Author: Maya Mishra
Maya is a student employee with Technology Services.
The Enterprise IT Service Catalog continues to grow as a foundational resource supporting Boldly Illinois’ vision for coordinated and user-centered technological services. Led by the IT Enterprise Service Management and Office, the IT ESMO team has recently reached a major milestone with the successful completion of its second phase in December.
Several campus partners have contributed to phase two, including Applied Technologies for Learning in the Arts & Sciences, Center for Innovation in Teaching & Learning, the College of Media, Illinois Extension, the Institute for Genomic Biology and Technology Services. Their submissions have helped the IT ESMO capture a broader and more accurate picture of the IT services available at the U of I.
Phase two: Expanding unit coverage
The first phase of the Enterprise IT Service Catalog focused on launching the platform and documenting enterprise-level services (offerings which are available to users across campus, such as Canvas @ Illinois and Computer Based Proctoring). With the second phase, the service catalog has since expanded to include unit-level offerings that can support specialized needs within individual colleges, departments and administrative units.
These additions are critical to the long-term vision for the catalog. At present, unit level offerings are not yet publicly visible while ESMO works to build the unit level catalog views. This approach helps to prevent any confusion for users who may see offerings that they are not eligible for and avoids overwhelming units with requests for support from outside of their intended audiences. In the meantime, ESMO is collecting and documenting unit level offerings to support the development of service portfolios while also aiding in the design and structure of the future unit level catalog view. Once those views are established as a part of phase three, identity based access will be implemented so that the catalog can implement a users NetID affiliations in their search to display offerings that they are eligible to access.
Beyond expanding catalog content, Phase Two also strengthened campus partnerships and relied on service owners to contribute to their individual expertise. The collaborative process ensured that service information was accurate and representative of the work happening across campus.
The catalog itself is designed to evolve over time. As new services are introduced, existing offerings will be updated, and outdated services retired. ESMO will continue working with providers to maintain a living and dynamic resource for all.
What’s next for the catalog?
Looking ahead, ESMO will continue to collect unit-level and enterprise-level offerings for more units while also establishing a review cycle to help keep things current and reliable.
A major focus of the next phase will be piloting unit-level catalog views in TeamDynamix (also called TDX), an IT Service Management (ITSM) platform used by many service providers within the University. As of now, TDX displays many enterprise-level offerings. This new integration, however, will make use of a client’s identity to appropriately display offerings eligible to them. The TDX integration will be built as part of a pilot with the IT Partners at the Gies College of Business and will help to refine how users can interact with and navigate catalog content tailored specifically to their organization.
ESMO’s other impacts
The Enterprise IT Service Catalog is one part of ESMO’s broader work to strengthen service management practices across the U of I. Besides their work on the catalog, the team has also recently helped bring IT Infrastructure Library 4 Foundation training to 106 IT professionals and leaders. ESMO’s partnership with campus units has aided in developing incident management and service request management best practices to help guide IT standards to a common ground.
Together, these efforts all come together and support an advanced level of enterprise IT service delivery and create a stronger university overall.