USS team unveils new name, support process, and tools

About 75 Omni CMS editors gathered November 14, 2023, for news and updates by the Content Management & Usability team in UIT’s University Support Services.

Director Barb Iannucci kicked off the Lunch and Learn event, held in Marriott Library’s Gould Auditorium, with a refresher on what her team does, laying the foundation for a big announcement. Iannucci and her team support three web tools (FormAssembly, OmniCMS, and Trumba); provide training, self-help resources, consulting, best practice guidance; design custom websites and web applications; and conduct usability testing.

In short, they do a lot more than content management, and the team's name should reflect that, Iannucci said. Content management, she noted, is an industry-specific term that doesn’t necessarily resonate with her customers. And although many people refer to the team as the “OU Admins,” OmniUpdate has had a new name for a while now (Omni CMS) and it’s not the only tool they manage.

“We thought we would try to make it a bit more straightforward and simpler. So, we are officially changing our name to Web Support & Usability,” she said, receiving a round of applause.

The team also updated its email address to websupport@lists.utah.edu to reflect the name change. Although customers can still contact the team for support via email, Iannucci said they are moving to a ServiceNow-based ticketing system (login required). ServiceNow, the university’s common service management platform, provides a way for users to report service issues, submit work orders, and access open and past incident tickets and service requests.

“ServiceNow will make [our support process] a little bit more streamlined. My team won't have to juggle an email list, and it'll be a lot easier for our customers and us to manage requests and tickets,” she said.

Other updates from the team:

• They have refreshed their website, making it easier and more intuitive to use.
• They have created a design library with preconfigured page layouts and elements that can be modified for your needs. To request a page layout for your site, please submit a ticket via ServiceNow or email.
• They are developing a faculty and staff directory in coordination with University Faculty Information & Support, which oversees faculty activity data like Faculty Activity Reporting (FAR), Faculty Profiles, and Find a Researcher. The goal, Iannucci said, is to make it easier to build and control staff directories, without having to edit them manually or asking faculty to submit/manage their information in two places.
• They are developing profile pages, frequently asked questions (FAQ) pages, and job openings pages.
• They plan to create video tutorials for the tools they support.
• They need more people, especially graduate students right now, to help with usability testing. Participants receive incentives like gift cards for their feedback. For more information or to sign up, please visit this usability studies webpage.

“Our overarching goal is to empower our web editors to create web content that is both visually engaging and user-friendly, ultimately improving the university’s online presence,” Iannucci told web editors.

 

Node 4 Search