LTER Network Office presents Request Tracker (Best Practical, LLC

							LTER Network Office
      presents
  Request Tracker
(Best Practical, LLC)
   IM Meeting, 30 July 2004
        What is RT?
RT is an enterprise-grade ticketing
system which enables a group of
people to intelligently and
efficiently manage tasks, issues,
and requests submitted by a
community of users.
                What is RT?
   RT manages key tasks such as the
    identification, prioritization, assignment,
    resolution and notification required by
    enterprise-critical applications including
    project management, help desk, ticketing
    and software development.
              What is RT?
 Written in object-oriented Perl, RT is a
  high-level, portable, platform independent
  system that eases collaboration within
  organizations and makes it easy for them
  to take care of their customers.
 It’s free!
                 Why use RT?
   To respond to several ASM survey
    responses and the LNO site review
    (strategic plan)
       “we have experienced an uneven level of
        response from the Network Office to request
        for information: sometimes the response is
        rapid, sometimes repeated prompting is
        necessary to get a response…”
              Why use RT?
   In 1997, Stephen Hawking and Caltech
    physics professor Kip Thorne made a well-
    publicized bet with a particle physicist,
    John Preskill, that “information swallowed
    by a black hole is forever hidden from the
    outside universe and can never be
    revealed, even as the black hole
    evaporates and completely disappears.”
             Why use RT?
 To   avoid the “blackhole” phenomena
   Where  did my request go?
   Did anybody read my request?
   What is the status of my request?
   Who can I contact about my request?
   Why has my request not been resolved?
   Who has my request now?
        Advantages of using RT
   No requests in staff inboxes (staff member can go on
    vacation)
   Requests can be seen by all staff (requests can be
    handled more quickly)
   Provides history (comments, correspondence, and
    attachments) if new staff member takes ticket or
    requestor inquires about request
   RTFM (RT FAQ Manager) allows for dynamic, persistent
    documentation (no re-inventing the wheel)
   Ability to attach previously written documentation
    (requests can be handled more quickly)
   Provides workflow/project management
   Supervisor can view all the great work you are doing
   Internal Use
     Tracking (progress)
     Documentation
     Approvals
     Status
     New
     Dependencies
     Project management (workflow)
     History
   External use
     Tracking (progress)
     Status
     History
     Documentation
     Contact information
        Status of implementation
   Internal
     Approximately 2 weeks
     Configuration
     Moving tickets from old RT system

   External
     Approximately 1 month
     Interface into system
     Single sign-on