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Web Strategy Team

Service model

The UMAC Web Strategy Team’s Service Model outlines how help requests are received, triaged, and resolved for partners across the University of Washington. It defines the types of support the team provides—including bug fixes, feature requests, content updates, consultations, training, and technical assistance—and establishes expectations for timely communication, emergency response, and ticket routing. Through a centralized helpdesk, structured triage process, and collaboration with key stakeholders, the model ensures consistent, reliable support for the university’s centrally hosted websites, tools, and digital services.

This procedure applies to any party engaging with the UMAC Web Strategy Team such as external audiences, partners or UMAC colleagues.

Definitions

The following definitions are used to define the support provided by the UMAC Web Strategy Team:

  • Bug: A bug is defined as any coding or technical error or glitch that causes an undesirable result or limits the usefulness of a product or service.
  • Feature request: Feature requests are additions, changes, or deletions to the codebase that change the functionality. Feature requests are not bugs – that is, they are not indicating that something is wrong or needing to be addressed – these are primarily enhancements to a product or service.
  • Content change: A content change is defined as making edits to existing content, adding new content, or removing outdated content from a site. A content change could include the fixing of a typographical error.
  • Content consultation: A content consultation is when a member of the Web Team works with a partner to identify content for placement on a Web site, the organization and/or editing of that content, and the strategy behind the content.
  • Training need: A training is requested when a user needs to learn how to use our systems or tools, or when a user needs re-education on a particular topic in relation to our systems or tools.
  • UX / Content Strategy request: A UX / Content Strategy request is when an existing user asks for help working through the content, information architecture, navigation, layout, photography, and/or imagery of their site.
  • Support request: A support request is when an existing user asks for help working through an issue they are having. This is not necessarily training but could lead to training.
  • Technical consultation: A technical consultation is when a member of the Web Team works with a partner on a technical issue, provides feedback or input to a technical issue, or participates in the creation of a solution to a technical problem.
  • Advancement requests: These are typically requests centered around the work of Advancement such as creating “Vanity URLs,” working with the “Giving Widget,” or creating “Appeal Codes.”

Roles and responsibilities

The following are the primary stakeholders for all communications:

  • UMAC Web Team, uweb@uw.edu, general information
  • UWIT Help Desk, help@uw.edu, general information
  • Director, Web Strategy
  • Associate Director, Web and Mobile Operations
  • Assistant Director, Infrastructure
  • Assistant Director, Web Engagement
  • Assistant Director, Content Strategy and User Experience
  • Assistant Vice President, Digital Strategy
  • Associate Director of Digital Engagement, UWAA
  • Senior Systems Engineer, UWIT

Procedure steps

The University Marketing and Communications Web Strategy Team (hereinafter known as the “Web Team”) maintains a Helpdesk available at uweb@uw.edu. External parties are encouraged to email uweb@uw.edu when they need assistance. Partners who may have worked directly with a member of the team may continue to work with that individual.

The Web Team makes this agreement with all members of the University of Washington community for supporting their efforts in building and maintaining Web sites using centrally provide hosting, tools, and assets.

The Web Team maintains a Helpdesk, available by email only, at uweb@uw.edu. Emails sent to that address will be automatically entered into a ticketing system. The Web Team will do its best to respond to every ticket within two business days.

The Web Team will respond to and help with the following issues around creating and maintaining Web sites:

  • Bugs, feature requests, content changes (including typographical errors), content consultations, training needs, support requests, or technical consultations in support of our WordPress themes.
  • Bugs, feature requests, training needs, support requests, content consultations, technical consultations, technical resources, and service interruption of our centrally hosted Content Management System.
  • Creation (including new partner intake and on boarding) and maintenance of centrally hosted sites.

Routing

As tickets are created, the Associate Director will triage the ticket to the most appropriate resource in a timely manner. The most appropriate resource may be a member of the Web Team, another Helpdesk, or another entity on campus. The Associate Director, at their discretion, may choose to directly address a ticket, close or delete a ticket, mark a ticket as spam, or direct a ticket as necessary.

In support of this work, the Associate Director will follow these routing procedures:

  • Service interruptions, such as site outages, will be routed to the Systems Engineer for troubleshooting. Service interruptions are the highest priority and will be addressed as soon as possible. The Systems Engineer will be responsible for the resolution of a service interruption and may employ the team and outside resources they need to ensure a successful resolution. They will also be responsible for updating stakeholders, and other interested parties, as to the status and ultimate resolution of the issue.
  • Bugs, content changes, content consultations, training needs, UX / Content Strategy requests, support requests, or technical consultations will be triaged and assigned to a team member for review. Tickets will be triaged to the most appropriate member of the team based on skillset, knowledge, and ability, not availability. Once a ticket has been assigned, it is the team member’s responsibility to see that the issue is addressed in a timely manner. If the ticket has been incorrectly assigned, the team member can work with the Associate Director to redirect the ticket to the most appropriate resource. If the ticket is not reproducible or a valid issue, the ticket may be returned to the Associate Director for further investigation. The Associate Director has the responsibility to validate the concerns and respond as necessary. Any disputes that require mediation may be addressed by the Director of Web Strategy. The team member ultimately assigned to the ticket is responsible for updating the Associate Director as to the status of the ticket up to the point of completion. Ideally, this would occur during the team’s regular check-ins.
  • Feature requests will be considered by the entire team. The Associate Director will present the feature requests during the next regularly scheduled standing meeting and discussed by the team. If accepted, the Associate Director will inform the requestor and enter the request into the backlog for prioritization or, if warranted, sent to the Production and Traffic Manager for chartering. If not accepted, the Associate Director will inform the requestor and provide them with the rationale agreed upon by the team.

The Associate Director will periodically review the queue of tickets to ensure that all tickets are being addressed in a timely manner. The Associate Director may redirect tickets using their best judgement.

Emergency communications and outages

The Web Team is the primary stakeholder responsible for the maintenance and service for the UW main Web site, including the infrastructure that supports it. In the event of an outage or other type of emergency when service is disrupted, the Web Team is responsible for communicating to other stakeholders. Communications will acknowledge, in order:

  • The initial communication will acknowledge an issue exists – this communication must come within 15 minutes of the outage
  • If the issue is known, the issue will be described in non-technical detail
  • If a resolution is known, the estimated time to service restoration
  • If neither are known, or if only one of the above is known, an estimated time until next communication will be provided – the preferred timing for the next message is one hour, however, circumstances might dictate either more or less time
  • If the issue is outside of the Web Team’s control, a stakeholder will be identified, and they will be asked to follow this communications protocol with our stakeholders
  • Repeat this cycle until both the resolution and estimated time to service restoration is known
  • Once the issue is resolved, a final communication will inform that service has been restored
  • As soon as possible after service restoration, a communication detailing the issue, the resolution, and the steps needed to help prevent a future incident will be sent to all stakeholders

Tools

To help the Web Team keep track of their tickets, and assign tickets to resources, a system called Fresh Service is used. This is the same system that University Advancement uses to triage support requests for Marketo. Every member of the Web Team, including interns and management, will have an account with Fresh Service. All tickets will be addressed through the system. Triaged tickets will appear in a queue specific to an individual. Each member of the Web Team will be required to review their ticket queue at least once per day.

  • Procedure ID: WS-PROC-1002
  • Version: 2.1
  • Effective Date: 2026-02-01