Issue 16, June 8, 2021
This communication was generated by UTHSC Information Technology Services to educate
and inform our campus community about available technology tools, training opportunities,
news, and events that will help you and the university achieve excellence in patient
care, education, research, and community service.
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| IT Incidents vs. IT Service Requests Last issue, we told you what IT Service Management was all about. In this issue, we look at the difference between an IT incident and
an IT service request. A deeper dive into IT Service Management (ITSM), a way of ensuring that what Information
Technology Services does matches what you need, means using the right terminology.
Two key terms are “incident” and “service request.”Per ITIL, the ITSM framework we are using, an incident is an unplanned interruption
to a service or reduction in the quality of a service. In other words, something is
broken and needs to be fixed. For example, your printer has an error message and won’t
print, or your computer can’t get on the network. Incidents are usually unplanned,
have a limited effect on one user or service, and need more immediate resolution.
A service request, on the other hand, is a request for something to be provided. Nothing
is broken; you just need an available service that you weren’t using before. At our
campus, installing a new computer, creating a new listserv, or accessing Banner in
a new role are all examples of service requests. Service requests usually can be planned
and scheduled, and they follow a predefined process.
In our current ticketing system, incidents and service requests are handled much the
same way, which slows resolution. However, our new IT service site, coming in July,
will send service requests straight to the people who can address them, meaning a
quicker return to business for you!
In the coming weeks, you’ll learn more about the services that are available to you,
and the place where you can find them all.
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| The IT Service Catalog The service catalog will provide the following benefits:
- Actionability: Unlike our current IT service catalog, the new catalog allows you to request a service
directly from its service page. Read about it and request it all in one place!
- Faster service: Requests made from the service catalog will go directly to the appropriate technician,
saving triage time and speeding delivery.
- Transparency: Because the service catalog features comprehensive information about each service,
it streamlines communication by eliminating the back-and-forth of asking questions
to understand the offering. Everything you need is right there in the catalog, including
links to related knowledge base articles. (More about the knowledge base next week.)
- Optimization and continual improvement: The service catalog makes it easy to identify the most-used offerings and those that
prove to be not so valuable – enabling ITS to enhance services and better align our
resources where they can provide the most positive impact on the university and you.
Stay tuned as we tell you more exciting information about the new site over the coming
weeks, including the name you chose for it and the date it goes live for you.
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Think That Email is Suspicious? Check the Phish Bowl!
The Phish Bowl is a page where suspicious messages reported to the Office of Cybersecurity are posted
with the verdict if they are legit or a phish.We don’t post every phish here (or the page would be really long), but emails reported
by multiple people will be posted. Check the Phish Bowl to see if you received a known
phishing or legit email.
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Qualtrics Now Available Through May 31, 2026
UTK OIT and UTHSC ITS are happy to announce that the university has signed a new five-year
agreement with Qualtrics. Qualtrics accounts are available for no additional charge
to active faculty, students, and staff for research, academic and administrative use.
You can log in to Qualtrics with your NetID and password through the UTHSC Qualtrics login. We have removed all response limits from existing Qualtrics accounts.
Why Qualtrics?
The decision to re-establish a contract with Qualtrics comes after a rigorous evaluation
of web survey providers and a formal competitive bid process as required by the state.
A committee composed of faculty, students, and staff from all campuses evaluated the
technical proposals on their merit. The committee agreed that Qualtrics was best positioned
to help the university achieve its goals.
QuestionPro was made available in 2018 when Qualtrics pricing almost doubled, and
UT sought a comparable yet more economical alternative. However, over the past four
years, faculty, students, and staff have expressed that while QuestionPro can meet
most survey needs, many necessary features are currently only available in Qualtrics.
QuestionPro will remain available until May 31, 2022.
If you have questions or need help developing web surveys, visit our Survey webpage. If you need additional assistance, please submit a request by emailing helpdesk@uthsc.edu or by calling the Helpdesk at 901.448.2222 to set up an appointment with one of our
staff.
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Microsoft has some excellent training courses we recommend:
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Plan and Connect with Microsoft To Do
If you want to plan your day and tasks, watch this 2-minute video about Microsoft To Do. To get to this app, go to http://o365.uthsc.edu/. You may be required to login with your NetID and validate with Duo. Click on the
 icon on the left and search for To Do.
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Email
Creating a New Folder
Creating folders in Outlook can help you keep organized. Here are the easy steps
to create a new folder whether you are using Windows, a Mac, or web Outlook:
- Right-click on your Inbox.
- Move your cursor down to New Folder. (web users: choose Create new subfolder)
- Give the folder a meaningful name.
- Press Enter or Return.
Lean 6 Sigma
2021 NCCI Annual Conference  If you love continuous improvement, be sure to register for the 2021 NCCI Annual Conference
on July 21-22. it is virtual and free for UTHSC attendees.
NCCI (Network for Change and Continuous Innovation) focuses on continuous improvement,
organizational development, planning, quality, institutional effectiveness, and related
areas - in other words, everything Lean!
This year's conference promises to be a good one with sessions like A Picture Is Worth More Than 1000 Words: Visualization Revisited, Virtual Collaboration: From Flipcharts to Zoom, and Using Lean Processes and Continuous Improvement Across a Division, Our Story. See all the sessions
Be sure to register today (did we mention it was free?). If you don't have an existing NCCI account, you will
need to create one, but it is super easy (just be sure to use your official UTHSC
email when you register so you won't be charged).
And, most of all - be sure to share this link with coworkers who may be interested in attending - the more, the merrier! (p.s., you get to go for free!). |
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Data Classification – Know What Type of Data You Possess
 Data classification is the process of organizing data into categories for security
purposes. This is so owners and users of data can have clear definitions regarding
their data and how well they need to protect it.
In the news, we hear numerous stories at the national level of leaks of classified information from government agencies, or how classified information was potentially stored improperly. People are routinely asked to sign
confidentiality agreements before starting employment or projects stating that they
will keep confidential the data with which they work.
On a personal level, every single individual is a data owner. Everyone has sensitive
data, such as banking information, health records, or even their social security number.
No one wants to see his or her private information handled in an unsecure manner. Users of that data also have an obligation
to protect the data while it is in their possession.
At the University of Tennessee and UTHSC specifically, policies have been established
to categorize data and protect it based on its categorization. Standard-InfoSec-GP-002-Data & System Classification gives guidance on how to classify data, so owners and custodians of that data know
what security controls are needed.
There are four different levels of classifications of data:
- Classified – information critical to our Nation’s security
- Confidential – any data protected by regulatory, contractual or specialized agreements of understanding
- Private – information that is proprietary, not protected by regulation, contract or agreement
but not open to public scrutiny
- Public – information freely available to the public with no expectation of privacy
This Standard is in support of The University of Tennessee’s Policy IT0115 – Information and Computer System Classification.
IT0115 establishes Federal Information Processing Standard 199 (FIPS 199) as the University’s categorization model. When applying data classification
standards, the severity of the potential impact of a breach must be examined. The
loss of confidentiality, integrity or availability could be expected to have:
- Low impact (FIPS 199 low): limited adverse effect
- Moderate impact (FIPS 199 moderate): serious adverse effect
- High impact (FIPS 199 high): severe or catastrophic adverse effect on organization
operations, organization assets, or individuals
Knowing the classification of data, a person is using is the first and most important
step in knowing what needs to be done to protect that data. To have a deeper discussion,
contact the Office of Cybersecurity at 901-448-1880 or itsecurity@uthsc.edu.
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ITS Spotlight: Billy Barnett
 For each issue, we feature one of our amazing ITS team members. We learn more about
Billy Barnett with our Computing Systems team in this segment.
What is your role and how long have you been in ITS at UTHSC? I started at UTHSC (UT Memphis at the time) as an entry-level programmer over 29 years
ago. I started working with Oracle and database programming and eventually moved into
Database Administration. I currently serve in multiple roles working with enterprise
database applications and research databases.
What is a day in the life of Billy like? A typical day involves addressing any technical issues, ensuring the performance
of our database systems, providing guidance and how-to on various problems, prototyping
and building new database systems, and keeping up with the current trends in Information
Technology.
What is your favorite thing about working at UTHSC? The most enjoyable part of working at UTHSC is working alongside a great team. I also
appreciate how family-oriented UTHSC has always been. I have never missed out on
life's biggest moments with my wife and two boys.
What’s something most people don’t know about you? After receiving my master's degree from the College of Health Professions, I am a
co-instructor with Dr. Madlock-Brown for the Knowledge Management course where we
teach databases and SQL programming. I love working with our students and passing
on my experience to them.
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