1. Panayiotis Christodoulou

2. Objectives  •How historical changes in computer technology have affected computer use  •Ways to classify end users  •Computing resources that end users need  •The major categories of end-user applications software  •Common problems end users may encounter

3. Objectives  •What the job market demand is for user support employees  •Common ways that organizations provide a user support function  •Services that user support groups provide  •Typical position descriptions for user support staff members  •The knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to qualify for an entry-level user support position  •Career paths for user support workers

4. As more employees and home users have access to computers the demand for support increases. Organizations that provide computer systems to their workers cannot end their support there. Employees need software and hardware assistance to become more productive. There have been three trends that have influenced the demand for user support employees in organizations. The first trend has been the economic recession that began in March of 2001 which caused an increase in unemployment. This resulted in a decrease in hiring in all technology fields including user support.

5. Secondly, U.S. companies are increasingly moving technical support jobs overseas where there are well trained workers available with wages that are lower than in the US. Thirdly, some organizations are contracting with temporary agencies for a time. Some of the temporary positions turn into permanent positions. The temporary assignment often serves as a trial period for both the employee and the employer.

6. Computer user support (or simply user support) provides information and services to employees or customers to help them use computers more productively in their jobs or at home. Technical support is a level of user support that focuses on high-level troubleshooting and problem solving. Sometimes computer user support is called technical support. The name is not as important as the function that the support team serves.

7. Organizations provide support to employees and/or customers in a variety of ways. Informal peer support is where one or more employees who have other job titles and responsibilities are identified as the person to contact when there are questions about computing. This model is usually used in small organizations or departments where help is provided informally within the department or organization. The first step to more formalized support is when an existing employee has user support responsibilities written into an existing position description.

8. When the volume of support responsibilities can no longer be handled by part-time peer staff an organization has two options. One option is to create a full time position that has a support employee with a greater breadth and depth of technical skills. The second alternative is to organize several part- time support employees into a user support group, which is a formal workgroup that is organized to provide computer user support services.

9. A help desk is organized to provide a single point of contact for users in need of technical support, whether they are internal employees or external customers. Help desks can take the form of a physical location that users can visit or where technicians can be dispatched, a telephone hotline number or an e-mail address or Web site that can be contacted for assistance. The help desk staff have the responsibility of solving the problem as soon as possible. They will often act as an interface between services if they cannot directly solve the problem.

10. A user support center (also called an information center) provides a wide range of services to an organization’s computer users, who are primarily internal users. Some organizations place the user support responsibility with the Information Services (IS) Department. There can be problems with this model because the IS staff is primarily responsible for the mainframes and telecommunications infrastructure. This area may be too busy to provide adequate user support. On the other hand, it allows for all corporate computing activities to be kept under one umbrella.

11. Organizations can be successful with either centralized support under the IS department or having support under a user support center as long as the user’s needs are met.

12. Another option is to outsource user support to a vendor. To outsource user support services, an organization contracts with an outside vendor that specializes in user support functions to handle support calls. Outsourcing can have cost advantages as well as providing expertise that does not exist among existing support staff. There are some disadvantages to outsourcing. Outsourced support usually occurs by telephone or e-mail. The costs are predictable but they aren’t necessarily lower than internal support. Because the organization relies on the vendor’s staff there is little transfer of knowledge from the support provider staff to internal staff. Also, when support is outsourced the members of the support staff rarely develop a personal relationship with the organization’s end users.

13. User support centers in organizations provide a variety of services. The staff of a help desk or hotline can respond to requests for product information, market and sell products and services, provide solutions to problems, receive and log user complaints about product features and handle warranties and authorize product return or exchanges.

14. Support centers can also provide more in depth technical troubleshooting that is beyond that which a help desk staff can supply. Support staff members can also assist end users in locating information from a variety of sources to resolve questions or problems. The responsibility of evaluating new hardware, software and network products often falls to the experienced technical staff of the support center.

15. The support center is generally asked to create support standards. Support standards are a list of computer products that an organization allows its employees to use and that it will support. The support center staff is generally responsible for performing needs assessments for the organizational staff and then providing purchasing assistance for new hardware and software. Once new systems arrive, they provide system installation assistance. After the machines are set up and users begin to work with them the need for training on computer systems and procedures becomes important. The support center staff may also prepare computer documentation that can be used in the work environment.

16. Professional staff in a support center can include operators for mainframe systems, hardware, software and network engineers and others who ensure that the computer facilities are maintained.

17. Computer facilities managers can be responsible for such things as network security, media backups, virus detection and prevention, ergonomic analyses, supplies management, preventative maintenance and repairs on hardware, and other related tasks. In some organizations the support center staff may help users develop software applications to solve specific problems. Unlike the IS department, the support center generally assumes the role of helping users create applications. Application development is the least common activity for user support centers. When applying for a position in a support center, an applicant should be sure to obtain a well-rounded picture of the support environment.

18. Positions descriptions in the user support industry contain many of the elements mentioned in the previous section. To understand what support center staff members are required to know it is important to read position descriptions very carefully. The three different position descriptions in the book serve as an example of how wide a variety of tasks a user support specialist can be called upon to perform.

19. One way to better understand the requirements for a specific position is to analyze them in terms of knowledge, skills and abilities needed to perform the job. Each position includes a description of what an employee needs to know in order to do the job. Each position also requires specific skills or tasks that a support specialist must be able to perform well. Abilities are special tasks or skills that a support specialist can either do or not do depending upon the situation.

20. Few employees start in an entry-level position with all of the knowledge, skills and abilities they need to perform every task listed on the job description. Most support positions include training programs and staff development.

21. One way to understand the requirements for a specific position is to analyze them in terms of KSAs, the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to perform he job. Each position description includes a description of what an employee needs to know in order to do the job. It may be started in terms of a specific amount of education, a degree in a specific field, or a list of topics that an employee is expected to know. User support positions may require specific job skills in one or more areas. Generally, a skill is a task that a support specialist can perform better with practice or experience. Abilities are functions that an applicant can either do or not do.

22. An entry-level position in user support can lead to a variety of more advanced positions. One type of position is that of a computer programmer or Web application developer. People who work in this type of position write code into a computer language or a scripting language. To advance into this type of position it often requires coursework in programming languages and a four-year degree. A network technician position often includes tasks such as installing and configuring network servers and client systems, network cabling and troubleshooting, performance analysis and configuration, facilities management and related tasks.

23. A Web site maintainer is a worker who uses Web development software packages to build and maintain Web sites. End-user support workers may also aspire to move into a supervisory position in a support group. Project management is another path that entry-level support workers can take.

24. This type of position manages other workers, budgets, schedules and deadlines. Support employees may also move into positions as trainers or technical writers. Finally, a growing job category since the attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001 is a computer security specialist. These positions generally require additional study and specialization beyond a basic user support degree.

25.  chat session - A Web-based interactive service that allows two or more users who are both online to communicate by alternately typing and viewing messages; also called instant messaging.  computer facilities management - Support services to help users with information and questions about security, media backups, viruses, ergonomics, purchase of supplies, preventative maintenance, and other tasks required to keep a computer system operational.  computer user support - A job function or department in an organization that provides information and services to employees or customers to help them use computers more productively in their jobs or at home.  help desk - A single point of contact for users in need of technical support, whether employees or external customers; may provide information and problem- solving services face to face, by telephone, or by e-mail.  hotline - A telephone number that an internal or external user can call to reach a help desk service. information center –An older name for a user support center.  KSAs -The knowledge, skills, and abilities required to perform a job.

26.  needs analysis - An investigation to determine the features and configuration of hardware and software that will best match a user's specific needs; also called needs assessment.  outsource -An arrangement or agreement in which an organization contracts with a vendor that specializes in user support functions to handle support calls for internal and external users.  peer support -An informal level of user support whereby coworkers in an organization or department exchange information and provide assistance about computer use and problems encountered.  support standards -A list of computer products that an organization allows its employees to use and that it will support; support standards limit the hardware, software, and network products that a support staff must be able to support and reduce support costs.

27.  technical support -A level of user support that focuses on high-level troubleshooting anti problem solving; whereas computer user support deals with a broad spectrum of support issues, technical support deals with advanced and difficult problems that users encounter  user support center -A group or department in an organization that provides a wide range of services to an organization's computer users, who are primarily internal: services may include a help desk, consulting on product purchases, training, documentation, and facilities management.  user support group -A formal workgroup that is organized to provide computer support services.