Chase Effler Testimonial | Appalachian Network Services
Based in Fletcher, North Carolina, Appalachian Network Services is an MSP IT company specializing in managed services and design integration for new construction. As both an MSP and a design integrator, they offer a unique combination of project-based work and ongoing managed services to clients throughout the region. But as the company expanded, balancing multiple project timelines while maintaining consistent service delivery became an increasing challenge.
Problem
Overcoming organizational change to transform service desk operations
When faced with consistently missed SLA targets and inefficient processes, Appalachian Network Services reached a critical juncture. Their existing "pile method" of ticket management in ConnectWise was creating mounting challenges, yet the prospect of overhauling their entire service desk workflow seemed daunting. The company was struggling to meet their SLA targets and needed a change, but had concerns about disrupting their existing operations.
The service desk faced numerous operational challenges:
• SLA adherence hovering at 60% (against an 80% target)
• Inconsistent ticket prioritization across team members
• Unclear training protocols leading to varied service delivery
• Low employee utilization rates around 30%
• Complex time tracking processes requiring multiple system interactions
• Frequent scheduling conflicts and double bookings
Solution
Solution Embracing Agile and Lean Principles for Service Delivery
With deep roots in agile methodologies, Chase being both a certified Scrum Master and holding a Scrum leadership certificate, the company approached their service delivery transformation through the lens of continuous improvement. Agile principles emphasize adaptability, transparency, and iterative progress, while Lean focuses on eliminating waste and optimizing flow. These are both crucial for modern service desk operations.
For their project work, the company successfully used Scrum. This is an agile framework that breaks large initiatives into manageable "sprints" with regular checkpoints and adjustments based on task priorities. They soon realized their service desk needed a different approach.
Scrum is great for breaking big projects into smaller, manageable chunks, but it didn’t quite fit the fast-paced nature of service desk operations. The constant flow of incoming tickets required something more flexible. That’s when the team discovered Kanban—a system designed to handle a steady stream of small, independent tasks more efficiently.
Kanban turned out to be the perfect fit. It helps teams visualize their work, control task volume, and improve overall workflow efficiency. Here’s why it worked so well for them:
• Make work visible – Everyone on the team could see tasks clearly at a glance.
• Reduce work overload – By limiting how much work is in progress, distractions and context switching were minimized, keeping team members focused on what mattered most.
• Improve workflow – Work moved through the system smoothly without unnecessary slowdowns. Establish feedback loops – Neglected tasks and approaching deadlines became easier to track, ensuring that work got assigned and prioritized correctly.
• Improve collaboratively - As tickets are assigned, team members can immediately view the tickets along with their prioritization levels, ensuring transparency and prompt action.
By switching to Kanban, their service desk became more organized, efficient, and responsive to incoming requests, exactly what they needed to keep things running smoothly.
This is when they decided to implement TopLeft, a visual project management tool that empowers MSPs to efficiently track and manage their resources, neglected tickets, deadlines, time-entries, tasks, tickets, and projects through TopLeft’s Kanban Boards, Swimlanes and Gantt Charts in real-time (all while integrating with Connectwise, Autotask and HaloPSA).
Moving from resistance to acceptance
Deciding how to implement TopLeft wasn’t something the team took lightly. Chase, a certified Scrum Master with a strong background in Agile methodology, understood the limitations of their current system. But getting leadership on board was just as important. The biggest concern? Avoiding workflow disruptions, especially when it came to juggling multiple platforms.
After months of careful evaluation, the team put together a solid plan to:
• Replace manual ticket prioritization with visual workflows showing priorities in one dashboard
• Standardize service delivery metrics for consistency
• Simplify time tracking to reduce admin work
• Enhance visibility into resource availability and assignments
• Integrate seamlessly with their existing ConnectWise setup
• The goal was simple: create a system that truly worked for the team.
Kanban turned out to be the best fit for their hybrid model of project-based and MSP work. It allowed them to track progress from start to finish while keeping everything flowing smoothly.
Implementation Framework
The implementation focused on four key areas:
1. Visualized Prioritization System
• Established clear "guardrails" for ticket handling through TopLeft’s prioritization levels.
• Eliminated subjective prioritization through viewing neglected tickets and deadlines immediately.
• Created easy-to-follow service workflows that can be adjusted on the spot as priorities shift.
2. Enhanced Time Tracking
• Enabled multi-ticket tracking in one dashboard
• Streamlined time entry processes
• Integrated project and service tracking
3. Resource Optimization
• Implemented a dispatch portal that could be implemented on the spot
• View scheduling conflicts and resolve them in real-time
• View resources and resource tasks all in one vie
4. System Integration
• Connect with existing Connectwise infrastructure
• Maintain workflow compatibility
Results
Measurable Outcomes
The implementation delivered significant improvements across key metrics:
SLA Performance
• Improved from 60% to over 90% adherence
• Established consistent performance standards
Employee Utilization
• Increased from 30% to 75%
• Enhanced resource allocation accuracy
• Improved productivity tracking
Management Efficiency
• Reduced prioritization oversight needs
• Eliminated recurring training requirements
• Improved project-service resource balance
The full implementation and adoption process took only a few months. While the initial onboarding wasn't optimal, by the end of this period, TopLeft had become their primary platform for ticket management. The team only needed to access ConnectWise occasionally for minor tasks.
In addition, the results justified the investment.
"We had a lot of manager meetings where it was like 'is it worth redoing the entire way we do help desk tickets?' We really worried about the amount of effort we both as a department and as management would need to put in to make this thing work. But I think demonstrably at least for my company it has been absolutely beneficial. It was absolutely worth the amount of effort and time we had to put in to integrate the system."
Chase, Engineering Manager, Appalachian Network Services
How TopLeft can Help Your MSP
Don't let operational inefficiencies hold your team back. TopLeft's integrated solution can help you:
• Streamline ticket management with visualized prioritization of team tickets, projects and priorities
• Boost team utilization through simplified time tracking
• Achieve and maintain superior SLA performance
• Transform service desk operations without disrupting existing workflows
