Sample Briefing

This is one of the recent briefings I sent out to some of our staff.  I have removed portions of it due to names and other specifics, but the general idea is there.  I try to be professional and courteous while still having a little bit of humor when possible to help keep people loose.  Anyway, this is what I sent out.  Pardon all the censorship

ALLCON:

The traffic from our <<misc department>> office seems to have diminished a lot and is substantially lower than normal.

As of the writing of this e-mail, there is only 1 open issue, and that is the ongoing <<misc computer issue>>.  I sent an e-mail to John and Jane Doe regarding where we currently stand.  In short form, we have given all the information from all tickets relating to this problem to John Doe as well as new printouts of the IP addresses which were supplied to us by John Doe.  I do appreciate any help everyone has given during this venture, but the methodology used by our <<misc department>> office in troubleshooting, requesting updates, and trying to push the issue through has caused some confusion.  I think for most issues we do all need to be on the same page, but some issues are handled by specific personnel for specific reasons.  Most of the traffic on this issue has been done via <<removed>>, so most of us cannot check to see the most recent updates.  Also, when an issue is spread out amongst 6-7+ people, someone is bound to not be informed and when asked for an update they supply incorrect information.

John Doe has all the information and is going to decide how to proceed.  Please do not let them question you or try to force you to act on this issue.  It must be handled and resubmitted over <<removed>>.  I’m sure everyone knows this but I want to be sure we are all on the same page.

The machine in the middle of where John and Jane Doe (John Doe used to sit there) sits has been re-imaged from the network due to some issues we were experiencing.  The new machine name is <<machine name removed>>.  The image from the network wipes the entire hard disk, not just the partition Windows is installed on.  News to me.

On the plus side, we discovered the image has everything already installed that we need, except CAC drivers for the Dell keyboards.  SMS/Exchange/AD and several other programs are installed if you do the Administrator image.  It takes about 20 minutes INCLUDING joining the machine to the domain.

Another issue that came us was running Log Collector (LC) on someone’s machine.  The machine was turned in, LC was ran by <<misc department>> in Misc Site, given back to the customer, blocked for the wrong version of LC being ran.  Chaos ensued, the machine was picked up and brought to us.  We started the wipe on Friday at around 1745.  We got hit hard on Saturday and were unable to do the machine in what the <<misc department>> considered a timely manner, so it was taken to Misc Site to be done.  This brings up 2 issues, and we will need a definitive answer from John Doe or higher on what to do in these situations.

John and Jane Doe were upset because when we were discussing LC, none of us (this was on the weekend) mentioned that we could run LC.  We have the ability to run this program.  It is on the software server (or was).  The problem is that in many cases, it is faster to re-image a machine (from the network, PXE boot) then to run LC and wait on a response from <<misc department>> after sending the results.  I have been here close to 3 years and have never ran into a circumstance where I *had* to run LC on a machine.  It’s easier and faster to baseline and it eliminates any chance of the malicious threat still residing on the machine.  This issue is bound to come up in the future.  I explained to the <<misc department>> that wiping the machine is actually faster.  LC is usually ran at Misc Site and we have had several people have the customers turn in their machines.  After all, when it needs to be done it does occasionally say to have the customer take the machine to Misc Site to have LC ran on it.

USER: John Doe
He had a form filled out which is in the pending accounts box.  The front page is not legible (my fault because I had to sign underneath where the wrong person signed.)  His account will not be made available until that form is replaced and attached to the ticket.  Ticket number is on that form.  John Doe at Acme Co. is aware of this situation.  I have spoke with the supervisor for John Doe and provided him with the forms.  He is CLEAR on this issue.  The reason for the delay is mostly my fault, plain and simple.

The office at the end of the hall still needs to be painted and cleaned up.  This is a request from the <<misc department>> and I am only passing on the message.  More information has been sent to our supervisors to have them task it out if they choose.  John Doe from <<misc department>> is aware that the tasking should come from our supervisors, not from the weekend shift.

Rememder to put the POC info on Remedy tickets we submit.  I’ve talked to John Doe from <<misc department>> at Acme Co. and told him that we would start doing that to eliminate any confusion.  It will help us for accountability and help them service our needs in a more timely manner.

No more blowback has been noticed from the coffee pot removal date of June 1.  Everyone seems to accept it and most agree for the reasoning behind it.  Some even noticed that people had not been cleaning up after themselves all the time.  We also received a comment on how nice our floor looked (thanks to John Doe!).

That’s all I have for now.  A list of any open issues will be sent out before close of business.

John Doe
Acme Co.
System Administrator
[phone number removed]

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