Keeping your Extension support requests organized

One of the joys of being in a big organization like Extension and the University is learning to navigate all the systems. One system we get a lot of questions about are help tickets. 

Extension uses two main systems for help tickets, and you decide where to start depending on the type of help you need. (The Forms page on the Intranet is a good place to find ways to open help tickets.)

1. Team Dynamix is the help ticket tool used by ELT, the Extension Web Team, central (UMN) OIT, and parts of central HR and central Finance.
2. Smartsheets is the help ticket tool used uniquely for Extension's regional support requests.

What if I use the "wrong" help ticket form?

Believe it or not, right to jail. 

Ha. The worst that happens is you get quickly and politely directed to the correct form. We just want you to end up in the place where your request is best taken care of! 

Can I see what I've submitted?

OK so I can't even remember if I closed the garage door some mornings. Remembering if I submitted the help ticket like I meant to? Pffffft, forget about it. We have two ways you can check on your help tickets.

In the Team Dynamix "client portal". After logging in, you can see any open tickets you have. Again, this system is primarily used by ELT, the Web Team, central OIT, and some other central units.

To see your submitted tickets for regional support in Smartsheets, we have a different procedure. Every Friday at 3 p.m., an email is triggered that sends you all of your open help tickets. The email subject is "Summary of all your open RSS requests."

Note especially the "Assigned to" column, which gives you a person you can reach out to directly if you have any concerns. Also, the right most column includes any notes made about your request.

If you have an urgent question about your help ticket and aren't sure who to contact, email exttech@umn.edu and we would be glad to connect you with someone who can help!

But I hate forms and just like to email someone.

This is not a good way to get reliable support. If the person that you email is out, you will have to wait until they are back online, and maybe that person isn't even the right person in the first place. If the help you need is available using a system or form, the professional and considerate way to request it is to use the intended method. 

Conclusion

I hope that helps ease a little of the day-to-day struggle that can result from working somewhere that may have more ticket systems than makes sense! Feel free to reach out if you have any follow-up questions!