(opens new window)Because we oversee 350+ Web sites and get a large number of new requests, questions and maintenance requests each day it's important we have an efficient way to manage them all while still getting other work done. I cannot be at my computer all day so most of the requests have to be read and assigned by the team itself.

How we do it

We have a central email address. web [at] wayne [dot] edu. That email goes into a central inbox. Inside that inbox everyone has a folder and there is an archive folder where every project we work on has it's own box.

This inbox is mapped to everyone's computer. Throughout the day different people check the box and scan to determine who is the most appropriate to take each request. They put the email in the person's folder and move on. The inbox then syncs across everyone's computer.

We use a plugin called TruePreview (opens new window) for OS X Mail that keeps email's unread until they are double clicked or force marked. This makes it possible for each of us is scanning the folders to see how many new emails are waiting.

This process allows everyone to have a list of items to read and respond to. If it was assigned by accident they can just move it into someone else's folder and move on.

Completed Tasks

Once an email or task is done the whole conversation get moved into the z_Archive folder. Every project has their own folder to things are kept nice and neat. The beauty of it is the folders automatically update and everyone has the same content on their computers. No conversations or files are lost.

Why not use a ticket system?

Over the past 6 years we have played with the idea of a true ticket system, and have even tested a few. The problem is a separate system brings a level of unnecessary overhead. We don't really need to pull stats from all the tickets and our staff really isn't that large. Everyone already knows how to use email and having a central single interface makes processing hundreds of emails quite easy. There are downsides to our system though, like if someone deletes something it will probably be overlooked or if someone is sick and no one looks in their folder to pick up tasks. But this is a risk we are willing to take and is inherit to any task based system.

Simple solutions

The solution to this tough problem doesn't have to be a complex system. Our department strives to use existing tool and centralize and streamline as much as possible to get the most bang for the buck. We are use to working with limited resources and we apply this philosophy to everything we do. In this case a zero cost crowd sourced analyze and assign system was the best approach. I cannot be at my computer all day and I don't want to be the one to have to  look at all the requests and assigning them. Everyone knows their capabilities and has the authority and position to act on them as they see necessary. It's a beautiful system that just works.

Added: I'm in no way saying this system is going to work for everyone but it works great for us.