Category: Methodology

Prioritization in Support: Tickets, Slack, issues, and more

I mentioned in my GitLab reflection that prioritization has been quite different working in Support compared to other previous work I’ve done. In most of my previous work, I’ve had to take “desk shifts” but those are discreet where you’re focused on providing customer service during that period of time and you can focus on other things the rest of the time.

In Support, we have to constantly balance all the different work that we have, especially in helping to ensure that tickets are responded to within the Service Level Agreement (SLA).

It doesn’t always happen, but I ultimately try to reach inbox 0 (with read-only items possibly left), and GitLab to-do 0 by the end of the every week. People often ask me how I manage to do that, so hopefully this provides a bit of insight. Continue reading “Prioritization in Support: Tickets, Slack, issues, and more”

Implementing the “Nearly Limitless Pilot” and Adding the “Express TV” Collection

There are a couple of big projects that I did during my last job that I still hadn’t posted about, so I apologize to those who have been waiting to hear.

Two of the big projects I lead was to add a new Express TV DVD collection, and almost at the same time (launched 2 weeks apart), revamp our circulation rules for loan periods, loan limits, hold limits, and renewals. Continue reading “Implementing the “Nearly Limitless Pilot” and Adding the “Express TV” Collection”

Technical Services: Rationale and Benefits of a Workflow Review

I have been doing a bunch of work in reviewing workflows and implementing new or changes to existing workflows, especially in Technical Services. In the process, I have been asked not only about the process I went through, but the rationale and value in doing such an exercise, especially for organizations where most Technical Services work has been outsourced. So just thought I’d jot down some thoughts. Continue reading “Technical Services: Rationale and Benefits of a Workflow Review”

Reviewing and Improving Workflow and Productivity: Methods and Tools

Most of our libraries and organizations have been around for numerous years, sometimes hundreds. Often that means many processes are created, changed as needed, and left in place long past their due date. Unfortunately, that means we are frequently working inefficiently, following old processes or cobbled together workflows.

The first part of the presentation will suggest methods for understanding and reviewing workflow. In the second half, we will take a look at various simple and lightweight tools and ways to use them to make work more efficient, especially in processing text, files, and data in batches.

Originally titled Tools, Tips, and Tricks to Making Work More Efficient. This webinar was presented for Florida Library Webinars on March 8, 2017. https://floridalibrarywebinars.org/events/16003/ Continue reading “Reviewing and Improving Workflow and Productivity: Methods and Tools”