Closure Report
Project Summary- AV Loans Services Project TSG006
The objective of this project was to improve AV equipment loans provision across the University by exploring the feasibility of expanding the SISO portal to manage all IS AV equipment loans and identifying other improvements that could be made to the current AV loans services. To do this, the project set out to:
- Understand student and staff experiences of current IS AV equipment loan services
- Identify ways to improve AV equipment loan services
- Document current IS AV equipment loan provision, staffing and usage
- Complete a feasibility study and produce an options paper for the senior leadership team
A project team including staff from all main AV Loans services met weekly. A number of interviews / focus groups were held with service providers and students. Usage data was gathered from service owners. The project team wrote an options paper with a number of short-term, medium-term and long-term recommendations for the Senior Leadership Team to consider. Most of the short-term options are already in progress to improve discoverability of the current services and begin to consolidate provision.
Analysis of Resource Usage:
Staff Usage Estimate (Project Management): 42 days
Staff Usage Actual (Project Management) : 28 days
Outcome
A number of short, medium and longer term changes were identified (AV Loan Services Review Paper) and work has begun to create a new AV/IT self-service equipment loans area of EdHelp with updated EdWeb pages to improve information available to borrowers. A working group will be established to complete a feasibility study and take forward the recommendations.
Objectives and Deliverables
|
|
Description |
Priority (MoSCoW) |
Achieved? |
|
O1 |
Understand Service Provider insights into current IS AV equipment loan services and identify areas for improvement |
|
Y |
|
D1.1 |
Gather feedback on AV loan provision from Service Managers (LST, DLAM & Library/uCreate) |
M |
Y |
|
D1.2 |
Gather feedback on AV loan provision from staff service providers (LST, DLAM & Library/uCreate) |
M |
Y |
|
O2 |
Document current IS AV equipment loan provision, staffing and usage |
|
Y |
|
D2.1 |
Document equipment, staffing & usage for Learning & Teaching Spaces AV loans |
S |
Y |
|
D2.2 |
Document equipment, staffing & usage for DLAM AV loans including Media Studio and DIY Film School |
S |
Y |
|
D2.3 |
Document equipment, staffing & usage for Library AV loans including uCreate studio |
S |
Y |
|
O3 |
Complete a feasibility study of expanding the SISO online booking platform to include all IS AV equipment loan services |
|
Y |
|
D3.1 |
Gather feedback from service providers (LST, DLAM & Library/uCreate) relating to expanding the SISO online booking platform to include all AV equipment loans services |
M |
Y |
|
D3.2 |
Identify areas for improvement based on data and feedback gathered |
M |
Y |
|
D3.3 |
Resourcing; agree resource implications of expansion of the service |
M |
PARTIAL* |
|
D3.4 |
Ensure recommendations are in line with service roadmaps |
M |
PARTIAL* |
|
O4 |
Produce an options paper for IS Senior Leadership Team |
|
Y |
|
D3.4 |
Written paper including recommendations agreed by current AV loans Service Managers |
M |
Y |
*The project was completed during the COVID-19 pandemic and the options paper was produced while planning was still in progress for return to campus. There is therefore a lot of uncertainty around budgets, planning and priorities for the rest of 2020-21 and beyond, as service roadmaps are likely to change over this time.
Success Criteria
|
|
Achieved? |
|
Agreement reached between the main IS AV equipment loan service providers (Learning Spaces Technology, Digital Applications & Media, Library and University Collections including uCreate) about how to improve service provision |
Y |
|
Produce recommendations about future service provision based on data gathered during the project (triangulated feedback from users, feedback from service providers, analytics and other usage data) |
Y |
|
A list of current equipment and staffing across IS AV equipment loans services is available |
Y |
Key Learning Points
- Weekly meetings kept the project on track
- Short Teams meetings were an effective way to check in and progress the work without overloading diaries, as everyone was working remotely
- The project was run effectively with the right people on the Project Team
- Use of Office 365 / SharePoint for project documentation worked well (versioning, sharing)
Outstanding Issues
Staff Disability Loans have been managed by Rad Sargeant (IT Services Manager, Help Services) but Rad’s role has changed and the Staff Disability Services post is currently vacant. There is therefore no service owner to manage Staff Disability Equipment going forward. This equipment could be added to SISO or to another system (e.g. ALMA) to improve asset management and booking processes.