<<<Index News Cont'd

New Developer

May 2008

FIS is happy to announce that Tom Navarra has accepted an Application Developer position with FIS effective May 19, 2008. Tom holds a Master of Science in Multimedia Technology degree from Duquesne University as well as a Bachelor of Science in Computer and Information Science obtained at Saint Vincent College. Tom has previously worked for the Justifacts Credential Verification as a Web Developer. His responsibilities will include custom application development as well as third-party system support. Tom will be located in B-44 Cathedral of Learning and will report to Rich Welsh.

New Change Management Customer Resource

May 2008

FIS Technical Services utilizes a Change Management process to minimize disruptions in customer service related to the implementation of changes to IT equipment, applications, and processes. Requests for Changes (RFCs) are reviewed weekly by the FIS Change Management Board for approval. FIS customers can now review these approved changes in the new Change Management page of our Customer Resources.

Hi-de-ho Neighbor

May 2008

FIS is pleased to announce that Daniel Wilson has accepted a Project Manager position with Technical Services effective May 5, 2008. Dan holds a Master of Science in Information Science degree as well as a dual Bachelor of Science in Communications Rhetoric and Political Science; both obtained at the University of Pittsburgh. Dan has previously worked within the University for the Office of Clinical Research and CIDDE as a Software Analyst/Engineer and Instructional Technologist. His responsibilities will include application development project management as well as third-party system support. Dan will be located in B-44 Cathedral of Learning and will report to Carol Zielinski.

New Service Level Agreement

April 2008

FIS Technical Services has recently updated our Service Level Agreement (SLA). To provide the highest quality of service to our customers, we use the SLA to define the roles of both FIS and our customer, manage the expectations the service customer has for FIS, explain to the service customer how requests are handled and executed, and enable clear communication between the service customer and FIS. Please review our new SLA here.

New Support Analyst

March 2008

FIS is pleased to announce that Marla Taylor has accepted a Support Analyst position in FIS Technical Services, effective March 31, 2008. Marla holds a B.S. Degree in Professional Communications and Information Systems from Robert Morris University. Her responsibilities will include analyzing and troubleshooting technical support requests, application testing, and documentation creation for the Office of Budget & Controller and the Auxiliaries. Marla will be located at 1917 Cathedral of Learning and will report to Carrie Francart.

FIS in the News

March 2008

FIS was recently featured in an article in Campus Technology magazine. The article discusses how FIS has automated its technical support and service delivery functions by using Alloy Navigator. Alloy Navigator is used for our help desk system, support portal, knowledgebase, and for other internal processes such as change management. Check out the article here.

Deja Vu All Over Again

March 2008

It’s true – Kevin Crawford will return to FIS on March 10th. He has accepted a Database Administrator position and will work with Shara on managing and maintaining our Oracle and SQL Server database systems. Other responsibilities include application development and software architecture. For those of you who may not know Kevin, he was employed with FIS until last July in a similar position. Kevin has excellent skills in database administration as well as programming. He is familiar with our existing applications (numerous FIS apps were developed by him) and has worked with many of our customers. Please join us in welcoming Kevin back to FIS.

Congratulations Davinna

February 2008

FIS is pleased to announce that Davinna Eisel has been promoted to Senior Support Analyst. Davinna’s duties include analyzing and troubleshooting user support requests, application testing, user documentation creation and problem management. In addition, she provides a leadership role in computer user technical consultation, support and training. Davinna has provided outstanding service to our customers and is knowledgeable with our environment. Her combination of technical and functional skills has been a great benefit to us and our customers.

Congratulations Rich

January 2008

FIS is happy to announce that Rich Welsh has been promoted to Lead Developer. Rich’s new duties will include direct supervision of the Technical Services application developers as well as project and resource scheduling. Rich has worked on many application development projects and is knowledgeable with the business functions of our customers. This unique blend of technical and functional skills has been a benefit to us and our customers.

You'll Like Mike

November 2007

Michael Lavella has accepted the Web Developer position in Application Services. Mike will begin his employment with FIS on December 3, 2007. He will be responsible for leading the design and maintenance of our organization's Web portfolio, integrating sites with back-end applications, monitoring and improving web site performance and creating original graphics and artwork. Mike holds both BS and MS degrees in Interactive Media and Communications from Duquesne University. He most recently worked as a Media Applications Coordinator at Chorus Call in Monroeville. Mike will be located in B-44 Cathedral of Learning and will report to Carol Zielinski.

Welcome Matt

November 2007

Matthew Yoschak has accepted a Network Services position in FIS Technical Services. Matt will join us as a Systems Engineer effective November 5, 2007. His responsibilities include enterprise system administration, implementation, and support. Matt holds a BS degree in Business Technology Support and has previously served as a Network Administrator for Tollgrade Communications. Matt will be located at 1917 Cathedral of Learning and will report to Daniel Mahaven.

Make Room for Tom

September 2007

Tom Ochwat has accepted a position in FIS Technical Services.  He will join us as a full-time Senior Systems Administrator effective October 1, 2007.  His responsibilities include managing and troubleshooting client computers, software deployment, and advanced client management in our Desktop Services group.  Tom previously served as the Manager of Client Systems Support for the department of Epidemiology Data Center here at Pitt.  Tom’s experience and knowledge will be an asset to Desktop Services.  Tom will be located at 1917 Cathedral of Learning and will report to Anthony DiGregorio.

New Support Manager: Carrie Francart

August 2007

FIS is happy to announce that Carrie Francart has been selected as our new Manager of Support Services, effective August 1.  Carrie holds several degrees including a MBA and a BS in Information Technology and Management.  She also has several years of help desk experience in addition to other technical and management roles, including her past year here in FIS as a Senior Systems Administrator. Carrie will lead our help desk team consisting of Kareem Demian, Davinna Eisel, Wendy Branowitzer, and Kevin Scheetz. Carrie reports to John Duska and is located in 1917 Cathedral of Learning.

Please Welcome Wendy

July 2007

Wendy Branowitzer has accepted a Support Services position in FIS Technical Services.  She will join us as a Support Analyst effective July 16, 2007.   She will be working with Kareem Demian, Davinna Eisel and Kevin Scheetz to move our Service Desk forward.  Wendy has previously worked as a Help Desk Analyst at Lender’s Service Inc. and she holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Technology Support.  Wendy will be located at 1917 Cathedral of Learning.

Introducing Vincent Suriano

March 2007

Vincent Suriano has accepted a Network Services position in FIS Technical Services.  He will join us as a Systems Engineer effective March 19, 2007.  His responsibilities include enterprise system administration, implementation, and support.  Vincent previously served as a Systems Administrator for the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute Biostatistics Facility.  Vincent will be located at 1917 Cathedral of Learning and will report to Daniel Mahaven.

Introducing Carrie Armstrong

September 2006

Carrie Armstrong is joining FIS Technical Services as a Senior Systems Administrator on September 25, 2006.  Her responsibilities include managing and troubleshooting computers, software deployment, and advanced client management for Desktop Services.  Carrie previously served as an Associate Systems Administrator for Siemens Business Services, and holds an MBA and a BS in Information Technology.  Carrie will be located at 1917 Cathedral of Learning and will report to Anthony DiGregorio.

Welcome Bill Young

July 2006

On Monday, July 31st, Bill Young will join our Business Solutions DBA staff to fill the vacancy left by Alan Bowman. Bill comes to us with many years of Oracle DBA experience, including support of Oracle Financials applications. Please join us in welcoming Bill to FIS.

Justin Stewart and FIS in the News

June 2006

Be sure to check out the article "Making Pitt Work: On the help desk" in the University Times at http://www.umc.pitt.edu/utimes/5872.html.

Congratulations Todd and Gus
May 2006
Effective May 29, Todd Dowell has been promoted to Senior Systems Engineer in Network Services. Todd has worked at the University for several years and has made many important contributions to our organization. As a Senior Systems Engineer, Todd will be responsible for enterprise system administration, implementation, and support. In addition, Constantine "Gus" Mamakos has transferred to the Network Services team as a Systems Engineer. Constantine comes from Desktop Services and has implemented many automated solutions using Group Policy and various scripting techniques. Congratulations to Todd and Gus.

Say Hello to Davinna Eisel

May 2006

Please join FIS in welcoming Davinna Eisel. She will be joining the Technical Services team on May 15th as the newest member of the Support Services group.  Davinna previously served as a Systems Administrator at the Katz Business School here at the University.  Davinna will be working with Ivy Novick, Kareem Demian and Justin Stewart on the 19th floor of the Cathedral.  We are excited to have Davinna on our team.

Please Welcome Kareem

March 2006

Kareem Demian has accepted a Support Services position in Technical Services.  He will join us as a full-time Senior Support Analyst effective March 13, 2006. Kareem previously served as Assistant Systems Administrator for the University Center for Social & Urban Research department here at Pitt.  Kareem will be located at 1917 Cathedral of Learning and will report to Ivy Novick.

Chi Chi Joins Technical Services

February 2006

Chi Chi Odoemene has accepted a position in Technical Services.  He will join us as a full-time Senior Systems Administrator effective February 1, 2006.  His responsibilities include managing and troubleshooting client computers, software deployment, and advanced client management in the Office of Budget Controller and Auxiliaries.  Chi Chi previously served as a Senior Systems Analyst for the University's Facilities Management department.  Chi Chi will be located at 1917 Cathedral of Learning and will report to Anthony DiGregorio.

Justin Stewart Voted Analyst of the Year

December 2005

Justin Stewart of Support Services has been named the Pittsburgh Service and Support Professionals 2005 Pittsburgh Help Desk Analyst of the Year!  Justin received his award at PSSP’s annual awards ceremony in Greentree on December 1. This honor recognizes the Help Desk Analyst who demonstrates extraordinary commitment, dedication, and service to customers, while consistently exceeding performance objectives. Justin’s customer service skills and technical aptitude were both recognized.  Justin was nominated by Ivy Novick, who said, “Justin is the ‘go to’ person for our team. He shows excellent leadership skills, he has an exceptional personality, and all of our customers love him.” Justin was chosen from a group of four finalists from area companies including Fiserv and MEDRAD.  FIS is the only organization to ever have two staff win this award. Pittsburgh Service and Support Professionals is the Pittsburgh area chapter of The Help Desk Institute. HDI is the world's largest membership association for the service and support industry with more than 7,500 members worldwide, including 90% of the Fortune 500.

Home PC Consulting Week

November 2005

Technical Services is pleased to offer complimentary home computer consulting services for our customers during the week of November 28-December 2.  Simply stop by the FIS Conference Room in 1917 CL during the hours of 11:00am and 2:00pm; no appointment is necessary.  A Support Analyst will be available to answer any questions you have concerning your home computer, including new PC purchasing recommendations, security issues, upgrades, and performance problems.  This is your opportunity to receive free expert guidance for your upcoming holiday tech purchases!

New Systems Administrator

November 2005

FIS is happy to announce that James Holloway will join Technical Services as a Systems Administrator on November 21, 2005.   As part of Desktop Services, his responsibilities include managing, installing, configuring and troubleshooting client computers.  James previously served as a PC Consultant/IT Support for UPMC and Blackbox.

Information Security Day: November 2

November 2005

November 2 is Information Security Awareness Day at FIS.  This day promotes the need for a proactive approach to information security.  FIS is constantly working to improve our security and disaster preparedness, and we would also like to educate our customers about what they can do to protect themselves and our organization against security threats.  This year we are sponsoring a Security Awareness Contest and an Information Session on November 2 in the FIS conference room in 1917 Cathedral of Learning.  Congratulations to Louise Scopel, Heather Haemer, and Susan Parnell for winning the Security Awareness Contest.

Customer Service Week: October 3-7

November 2005

Customer Service Week is a national event devoted to recognizing the importance of customer service and honoring the people on the front lines of the service revolution. Over the past year, Technical Services received a 96% overall customer satisfaction rating.  In celebration of Customer Service Week, Technical Services will be thanking our customers for their support by awarding prizes.  Congratulations to Jean Hopkins, Lisa McGreal, Denise Monk, Rose Ford and Julie Cohen for successfully completing the Customer Service Week puzzle and being selected to receive a prize in the drawing!  FIS would like to thank everyone for participating and helping us celebrate Customer Service Week. 

Technical Services Staff News

August 2005

FIS is happy to announce that Janie Ondo has joined Technical Services as a Senior Developer on August 8. Janie’s responsibilities include developing and implementing applications, drafting and maintaining user documentation, customizing commercial software, and performing user consultation and support. Janie is a skilled IT professional who has been providing technical support to the University since 1991 in CSSD and the School of Education.

Tim Adams has also joined Technical Services on July 26.  Tim is currently a senior computer engineering student here at the University, and will work in FIS as our new Junior Support Analyst.

FIS Strikes Gold

July 2005

FIS is proud to announce that Technical Services is now a CompTIA Gold-Level A+ Authorized Service Center.  The CompTIA ASC designation shows that we take computer service seriously by employing only certified, knowledgeable Systems Administrators and Support Analysts.  The ASC Gold program was created to promote organizations that have achieved accomplishments above and beyond the original ASC program requirements.  Currently less than 1% of ASCs are Gold-Level, and FIS is now in this elite group!

To qualify as a Gold-Level ASC, FIS staff were required to not only obtain A+ certification, but to also obtain at least one additional CompTIA technical certification, as well as customer service or field service certification.  Thanks to the following staff who helped us achieve this goal: Anthony DiGregorio, Ivy Novick, Angela Boyer, Constantine Mamakos, Duane Mengo, Brandy Snyder, Shawn Snyder, Justin Stewart and Joe Tammariello.

FIS Forum

June 2005

FIS Elected to PSSP Officer Positions

May 2005

New Users Guide

May 2005

The Technical Services User Guide has been revised for May 2005.  It includes updated information on Active Directory, Office 2003, and other revisions. 

New Service Level Agreement

January 2005

Technical Services has revised our Service Level Agreement for 2005. This agreement is meant to clarify and measure service level performance, while aligning our IT services with our customers’ business needs.  It will also assist to prevent miscommunication about reasonable service levels, and ensure customer satisfaction by delivering the speed and quality of service that you expect.  Please take a few moments to review the new SLA.

AD Migration Contest

December 2004

The contest is over and the follow winners have been declared: Susan Ronczka, Greg Adametz, and Matt Smith.  Thanks to all who participated.

Network Upgrade Complete

November 2004

Network Services has successfully completed our network upgrade during the Thanksgiving Holiday.  All FIS network file, e-mail, and application services are now available.  Please refer to the printed flyers that were distributed to all departments for tips on how to login and change your password.  If you have difficulty logging in, accessing files, or experience any other problems, please contact us immediately via the urgent problem request or by calling the pager number posted on your monitor. For more information on the Network Upgrade project, please see our new Communications Archive. 

Network Upgrade and Outage

November 2004

FIS will be upgrading our network during the Thanksgiving Holiday.  All FIS network file, e-mail, and application services will be unavailable from Wednesday November 24 at 5:00pm to Monday November 29 at 7:00am.  This outage will not affect PRISM or e-Procurement services.  If you need access to your PC or network resources during this outage, please contact us immediately so that we can make special arrangments.  Please see our new Communications Archive for more information on the Network Upgrade project.

Customer Service Week

October 2004

Customer Service Week is a national event devoted to recognizing the importance of customer service and honoring the people on the front lines of the service revolution. To celebrate Customer Service Week, Technical Services will be recognizing our customers by awarding prizes.   In addition, we have also launched a new and improved version of our Frequently Asked Questions.  The new FAQ has many new features and content, so be sure to check it out.

National Security Awareness Day

September 2004

September 10th is National Security Awareness Day. This day promotes the need for a proactive approach to national security. For FIS, the focus is on Information Security Awareness. We are constantly working to improve our information security and disaster preparedness, and we would also like to ask our customers to think about what they can do to protect themselves and our organization against security threats. Please remember to use strong passwords, lock your PC, and protect your privacy online. This year we also sponsored a Security Awareness Contest. We received 70 entries and randomly selected three winners. Congratulations to Cheryl Pesi, Andrea Loughner, and Louise Scopel!

Stephen Koch
April 2004

Stephen Koch has joined Technical Services as our newest Network Administrator on March 29, 2004. Stephen reports to Dan Mahaven, and works with Dave Bliss and Todd Dowell to manage our servers. His responsibilities include administration of more than 35 servers and 80 network printers with over 550 users.

National Cyber Security Day
March 2004

Sunday, April 4, 2004, is Cyber Security Day. Set aside some time to update your home PC anti-virus software and scan your computer for viruses. Be sure to update your home PC by downloading the latest patches from windowsupdate.microsoft.com. Also, check o ut FIS’s Information Security Tips for more information on keeping your computer safe from hackers.

Angela Boyer: Best in the Midwest
March 2004

A few months ago, we announced that Angela Boyer of Support Services was named the 2003 Pittsburgh Help Desk Analyst of the Year. We are now proud to announce that Angela has also been voted as the Midwest Region Help Desk Analyst of the Year. The honor recognizes the Help Desk Analyst who demonstrates extraordinary commitment, dedication, and service to customers, while consistently exceeding performance objectives. Angela competed against the best analysts from Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Angela will now represent the Midwest Region for the North American title, which will be announced at the Help Desk Institute Annual Conference in April. Good luck, Angela!

Angela Boyer Named Pittsburgh Analyst of the Year
November 2003

Angela Boyer of FIS Support Services has been named the Pittsburgh Service and Support Professionals 2003 Pittsburgh Help Desk Analyst of the Year. Angela received her award at PSSP’s annual awards ceremony in Greentree. The honor recognizes the Help Desk Analyst who demonstrates extraordinary commitment, dedication, and service to customers, while consistently exceeding performance objectives. Angela’s customer service skills and technical aptitude were both recognized, as well as her work in developing an employee recognition program in Technical Services.

Angela was nominated by Ivy Gentile, who said, “She is an exemplary employee and every help desk should have someone like her on their front line. I am just glad it's us!” Angela was chosen from a group of five finalists from major Pittsburgh companies including Bayer Corporation, Carnegie Mellon University, D.N. American, and Equitable Gas. Pittsburgh Service and Support Professionals is the Pittsburgh area chapter of The Help Desk Institute. The organization is the world's largest membership association for the service and support industry with more than 7,500 members worldwide.

FIS: Safeguarding Your Data
November 2003

FIS’ Network Services group has recently completed the implementation of a new network backup solution. This new backup system has been designed to better safeguard data stored on our servers. The system uses a separate dedicated network to transfer data between servers, which drastically speeds the flow of backup data. The system also improves backup speed by utilizing a temporary backup site made up of high-speed disks, rather than backing up directly to tape, like traditional methods. In addition, the system includes new software to better manage the complex backup and restore processes.

Together, these techniques allow us to provide more comprehensive backups and faster restores of all data our network. For example, all data on each FIS server is now backed up seven days a week. In addition, if a file is less than a week old, it can now be restored in just a few minutes, instead of a few hours. We can also now restore individual items in an Outlook mailbox such as a lost e-mail, appointment, or contact in just a few minutes, instead of a few days. We are confident these improvements to the network backup process will provide greater security for your data, and decrease your downtime due to missing files.

Mahaven Accepts Management Position
October 2003

Dan Mahaven has been promoted to Manager, Network Services. Dan has been with Technical Services for several years, and has worked in Support Services and Desktop Services before moving to the Network group earlier this year. The Network group has made great strides of progress recently, and Technical Services is confident this will continue with Dan’s leadership.

Technical Services Now CompTIA A+ Certified
September 2003

FIS Technical Services is now a CompTIA A+ Authorized Service Center. The CompTIA Authorized Service Center designation is proof of our department’s capabilities and provides visibility to our customers. We are the first and only department at the University to achieve this status. Thank you to our CompTIA A+ Certified Technicians for helping us achieve this: Angela Boyer, Anthony DiGregorio, Ivy Gentile, Constantine Mamakos, Shawn Snyder, and Erik Wierschke.

New Members of the FIS Team
May 2003, updated October 2003

Duane Mengo has accepted a Desktop Services position in FIS Technical Services. He will join us as a full-time Systems Analyst effective October 29, 2003. His responsibilities will include installing, configuring and troubleshooting desktop PCs. Duane previously served as a Computer Technician for the Duquesne University School of Law.

Kevin Crawford has rejoined the FIS Technical Services team. He will resume his prior position as a Senior Developer with Application Services. Most of you know Kevin and are familiar with his outstanding work developing custom applications and maintaining our Oracle databases. We are very pleased to have him back on our team.

John Scifo has joined the FIS Development Services team as a Systems Programmer. John comes to us from Computing Services and Systems Development with more than 12 years of experience managing and maintaining the university’s financial and payrolls systems. Over the past few years, he has played a major role in the successful implementation of the Oracle Payroll and Oracle Human Resources systems. He will continue to be involved in enhancing and maintaining these Oracle application systems for FIS.

Todd Dowell has joined Technical Services as a Network Administrator. Before joining FIS, Todd was the manager of Information and Technology Services for the University of Pittsburgh's School of Law. His duties will include the management and maintenance of the BC network.

Congratulations P3 Team!
March 2003

In past issues of the E-newsletter, we have published status reports on the implementation of the new Oracle Human Resources/Payroll applications. On January 2, 2003, these new applications were implemented and integrated into the PRISM System.

The first biweekly payroll in the new application ran on Saturday, January 4, 2003 and paid approximately 980 staff members. More than 20,800 checks and direct deposit advices worth over $38,704,0000 (net pay) were issued in January for all campuses. The relatively minor issues that we have experienced so far are due to incorrect data entry, late paperwork, timing issues related to the dual processing in both the legacy system and the Oracle applications, I-9 expiration issues, and data conversion. As a result of the successful implementation, the mainframe legacy payroll system was retired after 25 years of service on January 31, and we continue moving forward within the new Oracle applications.

The University of Pittsburgh is one of the first major research institutions in the United States to have successfully upgraded the financial applications to Oracle 11i and integrate the Payroll and Human Resources applications within the same system. Furthermore, we are the first in the world to integrate with Windstar International Tax Navigator which is used to perform treaty analyses and produce the proper documentation to the IRS. Many improvements were made and hundreds of business processes were developed and implemented. Numerous "back office improvements" that most people can't see will, over time, make operations more efficient and will lead to better customer service to you and our employees. The new applications are running very well and we are pleased with the early results.

The FIS/P³ Project Team will of course continue to closely monitor the performance of the new Oracle applications and the entire PRISM System.

We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the P3 Project Team and thank all members of the Budget & Controller Office staff who have been either directly or indirectly involved in the successful implementation of the new Human Resources/Payroll applications. We will continue to use the E-newsletter to keep you informed of our progress with the new applications.

Welcome to our new website
January 2003

We hope that you will find our new and improved design easier to navigate and that you will be encouraged to visit us more often. The new design is consistent with Pitt’s new look and conforms to the University’s Web Development Initiative recommendations. The FIS site now has more information and self-help than ever before, including the latest edition of the Technical Services User Guide. This guide can be printed or viewed on screen and contains valuable information on topics such as Accounts and Passwords, logging into your pc, changing your password, and many other technical tips. You can gain valuable knowledge from this guide and it is constantly updated to include information on the latest technology.

Short on time? Then visit the FIS Tech Tips link. Here you will find concise answers to some common questions. These tips are created with the typical user in mind.Also, visit the Update Your Email Properties link. This describes how to download and install the GalMod (Global Address List Modify) application. GalMod allows you to update the properties of your email profile.If you have any feedback on the new design, please email the Webmaster.