This document sets out the roles and their responsibilities for implementing the video conference service.

Roles:

• Site
  • Billing Contact
  • Room Contact
  • Scheduling Contact
  • Technical Contact
• Event
  • Host Site Coordinator
  • Participant Site Coordinator
• MN.IT
  • General
  • Reservations Center
  • Service Desk
  • Network Services

Site Billing Contact

The Billing Contact is provided by the organization that pays for the site. Billing Contacts are expected to:

• handle all MN.IT billing-related issues,
• be available during normal business hours,
• be up-to-date on MN.IT policies and procedures, and
• ensure that MN.IT has current contact information (e.g., pager number).

A single Billing Contact may support multiple sites. There need be only one Billing Contact for a site.

Site Room Contact

The Room Contact is provided by the organization that owns the site. Room Contacts are expected to:

• be generally familiar with the site;
• handle any requests for special equipment or configurations;
• handle any site-related requests from participants, including:
  • directions to the site
  • parking or transporation
  • building access (e.g., locked doors, sign-in procedures)
  • directions to the room
  • room access
  • room setup
  • pre-event setup and testing
  • restrooms
  • vending
  • train participants as necessary in handling the video equipment
  • train participants as necessary in operating other equipment (e.g., VCRs, the local PC, and related)
  • assist as needed to handle any issues that arise during the event
  • post-event teardown
• be familiar enough with the specific systems used at the site to assist in the pre-event setup and testing and the post-event teardown;
• notify MN.IT of any changes to the room's or equipment's configuration;
• be available during normal business hours and whenever an event is scheduled for that site;
• be up-to-date on MN.IT policies and procedures;
• ensure that MN.IT has current contact information (e.g., pager number); and
• be able to follow directions given over the telephone and to knowledgably support MN.IT's problem diagnosis and correction efforts.

A single Room Contact may support multiple sites. They need not be on site for every event, but if they aren't on site, they should have a clearly designated person who is on hand cover the event.

Each site should have at least three Room Contacts. They can share the role equally, be primary/secondary/tertiary, or any combination.

Site Scheduling Contact

The Scheduling Contact is provided by the organization that owns the site. Scheduling Contacts are expected to:

• be generally familiar with the site;
• handle all scheduling-related issues;
• work with the Room Contact to handle any requests for special equipment or configurations;

A single Scheduling Contact may support multiple sites.

Each site should have at least three Scheduling Contacts. They can share the role equally, be primary/secondary/tertiary, or any combination.

Site Technical Contact

The Technical Contact is provided by the organization that owns the site. Technical Contacts are expected to:

• be generally familiar with data networking and audio/visual equipment;
• be familiar with the specific network equipment used at the site and the site's specific network configuration;
• be familiar with the specific systems used at the site;
• notify MN.IT of any changes to the room's or equipment's configuration;
• be available during normal business hours and whenever an event is scheduled for that site;
• be up-to-date on MN.IT policies and procedures;
• follow MN.IT's video best practices;
• follow MN.IT's standard install process for the site;
• adhere to MN.IT's room standards;
• test and maintain equipment in conjunction with MN.IT video staff and troubleshoot problems;
• coordinate with suppliers the installation, repair, and replacement of equipment;
• work with other Technical Coordinators on system and process development;
• ensure that MN.IT has current contact information (e.g., pager number); and
• be able to follow directions given over the telephone and to knowledgably support MN.IT's problem diagnosis and correction efforts.

A single Technical Contact may support multiple sites. They need not be on site for every event, but they should be able to respond to problems in a timely manner.

Each site should have at least three Technical Contacts. They can share the role equally, be primary/secondary/tertiary, or any combination.

Event Host Site Coordinator

The Host Site Coordinator is provided by the organization that sponsors the event. Host Site Coordinators are expected to:

• notify MN.IT about the event and provide MN.IT with the Host Site contact information;
• determine the event's schedule;
• determine which sites are involved in the event;
• coordinate with all involved sites' Application Contacts regarding the schedule;
• determine any special needs and coordinate with all involved sites' Application Contacts to meet those special needs;
• function as the point of contact for all problems that arise during the event's lifetime;
• report problems, issues or questions to MN.IT;
• authorize any changes, including changes to the event schedule or participant sites: any requests for such modifications received by MN.IT from other parties will be referred to the Host Site Coordinator;
• authorize MN.IT staff to enter the event while in session if necessary: any requests for such joining received by MN.IT from other parties will be referred to the Host Site Coordinator for approval (see also the When MN.IT May Join a Video Conference page);
• pay event-based fees as appropriate;
• be available during normal business hours and whenever an event is scheduled for that site; and
• be up-to-date on MN.IT policies and procedures.

A single Host Site Coordinator may support multiple events. The Host Site Coordinator normally participates in the event. Such participation is not a requirement, but if they aren't participating, it may take significantly longer to diagnose and correct any event-related problems than if they are.

Event Participant Site Coordinator

A Participant Site is a site that is participating in an event. Participant Site Coordinators represent those sites and are expected to:

• work with the Host Site Coordinators and/or Application Contacts as appropriate before the event;
• direct any requests for changes to the Host Site Coordinator;
• commit to the Host Site Coordinator's schedule;
• communicate any known issues or special requests to the Host Site Coordinator in advance of the event, allowing enough time for the Host Site Coordinator to address them;
• be at the event site and ready to start at the event start time;
• be up-to-date on MN.IT policies and procedures;
• follow any directions given by the Application Contact about the site;
• follow any directions given by the Host Site Coordinator about the event; and
• if a problem arises during the event, notify the Host Site Coordinator, Application Contact, or MN.IT.

MN.IT General

MN.IT's general responsibilities are to:

• create a user community of public and private organizations that adheres to common practices and processes, thus enabling seamless connectivity among all;
• determine and document the service and its best practices for operating and supporting video conferencing services;
• offer training programs for all site and event roles;
• organize and offer user group activities; and
• provide documents and communications in support of operating video conference services.

MN.IT Video Reservations Center

The MN.IT Video Reservations Center's responsibilities are to:

• provide general information on the video service;
• educate all users on the service;
• assist Host Site Coordinators with location rooms, scheduling, policy issues, charges, and billing events;
• provide liaison services for events crossing organizational boundaries;
• assist in finding rooms nationwide
• coordinate certification tests;
• perform billing;
• maintain the white page listings
• provide a common calendaring and notification system mechanism to coordinate and communicate schedules;
• issue confirmations;
• issue event identification numbers; and
• send out notifications of changes to the event.

MN.IT Service Desk

The MN.IT Service Desk's responsibilities are to:

• accept calls from site or event contacts;
• create tickets for every call;
• notify the caller of the ticket number;
• determine the best group to handle the calls; and
• escalate the ticket to the correct group.

MN.IT Network Services

MN.IT's Network Services' responsibilities are to:

• maintain a white pages listing of available video sites;
• maintain the list of Technical, Application, and Billing Contact information;
• provide the sites' E.164 numbers;
• provision and maintain the network resources required to meet the purchased needs;
• provide Quality of Service to the best extent possible;
• provide monitoring and reporting on the service;
• perform inter-operability testing and certification of video codecs, software, and configurations and to maintain a list of those approved for use with this service;
• perform initial testing and acceptance of video site connections;
• maintain contracts and vendor relationships with video equipment providers;
• maintain contracts, connections and vendor relationships with video network and service providers to enable world-wide connectivity;
• manage process hand-offs to other video service providers;
• for some service levels, provide and/or manage bridge ports (MCU) and gateway ports; and
• bill event-based fees as appropriate.