Urgency Levels are used by the PALS Support Specialists to manage workload and to set priorities each day. As much as possible, the Support Specialists use the ‘first-in, first-out’ method within each Urgency Level. When a request is received, Urgency Level will be assigned by the PALS staff.
The chart below gives descriptions for the four possible urgency levels and the response time that may be expected for each.
PALS Support Center Urgency Levels
LEVEL 1
Site Down/Software Not Responding
Urgency Level 1 means that the entire system (Alma/Primo VE, EZproxy, Islandora, SubjectsPlus, etc.) is down, for one or more libraries. No work can be done by your staff, and/or your patrons cannot access the software. Data integrity may be compromised and work in progress may be lost.
To help us efficiently track the problem please enter a request with as much detail as you can provide. Then, follow up with a phone call to the PALS Support Center phone number (507-389-2000), explain that it is an emergency, and provide us with the Support Center request number, if you have one.
Examples of Level 1 questions:
- Alma interface does not present the login screen
- Patrons cannot search Primo VE
- EZproxy down
You can expect that Urgency Level 1 problems will be investigated as soon as the PALS Office becomes aware of the problem. If this is an entire system outage, email messages will be sent to the PALS mailing lists. Our goal is to respond within four hours after first notice of the problem, with confirmation and the status of the problem.
LEVEL 2
Major Functionality Problem
Urgency Level 2 means that major functionality is disrupted and prevents normal work. The problem does not prevent using other features in the current program.
Examples of Level 2 questions:
- Self-Check is not working
- A major function of the software is not working
- API is not working
You can expect that Urgency Level 2 problems will be investigated as soon as the PALS Office becomes aware of the problem within normal business hours. Our goal is to respond within four business hours after first notice, with confirmation and the status of the problem.
LEVEL 3
Minor Functionality Problem
Urgency Level 3 means that functionality loss affects normal work. You are still able to get your work done. For most Urgency Level 3 problems, a work-around may exist or one may be developed while researching and testing. The problem does not prevent using other features in the current program or platform.
Examples of Level 3 questions:
- Patrons are not being blocked when they should be
- Not getting correct error messages in discovery
- One person cannot connect to EZproxy
You can expect that Urgency Level 3 problems will usually be investigated within three business days. Our goal is to respond within five business days after first notice, with confirmation and the status of the request.
LEVEL 4
General Questions
If your problem or question does not match the description of Urgency Levels 1, 2, or 3, it will be assigned an Urgency Level 4. This level typically consists of “how-to” questions, installation and configuration inquiries, enhancement requests, or documentation questions.
Examples of Level 4 questions:
- Request to modify local reports or letters
- How to modify configurations
- Request for a new user to be added to SubjectsPlus admin
You can expect that Urgency Level 4 problems usually will be reviewed within five business days. Our goal is to respond within five business days after first notice, with confirmation and the status of the request.
ESCALATION
When reviewing questions in the PALS Support Center, customers may see some requests that fall outside our goals to provide a satisfactory response. If expectations are not being adequately satisfied, customers may escalate the issue by one of the following methods:
- Enter additional information to the existing problem request in the PALS Support Center.
- Contact the Support Specialist assigned to your specific request, by calling the PALS Support Center phone number (507-389-2000).
