North Dakota IT Department Moving Problem Tracking Software Online

North Dakota's Information Technology Department is preparing to track the state's software problems on the World Wide Web, a move that will enable customers to keep an eye on glitches to make sure they're fixed.

The department's goal is to put its internal HEATWeb problem tracking software on the Web by March 1, said Cindy Kemmet, ITD's Customer Support Center supervisor. The CSC answers an average of more than 2,000 customer calls per month, including queries from the entire state government as well as some cities and counties. At any time, 40 problems are being worked on, Kemmet said.

"Networks, computer problem calls, we log them and then fix and respond, but that takes a lot of human resources and people hours," Kemmet said. "When we get the HEATWeb software on the Web, after customers call to report their problem, they can hop in the Web to view its status and see who's working on it."

Within 30 days of putting the software on the Web, ITD (www.state.nd.us/itd) plans to allow its customers to log their problems directly online and track them through to completion. "Hopefully, there won't be a lot of phone interaction with our remote customers [after that], especially for minor problems like having passwords reset, getting a printer started or a phone going down," Kemmet said.

GoldMine Software Corp., (www.goldmine.com), based in Colorado Springs, Colo., produces the HEATWeb software and recently introduced a process to make the tool Web accessible.