Information Technology (IT) is central to modern life. From our homes to our largest enterprises, we are surrounded by software and hardware systems that support our work and personal lives: wireless access points, network routers, firewalls, virus scanners, databases, web servers, storage and backup systems, etc. These systems exist to allow us to work, communicate, and provide value to society in general by supporting us manage inventory, interact with friends or customers, or sell products through websites. Yet all too often, managing the underlying IT infrastructure takes time and resources away from the real work at hand. The size and complexity of modern infrastructures is increasing rapidly, and successful systems management involves a complex blend of technical and human issues. We are now at a turning point where further advances in technology, business efficiency and growth require fundamentally new approaches to IT system design, management, and services.
The CHIMIT symposium has been held annually since 2007 and it provides a unique opportunity for researchers and practitioners to meet and share issues, solutions, and research in this area. It is intended to foster collaboration between researchers in fields such as human-computer interaction, human factors, and management and service sciences, and practitioners in the management of large IT systems.
We designed the symposium program to include one day of technical presentations and papers followed by a one-day workshop in conjunction with the LISA 2011 conference. This will provide an opportunity for in-depth discussion with highly experienced system administrators.
Submission topics include, but are not limited to:
- User studies of IT infrastructure management in context, exposing user needs, pain points, work practices, and examples of both successful and unsuccessful work.
- Design – approaches to bring about improved, human-centered IT systems.
- Experience reports by practitioners and researchers.
- Case studies on specific aspects of IT management.
- Experimental studies on the usage of new or existing IT systems.
- Tools and techniques for improved administration, e.g., visualizations of system behavior, or collaborative interfaces.
- Automation approaches to reduce administration workload or improve productivity.
- Computer supported cooperative work – how do those who manage an organization’s IT interact with the users they support, their technical community, and other stakeholders?
- Organizational knowledge – how can shared knowledge improve IT management.
- Processes and practices – examples of best practices and improved processes in IT management.
- New technologies – how will the changing technological landscape (e.g., cloud computing, pervasive mobile devices, etc.) affect IT management?
- IT beyond the enterprise – what are the implications now that we’re doing backups, network configuration, etc. in the home?
Further examples may be found on the Topics page.