NYU ServiceLink Transformation

Project Update

In October 2023, we launched the new NYU Services Support Center for HR, Benefits, and Payroll services. The NYU Services Support Center, powered by ServiceNow, is a portal offering streamlined views of services, updated knowledge articles, and the ability to easily submit and track your cases.

In addition to this new portal, we have launched an improved user experience for the PeopleLink and HR teams at Washington Square and Abu Dhabi, enabling them to better support employees at both locations.

Currently, only HR, Benefits, and Payroll services are available in the new NYU Services Support Center. For help with other service areas, please visit the ServiceLink Service Portal.

Project Overview

As common as possible, as different as necessary

NYU IT, in collaboration with service centers across the University, is transforming how NYU ServiceLink looks and operates. The ServiceLink Transformation project (known by many as zBoot) aims to improve the administrator and end user experience by creating a new platform that is “as common as possible, and only as different as necessary.”

NYU ServiceLink is a ticketing system used by service centers across the University, such as PeopleLink, FinanceLink, StudentLink, and IT groups, including NYU IT, to respond to inquiries and resolve issues reported by students, faculty, staff, and alumni. In addition, ServiceLink provides a service portal that includes knowledge articles and request forms for numerous services.

With an iterative and engaging implementation approach, we will continue to partner with each service center to gather requirements, test functionality, and train impacted stakeholders.

Business Drivers

Widespread Use of NYU ServiceLink

As a common ticketing and support system, ServiceLink is used by all three NYU campuses and many administrative areas to support over 800 services for the University community. The ServiceLink platform improvements will simplify ticket creation, make it easier for service centers to handle tickets in a consistent manner, and provide a better experience for the NYU community to find and get help with services via a new service portal.

Frustrating Experience

Most service centers have been using customized versions of workflows designed for IT services. While these customizations were necessary during the initial ServiceLink implementation to meet the diverse business needs across NYU, they have compounded the system’s complexity over the years. The result has been a “slow and frustrating" system for service centers and a service portal that employees and students find confusing. The project will improve the service center experience with simpler workflows better suited to business needs. Employees and students will also have an improved service portal experience with a better view of relevant information and greater transparency around their open requests.

Modern Features Now Available

ServiceNow has evolved and now includes modern features and user experience in line with what users would expect from a modern web application. Unfortunately, we have been unable to take advantage of these because of our current customizations. Upgrading the ServiceNow platform will enable our technology teams to deploy out-of-the-box functionality that will be easier to maintain and deploy.

Goals

Our project goals align with NYU IT’s Strategic goal to “Reduce Complexity and Promote Simplicity” by using newer out-of-the-box features and workflows to:

Launch a streamlined service portal that will enable self-service opportunities
Deliver a modern service center staff experience
Enable non-IT service centers to use workflows better suited to their needs
Reduce customizations significantly

Steering Committee

The Steering Committee comprises key leaders from administrative units across the University. The Steering Committee supports the program goals by providing leadership support, resources, and guidance to mitigate risks and engage the University community. These are our Steering Committee members:

Steering Committee Members

Campus Safety: John Matherson - Associate Vice Chancellor, Global Campus Safety, Security Systems and Operational Continuity, Global Campus Safety
NYU IT: Michael Warden - Associate Vice President for Global Service Management and User Success, NYU IT
Teaching & Learning: Ben Maddox - Associate Vice President, Research and Instructional Technology, NYU IT
FinanceLink & PeopleLink: Rajiv Singh - Interim Associate Vice President, Finance and Employee Systems & Services, Office of the SVP Finance and Budget/Chief Financial Officer
StudentLink & Bursar: Kerri Tricarico - Senior Associate Vice President & University Controller, Office of the SVP Finance and Budget/Chief Financial Officer
Campus Services: Owen Moore - Associate Vice President, Campus Services, Office of the SVP Finance and Budget/Chief Financial Officer
Enrollment Management: Antonio Del Bono - Director Of Financial Aid, Technology And Planning, University Enrollment Management
Facilities Management: Alfred Ng - Assistant Vice President, Facilities Management, Facilities and Construction Management, Capital Projects and Facilities
University Development and Alumni Relations (UDAR): Scott Jenks - Executive Director ITS, Strategic Planning and Analytics, University Development and Alumni Relations and Mario Guevara (Interim) - Assistant Vice President of Advancement Services, Strategic Planning and Analytics, University Development and Alumni Relations
School IT: David Resto - Sr. Director, Technology and Client Services, Administration, Planning and Inclusion, Rory Meyers College of Nursing (and UCIO Representative) and Jerry Chong - Customer Success Officer, Technologies, Information Technology, Stern School of Business
Global Campuses: Ted Lee - Senior Director, Integrated Solutions Group - Abu Dhabi, NYUAD ISG, NYU Abu Dhabi and Owen Li Assistant Director, Program Management, Program Management, Shanghai New York University

Project Background

Fall 2023

The new NYU Services Support Center portal launched for HR, Benefits, and Payroll services on Wednesday, October 11, 2023! We have collaborated with the teams at our Washington Square and Abu Dhabi campuses to gather detailed requirements, configure the new environment, conduct testing, and train staff to prepare for this transition. We will identify improvement opportunities as we partner with other service centers for their transition.

How did we get here?

Shortly after kicking off the project, NYU conducted 30+ discovery workshops with over 100 NYU service center leaders and subject matter experts to understand current use, pain points, and desired future-state opportunities. Through the workshops and consulting University leaders, we began planning an iterative implementation approach, transitioning each service center at a time rather than attempting to transition all service centers simultaneously. The iterative approach ensures we understand and meet each service center’s business needs and offer tailored support throughout the project.

Working with our Steering Committee, we identified PeopleLink, HR, and Payroll teams as the initial group to transition to the new ServiceNow, with other service center teams to follow.

We want to hear from you!

Please share your questions or insights with the zBoot team by emailing us at zboot-project-team@nyu.edu.