MAIS
Sara HenryMin HuSarvagya KochakRay WallingCheryl Whitfield
Background: About MAIS
University of Michigan Administrative Information Services
Organization that manages the integrated, University-wide information systems
Ex. Wolverine Access
About the Unit Liaison Program
102 units Including colleges, schools, health centers, regional campuses, central business offices, institutes
Over 200 unit liaisons (ULs) Provide information from MAIS to their respective department’s
users Relay information on system changes and upgrades to the
department’s users
Unit Liaison Coordinator (ULC) Is the main contact within MAIS for the ULs
Project Focus
Analyze communication flow between MAIS and the Unit Liaisons
Current forms of communication: UL Meetings Emails (targeted and personalized) Website Help Desk
Objectives Assess the effectiveness of the current communication process Develop recommendations on how this communication process
can be improved
Data Collection and Analysis
Initial meeting with clients Attended one UL meeting Conducted interviews
6 Unit Liaison interviews Interviewed the Unit
Liaison Coordinator Analysis
Interpretation Sessions Consolidated Sequence
Model Individual Models Affinity Walkthrough
Key Findings
Importance of UL meeting
ULs are not sure who to contact with questions and often rely on the help desk for this purpose
Targeted emails can be difficult to understand or to read
Recommendation #1
Finding Importance of UL Meetings
Evidence A few ULs believe the meetings are “dry” All Six ULs interviewed use meetings as main source
of information “Rarely misses meetings unless on vacation” “I always go to meetings…they are wonderful” Some ULs use the website to refer back to slides or
handouts from the UL meeting
Recommendation #1 (cont.)
RecommendationCreate a podcast of UL meetings
BenefitsMore detailed reference tool for ULs If can’t attend meeting, then they could use
this tool
Recommendation #2
Finding When faced with questions, several ULs just call the
help desk
Evidence Four out of six ULs rely frequently on the Help Desk One UL notes “it is so much easier to call the help
desk” Other two ULs feel that they know more about their
user needs than the help desk
Recommendation #2 (cont.)
Recommendations Short Term: Educate ULs on MAIS structure and appropriate
contacts (create a contact list) Long Term: Create a UL Wiki – share common problems,
insights, and solutions
Benefits Promote communication between ULs UL would be able to contact an authoritative source for answers. MAIS could see the common problems and concerns and
address them
Recommendation #3
Finding Targeted emails are difficult to read and understand,
this can lead to ignoring or deleting these emails
Evidence Four out of the six ULs noted this “Hate them…like pulling teeth to read them” Upon seeing a targeted mail, “[sighs]”
Recommendation #3 (cont.)
Recommendation Short Term: Improve font size Long Term: Committee or focus group to analyze targeted
emails Improve the table of contents Analyze technical jargon Improve subject lines/tagging Provide a clearer explanation of why email is being sent
Benefits More ULs and users would read and comprehend the emails
Additional Recommendations
Meetings between ULs of large departments and MAIS staff to address their respective needs
Have the developers evaluate specific unit systems and consider for future changes
Train additional employees to handle responsibilities of the Unit Liaison Coordinator
Design a more specialized database to deal with duplication
Recognize the ULs hard work ex. provide breakfast at
meetings
Conclusion
Conclusion To enhance UL Meetings, create a podcast of them To provide additional problem solving resources, provide ULs with a
contact list and encourage the use of a wiki To improve the readability and comprehension of targeted emails,
improve font size and create a focus group/committee for further analysis
In general, ULs really happy with the communication flow to and from MAIS and specifically their interactions with the Unit Liaison Coordinator
Questions?