1. Chapter 1 Introduction to the Help Desk Introduction to Help Desk Concepts & Skills Mike Meyers’ Computer Skills

2. Support in the 21st Century
Proactive
Personal
Users
Business
Broad scope
24 x 7 – follow the sun
Experienced users
Users rely on HD & self-help tools

3. What is a Help Desk? Single-point of contact Support for Users
Internal or external
Customers and users
Technologies
Hardware
Communication devices
Software

4. How is an internal help desk different from an external help desk?
Question
How is an internal help desk different from an external help desk?

5. Users Experience Exposure Reliance
Various levels of experience and confidence
“power users”
Exposure
To certain aspects but not all
Reliance
Varies

6. Question Suppose a help desk gets three problems at once:
The Web site on which the company takes sales orders is not working
A vice president cannot print a report that he must distribute in three days
Several employees are unable to send
What priority would you give to each of these problems, and why?

7. Common User Problems Hardware Software Network Security
Compatibility, configuration and malfunction
Software
Installation, compatibility and performance
Network
Connection
Security
User accounts, passwords and access
Operating System
Conflicts, virus and corrupt files
Severity can vary
User
did something incorrectly

8. People Skills Communication Problem-solving Customer-service Technical
Listening, questioning & communicating
Problem-solving
Definition, analysis, identification & evaluation of solutions, plan
Customer-service
Service Level Agreements (SLA)
Technical
Business

9. Do you agree or disagree?
Debate
“Technical skills and knowledge are not the most important requirements for a support specialist”
Do you agree or disagree?
Justify your answer.

10. Process Management
A process is a set of activities performed in a specific order that results in a desired end.
Problem
Receiving, monitoring & resolving
Request/change
Responding to user requests
Knowledge
Collecting, organising, analysing and distributing information
Asset
Collecting and marinating information on assets
Network
Managing and controlling the network configurations
Security
Providing and maintaining security for IT assets

11. Help Desk Tools Problem management Tools HELPSTAR Computer Telephony
Log, track and record information about problems reported to the helpdesk
HELPSTAR
Computer Telephony
Identify caller, monitor, route, prioritise and record calls

12. Help Desk Tools Problem Resolution Tools
Determine cause of users’ problems and develop effective solutions
Remote access
Knowledge bases
Self-help technology
Web

13. Measuring Performance
Objective measures
Average length of an incoming call
Average queue time
Abandon rate
First line resolution rate
Average resolution time
Calls exceeding SLA

14. Measuring Performance
Subjective measures
Customer satisfaction
Staff satisfaction
Organisation satisfaction

15. Review
Page 23 & 24
Projects 1, 7, 9 & 10
Strategies 1 - 3