Managing Information Technology

154 Part I • Information Technology

PowerPoint presentation to explain terminology,

benefits, and how the new technology was going to

improve our departments. The training sessions

became very interactive....The IR team sent out

information regularly—leaflets with timelines, cards

with contacts, and worksheets to complete after test-

ing various features available with the new phones.

We tested such features as “parking” calls, forward-

ing calls, and setting up conference calls, and we

completed Phone Feedback Forms after experiment-

ing with newly-learned features.

—Susie Bremen, Senior Associate Director of

Admission

The pilot program helped to create a type of “phone
envy” among some users; some of those without IP phones
had a chance to see how they were used and became
intrigued with the new features of the technology. By
bringing the technology closer to the users, it also brought
home the message of being “infinitely personal.”
While many users were excited about the new
phones and their functionality, others did not fully under-
stand how the IP phone would actually work and were
apprehensive about the change:

It was a smooth transition for me [but] it was hard

for a lot of people to comprehend; they didn’t under-

stand the concept of running the phone through a

computer connection instead of a telephone jack.

—Kristine Butz, Associate Director

of Financial Aid

I already had exposure to call routing and advanced

phone systems. There is a learning curve. Some peo-

ple were apprehensive because the phone was com-

plicated, and they were also afraid that the system

would crash and service would not be available.

—Kathy Harter, Senior Assistant Director of

Operations

Managers of high call-volume offices were aware
that the capabilities of the new system would greatly
improve their department’s call center processes, as the
functionality allowed for detailed reporting and could help
department managers analyze and benchmark their call
center employees. But these capabilities also contributed
to additional concerns by users:

Some of the functionality was actually scaring some

users; they feared they would be monitored because

we would have the capability to evaluate call volume

and length. It gave some users the notion that “Big

Brother” would be watching.

—Susie Bremen, Senior Associate Director of

Admission

The Cutover to the New System

With the pilot behind them, the implementation team felt

confident in their ability to move forward with the full roll-

out planned for June 2005. Butler’s move from traditional

telephony to an IP-based system meant they didn’t have to

do a traditional cutover where the old phones are pulled

and new ones installed at the exact same time. Instead, the

new IP-based phones were distributed to all users during

the weeks before the cutover, training sessions were

arranged for all faculty and staff, and yet the old analog

phones were still available. Even users at the new call cen-

ters were able to make and receive internal calls on their

new IP phones while the old Centrex phones handled all

external calls prior to the cutover.

However, a variety of technical problems threatened

to derail the roll-out plan—and later became known as a

“Week from Hell”:

• The supposedly simple “plug and play” process of
  connecting the new IP-based phones failed due to a
  software bug; all multiline phones had to, unexpect-
  edly, be manually registered one-by-one using their
  unique machine address code (MAC).


• The new telephony servers were rebooting haphaz-
  ardly, and the vendor decided to replace and rebuild
  every single unit.


• After a two-month effort, 2,000 extra phone numbers,
  which Butler needed to provide private numbers and
  voice-mail boxes, were found to be missing—and SBC
  claimed it would take 45 days to resolve the issue.


• Both the Food Service and Bookstore offices, which
  are independent non-Butler companies but located
  on campus, were found to have no Ethernet wiring in
  their areas.
  To further complicate matters, the SBC service rep-
  resentative whom Butler had come to rely upon for the past
  four years suddenly resigned, and the IR telecom coordina-
  tor’s husband was robbed at gunpoint, bound and gagged
  with duct tape!

Our week from hell was a huge setback...but I didn’t

want this project to be delayed, and neither did any of

the team.

—Joe Indiano, Director Network and Systems