1. A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk & Support Specialists Fourth Edition by Fred Beisse Chapter 6 User Support Management

2. Chapter Objectives In this chapter, students will learn about: The mission of a support group Steps to staff a support position The contents of a training program for support staff Certification for support professionals Professional associations for support workers Ethical conduct guidelines for support professionals A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk & Support Specialist, Fourth Edition 2

3. Reasons to Study User Support Management Applicants for support positions need to understand the perspectives of support managers Support specialists in small organizations often perform management tasks –Project lead or coordinator tasks –Supervisory or lead worker responsibilities –User support group management A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk & Support Specialist, Fourth Edition 3

4. Common User Support Management Concerns Mission statement Performance measures User support staffing Training for user support staff A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk & Support Specialist, Fourth Edition 4

5. Example of a User Support Mission Statement Mission statement : list of guiding principles that communicate support goals and objectives to staff, users, and management Example: The mission of the user support group is to: (a) maximize operational efficiency among users in an organization by providing timely resolution to technology use questions and (b) effectively manage problems to continuously improve the: –Quality of support services to users –Usability of information systems –Effectiveness of documentation and training –Users’ satisfaction with support services A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk & Support Specialist, Fourth Edition 5

6. User Support Performance and Justification Performance statistics: objective summary information about user support or help desk operation Examples: –Average time to respond to incidents (wait time) –Percent of abandoned incidents (abandonment rate) –Average resolution time for incidents –Percentage of problems that could not be resolved –Percentage of closed incidents that had to be reopened –Number of unresolved incidents A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk & Support Specialist, Fourth Edition 6

7. Use of Performance Statistics Most useful when compared across days, days of week, or months to display trends over time Can be computed for an entire support organization, a help desk team, or to compare employees’ performance Often used to justify the need and budget for support services A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk & Support Specialist, Fourth Edition 7

8. User Satisfaction Surveys User satisfaction survey: questionnaire to measure how satisfied users are with support services Contents –General questions about support services –Questions about specific support staff members’ performance Methods –Follow-up phone call –Mailed questionnaire –E-mailed questionnaire –Web-based survey A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk & Support Specialist, Fourth Edition 8

9. User Satisfaction Surveys (continued) Typical survey questions measure: Availability of help when needed Responsiveness of staff Ability to communicate effectively Usefulness of online resources Technical knowledge of staff Ability to resolve problems A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk & Support Specialist, Fourth Edition 9

10. Justify Support Services User support in an organization’s budget may be a: Cost center –Support budget includes only expense items –Expense examples: payroll, benefits, taxes, equipment, software, overhead Profit center –Support budget includes both revenue (income) and expenses – Revenue examples: income from service fees, contracts, and per incident A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk & Support Specialist, Fourth Edition 10

11. Justify Support Services (continued) How to justify user support as a cost center –Performance statistics –User satisfaction surveys –Sometimes difficult to justify support center expenses when no direct income is produced How to justify user support as a profit center –Income based on level of support that clients need Free support (no income) Fee-for-service (pay-as-you-go income) Premium support (stable contract income) –Somewhat easier to justify support center expense when revenue offsets at least some expenses A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk & Support Specialist, Fourth Edition 11

12. Staffing a Help Desk Management challenge: how many help desk staff are needed to meet the level of service demands efficiently? –Need to have sufficient staff available to meet the demand for timely responses to incidents –Need to keep staff to a minimum to avoid idle agents and unproductive expenses Erlang: a unit of traffic (such as user calls) in a given time period Erlang calculations estimate the number of help desk agents required to meet peak demand and off-peak times A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk & Support Specialist, Fourth Edition 12

13. Steps in Recruiting Help Desk Agents 1.Use mission statement as basis for staff planning 2.Analyze knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) needed 3.Write position description(s) 4.Prepare advertising for open positions 5.Screen applications received for best match with KSAs 6.Interview applicants with best combination of KSAs 7.Check interviewee employment references A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk & Support Specialist, Fourth Edition 13

14. Common KSAs for Help Desk Agents Hardware, operating system, and application software proficiency Specific technical skills needed for position Network skills and experience Internet and Web expertise Troubleshooting and problem-solving capabilities Communication, listening, writing, and telephone skills Work experience as a project team member Understands information systems and business perspectives A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk & Support Specialist, Fourth Edition 14

15. Example KSAs for a Help Desk Position Experience with Intel-compatible hardware platforms Skilled in use and support of local area network (LAN) in office environment Windows XP or Windows Vista operating system experience Working knowledge of Microsoft Office applications Ability to troubleshoot technical problems Ability to communicate effectively with users, other agents, and managers Ability to work as an effective member of a support team A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk & Support Specialist, Fourth Edition 15

16. Categories of Interview Questions Common categories of questions asked in an employment interview Knowledge and skills test questions Traditional interview questions –Directed questions –Non-directed questions Behavioral questions Scenario questions Stress tolerance assessment A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk & Support Specialist, Fourth Edition 16

17. Employment Interview Tools Knowledge and skills question: measure an applicant’s knowledge and problem-solving abilities Interview questions about applicant’s educational and work background and experience –Directed question : determine whether applicant has specific qualifications –Non-directed question : give applicant an opportunity to talk in general terms about their qualifications Behavioral question: asks applicant to describe actions they took in a specific situation A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk & Support Specialist, Fourth Edition 17

18. Employment Interview Tools (continued) Scenario question : gives applicant a specific problem representative of problems agents actually encounter Stress tolerance assessment : interview environment designed to evaluate an applicant’s performance under pressure –Noisy –Interruptions –Multiple interviewers –Overly technical questions A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk & Support Specialist, Fourth Edition 18

19. Illegal Interview Questions Questions or characteristics that it is illegal to inquire about in an employment interview Age Ethnicity Marital status (and family background) Sexual orientation Religious affiliation (and political beliefs) Disabilities (except to determine need for accommodations under Americans for Disabilities Act – ADA compliance) A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk & Support Specialist, Fourth Edition 19

20. User Support Staff Training Staff training for help desk agents includes: New employee orientation –Organizational culture, policies, and procedures –Payroll and employee benefit information –Specific job skill training –Help desk tools used –Support group policies and procedures –Performance appraisal criteria and procedures –Professional development and career path opportunities A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk & Support Specialist, Fourth Edition 20

21. User Support Staff Training (continued) Ongoing help desk training –Requires scheduled downtime for agents –Goal: keep help desk staff current with changes in computer and help desk technology Professional growth and development is a joint responsibility of company and help desk staff members –Attend conferences, training sessions, and workshops –Read trade publications A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk & Support Specialist, Fourth Edition 21

22. Performance Appraisals for Support Agents Performance appraisal: process to evaluate support agent according to established criteria –Based on support mission statement –Based on position description –Related to employee’s professional growth objectives Common performance appraisal tools –Performance statistics –Monitored calls A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk & Support Specialist, Fourth Edition 22

23. User Support Certification Certification - assessment process to measure and document employee knowledge and skills Individual certification –Formal education (certificate, diploma, degree) –Vendor-specific product knowledge and skills –Industry-standard (vendor-neutral) knowledge Certification of a support group –Evaluated against support industry best practices, which are procedures, tools and methods that successful support groups use A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk & Support Specialist, Fourth Edition 23

24. Vendor-Specific Certification Examples Microsoft Certified Applications Specialist (MCAS) –Office applications (Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint) Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) –Cisco network administration Apple Certified Support Professional (ASCP) –Mac OS X operating system A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk & Support Specialist, Fourth Edition 24

25. Industry-Standard Certification Examples Comptia’s A+, Network+, Security+, Project+ –A+ covers hardware, operating systems, configuring, installing, diagnosing, and maintaining PCs ICCP’s Associate Computer Professional (ASP) –Knowledge and skills earned in academic and vocational degree programs Linux Professional Institute’s LPIC certificate –Linux operating system administration A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk & Support Specialist, Fourth Edition 25

26. User Support and Help Desk Certification Examples Help Desk Institute –Support center analyst (SCA) For help desk agents –Desktop support technician (DST) For user support workers who provide face-to-face technical support –Others: Customer service rep (CSR) Help desk team lead Help desk manager A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk & Support Specialist, Fourth Edition 26

27. User Support and Help Desk Certification Examples (continued) Microsoft –Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) Windows Vista support –Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP) Configuring and supporting Windows Vista and applications software that runs on Vista –Microsoft Certified Desktop Support Technician (MCDST) Configuring and supporting Windows XP and applications software that runs on XP A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk & Support Specialist, Fourth Edition 27

28. Benefits of Certification Recognized benchmark of minimum-level job skills and expertise Justification for pay increases Justification for promotions Documents efforts to keep up-to-date in field Feeling of accomplishment and increased job satisfaction A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk & Support Specialist, Fourth Edition 28

29. Is Certification a Job Requirement? Some position descriptions and job ads now list certification requirement For other positions, certification is optional –Provides documentation of knowledge and skills to supplement formal education –However, job requirements in user support vary; few agreed-on industry-wide standards A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk & Support Specialist, Fourth Edition 29

30. Certification Process 1. Acquire knowledge and skills covered by the certification exam 2. Evaluate skills by taking a pretest assessment exam (optional) 3. Take certification exam – May include preparatory course to cover steps 1 and 2 4. Retake parts of certification test not passed A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk & Support Specialist, Fourth Edition 30

31. Common Ways to Prepare for Certification Exams College and vocational/technical courses targeted to popular certification exams Crash courses: intensive exam preparatory classes –Expensive –Time-consuming –Sometimes called boot camps Online tutorial courses : use computer-based (CBT) or Web-based (WBT) training methods Self-study courses: self-paced tutorials in book format –Lowest cost –Little help available A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk & Support Specialist, Fourth Edition 31

32. Certification Tests Certification test formats Traditional fixed-length sequence of questions and problems Adaptive test: method used in some certification exams that asks selected questions from a computerized test database –Questions are graded in difficulty to quickly estimate a test taker’s proficiency –Advantages Asks fewer questions than traditional test Takes less time Reduces testing stress Reduces boredom from too easy or repetitious questions A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk & Support Specialist, Fourth Edition 32

33. User Support as a Profession 2006 employment: 800,000 workers in US employed as computer support specialists and system administrators - US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk & Support Specialist, Fourth Edition 33

34. Changes in Employment Employment trends 2000s decade: some reduction in support employment –2001-2003 recession –Overseas outsourcing of lower-level support positions 2010s decade: forecasted increases in support employment –Computer support specialist: average rate of growth –Network and computer system administrators: above average rate of growth A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk & Support Specialist, Fourth Edition 34

35. Professional Associations for Support Workers Professional association: formal organization that represents interests of a group of professionals and provides services to its membership Publishes journals, magazines, and books Encourages professional growth of members through seminars and conferences Offers training and certification programs Facilitates membership contacts via e-mail, Web sites, chat rooms, blogs, newsgroups, and local chapters Encourages members to adhere to code of ethical conduct A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk & Support Specialist, Fourth Edition 35

36. Examples of User Support Professional Associations A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk & Support Specialist, Fourth Edition 36

37. Example Principles of Ethical Conduct for IT Professionals A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk & Support Specialist, Fourth Edition 37

38. Example Principles of Ethical Conduct for IT Professionals (continued) A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk & Support Specialist, Fourth Edition 38

39. Chapter Summary A mission statement defines guiding principles and goals of a support group Performance statistics and user satisfaction surveys help evaluate agent and support group performance Support managers prepare position descriptions and job ads based on KSAs for open help desk agent positions Interviews for support positions include knowledge and skill test questions, traditional directed and non- directed questions, behavioral and scenario questions, and perhaps a stress tolerance interview environment A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk & Support Specialist, Fourth Edition 39

40. Chapter Summary (continued) Project management steps for special projects –Definition –Planning –Implementation –Monitoring –Termination Automated project management tools help prepare Gantt Charts, participant assignments, and budgets A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk & Support Specialist, Fourth Edition 40

41. Chapter Summary (continued) Training for support agents includes new employee orientation and ongoing professional development Certification for support professionals includes college degrees, vendor-specific, and industry-standard certification programs Associations of support workers address the needs of support professionals Codes of ethical behavior and standards of conduct guide members of professional associations A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk & Support Specialist, Fourth Edition 41