol the request board for goatse.cx posts, and try to limit the number of posts that comapre popular requests to Natalie Portman covered with grits.

Re:bugzilla

[hecky]

You do know their computer is broken, right? What are they supposed to do, dial in with a phone and yell "10010101?"

post-it notes

[killermal]

can't beat em...

Re:HelpSTAR

[itwerx]

I must admit support was very responsive. I don't think I ever had to hold and emails were answered very quickly.

Unfortunately everything we ran into had one of the following responses:
- one of our engineers has been begging for that for a long time(!)
- that's planned for a future release but we don't know when
- nobody's ever mentioned that before, send it to our suggestions email box and we'll consider it

One amusing conversation went something like this (after I noted that none of the emails back and forth had ID #'s).
Me: I'm not seeing incident ID's for anything I ask about, don't you guys use your own software?!?
Them: Yeah we do, we just don't use the email portion of it.
Me: (Dumbfounded) So what do you do, copy and paste everything back and forth?
Them: (slightly shamefaced tone) Yeah, actually, we do...

And not being able to update other tech's incidents via email even if you are set up as a tech yourself struck me as absolutely ridiculous! And no CC allowed on responses even when others were CC'd on the original request! Etc. etc.
Gah! Like I said above, long list of UI issues... (I'll stop now before the men in white coats come to take me away again. :)

Re:Process this

[fyonn]

My computer's down...

you say that, but I once left my work laptop on my desk when I went home (actually, I always left my worklaptop on my desk when I went home) and someone from the IT dept took it and locked it up for safe keeping, and then sent me an email to my corporate account so I'd know where it was...

the absurdity of this did not strike her until I pointed it out

dave