148 Part I • Information Technology
important and they clearly wanted a private voice mail-
box. These results were somewhat of a surprise to the
Telephony Evaluation Team and the User Advisory
Group, given the visible penetration of cell phones on
campus. It meant that cell phones, with their limited
minutes and sometimes spotty coverage, did not meet all
of the needs of the typical residential student.
Conventional wisdom in the cellular age would be that
traditional land line phones are not important.
However, facts don’t always line up with intuition. We
discovered that our peer institutions were continuing
to provide regular phone service in dorm rooms, and
therefore it was a no-brainer to continue to provide it
as well. I would have bet money that the phones could
have been pulled out, so it was a great surprise to me.—Scott Kincaid, CIOFrom all of the needs analysis discussions, a long list
of needs and potential opportunities had been identified. In
June 2004, based on the analysis of the data collected, a list
of key criteria for a new system was developed, with three
priority groupings: must haves, very important, and nice-
to-haves (see Exhibit 3). Joe Indiano and Dorothy Lockard
(president of the Dietrich Lockard Group) then used these
needs analysis results to help pinpoint the best opportuni-
ties within the context of Butler’s strategic plan, and five
strategic goals were established:- Improve communications with the students and
within the student community, including the allot-
ment of private voice mailboxes - Improve the handling of callers to high-volume call
areas on campus - Leverage newer services such as multiline and self-
labeling telephone devices and online directories as
well as improve training
EXHIBIT 3 Key Criteria for New System (based on focus groups, surveys, and consultant interviews)Critical Issues (from master list)
Improved handling of calls to high volume offices M
Performance reporting to manage calling to high volume offices M
Improved handling of callers to operator position M
Emergency alert campus-wide M
Position for future services/technology & changing expectations M
Improved training for end-users M
Communication with students using their preferred medium (e.g., IM) M
VM privacy for students in administratively efficient method I
Indication of message waiting to student I
Ensure donors reach Advancement anywhere, anytime I
Ensure campus police can locate key administrators in an emergency I
Standard features and functionality that improve efficiency and are common at many institutions
(at minimal recurring cost)ITelephone instruments that reduce need for training and relabeling I
Long delay in 911 cell call response, not routed to campus police I
Administratively efficient means of assigning a single phone number for a student while at Butler I
Enable faculty/staff to make and receive calls using Butler identity (i.e., Butler athletics recruiters,
advancement, faculty at-home.)IEasy to use video conferencing I
Conference calling for up to 6 parties at no extra cost N
Efficient means to integrate VM with E-mail N
Larger conference calls, ad hoc and meet-me N
Cell phone coverage inadequate N
Time saving system administration tools N
M = Must Have, I = Very Important, N = Nice to Have