Work Term Report: UofG Computing & Communications Services MD

⇘ OVC's former VMI building and Johnston Hall, the two main offices for the CCS MD team

This term I worked for the University of Guelph, under the Computing & Information Service, the central IT department. I worked directly in the Managed Desktops department, which controlled the networked devices on campus. Some fun facts about both CCS and my work term:

• The MD team controls a wide array of machines other than the typical desktops and laptops around campus. I had the opportunity to work on specialty computers, such as the Bloomberg Trading Terminals in the business classrooms, as well as special medical terminals within the veterinary college.
• Early into the term, I was transferred within the team to work within the Ontario Veterinary College, helping with IT work inside both the hospital and its surrounding offices.
• The OVC is one of the largest veterinary schools in the world, and has 2 split IT teams managing all the devices within it, from medical computers to office desktops.
• In the OVC's CCS MD department, I worked alongside coworkers who had worked in the clinic for over 25 years (Before the IT department was even structured within the hospital).

This term, I had decided to give myself a challenge and select 4 goals which I would try to improve on throughout the semester. I will list them and go into a deeper depth below:

• Information Literacy: BMC Footprints
• Technological Literacy: Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager
• Inquiry and Analysis: Processing Client Solutions
• Personal Organization/Time Management

First, I decided I wanted to improve my abilities in the realms of information literacy, being able to efficiently find and collect data to solve problems. Within the CCS department, our common ticketing system was BMC Footprints. It is a site which allows monitoring of tickets, as well as access to a database of previous closed tickets for easy access. I believed it was crucial for me to get used to and understand Footprints to be able to efficiently use my time in solving problems. Being able to search, create, and answer tickets was a core part of the job, and developing the skill would be great not only for me but my team. Having finished the term and having a good base of knowledge of the footprints system has helped me develop skills in data searching and ticket systems in general, easily transferable to any job which provides support for clients or even at a more basic level requires database inquiries. I would say that I had learned this goal to a degree I was very happy with.

Alongside BMC Footprints, the other major software we used within the office was Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager, abbreviated to MECM. MECM is device management software, allowing for remote monitoring, execution, installation, and patching for entire networks of devices. In a digitally interconnected society controlling and monitoring bigger and bigger networks only becomes more common, which is why I planned on using MECM as much as I could for tasks. As part of my technological literacy goal, I focused on learning how to deploy machines to the network, and install and troubleshoot machines remotely over MECM. Alongside Footprints, I used MECM constantly throughout every workday to solve tickets. Device management software such as MECM is found in many sectors, and can be an extremely important skill to have, especially after finding out how quickly it can resolve tasks that would take much more time on site. Overall I would say that I am proficient and succeeded in my goal of learning the basic functions of MECM, understanding its immense power when dealing with networks of devices.

A large part of the work at CCS MD was interacting with clients and understanding what we could do to help them. Problem inquiry and Analysis is a great general skill to have in any industry that has client-provider contact, regardless of the work. Converting worded request to output has always been a point of struggle for me, so I took it upon myself to develop this skill both in person with on site meetings with clients and online through ticket exchanges. The quicker I could understand a clients problem the quicker I could solve it, so it was deeply important for me to develop this skill personally for the job itself as well. Through practice on tickets, this skill got immensely easier, especially when being able to examine past similar problems using my skills in Footprints. I would say my skills in inquiry and analysis have become much better through my practice in office and through tickets.

Reviewing my time this work term, the only goal I did not personally reach to my own standards was the final goal, Personal Organization/Time Management. I had planned to heavily use both calendars and appointments to book my days with clients more efficiently throughout the term, but found myself using it sparsely. While there were many moments of heavy workload due to coworker illness during my term, I don't think this is fully a valid excuse. I have always had struggles keeping a regimented and organized day, and found my old habits continuing into this job. I found myself winging multiple days, trying to schedule on-the-go. Ultimately I could have been much more efficient and could have simplified my work if I had taken the time to regiment my day better. This is something I am working on but will need to be more conscious of in future jobs.

⇘ a view of my office during my time at Johnston Hall

Working within CCS’s Managed Desktops team, our job was to deploy, monitor, and provide support for all network-connected computer devices. This could be as simple as an office laptop, or could be a presentation computer in an examination room of the UofG pathology labs. If it was on the network, we would most-likely handle it. Like mentioned previously, I was shifted within a couple of weeks of starting my position to UofG’s OVC buildings to support the computer infrastructure there. I found it to be a very independent and responsibility-focused position, which I have always been a fan of. I was able to schedule and manage my own days, being able to plan my ticket work on what I believed to be the most efficient.

Another interesting aspect of the position was that I quickly found that most of the skills in programming and the software side of computing were not very applicable, and most work involved hardware troubleshooting. I had some experience with hardware problems in the past, but found myself greatly expanding on my knowledge with every ticket I would do. Hardware systems and troubleshooting problems with hardware was not something extensively covered in classes over the odd mention so the hands-on learning through my tickets quickly brought me up to speed and gradually brought me to love working with it. Over this term I’ve grown a huge interest in the hardware side of things, I've found it super interesting to tinker with computers and diagnose the problems with them.

Overall, I would say that I have learned much this COOP work term, both in the realm of information technology and client interaction. As this was my first COOP term, I was a bit nervous but quickly picked up the work due to the great onboarding and resources from the CCS team. I am confident in saying that I improved greatly on most of my chosen learning goals, alongside getting used to working in a technology-oriented profession, which I had not done before. OVC CCS MD was a very interesting place to work, whether it be seeing the cute animals coming and leaving the clinic, or solving a ticket that stumped even my coworkers, I loved developing myself here.