After 15 years of using a management system, the IT Division is finally getting an upgrade.

The new system, called Team Dynamics, is a service package that allows the IT division to do service management through one central location. The new system is a complete service and project management system that went live Aug. 1.

The new system allows clients to enter requests at either the IT front desk located on the third floor of Mass Media and Technology Hall, by phone, through chat or the service catalog.

Lori Douglas, IT division director, said they outgrew the old system.

“We utilized the homegrown system until it didn’t meet our needs anymore, that’s when we said we needed something that could handle our capabilities,” she said. “Now IT is not only on the service desk side; utilizing it for tickets and just everyday request problems from users, but it is also tracking major projects on campus.”

Douglas said projects being tracked by the new system include construction projects and particular rooms in need of service.

Users of the new system can go in and request help and troubleshoot problems. A ticket is generated for the appropriate group to resolve the problem.

“When they login they can see the ticket that is associated with them and anything they entered in the past and entered now,” Douglas said.

Douglas said IT loves the new system and this program is more interactive.

“The client and the division can interact with this person’s case,” she said. “They enter it, we might send them an email with information and they can reply with the email and it will go into the tracking system.”

Helpdesk Coordinator Charles Plemons also said he likes the new system.

“It gives us one place where we can store information about clients,” he said. “And about what they need and be able to send it out to anywhere within the IT Division that needs to be able to service that request.”

Plemons said the new system integrates with more systems that are already in use on campus and gives IT a lot more flexibility.

“Some of the services we added that weren’t on there before have been the ones people have used the most,” he said. “People have really responded well to the new system.”

Plemons said students can register their game consoles now by filling out the online registration on IT’s website, rather than calling.

He also encouraged students to give feedback on the IT website about what they would like to see in the new system.

“There’s nothing that’s better than getting feedback from the actual people that use the system,” he said.

Nick Schoenbaechler, desktop support consultant, said he also thinks the system works well and gives clients transparency.

“When they call and have an issue they can more easily see their status or request for service,” he said. “We have seen more people excited about the way it works, and it’s a lot more straightforward and intuitive.”