Module CC3002 Post Implementation Issues Lecture for Week 4 AY 2013 Spring
SUPPORT Help Desk
Support Issues What do we need from System Support? IS Support Service: The Help Desk Service Level Agreements Enhancement Request
Help Desk – Characteristics Purpose Roles Skills Structure Issue Tracking Escalation Customer Responsibilites
Help Desk – Titles Computer Support Center IT Response Center Customer Support Center IT Call Center IT Support Desk
Help Desk – Purpose The help desk is essentially a central point though which problems or issues are reported and subsequently managed and coordinated.
Help Desk – Purpose From a general or wider perspective, it is an integral part of the service function, responsible for bringing resources together to address a problem or other issue. Help Desk World(2012)
Help Desk – Roles Help Desk Manager – Coordinates and controls help desk – Allocates resources Front Line Staff /Operators – Deal with customers reporting issue Back Line Staff/ Technicians – Deal with specialist issues
Help Desk – Skills Proactive Focus Problem Solving Communication Technical Expertise Customer Service -Czegel, 1999
Help Desk – Action Customer identifies difficulty/problem/issue Reports concerns to Help Desk Help Desk receives and logs items Items referred to different support levels until resolved
Help Desk – Action Support Levels – First, Second and Third Level – Front Line and Back Line
Help Desk – Action New issues logged in a dedicated Help Desk Management IS – Unique reference number is generated for each issue Help Desk Management IS is used to track issues until resolved
Help Desk – LondonMet
Help Desk – Known Issues
Help Desk – Structure Front Line Second Level Third Level FRONT LINE BACK LINE Can’t be resolved by Front Line Requires special expertise Issues
Help Desk – Support Models Tourniaire and Farrel, 1997 – Front Line – Back Line – Touch and Hold Czegel, 1999 – Resolve or Dispatch
Front Line – Resolve or Dispatch Resolve – try to solve first – Attempts to deal with problem – Passes to next stage if not resolved within time frame Dispatch – refer to problem immediately – Support issue received and logged – Immediately passes to second or third level group
Front Line – Resolve or Dispatch Back Line Staff – divided to specialist groups – Hardware/OS/Application Software Each group has support queue Front Line Staff – Dispatch issue to appropriate support group
Front Line/Back Line Model Front Line – Team of Junior Support Staff – Try to resolve issues within a set time period Back Line – Senior Support Staff – Take on issues not resolved by front line
Front Line/Back Line Model Advantages – Utilizes staff effectively – Provides training/career path – Predictable customer model Disadvantages – Issues require hand over – Takes time – Risk of information loss – Customer interacts with many people
Touch and Hold Model Front line retain ownership of the issue Supported by more experienced back line staff No handover from front line to back line
Touch and Hold Model Advantages – Fewer handovers – Front line staff more skilled – Smoother work flow Disadvantages – Better qualified staff required for front line – Requires tighter management of back line staff
Support Issue – Life Cycle Activities need to be logged – Contacting customer/user – Escalating the issue – Recording results – Resolving the issue – Update support issue achieve
Contacting the Customer Ring customer with progress report Send customer updates Attach screen shots/error messages Arrange visits to resolve issue Inform users about known problems
Contacting the Customer New call logged Update Nearly resolved Arrange visit On hold Resolved – Successful Resolved – Unsuccessful
Contacting the Customer Mailbox too large Planned down time
Contacting the Customer More down time
Escalating the Issue Escalate issue to another level – For technical reasons – Issue not resolved in given time – Greater level of authority required
Escalating the Issue Escalate issue to another level – For technical reasons – Issue not resolved in given time – Greater level of authority required
Escalation Reassigning an incident to a new resource that may have more specific expertise, available time, authority to resolve issue. Microsoft,1997 Escalation raises the profile of an issue and is triggered by certain criteria
Recording Results Nature of issue Nature of investigation Solution approaches How resolved Writing background notes
Issue Tracking Need to keep track of support issues Specialist Help Desk Mgmt IS used Record details of each support issue Information used to manage – Individual issue/overall performance
Issue Tracking - Initial Identify issue – Unique reference number Who logged the issue – Personal details When was issue logged? – Date and Time What is the priority of issue? – High/medium/low
Issue Tracking – In Progress Current Status – Open/In Progress/Resolved Who currently owns the issue? – Support person working on the issue What has happened to date? – History of Events
Resolving the Issue Communicate resolution to customer Check the solution worked Confirm closure of the issue
Update Issue Achieve Recording details of support issue Recording details of resolution Update knowledge base – Help solve similar problems in future
Support Plan Sometimes called – A customer care plan – A service level agreement Defines levels of service customer can expect
Support Plan – Defines What is supported – Scope of support, category of issue Who is supported – Support users/managers How is it supported – Help Desk procedures When is it supported – Hours of Service
Customer Responsibility Who can report support issues What information must be provided How to contact Help Desk
Support Plan – Agreement What the Help Desk will do – Target for responding and resolving issue What the Customer will do – Reporting support issues appropriately
Summary Purpose Roles Skills Action Support Models Support Issue Life Cycle Issue Tracking Escalation Support Plan
Thanks Y Thank You.