About ITSS > Application Systems Application Systems > Application Support

Services Provided by Applications Support

Enterprise Applications Problems and Issues Resolution
The Applications Support group works closely with the IT Service Desk to evaluate reported applications errors and to help determine if they are systems related or functional in nature. The group follows through with the appropriate infrastructure, programming, database administration, or application administrator personnel if the problem is system related. If the problem is functional, the information analyst assists the functional user in identifying the correct process to correct the problem.

The group prioritizes support based on the nature of the request. Production systems take top priority; however, the information analysts work with users to determine the time frame in which they will work on a new request.

Business Process and Procedure Documentation
The Application Support group works with functional users by assisting with definitions of business procedures and documentation. Information Analysts are trained to facilitate a process aimed at capturing pertinent information and documenting it in a format, that functional users and technical staff can use to assist in implementation of new or modified application functions. The documentation is also useful in determining needed business process improvements.

Systems Modification Specifications
The Applications Support group participates in new development from the time a request is made until the requested feature or revision is in production. The group facilitates turning a “plain English” request into the technical specifications needed by programmers. The Applications Support staff conducts an initial analysis of the request, confirms their understanding of need with the user and constructs the technical specifications required by the programmer/analysts. Once the programmers complete their development, the Applications Support staff assists functional users with testing until the requested feature or revision meets the originally described need. The request is then approved by the user and approved for migration to production.

Documentation produced during the new development process is used by IT to track systems changes, which facilitate upgrades to software and assists in later problem resolution for issues that may be associated with the change.

Testing Support
Testing is a critical piece to every new feature implementation and software system’s upgrade process. By defining a structured testing process built around documented business processes, negative impacts of unforeseen problems often associated with new systems implementations can be avoided. The Applications Support group assists with development of appropriate test scripts for the relevant functional areas to use during the Systems Testing phase of application upgrades and system modifications. These test “scripts” specifically define the steps necessary to capture a business function in the software being tested. Documentation of the testing phase is used to identify problems, which can be resolved by the programming staff or by a change in business process. Once a test script is performed without problems and with the desired results, as defined in the test plan, the new system function is “signed-off” by the functional area and is moved to production.

Upgrade Support
In addition to local development efforts, MCG makes use of a variety of software applications provided by commercial providers. These software vendors provide routine updates to their systems, which require a substantial amount of coordination to make them available to MCG users. The Applications Support group works with the database administration staff and the functional users to prepare and implement new releases provided by the software providers by coordinating the requirements from the provider with MCG’s calendar and the amount of effort required. This group makes certain that the systems remain feature-rich and reliable by staying informed about the releases, ensuring implementations are installed in a timely manner, and are thoroughly tested by applicable parties before they are moved to production.

Training
The team provides regularly scheduled PeopleSoft classes and assists application owners with determining their future training needs. The group members are very knowledgeable about the packages installed at MCG. They work with the software providers to identify the business processes expected to work with the delivered software and with the internal applications department to identify changes made to accommodate MCG’s business practices. The information analysts use this information in conjunction with requests from the functional departments to develop relevant training for the campus.