TLDR

The Field technology Services (FTS) team is part of Portland State University’s Office of Information Technology (OIT).Within OIT, FTS is responsible for maintaining and supporting technology across campus, from faculty computers to classroom AV systems. Their work directly impacts daily operations, making technology accessible and functional for the PSU community.

Problem: Technicians were losing time and making mistakes due to unclear Jira workflows and missing information during task handoffs.

Solution: Redesigned flows using progressive disclosure, checkpoints, and intrinsic motivators.

Result:

• 95% user satisfaction
• 10/10 ease of use
• 70% reduction in unclear tickets
• ~320 technician hours saved/month

Context

The Trouble With Cold Cases

Ever feel like solving a cold case when all you want is to fix a ticket?

Missing details. Vague histories. No breadcrumbs to follow. Our technicians spent more time playing detective than actually solving problems, with Jira tickets that felt like puzzles with half the pieces missing.

I stepped in to transform this daily frustration into a smooth, intuitive process that let our team get back to what they do best—fixing issues, not figuring them out.

Constraints

Working within Jira's built-in features meant:

• Solutions needed to use existing customizable workflows, fields, and forms
• No additional development resources available
• Changes had to be implementable within the current system architecture

Research

10+ User Interviews

I started where any good investigation begins—with questions:

1. What frustrates technicians most about the current workflow?
2. What details are essential for smooth task handoffs?
3. Are there unnecessary steps or fields slowing down the process?

These conversations revealed initial pain points:

1. Lost time searching for information
2. Missed steps in the process
3. Broken communication between team members

Field Study

I shadowed technicians as they worked through real tickets, observing their natural behaviors and pain points.

This revealed crucial insights that interviews alone couldn't capture:

Stakeholder Meeting Highlights (Dec 2024) : Slides presented to Jira Admins and Managers, showcasing proposed workflow changes and gathering feedback on implementation feasibility and system constraints.