IT 261 Final Project Guidelines and Rubric
Overview
Imagine that you are a help desk service delivery supervisor (HDSDS) for TechWare, a national software company specializing in integrated financial systems.
TechWare’s main product is an integrated financial systems software for medium- to large-size enterprises called FinWork. Its software package allows
organizations to perform payroll, budgeting, accounting, accounts payable, accounts receivable, cashiering, and other bookkeeping and accounting functions.
The company has over 2,000 clients nationwide and provides fully hosted solutions for approximately 40% of its client base. As part of TechWare’s software
support agreement with its clients, each organization is entitled to technical support for their financial software package (FinWorks). Recently, TechWare has
received an increasing number of complaints from its clients regarding the level of support received from the help desk on technical issues. Hold times to speak
to a technician are longer than before, and help desk requests are also taking longer in general to resolve.
The project is divided into four milestones and a final product, which will be submitted at various points throughout the course to scaffold the learning process
leading to a final product. The milestones will be submitted in Modules Three, Four, Five, and Six. The final product will be submitted in Module Seven.
This project will address the following course outcomes:
Establish key performance indicators and acceptable levels of service for given information technology services
Prevent the degradation of service by establishing performance baselines and monitoring service levels
Recommend opportunities for information technology service improvement that ensure alignment to service-level agreements based on measurement
of current service levels
Develop plans that will facilitate continuous improvement of information technology service and information technology professional communication
Communicate key information technology concepts and solutions effectively to audiences with various levels of information technology experience
Please utilize your text, course learning resources, the Shapiro Library databases, and other reputable sites on the internet as sources of information.
Preparation
1.
2.
3.
4.
Be sure to read this entire document as well as a more detailed description of the milestones in each respective module.
Review the individual rubrics for specific requirements and expectations.
Review the TechWare Service-Level Agreement document and the TechWare Service Metrics document.
After reviewing the assignment requirements, be sure to consider all of the concepts learned throughout the course when preparing your work.
Incorporate these concepts within your project.
Prompt
Your key tasks as supervisor are to evaluate, baseline, and streamline the help desk service currently being provided to clients. You will be responsible for
recommending opportunities for service-level improvement that balance the needs of the client with the realities of successfully addressing information
technology (IT) issues. Ultimately, you will prepare a detailed presentation to communicate your recommendations to help desk staff, team leads, and
management.
Your presentation should address the following prompt: What recommendations would you make to improve the service level and decrease customer
complaints? How did you come to these conclusions, and why is it important to address these issues? Remember, you are presenting to your fellow IT team
members, and as a supervisor, it is important to inspire your team members to follow your lead. Please note that the course project intent is to introduce
students to the ITSM process. For the intended learning and exposure to the course project topics, assumptions can be made and any such assumptions should
be documented.
The completed presentation must include all of the critical elements, in order, listed below.
Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed:
I.
Introduction to your team:
A. Given the client complaints, determine the specific issues that the help desk is facing, and explain how you came to these conclusions.
B. What are some goals and objectives for a successful IT help desk? In other words, what service-level agreement standards or overall service
goals need to be attained in order for the help desk to be considered successful?
II.
Describe what key performance indicators (KPI) will be used to measure and track help desk performance.
III.
Describe the importance of client satisfaction as a measure of IT help desk success, specifically for TechWare.
IV.
Explain how current help desk service-level baselines will be established. Specifically, how will you determine the current level of service and designate it
as acceptable or not acceptable?
A. What stakeholders and user needs should be taken into account?
B. What is considered an acceptable level of service, and should this be static or dynamic?
C. Explain the process you designed for measuring improvement of service. What methods could be used to measure improvements (surveys, call
logs, etc.)? Why is measuring performance improvement useful? What is the reasoning behind your process?
D. Explain how you plan on monitoring service levels to identify improvements or patterns.
V.
Recommend methods to improve IT service levels to comply with service-level agreements (SLA) provided to clients.
A. Summarize the performance requirements as outlined by the clients’ service-level agreements. Why are these important for determining areas
for improvement?
B. Analyze the performance deficiencies and describe their underlying causes. Perform a comparison between current service levels and those
described in the service-level agreement.
C. What recommendations can you provide to improve and resolve the help desk service performance concerns?
D. To what extent would the recommendations you had for improving and resolving help desk service performance concerns be enduring? In other
words, would your recommendations ensure continuous improvement or static improvement, and why? What could you do to instill the
concept of continuous improvement in the work environment?
E. What recommendations can you propose to instill continuous communication improvement within the IT team? For example, how can you
monitor or provide in-house training for your team members on ways to communicate with customers?
VI.
Communication:
A. Use illustrations, analogies, and other didactic tools to express the technology terms used in your presentation to ensure comprehension by
non-technical management staff. Be sure to use the appropriate level of information technology jargon/language to ensure that audiences of
varying levels of IT experience can comprehend your proposal to improve service.
Milestones
Milestone One: Introduction
In Module Three, using PowerPoint (or another tool such as Prezi), create the slides and speaker notes for the first section (critical element I) of the final project.
Below are links that offer helpful tips and examples for developing your presentations:
Making PowerPoint Slides
Beyond Bullet Points: The Better Way to Use PowerPoint
Really Bad PowerPoint and How to Avoid It
This milestone is graded separately with the Milestone One Rubric.
Milestone Two: Metrics
In Module Four, using the PowerPoint file from Milestone One, create new slides and speaker notes for the second and third sections (critical elements II and III)
of the final project. This milestone is graded separately with the Milestone Two Rubric.
Milestone Three: Current Level of Service
In Module Five, using the PowerPoint file from Milestone Two, create new slides and speaker notes for the fourth section (critical element IV) of the final
project. This milestone is graded separately with the Milestone Three Rubric.
Milestone Four: Service-Level Agreement
In Module Six, using the PowerPoint file from Milestone Three, create new slides and speaker notes for the fifth section (critical element V) of the course
project. This milestone is graded separately with the Milestone Four Rubric.
Final Submission: ITSM PowerPoint Presentation
In Module Seven, using feedback from prior milestones, consolidate and finalize your final project. Be sure to consider the communication requirements (critical
element VI) and make appropriate updates to meet these requirements. This submission is graded with the Final Project Rubric.
Deliverables
Milestone
One
Module Due
Three
Grading
Graded separately; Milestone One Rubric
Metrics
Four
Graded separately; Milestone Two Rubric
Three
Current Level of Service
Five
Graded separately; Milestone Three Rubric
Four
Service-Level Agreement
Six
Graded separately; Milestone Four Rubric
Seven
Graded separately; Final Project Rubric
Two
Deliverables
Introduction
Final Submission: ITSM PowerPoint
Presentation
Final Project Rubric
Guidelines for Submission: You have two options for submission of this project:
1. Submit a PowerPoint presentation (or use another tool such as Prezi): If you choose to submit a presentation, you must include speaker notes. These
notes should be written as you would speak to your audience, and they will be used to assess your attention to each of the critical elements listed in the
prompt. There are several links provided that will help you create an audience-appropriate presentation and notes.
2. Presentation Recording: Your second option is to record yourself giving your presentation. You must make sure that each slide of your presentation is
visible so that your instructor can view the presentation for evaluation. With this option, you must ensure that the instructor can hear you verbally
present your project as well. You may record yourself standing in front of a room (it can even be an empty room) as you work your way through your
project (requiring a webcam and recording software, as in this video example), or you can use tools such as Jing or Camtasia so that you can click
through your presentation directly on your computer while capturing your verbal explanations. Using Jing or Camtasia will probably be the easier option
for recording your presentation, as it will require less in terms of technology and resources.
Critical Elements
Key Issues
Exemplary (100%)
Meets “Proficient” criteria and
provides specific detail and
support regarding the source
of the issues
Proficient (85%)
Accurately determines the
specific issues that the help
desk is facing according to the
scenario
Goals and Objectives
Meets “Proficient” criteria, and
established goals show keen
insight into the needs of the
scenario or provides
particularly strong support for
the established goals
Meets “Proficient” criteria, and
KPIs are particularly relevant
given the scenario and can
provide the basis for a full plan
for improving IT service
Establishes and supports
reasonable service goals for a
successful IT help desk
Key Performance
Indicators (KPI)
Establishes KPIs based on the
scenario and identified issues
that could be logically used as
the basis for improvement of
service levels
Needs Improvement (55%)
Determines the specific issues
that the help desk is facing, but
with gaps in accuracy or lack of
necessary detail around what
the scenario indicates
Establishes goals, but not all
goals are reasonable for a
successful help desk, or does
not provide relevant support
for the importance of the
established goals
Establishes KPIs, but not all
KPIs are based on the scenario
and identified issues, or not all
KPIs could be logically used as
the basis for service level
improvement
Not Evident (0%)
Does not determine the
specific issues that the help
desk is facing
Value
4
Does not describe what key
performance indicators will be
used to measure and track
help desk performance with
adequate detail
6
Does not establish KPIs
6
Importance
Stakeholders and User
Needs
Acceptable Level of
Service
Meets “Proficient” criteria, and
support includes exceptional
examples with scenariospecific context and
professional or scholarly
sources that highlight the
organizational “big-picture”
importance
Meets “Proficient” criteria, and
explanations show keen insight
into the end users and
stakeholders that must be
considered, with specific
examples from the scenario
Meets “Proficient” criteria, and
reasoning is driven by the
scenario, so all conclusions fall
within the appropriate context
Measuring
Improvement
Meets “Proficient” criteria, and
defense of process includes
relevant and reliable resources
and examples
Monitoring Service
Levels
Meets “Proficient” criteria, and
defense includes relevant and
reliable resources and
examples on how the process
would prevent degradation
Describes the importance of
client satisfaction as a measure
of IT help desk success with
relevant support from scenario
and external sources
Describes the importance of
client satisfaction as a measure
of IT help desk success, but
lacks relevant support from
scenario and external sources
Does not describe the
importance of client
satisfaction as a measure of IT
help desk success
7
Explains in detail the
stakeholders and user needs
that should be considered
when determining acceptable
levels of service
Explains the stakeholders and
user needs that should be
considered when determining
acceptable levels of service,
but lacks detail
Does not explain the
stakeholders and user needs
that should be considered
when determining acceptable
levels of service
6
Accurately identifies and
explains the level and nature
(static or dynamic) of
acceptable service monitoring
with logical reasoning
Establishes and defends the
process designed for improving
service and the methods that
could be used to measure
improvements in accordance
with established KPIs and
acceptable service levels
Identifies and explains the
level and nature of acceptable
service monitoring, but with
gaps in accuracy or logic
Does not identify and explain
the level and nature of
acceptable service monitoring
with logical explanation
6
Establishes and defends the
process designed for improving
service and the methods that
could be used to measure
improvements; however,
process is not always in
accordance with established
KPIs and acceptable service
levels
Establishes and defends a
process for monitoring service
levels, but the process may not
prevent the degradation of
service
Does not establish and defend
the process designed for
improving service and the
methods that could be used to
measure improvements
4
Does not establish and defend
a process for monitoring
service levels
7
Establishes and defends a
process for monitoring service
levels that could prevent the
degradation of service
Performance
Requirements
Meets “Proficient” criteria and
provides specific examples and
support from SLA and the
scenario
Accurately summarizes the
performance requirements as
outlined by the clients’ servicelevel agreements (SLAs) and
the importance of those
requirements for identifying
areas for improvement
Performance
Deficiencies
Meets “Proficient” criteria, and
determined deficiencies are
supported with information
from the scenario
Recommendations
Meets “Proficient” criteria and
provides specific detail that
links the recommendations to
the scenario, current service
levels, and supporting
evidence to formulate logical
conclusions
Logically compares current
service levels and those
described in the service-level
agreement to accurately
determine areas of
performance deficiency
Provides recommendations to
address identified deficiencies
that could logically improve
and resolve the help desk
service performance concerns
based on current service levels
Continuity of
Recommendations
Meets “Proficient” criteria, and
the accompanying support
evidences how and why the
recommendations are
appropriate for the given
scenario
Assesses the extent to which
the previous recommendations
would be enduring and alters
recommendations to ensure
continuous improvement of IT
service within the scenario
environment with support
Continuous
Communication
Improvement
Meets “Proficient” criteria and
provides real-world evidence
such as scholarly resources and
common management
strategies with specific
examples
Recommends methods for
continuous communication
improvement within the IT
team based on evidence of
prior success and proven
strategies
Summarizes the performance
requirements as outlined by
the clients’ service-level
agreements (SLAs) and the
importance of those
requirements for identifying
areas for improvement, but
with gaps in accuracy
Compares current service
levels and those described in
the service-level agreement to
determine areas of
performance deficiency, but
with gaps in logic or accuracy
Provides recommendations to
address identified deficiencies
based on current service
levels, but does not address all
of the deficiencies identified,
or not all recommendations
would logically improve and
resolve the help desk service
performance concerns
Assesses the extent to which
the previous recommendations
would be enduring and alters
recommendations, but
alterations may not ensure
continuous improvement, or
there is insufficient support for
the assessment of
recommendation endurance
Recommends methods for
continuous communication
improvement within the IT
team, but those methods are
not based on prior success or
proven strategies
Does not summarize the
performance requirements as
outlined by the clients’ servicelevel agreements (SLAs) and
the importance of those
requirements for identifying
areas for improvement
4
Does not compare current
service levels and those
described in the service-level
agreement to determine areas
of performance deficiency
6
Does not provide
recommendations to address
identified deficiencies based
on current service levels
8
Does not assess the extent to
which the previous
recommendations would be
enduring and does not alter
the recommendations
8
Does not recommend methods
for continuous communication
improvement within the IT
team
8
Illustrations,
Analogies, and Jargon
Meets “Proficient” criteria, and
communication acts as an
example of proper
communication within the IT
service industry
Articulation of
Response
Submission is free of errors
related to citations, grammar,
spelling, syntax, and
organization and is presented
in a professional and easy-toread format
Uses logical illustrations,
analogies, and jargon
appropriately to express the
technology terms used in the
presentation to ensure
comprehension by nontechnical management staff
Submission has no major
errors related to citations,
grammar, spelling, syntax, or
organization
Uses logical illustrations,
analogies, and jargon to
express the technology terms
used in the presentation, but
not always appropriately given
the non-technical staff needs
Does not use logical
illustrations, analogies, and
jargon to express the
technology terms used in the
presentation
10
Submission has major errors
related to citations, grammar,
spelling, syntax, or
organization that negatively
impact readability and
articulation of main ideas
Submission has critical errors
related to citations, grammar,
spelling, syntax, or
organization that prevent
understanding of ideas
10
Total
100%
Rubric Annotations
Term
Provides specific
detail and support
Particularly strong
support
Particularly relevant
KPIs
“Big-picture”
importance
Definition/Additional Context
Such as specifying the result of customer complaints, what is related to communication issues, and how students came
to the conclusion based on the scenario information
Support evidences both direct relevance to the scenario and insight into the deficiencies/areas of improvement of IT
service industry, for example.
KPIs are strong enough to be used as the basis for the plan for improvement and the guidelines for measuring progress
and align to the organizational mission and standards.
Not only are the description and support relevant for the particular scenario and IT service, but they also highlight the
importance of service levels for the overall organization. Basically, students are able to view from the “management”
perspective of IT service.
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Please utilize your text, course learning resources, the Shapiro Library Multi-Search tool, and other reputable sites on the internet as sources of information.
Using PowerPoint, create the slides and speaker notes for the first section (critical element 1) of the final project.
1.
Introduction to your team:
a) Given the client complaints, determine the specific issues that the help desk is facing, and explain how you came to these conclusions.
b) What are some goals and objectives for a successful IT help desk? In other words, what service-level agreement standards or overall service
goals need to be attained in order for the help desk to be considered successful?
Please note that the course project intent is to introduce students to the ITSM process. For the intended learning and exposure to the course project topics,
assumptions can be made and any such assumptions should be documented.
Guidelines for Submission: College-level writing is expected. Submissions should be free of major grammatical and/or spelling errors.
Critical Elements
Key Issues
Value
50
Exemplary (100%)
Meets "Proficient” criteria and
provides specific detail and
support regarding the source of
the issues
Proficient (85%)
Accurately determines the
specific issues that the help
desk is facing according to the
scenario
Not Evident (0%)
Does not determine the specific
issues that the help desk is
facing
Needs Improvement (55%)
Determines the specific issues
that the help desk is facing, but
with gaps in accuracy or lack of
necessary detail around what
the scenario indicates
Establishes goals, but not all
goals are reasonable for a
successful help desk, or does
not provide relevant support
for the importance of the
established goals
Goals and Objectives
40
Establishes and supports
reasonable service goals for a
successful IT help desk
Does not describe what key
performance indicators will be
used to measure and track help
desk performance with
adequate detail
Meets "Proficient” criteria, and
established goals show keen
insight into the needs of the
scenario IT service help desk or
provides particularly strong
support for the established
goals
Submission demonstrates no
errors related to organization,
grammar and style, and
citations (if needed)
10
Writing
(Mechanics,
Citations,
Formatting)
Submission demonstrates minor Submission demonstrates some
errors related to organization, errors related to organization,
grammar and style, and
grammar and style, and
citations (if needed)
citations (if need)
Submission demonstrates major
errors related to organization,
grammar and style, and
citations (if needed)
Earned Total
Southern New Hampshire University
Final Project Milletone One Rubric: Introduction
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Southern New Hampshire University
IT 261 Final Project Milestone One Rubric: Introduction
Before you begin preparations for Milestone One, be sure you have read the Final Project Document, which provides an overview of the instructions,
expectations, and grading criteria for the project as a whole. This document is available for review in the Assignment Guidelines and Rubrics section of the
course.
Please utilize your text, course learning resources, the Shapiro Library Multi-Search tool, and other reputable sites on the internet as sources of information.
Using PowerPoint, create the slides and speaker notes for the first section (critical element I) of the final project.
1.
Introduction to your team:
a) Given the client complaints, determine the specific issues that the help desk is facing, and explain how you came to these conclusions.
b) What are some goals and objectives for a successful IT help desk? In other words, what service-level agreement standards or overall service
goals need to be attained in order for the help desk to be considered successful?
Please note that the course project intent is to introduce students to the ITSM process. For the intended learning and exposure to the course project topics,
assumptions can be made and any such assumptions should be documented.
Guidelines for Submission: College-level writing is expected. Submissions should be free of major grammatical and/or spelling errors.
Value
Critical Elements
Key Issues
50
Exemplary (100%)
Meets "Proficient” criteria and
provides specific detail and
support regarding the source of
the issues
Proficient (85%)
Accurately determines the
specific issues that the help
desk is facing according to the
scenario
Not Evident (0%)
Does not determine the specific
issues that the help desk is
facing
Needs Improvement (55%)
Determines the specific issues
that the help desk is facing, but
with gaps in accuracy or lack of
necessary detail around what
the scenario indicates
Establishes goals, but not all
goals are reasonable for a
successful help desk, or does
not provide relevant support
for the importance of the
established goals
40
Establishes and supports
reasonable service goals for a
successful IT help desk
Goals and Objectives Meets "Proficient" criteria, and
established goals show keen
insight into the needs of the
scenario IT service help desk or
provides particularly strong
support for the established
Does not describe what key
performance indicators will be
used to measure and track help
desk performance with
adequate detail
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