AI-Driven IT Support and Routine Task Automation Challenge

1. Natural Language Processing (NLP):
   1. Develop a chatbot or virtual assistant that can understand and respond to user queries in natural language.
   2. Implement sentiment analysis to prioritize urgent issues.
   3. Ensure the system can handle a wide range of IT-related questions and provide accurate, context-aware responses.
2. Automated Ticketing Systems:
   1. Create a system that can automatically generate and categorize tickets based on user input.
   2. Implement workflows for ticket escalation and resolution.
   3. Integrate with existing IT service management (ITSM) tools used by Southern Company.
3. Self-Healing Mechanisms:
   1. Develop algorithms to detect and diagnose common issues across various IT domains, including networks, servers, storage, databases, and platforms.
   2. Implement automated solutions to resolve these issues without human intervention.
   3. Ensure the system can learn from past incidents to improve future performance.
4. Routine Task Management:
   1. Identify and document routine tasks that need to be performed to maintain IT system health.
   2. Develop a system to schedule and execute these tasks automatically, ensuring they are performed consistently.
   3. Allow for easy updates to the list of tasks as new tasks are identified or existing tasks need to be changed or removed.

• Ensure the system has appropriate security measures to prevent misuse of elevated privileges required to perform routine task.
• Implement robust authentication and authorization mechanisms to protect user data and maintain system integrity.

• A working prototype of the AI-driven support system with routine task automation.
• Documentation detailing the system architecture, design decisions, and implementation process.
• A presentation demonstrating the system's capabilities and potential benefits to Southern Company's IT operations.

• Scalability: Ensure the system can handle a large number of users and a wide range of IT issues.
• Security: Implement robust security measures to protect user data and maintain system integrity.
• User Experience: Design an intuitive and user-friendly interface for both end- users and IT support staff.
• Integration: Consider how the solution can be integrated with Southern Company's existing IT infrastructure and tools.
• Flexibility: Ensure the system can be easily updated to reflect changes in routine tasks and IT environment.

• The project submissions should be the work of the project team. If faculty and/or other individuals have significantly contributed to the submission, please be sure to note their contributions.
• Alpha / Early development system solutions are completely acceptable.
• Submissions that are based on pre-beta solutions and/or from pre-existing on-going coursework projects are acceptable as well.
• The contest materials must be submitted by the due dates.
• Teams must be members of an AIS Student Chapter.
• If the number of submissions allow, graduate and undergraduate groups may be judged separately. In this case, a team with a 50% or more graduate student composition will be classified as a graduate student team.
• No deliverable can identify the university or school to which the team belongs. The team must refrain from using school colors in the submitted documents. The video should not indicate to which school the team belongs. If school identification is included in any of the submitted documents or video, the team will be eliminated from the competition. 

Submit Here

The top submissions, as scored by the judges, will move on to the final round, to be held in person during the 2025 Student Chapter Leadership Conference at the University of Alabama. 

In this round, the teams will be required to make a 15-minute presentation of their report to a panel of judges. After the presentation, there will be a 10-minute Q&A with the panel of judges.  Each slide deck must contain a title slide including the names of the team members (no email addresses or other contact information). The team should not identify its school affiliation on the title slide or anywhere else in the slide deck, nor should it mention that affiliation (directly or indirectly) during its presentation. Team members should refrain from wearing school colors.

• Innovation: How creative and innovative is the solution?
• Functionality: Does the system effectively automate routine IT tasks and provide real-time assistance?
• Feasibility: Is the solution practical and feasible for implementation within Southern Company?
• Scalability: Can the system scale to meet the needs of Southern Company's IT operations?
• Security: Does the system have appropriate security measures to prevent misuse and protect data?
• Presentation: How well do the students present their solution and its potential impact?

Questions? Contact ais2025@ua.edu