Don't be afraid to reorganize

ABSTRACT

One thing we understand in the computer business, if nothing else, is that things change. Manufacturers produce new versions of software and new models of hardware, computer center employees come and go, faculty develop new interests, and even more students want to use the public labs! So why are we surprised when things change in user services? New workshops need to be taught or they need to be offered at different times. For every software package that goes out of use, two or three become popular and need consultant support. One year we obtain funding for a graduate assistant; another year we loose it. Maybe it is not so much that we are surprised that things change in user services. Rather we don't like to admit that when our clientele changes or the college as a whole changes or the whole world changes, we have to change our user services organization to reflect the new reality. Reorganization is work. Hard work. But it has to be done. It is less painful when it can be done incrementally. If we are lucky enough to have our world change slowly and even luckier to see those changes for what they are, we can make the necessary adjustments without having to go through a more extensive reorganization. But that is not our focus here. We are going to deal with broader range changes, the kind that go on over several months in a planned and organized fashion, the kind of reorganization in which everyone is all too painfully aware of what they are going through. This account is based in large part on a personal odyssey. It is told from the point of view of an assistant director for user services and applies best to a smaller school, say 2000 to 4000 full-time students. This is one way to go about reorganizing a user services operation. Some of the recommendations and procedures will apply to your operation; others may serve to give you other ideas. Hopefully many of the observations and recommendations will apply to schools of other sizes but the reader must be the judge of that.

REFERENCES

• 1: Canisius College, one of the 28 American Jesuit colleges and universities, was founded by European Jesuits in 1870 to serve the educational and cultural needs of the Western New York community. Its mission is to offer high quality programs in the arts, sciences, education, and business administration at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. User services at Canisius College supports academic computing (instruction, research, and public labs) and all microcomputers on campus. All of this clearly affects "What we are really trying to do here."
• 2: Sometimes clients complain bex~use we really are giving bad service (not returning phone calls, not following up on more difficult questions, giving the impression we are too busy). Other times we are doing our best with the resources we have but our clients expect something more or something different, and so what we offer is perceived as poor service. But in a service based operation, perception is reality to a large extent. So when we reorganize we sometimes need to consider changes that will not only improve service but also give the perception of improved service.
• 3: This is is the One item that we just could not get to. The consultant handbook was finally written when one of our outstanding consultants graduated and we hired him as a full time programmer analyst. He did an excellent job.

INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.1 MODELS AND PRINCIPLES
      H.1.2 User/Machine Systems
          Subjects: Human factors

Additional Classification:
  K. Computing Milieux
  K.6 MANAGEMENT OF COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS
      K.6.1 Project and People Management
          Subjects: Management techniques (e.g., PERT/CPM); Staffing; Training

General Terms:
Documentation, Human Factors, Management