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r/sysadmin•
0fsysadminwork

Event Tracking/Banquets/etc software

Greetings,

We are having an issue with events not getting done correctly. The issue is a breakdown in communication, for instance, a food and beverage event that IT is not informed of and doesn't setup a point of sale unit. Or a Marketing event that Maintenance is not aware of and doesn't setup something for, tables/whatever.

There have been meetings, and the directive is to find event and catering software (apparently we won't be using the one that was purchased a couple years ago...)

Since we have Oracle Opera, they want to look into the Sales and Catering piece, but I think this is a horrible idea. Opera sucks, it's ugly, and it's not using AD.

They do not need to store menu's or inventory in this system. The biggest issue they want to resolve is accountability and things being missed.

I think something like Service Desk from Atlassian would be better, where the various departments can setup events and assign tasks to other departments.

Currently we in IT use a ticketing system, that isn't the best, Maintenance uses some horrifying cloud system that is just a disaster. My idea would be to get Service Desk, and use it for all departments. F&B, Marketing, Maintenance. A single place to manage all sorts of issues/events and assign tasks.

What do you think? Know of any other software we should look at?

Posted Aug 25, 2017, 4:02 PM UTC

04
engagThelike a boss, except the pay.•

I'm a huge fan of Jira for project management, and tracking all sorts of stuff that fit well into a database. Paired with Confluence it's a strong combo. Getting your whole org into it is tough but worthwhile endeavor. Start with IT though.

Service desk is OK, but for simple ticketing it's not really any better than anything else. You only need Service Desk for client-facing or non-Jira user facing things. I have a strong preference towards the cloud version whenever possible just so you avoid the extra work of managing it and updating it.

That said, I'm not sure it solves your accountability and communication problem for events. What you really need to solve that is:

  • Well organized regular meetings, including some way of providing daily updates, either through a standup meeting or a well used slack channel.
  • Clear set of responsibilities for all involved.
  • Team building to get good cooperation without turf wars / blame mentality.
  • Good leaders who know how to listen and care about the team.

A few books to hand out to the management team:

  • Five Dysfunctions of a Team
  • Death by Meeting
  • The Goal
  • The Advantage
  • Phoenix Project
  • Toyota Kata
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0fsysadminworkOP•

Thank you for the reply. I totally agree with your points. This is for sure a personell issue being addressed with technology, but, if I can upgrade, and unify our ticketing systems in the process, and possibly help with events for proper documentation and assignment of tasks I want to take advantage of it.

I cannot do anything about the management piece sadly. I am a lowly Systems Administrator, not in management. My manager and director I don't believe could make this call either, the executive team has decided.

1
engagThelike a boss, except the pay.•

Just leave some of those books in the bathrooms near management offices :) After you read them so when you catch them using the lingo you will know.

2
bhos17•

We love Jira.

1