Home Growing Help Desk Software

1
Home Growing Help Desk Software

• Kelly Wainwright
• Bret Ingerman
• Lewis Clark College
• November 9, 1999

2
The Debate

• Commercial vs. Home Grown

3
Commercial

• Pros
• Ready to Use
• Professionally Programmed
• Support Provided
• Documentation
• Consulting
• Knowledgebase Feature

• Cons
• Expense
• Solution doesnt fit all needs
• Platform
• Access
• Situations

4
Home Grown

• Pros
• Customizable
• Cost
• Interesting project for staff programmers

• Cons
• Support
• Time
• Buy-in

5
The Decision

• Try home grown solution first

6
Choosing a Database

• FileMaker Pro
• Cross Platform
• Inexpensive
• Supported on campus
• Web integration possibilities
• Microsoft Access

7
The Process
8
Deciding what is needed

• Involve all members who will be using it from the
  beginning
• Navigation is just as important as information
• Must be scaleable

9
Creating

• Borrow what you can from others
• Iterative Process
• Discuss
• Develop
• Evaluate
• Discuss some more
• Redevelop
• Plan a continual evaluation process

10
The Result
11
Behind the Scenes

• Schedule-it by Amsys
• Filemaker Pro plug-in that runs a FM Pro script
  on a given schedule
• http//www.amsys.co.uk/scheduleit/

12
Other Applications

• Major System upgrades
• Y2K Assessment

13
To Be Done

• Reporting
• Evaluation (again)
• Documentation
• Web-based interface
• FileMaker 5

14
Thank You!

• If you want further information or a copy of the
  software, please leave a business card or contact
  me kelly_at_lclark.edu