Time Management 1

[MattWray]

I am one of 2 Network Admins at my work. I am looking for the procedures that everyone follows trying to keep track of all your projects. In that, I mean helping different users with their problems, patching servers and routers, designing new solutions etc.

My problem is that I often get pulled off something that I am in the middle of, and don't get to finish what I start.

We also are interested in how others define their time. We obviously can't keep a time sheet of from 8-8:15 helped Bob with E-mail, from 9-10 upgraded certain app etc. What are y'all doing to prove your worth to Mgmt?

I sometimes get the feeling that they (users and mgmt) think we just hang out in the back and play video games! If only that were true!

Apologies if this is hard to follow, words are not my strong point!

Thanks,

Matt Wray

GFH

http://www.sss-steel.com

 

[xmsre]

A trouble ticket system like remedy or clarify.

 

[willir]

Matt

Does your net admin job also include the desktop hat, or do they work with you?

As stated by xmsre[/blue], a way of tracking your calls is helpful. If Remedy is too pricy, you can use an in-house Access database. In-house lets you taylor it to your needs. Ticketing systems tend to be orientated to tracking a specific ticket to make sure the work for the task is closed in time to meet a service level agreement.

Although I do use a central ticketing system which is shared by many sites to meet corporate requriements, I still like to track my work locally because it allows me to work with other local techs -- we add to the ticket, make comments. Also allows us to see what work was done on a server or how many machines have been upgraded. Useful also for tracking hours worked and can be used to see what types of problem took up most of your time.

The real neat thing about a support database is that it can become your site administration manual -- document "how to" (shut down the Notes server), what devices use what IP addresses, the obsecure command used maybe twice a year to restart a process control workstation.

In a nut shell
- tracking system to allow the two of you know what has been done to what, and whre you are in a certain project
- documentation that is useful to you.

Added bonus
You can also use this type of database to track outages. This is a bonus because now you can report to management that servers were up for XX.X% of the time - a useful statistic during review. Ditto for reporting on number of calls, achievements, etc.

Next, support...
It is extremely disrupted to be pulled off to "save the day" - fight the fires, when you are trying to design a new system to prevent the fires. Can the two of you take turns on project work and support work? My week to focus, and your week to handle support type of thing. (If you are 24x7, then swapping the pager is still a pain in the butt) By getting periods to focus on projects without distractions tends to help in effeciency. And being proactive in a controlled manner tends to be more effecient than fighting fires in a chaotic environment.

 

[AnanthaP]

First a clear categorisation:
--> affects an individual,
----> affects a work group,
------> affects a site,
--------> affects the enterprise.

Next a priority for actions:
--> Fix a known bug / necessary patch,
----> User claims standstill and you are obliged to go check it out.
------> Committed by your group.
--------> New assignments. (last!?!)

Also:
Who pulls you off in the middle of your assignment. It is not done. Talk to the person who pulls you off (presumably your boss) and agree with him that you shouldn't be pulled off. However, if you find that your time to repair invaribaly doesn't meet the bosses's expectation, you should try to find out why it is so. A major time spend for a support group is time spent in filling up paper logs and summaries, release notes etc. Also wrong calls. Invariably bosses assume that this type of stuff happens by magic and doesn't need to get accounted for.

End

 

[MattWray]

Does your net admin job also include the desktop hat, or do they work with you?

Yes, I do the Helpdesk as well.

Can the two of you take turns on project work and support work?

I need to elaborate more. I handle more of the network and Windows side of the house. I take care of the Windows servers, routers, cabling, as well as helpdesk-type stuff.

My boss, the other admin, takes care of our UNIX-based business app. This is a mission critical app, that she has to work on constantly. She also handles all the database-type stuff, which I don't know how to do <yet>.

The real neat thing about a support database is that it can become your site administration manual -- document "how to" (shut down the Notes server), what devices use what IP addresses, the obsecure command used maybe twice a year to restart a process control workstation.

Can you elaborate more on how you do this? It sounds like something that would work real well for us...

Thanks to all,

Thanks,

Matt Wray

GFH

http://www.sss-steel.com

 

[EBGreen]

I have had similar problems. I wrote an HTA that I can use. Whenever someone wants me to change tasks, I just open the app and select the new task from a dropdown or add it to the dropdown. At the end of the week I generate and print a summarized report of my weeks activities. I've often shocked my boss with the variety of things he tasks me with during a typical week.

[blue]"Well, once again my friend, we find that science is a two headed beast. One head is nice, it gives us aspirin and other modern conveniences,...but the other head of science is BAD! Oh, beware the other head of science, Arthur; it bites!!" - The Tick[/blue]

 

[willir]

How many users? How many servers? Are you in a production or office environment, 24x7 or 8x5? Are the desktops standardized or taylored to the user's needs? Can users install their own software or are is the desktop locked down? How mature is the operation -- well developed or ...

Answers to these questions will indicate how reactive you have to be in your job. Obviously a more standardized desktop will reduce the amount of support requried.

Unix admin and especially DBA stuff may require a fair bit to catch up on - I made this mistake once - got burned. But it is a great way to increase your skill set.

 

[chiph]

Something that's pretty simple is to carry around a notebook (the paper kind) and write down stuff that you do as you do it. It becomes a daily diary that you can then use to record your time when you get back to your desk, and as a permanent record you can show your boss: "See! I wasn't goofing off after all!"

Chip H.


If you want to get the best response to a question, please check out FAQ222-2244 first

 

[philote]

I've created a simple help database like willir suggested. I'm more using it to document how I solved the problems than to keep track of my tasks, but I think I may update it to better support the latter. It's web-based so I can use it from any computer. Basically I just have some categories, for example 'E-mail', 'Hardware', 'Windows', and 'Office'. When I get a new problem, I enter a description of it and associate it with a category and a user, if applicable. When I make progress on the problem, I can add notes to it. Each time I add a note, I can also put a check in a box to say that the problems been resolved or not. Later, I can search by user, category, resolved status, and even for specific words. A date is kept for the creation of each problem and each note added to that problem. Like I said, it's simple, but being the sole IT admin in a small company it's all I need. The hardest part of using it is of course remembering to log the problems and their associated notes.

 

[willir]

philote

Good job philote. As your database morphs, you will find that like TomThumbKP and chiph, not only does tracking your tasks help you share and focus on your work, but it is a great tool for consolidating your achievements for your performance reviews.

I like the fact that your is web based.

 

[philote]

Thanks, willir. I made the app web-based not only so I could access it from anywhere, but also so my users can go there first if they have a problem and see if it has already been encountered and solved. Of course, I've only trained the more advanced users to actually do so.

I haven't been using my problem tracking app to keep track of projects I'm working on, but I think it'll work well for that with little or no changes.

 

[Bealy]

I think you need a couple of important things -
1. Change Management Forms
2. Incident Report Forms
3. EDMS or good email tracking system
4. Helpdesk software with the ability to report stats
5. Written Procedures

Another handt thing I do is merge all of my major long and short term projects into one interface eg Excel. I find that it ties together our HelpDesk, EDMS and email tasks in one GUI. A bit manual but really effective.

Hope it Helps

Bealy