DoIT Internal Operations - About Work In Progress (WIP)
Work requests submitted via the Internal Operations Request Portal are automatically received and flow to the Internal Ops WIP Dashboard and All Work in Progress (WIP) Smartsheet. This document explains how the Internal Operations Team monitors and assigns incoming requests, along with communication preferences and practices related to assigned tasks and work in progress.
Who Monitors the WIP Board
Members of the Internal Operations Team take turns monitoring the Work In Progress (WIP) Board.
- One team member is responsible for monitoring the board for one week, Monday through Friday.
- Responsibility rotates alphabetically by first name. As of January 2025 the rotation is:
- Care
- Christine
- Debbie
- Jose
- Kalie
- Lindsay
- Taylor
- The assigned person monitors the board the same week they facilitate the team's WIP Weekly Check-in Meeting.
- Team members can trade weeks if planned time out of office will make it challenging for them to monitor the board and assign tasks.
When WIP Board is Checked & Tasks Are Assigned
The person responsible for monitoring the board will check and assign tasks in the morning and afternoon Monday through Friday.
- The morning assignment window is 8:00 AM -10:00 AM.
- The afternoon assignment window is 1:00 PM -3:00 PM.
Who Tasks Are Assigned To
Tasks are assigned to the primary support person, unless secondary support has been communicated based on:
- Planned time out of office
- Team capacity planning
- Requested support needs
Resources used to assign tasks:
Communication Related to Task Assignment
- When a task is assigned to a team member, they will receive an automated email notification.
- If the request timeline is time sensitive (next day or less), the person assigning the task will send a Teams chat to the person being assigned the task.
- Team members anticipating a request will proactively communicate with impacted team members via email or an Internal Operations Teams channel.
How WIP Board Is Used & Monitored By Team
- The Internal Operations Team prefers that tasks are submitted by the staff member requesting the service.
- Team members may also create and submit tasks to the WIP Board.
- Through February 2025, team members will focus on making their work visible by adding all tasks to the board. At the end of the month, the team will revisit this topic and make a decision regarding self-adding tasks March 2025 and beyond.
- Team members are responsible for checking the board on a daily basis.
- Team members are responsible for updating the status, posting comments, and adding attachments as they work through the task.
WIP Weekly Check-in Meetings
The Internal Operations Team meets weekly for 25 minutes. Each Check-in Meeting follows this general agenda:
- Facilitator – Welcome and greetings
- Identify next week’s board monitor & meeting facilitator
- Each person screen shares their board
- Use My Tasks – By Request Type
- In Progress Tasks (green) that have been completed are updated to Done (blue).
- Next, In Progress Tasks (green) that will be their focus for the week are highlighted.
- Questions related to these tasks may be asked.
- Related needs and/or assistance needed from others may also be discussed.
- Finally, In Process Tasks (yellow) will be noted.
- Based on urgency, is task reassignment wanted or needed?
- If not, tasks in this category will wait until In Progress (green) tasks are completed and capacity has increased.
- Any new tasks to add to the board based on update?
- Use My Tasks – By Request Type