Information Technology Service Management
Information Technology Service Management (ITSM)
IT Service Management (ITSM) refers to a set of practices and processes designed to plan, deliver, manage, and support information technology services. ITSM aligns IT services with the University of Arizona’s mission, ensuring high-quality service, customer satisfaction, and compliance with industry standards.
ITSM Optimization & Service Catalog Rearchitecting
The IT Service Management (ITSM) Optimization Project is a multi-year initiative to modernize IT service management at the University of Arizona. A major focus for 2025 is the Service Catalog Rearchitecting Project and supporting the new Enterprise Support processes, which will improve how students, faculty, and staff find and request IT services.
We’ll continue to provide updates here, at ITSM Office Hours (Fridays, 10:05 a.m.), and through regular IT Comms Channels (e.g., Campus Coordination, SLT, emails, etc).
Current Objectives
- Sep 2025 – Upgrade ServiceNow to the Yokohama Release
- Nov 2025 – Launch the new Service Catalog model
- Late 2025–2026 – Begin the ServiceNow Transition Project, migrating 70+ unit-managed processes and service offerings into the centralized platform
Catalog Rearchitecting - FAQs
General
The catalog was built several years ago and is now difficult to navigate, especially after IT Restructuring. The new design makes it easier to find services, ensures consistency, and aligns with leading practices used at peer institutions.
- Clearer, more logical structure (categories → services → service offerings)
- Faster, smarter searching, and browsing
- Better routing to the right support team the first time
- A flexible framework for adding new services in the future
- Preview / sandbox: early October 2025
- Launch: weekend of November 1–2, 2025
For End Users (Faculty, Staff, Students)
No. You’ll still log into the Service Portal as usual. The catalog will simply be easier to browse and search.
No. Open tickets will continue normally. Only the catalog’s structure and presentation are changing.
For Service Offering Managers
- Each service offering will have a clear Service Offering Manager and assignment group
- Catalog items may be reclassified under new categories and/or services
Yes. The model aligns with the Educause higher-ed ITSM catalog standard, widely used at peer universities.
- Service Offering Managers can respond to emails they will receive as part of project communications and request a consultation.
- Service Offering Managers can email the Service Management Team: uits-itsm@arizona.edu
- Join us on Friday ITSM Office Hours (10:05 a.m.) (see the IT Coordination Calendar for details)
- Watch/Listen for updates at SLT, Campus Coordination, and other IT leadership forums
Transition & Next Steps
- Training and reference guides before launch
- Previews of the new catalog
- Regular office hours (Fridays, 10:05 a.m.) for Q&A (see the IT Coordination Calendar for details).
A scalable, user-friendly catalog that:
- Improves customer experience
- Reduces support overhead
- Supports growth in new services
ITSM Optimization - FAQs
Transition & Next Steps
A three-year initiative to improve IT service delivery and governance using ServiceNow. The project brings together perspectives from across campus to ensure inclusivity and efficiency.
- Phase 1 (2024) – Analysis and foundational work: service continuity, onboarding, SACM review, metadata updates, ITSM metrics
- Phase 2 (2025) – Development and rollout: Service Catalog update, ServiceNow upgrade, portal/user experience improvements, onboarding Specialized Services, onboarding Enterprise Support, and CMDB foundations
- Phase 3 (2026+) – Expansion and performance: catalog relaunch, fuller CMDB, benchmarks, analytics, onboarding more services and service offerings.
Leadership includes:
- Audrey Ashcraft - ITSM Team Leader
- Cecilia Gunn - Project Manager
- Sandy Spakoski - Project Manager
- Paul Radek - IT Product Manager
- David Gerlach - Director, Service Management
- Susan Legg - Executive Sponsor
In partnership with IT Support and systems leaders across UITS.
- Email: uits-itsm@arizona.edu
- Join Friday ITSM Office Hours (10:05 a.m.) (see the IT Coordination Calendar for details)
- Watch/Listen for updates at SLT, Campus Coordination, and other IT leadership forums
- SACM (Service Asset & Configuration Management): Tracks IT assets and their relationships to services
- CMDB (Configuration Management Database): A single system of record for IT assets, services, and relationships, enabling faster troubleshooting, change impact analysis, compliance, and better IT visibility
ITAM is out of scope through Phase 3, but CMDB work may lay the groundwork for a future ITAM solution.
Services will be aligned by function and need — not by unit or individual — following the higher-ed IT service catalog model.
Yes, that is the UITS leadership vision. Benefits include:
- Consistent experience for all users
- Faster, higher-quality support
- Comparable metrics across IT
- A flexible platform for unique IT services
Yes. Phase 3 will introduce benchmarks and service performance metrics to measure service quality.
- Improved metadata on catalog items, KB articles, and forms
- Smarter search with more relevant results
- New catalog structure modeled on Educause’s higher-ed framework
Not in ServiceNow. For non-IT needs, use Trellis (https://trellis.arizona.edu/)
ServiceNow Service Offering (Content) Site
IT Professional Training for ServiceNow
Weekly office hours every Friday at 10:05am via Zoom: (see the IT Coordination Calendar for details) and consultations can be had via an appointment form.