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LSA Mac OS Support Model
Macs are supported in the College of LSA based on the IT Commons "community"
model. This somewhat non-traditional model was first adopted as a
cost-effective way to bring full Mac support to the College in 2002, and
today remains a successful structure for ongoing tasks.
First, a quick explanation of what community-based support looks like, and how it differs from other more traditional structures:
| Classroom | Hierarchy | Committee | Community |
|---|
|  |  |  |  |
| Primary Relationship | Teacher/Student | Boss to Employee | Worker to Mediator | Peer to Peer |
|---|
| Leader's Duties | Plan & Instruct | Organize & Control | Negotiate & Mediate | Invite & Enroll |
|---|
| Member's Duties | Learn | Comply & Perform | Cooperate | Collaborate |
|---|
| Incentive | Grades | Raises & Continued employment | Agreement & Completion | Personal commitment & accountability |
|---|
In LSA, Macs are supported using the Community model. There is no one tasked
to make a final decision about anything Mac related, nor to order individuals to
do a given task. Instead, interested people enroll in the community and offer
their expertise and time for tasks that need to be completed. As part of that
collaborative effort, each member becomes accountable for the work that they
do. Rather than answering to a higher power, they instead answer to their
peers. Because everyone relies on everyone else, every member has incentive
to do a good job themselves.
This is basically a load sharing model, where rather than any one person
being in charge of everything, each person is in charge of one component
of the final product.
LSAIT's role in Mac Support
You'll notice from the diagram above that the College provides support through
the presence of Dave Pugh in the community. It's important to remember that
this is a community, and that Dave is a contributer and peer just like everyone
else. Rather than thinking of LSAIT as being in charge of Macs in LSA, you
should think of it more as Dave being LSAIT's contribution to the
community effort.
It just so happens that Dave is tasked with a 100% effort for the community,
while those from the departments may only be able to dedicate a certain
portion of their time toward community efforts. Dave is primarily tasked
with keeping the build infrastructure itself in place, along with ensuring
that the OS and other Apple packages remain compatible with our environment
through regular testing and updates. Additionally, Dave provides
mentorship and training to increase the skills of Mac administrators in
the departments, and acts as the go-to person for problems that go beyond the
skills of a local department administrator and require escalation.
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