Miriam - PRoblem definition project PDF

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PRoblem definition project...

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Problem Statement INLS 582

Miriam Tardif-Douglin Adapting a New Generation of CCI Printers

Setting Every day, thousands of UNC students use any one of the 72 CCI (Carolina Computing Initiative) printers at 45 different locations across campus. Students retrieve print jobs on computers located beside each printer. CCI printing is expected to be accessible for every student, simple and quick to use by students, and unobtrusive to on-site staff. Many printers are in libraries, whose staff are responsible for refilling ink and paper; ITS is responsible for keeping the 72-unit CCI printing network1 available to students, keeping printers in working order by fixing errors as they arise. To reduce print station size, increase the accuracy of error reporting, and streamline the printing process for students, ITS recently launched a 2-site pilot of printers with built-in monitors for print job retrieval. Problem Definition Students can use repurposed keyboards instead of the small ones on the printer touchscreens, but these are somewhat awkward to use. Time to access print jobs on the new system is estimated at an average of 2 minutes, whereas an average 30 seconds is the norm on the existing campuswide system. Just under half of the 110 students responding to a survey on the new equipment do not agree that the new system is easier to use. On-site pilot staff have created signs instructing students how to use the new printers and spend extra time helping students. Meanwhile, ITS maintains a CCI printing website2 indicating the location and status of CCI printers across campus, but with no consistent message helping students use the printers (old or new). Estimated student usage is 30 visits per week; ITS staff, not students, made the bulk of the 388 CCI printing website visits in the past month. Objectives The current project aims to develop a plan that makes use of the new printers at the pilot sites intuitive so that minimal additional signage is required and when students need help, they can get it through the CCI printing website instead of asking on-site staff. Project success can be measured by development of a plan where: 1. Students take at most an average of 1 minute to access print jobs at the pilot sites. 2. 90% of surveyed students agree or strongly agree the pilot site printers are easy to use. 3. CCI help website traffic is increased from 30 student visits per week to 40 student visits per week.3 4. Most on-site pilot staff (more than 50%) don’t perceive students as having trouble using printing when asked to report their experiences to ITS after the pilot ends. Scope Our project will develop a plan to improve the use of the print stations at the pilot sites, prior to expansion across campus. The pilot print stations at the Stone Center and the Music Library were chosen for having low to moderate traffic. Up to four main staff from ITS, particularly the Teaching & Learning Systems and Services department, will be involved in the project. Preliminary Observations The screen on the printers was originally going to be larger (thus easier to use), but that version of printer was discontinued, so a version with a smaller screen is what will be used campus-wide. The printers used at the pilot sites have the larger screens. Data on our metrics would come through an online survey, in-person interviews, online web traffic tracking, and in-person monitoring (using stopwatches) of time to access print jobs. Contacts Jeremiah Joyner ([email protected]) Marla Sullivan ([email protected])

ITS is only responsible for the printing component of CCI, not any of the broader CCI operations. cciprinting.unc.edu 3 If the printers are more intuitive to use, students will have fewer questions overall. We hope any questions students do have are readily addressed by the CCI printing website, and that they know to access help on the website instead of asking on-site librarians or administrators.

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